Largest Armies in the World (1816-2019)


The size of a state’s military personnel in each year for the period 1816 to 2019. Military personnel are defined as troops under the command of the national government and held ready for combat as of January 1 of the referent year. Troops in the reserves, colonial troops, irregular forces such as civil defense units, frontier guards.

Timeline of Military Personnel Sizes by State (1816–2019)
Explore over two centuries of military manpower with this detailed timeline showing the size of state-controlled military personnel from 1816 to 2019. The data tracks troops under national government command, ready for combat as of January 1 each year. It excludes reserves, colonial forces, and irregular units, focusing solely on active combat-ready troops. This historical overview highlights how global conflicts, wars, and geopolitical shifts have influenced military sizes across nations over time.

Fun Facts & Trivia:

The massive military expansions during the World Wars dramatically increased troop numbers worldwide.

Cold War tensions kept many countries maintaining large standing armies for decades.

Recent decades show varied trends reflecting modernization, technological shifts, and changing defense strategies.

Keywords: military personnel timeline, army size history, global military forces, troop strength by country, historical military data.

Source: Data Is Beautiful


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