24/7 Wall St. Insights
- The United States is known for its military, but only a small proportion of its population is in service.
- In some countries, the proportion of residents in the military compared to overall population if much higher than the U.S.
- The most militarized countries include small, sometimes authoritarian regimes with strict conscription policies.
Countries with the highest share of residents serving in the military tend to be those with mandatory conscription, a government policy that requires citizens, usually young adults, to serve in the military for a set period of time. They are sometimes countries with ongoing security concerns. For example, North Korea has one of the largest militaries relative to its population, with an estimated 4–5% of its citizens actively serving. Similarly, Israel maintains a high proportion due to country-wide conscription for most men and women, meaning a significant portion of the population serves at some point. Other nations like South Korea and Eritrea also have large portions of their populations in uniform, largely because of mandatory service requirements related to regional tensions or government policies.
In contrast, huge countries known for their large military forces (such as the United States or China) do not rank as highly when measured by percentage of population, since their total populations are so large. For these countries, their militaries are primarily volunteer based. Instead, the highest ratios are usually found in smaller nations where military service is a central part of civic life. Beyond defense priorities, the proportion of residents in the military reflects several factors regarding a country, like political systems, regional conflicts, and national policies.
To determine the countries where the most residents are in the military, 24/7 Wall St. reviewed data on armed forces counts from the World Bank. Countries were ranked based on the number of armed forces personnel as a percentage of the total labor force. Supplemental data on military expenditure and population are also from the World Bank. All data is for the most recent period available.
This post was updated on March 24, 2026.
40. Namibia
- Armed forces as percentage of total labor force: 1.6%
- Armed forces personnel, total: 16,000
- Military expenditure as percentage of GDP: 2.7%
- Military expenditure, total: $338.2 million
- Total population: 3.0 million
39. Turkey
- Armed forces as percentage of total labor force: 1.6%
- Armed forces personnel, total: 512,000
- Military expenditure as percentage of GDP: 1.5%
- Military expenditure, total: $15.8 billion
- Total population: 85.3 million
38. Colombia
- Armed forces as percentage of total labor force: 1.7%
- Armed forces personnel, total: 428,000
- Military expenditure as percentage of GDP: 2.9%
- Military expenditure, total: $10.7 billion
- Total population: 52.3 million
37. Singapore
- Armed forces as percentage of total labor force: 1.7%
- Armed forces personnel, total: 59,000
- Military expenditure as percentage of GDP: 2.7%
- Military expenditure, total: $13.2 billion
- Total population: 5.9 million
36. Cyprus
- Armed forces as percentage of total labor force: 1.8%
- Armed forces personnel, total: 13,000
- Military expenditure as percentage of GDP: 1.8%
- Military expenditure, total: $566.9 million
- Total population: 1.3 million
35. Afghanistan
- Armed forces as percentage of total labor force: 1.8%
- Armed forces personnel, total: 165,000
- Military expenditure as percentage of GDP: 1.8%
- Military expenditure, total: $278.3 million
- Total population: 41.5 million
34. Saudi Arabia
- Armed forces as percentage of total labor force: 1.9%
- Armed forces personnel, total: 282,000
- Military expenditure as percentage of GDP: 7.1%
- Military expenditure, total: $75.8 billion
- Total population: 33.3 million
33. Myanmar
- Armed forces as percentage of total labor force: 1.9%
- Armed forces personnel, total: 463,000
- Military expenditure as percentage of GDP: 3.8%
- Military expenditure, total: $2.5 billion
- Total population: 54.1 million
32. Russia
- Armed forces as percentage of total labor force: 2.0%
- Armed forces personnel, total: 1,454,000
- Military expenditure as percentage of GDP: 5.9%
- Military expenditure, total: $109.5 billion
- Total population: 143.8 million
31. North Macedonia
- Armed forces as percentage of total labor force: 2.0%
- Armed forces personnel, total: 16,000
- Military expenditure as percentage of GDP: 1.7%
- Military expenditure, total: $266.6 million
- Total population: 1.8 million
30. Mauritania
- Armed forces as percentage of total labor force: 2.0%
- Armed forces personnel, total: 21,000
- Military expenditure as percentage of GDP: 2.5%
- Military expenditure, total: $277.2 million
- Total population: 5.0 million
29. South Korea
- Armed forces as percentage of total labor force: 2.0%
- Armed forces personnel, total: 569,000
- Military expenditure as percentage of GDP: 2.8%
- Military expenditure, total: $47.9 billion
- Total population: 51.7 million
28. Cambodia
- Armed forces as percentage of total labor force: 2.0%
- Armed forces personnel, total: 191,000
- Military expenditure as percentage of GDP: 2.1%
- Military expenditure, total: $668.0 million
- Total population: 17.4 million
27. Morocco
- Armed forces as percentage of total labor force: 2.1%
- Armed forces personnel, total: 246,000
- Military expenditure as percentage of GDP: 3.6%
- Military expenditure, total: $5.2 billion
- Total population: 37.7 million
26. Oman
- Armed forces as percentage of total labor force: 2.1%
- Armed forces personnel, total: 47,000
- Military expenditure as percentage of GDP: 5.4%
- Military expenditure, total: $5.9 billion
- Total population: 5.0 million
25. Bahrain
- Armed forces as percentage of total labor force: 2.3%
- Armed forces personnel, total: 19,000
- Military expenditure as percentage of GDP: 3.1%
- Military expenditure, total: $1.4 billion
- Total population: 1.6 million
24. Bhutan
- Armed forces as percentage of total labor force: 2.3%
- Armed forces personnel, total: 6,000
- Military expenditure as percentage of GDP: N/A
- Military expenditure, total: N/A
- Total population: 786,385
23. Iran
- Armed forces as percentage of total labor force: 2.4%
- Armed forces personnel, total: 650,000
- Military expenditure as percentage of GDP: 2.1%
- Military expenditure, total: $10.3 billion
- Total population: 90.6 million
22. Lithuania
- Armed forces as percentage of total labor force: 2.5%
- Armed forces personnel, total: 37,000
- Military expenditure as percentage of GDP: 2.7%
- Military expenditure, total: $2.2 billion
- Total population: 2.9 million
21. Turkmenistan
- Armed forces as percentage of total labor force: 2.6%
- Armed forces personnel, total: 57,000
- Military expenditure as percentage of GDP: 2.9%
- Military expenditure, total: $111.9 million
- Total population: 7.4 million
20. Algeria
- Armed forces as percentage of total labor force: 2.7%
- Armed forces personnel, total: 326,000
- Military expenditure as percentage of GDP: 8.2%
- Military expenditure, total: $18.3 billion
- Total population: 46.2 million
19. Egypt
- Armed forces as percentage of total labor force: 2.8%
- Armed forces personnel, total: 836,000
- Military expenditure as percentage of GDP: 0.9%
- Military expenditure, total: $3.2 billion
- Total population: 114.5 million
18. Belarus
- Armed forces as percentage of total labor force: 3.2%
- Armed forces personnel, total: 158,000
- Military expenditure as percentage of GDP: 1.8%
- Military expenditure, total: $1.4 billion
- Total population: 9.2 million
17. Armenia
- Armed forces as percentage of total labor force: 3.2%
- Armed forces personnel, total: 47,000
- Military expenditure as percentage of GDP: 5.5%
- Military expenditure, total: $1.3 billion
- Total population: 3.0 million
16. Greece
- Armed forces as percentage of total labor force: 3.2%
- Armed forces personnel, total: 147,000
- Military expenditure as percentage of GDP: 3.2%
- Military expenditure, total: $7.7 billion
- Total population: 10.4 million
15. Venezuela
- Armed forces as percentage of total labor force: 3.2%
- Armed forces personnel, total: 343,000
- Military expenditure as percentage of GDP: 0.5%
- Military expenditure, total: $3.9 million
- Total population: 28.3 million
14. Brunei Darussalam
- Armed forces as percentage of total labor force: 3.6%
- Armed forces personnel, total: 8,000
- Military expenditure as percentage of GDP: 3.0%
- Military expenditure, total: $448.9 million
- Total population: 458,949
13. Sri Lanka
![The Temple of the Sacred Tooth Relic [Kandy] by Jorge Lascar](https://live.staticflickr.com/5294/5479228950_38ecf2fdc9_b.jpg "The Temple of the Sacred Tooth Relic [Kandy] by Jorge Lascar")
- Armed forces as percentage of total labor force: 3.7%
- Armed forces personnel, total: 317,000
- Military expenditure as percentage of GDP: 1.6%
- Military expenditure, total: $1.2 billion
- Total population: 22.0 million
12. Jordan
- Armed forces as percentage of total labor force: 4.0%
- Armed forces personnel, total: 116,000
- Military expenditure as percentage of GDP: 4.9%
- Military expenditure, total: $2.5 billion
- Total population: 11.4 million
11. Laos
- Armed forces as percentage of total labor force: 4.1%
- Armed forces personnel, total: 129,000
- Military expenditure as percentage of GDP: 0.2%
- Military expenditure, total: $22.7 million
- Total population: 7.7 million
10. Israel
- Armed forces as percentage of total labor force: 4.2%
- Armed forces personnel, total: 178,000
- Military expenditure as percentage of GDP: 5.3%
- Military expenditure, total: $27.5 billion
- Total population: 9.8 million
9. Lebanon
- Armed forces as percentage of total labor force: 4.3%
- Armed forces personnel, total: 80,000
- Military expenditure as percentage of GDP: 8.9%
- Military expenditure, total: $241.3 million
- Total population: 5.8 million
8. Iraq
- Armed forces as percentage of total labor force: 4.5%
- Armed forces personnel, total: 459,000
- Military expenditure as percentage of GDP: 2.1%
- Military expenditure, total: $5.1 billion
- Total population: 45.1 million
7. Montenegro
- Armed forces as percentage of total labor force: 4.7%
- Armed forces personnel, total: 12,000
- Military expenditure as percentage of GDP: 1.6%
- Military expenditure, total: $114.5 million
- Total population: 616,177
6. Sao Tome and Principe
- Armed forces as percentage of total labor force: 5.1%
- Armed forces personnel, total: 1,000
- Military expenditure as percentage of GDP: N/A
- Military expenditure, total: N/A
- Total population: 230,871
5. Syria
- Armed forces as percentage of total labor force: 5.2%
- Armed forces personnel, total: 269,000
- Military expenditure as percentage of GDP: 4.1%
- Military expenditure, total: $2.5 billion
- Total population: 23.6 million
4. Maldives
- Armed forces as percentage of total labor force: 5.4%
- Armed forces personnel, total: 5,000
- Military expenditure as percentage of GDP: N/A
- Military expenditure, total: N/A
- Total population: 525,994
3. Djibouti
- Armed forces as percentage of total labor force: 5.5%
- Armed forces personnel, total: 13,000
- Military expenditure as percentage of GDP: 2.6%
- Military expenditure, total: $36.3 million
- Total population: 1.2 million
2. North Korea
- Armed forces as percentage of total labor force: 8.6%
- Armed forces personnel, total: 1,469,000
- Military expenditure as percentage of GDP: N/A
- Military expenditure, total: $1.6 billion
- Total population: 26.4 million
1. Eritrea
- Armed forces as percentage of total labor force: 13.4%
- Armed forces personnel, total: 202,000
- Military expenditure as percentage of GDP: 20.9%
- Military expenditure, total: $181.6 million
- Total population: 3.5 million
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