Armed Forces

The Largest Militaries in the World

When it comes to pure manpower, no country in the world comes close to China. According to Global Firepower estimates, the People's Republic currently has roughly 2.19 million active military personnel at its disposal. With far fewer in second and third place are India and the United States with 1.45 and 1.40 million, respectively. North Korea and Russia are the only other countries with more than one million in manpower. Iran, seemingly on the brink of war with the United States throughout the Trump administration (and at various other points in time), is in eighth place, with 525 thousand.

Description

This chart shows the countries with the largest total available active military manpower in 2021.

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Largest armies in the world ranked by active military personnel as of May 2026 (in 1,000s)
Ranking of the most powerful armies in the world in 2026
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Countries with the largest number of active-duty United States military personnel as of March 31, 2026
Number of military personnel in Russia as of 2026, by type (in millions)
Countries with the largest number of active military personnel in Latin America and the Caribbean in 2026
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Number of active military personnel in the Asia-Pacific region in 2025, by country or territory (in 1,000s)

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