Armed forces
% of labour force · no best or worst — largest to smallest
168 of 216 countries report a figure for armed forces
World average: 1.3%
| Rank | Country | Value | Year | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| #1 | Eritrea | 13.3% | 2020 | |
| #2 | North Korea | 8.6% | 2020 | |
| #3 | Syria | 5.4% | 2020 | |
| #4 | Djibouti | 5.4% | 2020 | |
| #5 | Montenegro | 4.7% | 2020 | |
| #6 | Iraq | 4.4% | 2020 | |
| #7 | Israel | 4.2% | 2020 | |
| #8 | Lebanon | 4.1% | 2020 | |
| #9 | Laos | 4.1% | 2020 | |
| #10 | Jordan | 4.0% | 2020 | |
| #11 | Sri Lanka | 3.7% | 2020 | |
| #12 | Brunei | 3.6% | 2020 | |
| #13 | Venezuela | 3.5% | 2020 | |
| #14 | Armenia | 3.2% | 2020 | |
| #15 | Greece | 3.2% | 2020 | |
| #16 | Belarus | 3.2% | 2020 | |
| #17 | Turkmenistan | 2.9% | 2020 | |
| #18 | Algeria | 2.8% | 2020 | |
| #19 | Egypt | 2.8% | 2020 | |
| #20 | Lithuania | 2.5% | 2020 | |
| #21 | Iran | 2.4% | 2020 | |
| #22 | Bahrain | 2.3% | 2020 | |
| #23 | Oman | 2.1% | 2020 | |
| #24 | Morocco | 2.1% | 2020 | |
| #25 | Cambodia | 2.0% | 2020 | |
| #26 | South Korea | 2.0% | 2020 | |
| #27 | Mauritania | 2.0% | 2020 | |
| #28 | North Macedonia | 2.0% | 2020 | |
| #29 | Russia | 2.0% | 2020 | |
| #30 | Myanmar | 1.9% | 2020 | |
| #31 | Saudi Arabia | 1.9% | 2020 | |
| #32 | Afghanistan | 1.8% | 2020 | |
| #33 | Cyprus | 1.8% | 2020 | |
| #34 | Singapore | 1.7% | 2020 | |
| #35 | Colombia | 1.7% | 2020 | |
| #36 | Namibia | 1.7% | 2020 | |
| #37 | El Salvador | 1.6% | 2020 | |
| #38 | Turkey | 1.6% | 2020 | |
| #39 | Azerbaijan | 1.6% | 2020 | |
| #40 | Cuba | 1.5% | 2020 | |
| #41 | Romania | 1.5% | 2020 | |
| #42 | Dominican Republic | 1.5% | 2020 | |
| #43 | Ukraine | 1.4% | 2020 | |
| #44 | Nepal | 1.4% | 2020 | |
| #45 | Georgia | 1.4% | 2020 | |
| #46 | Italy | 1.4% | 2020 | |
| #47 | Sudan | 1.3% | 2020 | |
| #48 | Panama | 1.3% | 2020 | |
| #49 | Uruguay | 1.3% | 2020 | |
| #50 | Belize | 1.3% | 2020 | |
| #51 | Chile | 1.3% | 2020 | |
| #52 | Mongolia | 1.3% | 2020 | |
| #53 | Pakistan | 1.3% | 2020 | |
| #54 | Bolivia | 1.2% | 2020 | |
| #55 | Bulgaria | 1.2% | 2020 | |
| #56 | Tunisia | 1.2% | 2020 | |
| #57 | South Sudan | 1.2% | 2020 | |
| #58 | Croatia | 1.2% | 2020 | |
| #59 | Thailand | 1.1% | 2020 | |
| #60 | Fiji | 1.1% | 2020 | |
| #61 | Qatar | 1.1% | 2020 | |
| #62 | Poland | 1.0% | 2020 | |
| #63 | Guyana | 1.0% | 2020 | |
| #64 | Kuwait | 1.0% | 2020 | |
| #65 | United Arab Emirates | 1.0% | 2020 | |
| #66 | Serbia | 1.0% | 2020 | |
| #67 | Portugal | 1.0% | 2020 | |
| #68 | France | 1.0% | 2020 | |
| #69 | Estonia | 1.0% | 2020 | |
| #70 | Gabon | 1.0% | 2020 | |
| #71 | Hungary | 1.0% | 2020 | |
| #72 | Vietnam | 0.9% | 2020 | |
| #73 | Peru | 0.9% | 2020 | |
| #74 | Botswana | 0.9% | 2020 | |
| #75 | The Bahamas | 0.9% | 2020 | |
| #76 | Latvia | 0.9% | 2020 | |
| #77 | Paraguay | 0.9% | 2020 | |
| #78 | Zimbabwe | 0.9% | 2020 | |
| #79 | Spain | 0.9% | 2020 | |
| #80 | Angola | 0.9% | 2020 | |
| #81 | Norway | 0.9% | 2020 | |
| #82 | Suriname | 0.8% | 2020 | |
| #83 | Chad | 0.8% | 2020 | |
| #84 | United States | 0.8% | 2020 | |
| #85 | Bosnia and Herzegovina | 0.8% | 2020 | |
| #86 | Kyrgyzstan | 0.8% | 2020 | |
| #87 | Malaysia | 0.8% | 2020 | |
| #88 | Finland | 0.8% | 2020 | |
| #89 | Trinidad and Tobago | 0.8% | 2020 | |
| #90 | Brazil | 0.8% | 2020 | |
| #91 | Tajikistan | 0.7% | 2020 | |
| #92 | Kazakhstan | 0.7% | 2020 | |
| #93 | Malta | 0.7% | 2020 | |
| #94 | Rwanda | 0.7% | 2020 | |
| #95 | Barbados | 0.7% | 2020 | |
| #96 | Slovenia | 0.7% | 2020 | |
| #97 | Slovakia | 0.7% | 2020 | |
| #98 | Albania | 0.6% | 2020 | |
| #99 | Mexico | 0.6% | 2020 | |
| #100 | Guatemala | 0.6% | 2020 | |
| #101 | Burundi | 0.6% | 2020 | |
| #102 | Yemen | 0.6% | 2020 | |
| #103 | India | 0.6% | 2020 | |
| #104 | The Gambia | 0.6% | 2020 | |
| #105 | Honduras | 0.6% | 2020 | |
| #106 | Republic of the Congo | 0.6% | 2020 | |
| #107 | Mali | 0.5% | 2020 | |
| #108 | Ecuador | 0.5% | 2020 | |
| #109 | Central African Republic | 0.5% | 2020 | |
| #110 | Guinea-Bissau | 0.5% | 2020 | |
| #111 | Argentina | 0.5% | 2020 | |
| #112 | Uzbekistan | 0.5% | 2020 | |
| #113 | Mauritius | 0.5% | 2020 | |
| #114 | Cape Verde | 0.5% | 2020 | |
| #115 | Czech Republic | 0.5% | 2020 | |
| #116 | Austria | 0.5% | 2020 | |
| #117 | Denmark | 0.5% | 2020 | |
| #118 | Indonesia | 0.5% | 2020 | |
| #119 | Somalia | 0.5% | 2020 | |
| #120 | Belgium | 0.5% | 2020 | |
| #121 | United Kingdom | 0.4% | 2020 | |
| #122 | Australia | 0.4% | 2020 | |
| #123 | Germany | 0.4% | 2020 | |
| #124 | Kingdom of the Netherlands | 0.4% | 2020 | |
| #125 | Costa Rica | 0.4% | 2020 | |
| #126 | Jamaica | 0.4% | 2020 | |
| #127 | Moldova | 0.4% | 2020 | |
| #128 | Nicaragua | 0.4% | 2020 | |
| #129 | Democratic Republic of the Congo | 0.4% | 2020 | |
| #130 | Switzerland | 0.4% | 2020 | |
| #131 | South Africa | 0.4% | 2020 | |
| #132 | Japan | 0.4% | 2020 | |
| #133 | Togo | 0.4% | 2020 | |
| #134 | Senegal | 0.4% | 2020 | |
| #135 | Philippines | 0.4% | 2020 | |
| #136 | Ireland | 0.4% | 2020 | |
| #137 | Timor-Leste | 0.4% | 2020 | |
| #138 | Sierra Leone | 0.4% | 2020 | |
| #139 | Canada | 0.4% | 2020 | |
| #140 | New Zealand | 0.3% | 2020 | |
| #141 | Cameroon | 0.3% | 2020 | |
| #142 | People's Republic of China | 0.3% | 2020 | |
| #143 | Bangladesh | 0.3% | 2020 | |
| #144 | Guinea | 0.3% | 2020 | |
| #145 | Luxembourg | 0.3% | 2020 | |
| #146 | Ethiopia | 0.3% | 2020 | |
| #147 | Sweden | 0.3% | 2020 | |
| #148 | Ivory Coast | 0.2% | 2020 | |
| #149 | Lesotho | 0.2% | 2020 | |
| #150 | Zambia | 0.2% | 2020 | |
| #151 | Uganda | 0.2% | 2020 | |
| #152 | Nigeria | 0.2% | 2020 | |
| #153 | Benin | 0.2% | 2020 | |
| #154 | Malawi | 0.2% | 2020 | |
| #155 | Equatorial Guinea | 0.2% | 2020 | |
| #156 | Madagascar | 0.2% | 2020 | |
| #157 | Ghana | 0.1% | 2020 | |
| #158 | Papua New Guinea | 0.1% | 2020 | |
| #159 | Burkina Faso | 0.1% | 2020 | |
| #160 | Kenya | 0.1% | 2020 | |
| #161 | Niger | 0.1% | 2020 | |
| #162 | Tanzania | 0.1% | 2020 | |
| #163 | Liberia | 0.1% | 2020 | |
| #164 | Mozambique | 0.1% | 2020 | |
| #165 | Haiti | 0.0% | 2020 | |
| #166 | Iceland | 0.0% | 2020 | |
| #167 | Libya | 0.0% | 2020 | |
| #168 | Palestine | 0.0% | 2020 | |
| — | American Samoa | — | — | |
| — | Andorra | — | — | |
| — | Antigua and Barbuda | — | — | |
| — | Aruba | — | — | |
| — | Bermuda | — | — | |
| — | Bhutan | — | — | |
| — | British Virgin Islands | — | — | |
| — | Cayman Islands | — | — | |
| — | Comoros | — | — | |
| — | Curaçao | — | — | |
| — | Dominica | — | — | |
| — | Eswatini | — | — | |
| — | Faroe Islands | — | — | |
| — | French Polynesia | — | — | |
| — | Gibraltar | — | — | |
| — | Greenland | — | — | |
| — | Grenada | — | — | |
| — | Guam | — | — | |
| — | Hong Kong | — | — | |
| — | Isle of Man | — | — | |
| — | Kiribati | — | — | |
| — | Kosovo | — | — | |
| — | Liechtenstein | — | — | |
| — | Macau | — | — | |
| — | Maldives | — | — | |
| — | Marshall Islands | — | — | |
| — | Federated States of Micronesia | — | — | |
| — | Monaco | — | — | |
| — | Nauru | — | — | |
| — | New Caledonia | — | — | |
| — | Northern Mariana Islands | — | — | |
| — | Palau | — | — | |
| — | Puerto Rico | — | — | |
| — | Samoa | — | — | |
| — | San Marino | — | — | |
| — | São Tomé and Príncipe | — | — | |
| — | Seychelles | — | — | |
| — | Sint Maarten | — | — | |
| — | Solomon Islands | — | — | |
| — | Saint Kitts and Nevis | — | — | |
| — | Saint Lucia | — | — | |
| — | Saint-Martin | — | — | |
| — | Saint Vincent and the Grenadines | — | — | |
| — | Tonga | — | — | |
| — | Turks and Caicos Islands | — | — | |
| — | Tuvalu | — | — | |
| — | Vanuatu | — | — | |
| — | United States Virgin Islands | — | — |
Source: World Bank, World Development Indicators (CC BY 4.0)