← Korea (Democratic People's Republic of)

Armed forces personnel, total

Active-duty military personnel reported through World Bank from The Military Balance. Personnel totals measure force scale, not readiness or capability.

ARMED_FORCES_PERSONNEL_TOTAL · raw · annual · people

Military personnel scale

Synchronized metrics

Show up to four metrics on separate charts with synchronized period highlighting.

From

Source selection

Display currency

Armed forces personnel, total

Military personnel scale

Active-duty military personnel reported through World Bank from The Military Balance. Personnel totals measure force scale, not readiness or capability.

Data and evidence

Armed forces personnel, total

Korea (Democratic People's Republic of)

Values and evidence for Korea (Democratic People's Republic of). Unavailable values are gaps, not zero.
Period	Value	Status	Provenance & calculation
1990	1,200,000 people	available	Inspect evidence World Bank — World Development Indicators · observation #97643 · revision 1 Value 1200000.0000000000 · reported · Published Unknown · Retrieved 2026-10-17 Source reference Active-duty military personnel reported through World Bank from The Military Balance. Personnel totals measure force scale, not readiness or capability. Provider world_bank · indicator MS.MIL.TOTL.P1 · dataset 2 · reported Dataset updated 2026-10-08 (not observation publication date) Revision history Revision 1: 1200000.0000000000 · Initial observation · 2026-10-17 04:48:08 · source revision unspecified
1991	1,200,000 people	available	Inspect evidence World Bank — World Development Indicators · observation #97642 · revision 1 Value 1200000.0000000000 · reported · Published Unknown · Retrieved 2026-10-17 Source reference Active-duty military personnel reported through World Bank from The Military Balance. Personnel totals measure force scale, not readiness or capability. Provider world_bank · indicator MS.MIL.TOTL.P1 · dataset 2 · reported Dataset updated 2026-10-08 (not observation publication date) Revision history Revision 1: 1200000.0000000000 · Initial observation · 2026-10-17 04:48:08 · source revision unspecified
1992	1,200,000 people	available	Inspect evidence World Bank — World Development Indicators · observation #97641 · revision 1 Value 1200000.0000000000 · reported · Published Unknown · Retrieved 2026-10-17 Source reference Active-duty military personnel reported through World Bank from The Military Balance. Personnel totals measure force scale, not readiness or capability. Provider world_bank · indicator MS.MIL.TOTL.P1 · dataset 2 · reported Dataset updated 2026-10-08 (not observation publication date) Revision history Revision 1: 1200000.0000000000 · Initial observation · 2026-10-17 04:48:08 · source revision unspecified
1993	1,100,000 people	available	Inspect evidence World Bank — World Development Indicators · observation #97640 · revision 1 Value 1100000.0000000000 · reported · Published Unknown · Retrieved 2026-10-17 Source reference Active-duty military personnel reported through World Bank from The Military Balance. Personnel totals measure force scale, not readiness or capability. Provider world_bank · indicator MS.MIL.TOTL.P1 · dataset 2 · reported Dataset updated 2026-10-08 (not observation publication date) Revision history Revision 1: 1100000.0000000000 · Initial observation · 2026-10-17 04:48:08 · source revision unspecified
1994	1,100,000 people	available	Inspect evidence World Bank — World Development Indicators · observation #97639 · revision 1 Value 1100000.0000000000 · reported · Published Unknown · Retrieved 2026-10-17 Source reference Active-duty military personnel reported through World Bank from The Military Balance. Personnel totals measure force scale, not readiness or capability. Provider world_bank · indicator MS.MIL.TOTL.P1 · dataset 2 · reported Dataset updated 2026-10-08 (not observation publication date) Revision history Revision 1: 1100000.0000000000 · Initial observation · 2026-10-17 04:48:08 · source revision unspecified
1995	1,243,000 people	available	Inspect evidence World Bank — World Development Indicators · observation #97638 · revision 1 Value 1243000.0000000000 · reported · Published Unknown · Retrieved 2026-10-17 Source reference Active-duty military personnel reported through World Bank from The Military Balance. Personnel totals measure force scale, not readiness or capability. Provider world_bank · indicator MS.MIL.TOTL.P1 · dataset 2 · reported Dataset updated 2026-10-08 (not observation publication date) Revision history Revision 1: 1243000.0000000000 · Initial observation · 2026-10-17 04:48:08 · source revision unspecified
1996	1,169,000 people	available	Inspect evidence World Bank — World Development Indicators · observation #97637 · revision 1 Value 1169000.0000000000 · reported · Published Unknown · Retrieved 2026-10-17 Source reference Active-duty military personnel reported through World Bank from The Military Balance. Personnel totals measure force scale, not readiness or capability. Provider world_bank · indicator MS.MIL.TOTL.P1 · dataset 2 · reported Dataset updated 2026-10-08 (not observation publication date) Revision history Revision 1: 1169000.0000000000 · Initial observation · 2026-10-17 04:48:08 · source revision unspecified
1997	1,244,000 people	available	Inspect evidence World Bank — World Development Indicators · observation #97636 · revision 1 Value 1244000.0000000000 · reported · Published Unknown · Retrieved 2026-10-17 Source reference Active-duty military personnel reported through World Bank from The Military Balance. Personnel totals measure force scale, not readiness or capability. Provider world_bank · indicator MS.MIL.TOTL.P1 · dataset 2 · reported Dataset updated 2026-10-08 (not observation publication date) Revision history Revision 1: 1244000.0000000000 · Initial observation · 2026-10-17 04:48:08 · source revision unspecified
1998	1,244,000 people	available	Inspect evidence World Bank — World Development Indicators · observation #97635 · revision 1 Value 1244000.0000000000 · reported · Published Unknown · Retrieved 2026-10-17 Source reference Active-duty military personnel reported through World Bank from The Military Balance. Personnel totals measure force scale, not readiness or capability. Provider world_bank · indicator MS.MIL.TOTL.P1 · dataset 2 · reported Dataset updated 2026-10-08 (not observation publication date) Revision history Revision 1: 1244000.0000000000 · Initial observation · 2026-10-17 04:48:08 · source revision unspecified
1999	1,244,000 people	available	Inspect evidence World Bank — World Development Indicators · observation #97634 · revision 1 Value 1244000.0000000000 · reported · Published Unknown · Retrieved 2026-10-17 Source reference Active-duty military personnel reported through World Bank from The Military Balance. Personnel totals measure force scale, not readiness or capability. Provider world_bank · indicator MS.MIL.TOTL.P1 · dataset 2 · reported Dataset updated 2026-10-08 (not observation publication date) Revision history Revision 1: 1244000.0000000000 · Initial observation · 2026-10-17 04:48:08 · source revision unspecified
2000	1,244,000 people	available	Inspect evidence World Bank — World Development Indicators · observation #97633 · revision 1 Value 1244000.0000000000 · reported · Published Unknown · Retrieved 2026-10-17 Source reference Active-duty military personnel reported through World Bank from The Military Balance. Personnel totals measure force scale, not readiness or capability. Provider world_bank · indicator MS.MIL.TOTL.P1 · dataset 2 · reported Dataset updated 2026-10-08 (not observation publication date) Revision history Revision 1: 1244000.0000000000 · Initial observation · 2026-10-17 04:48:08 · source revision unspecified
2001	1,271,000 people	available	Inspect evidence World Bank — World Development Indicators · observation #97632 · revision 1 Value 1271000.0000000000 · reported · Published Unknown · Retrieved 2026-10-17 Source reference Active-duty military personnel reported through World Bank from The Military Balance. Personnel totals measure force scale, not readiness or capability. Provider world_bank · indicator MS.MIL.TOTL.P1 · dataset 2 · reported Dataset updated 2026-10-08 (not observation publication date) Revision history Revision 1: 1271000.0000000000 · Initial observation · 2026-10-17 04:48:08 · source revision unspecified
2002	1,271,000 people	available	Inspect evidence World Bank — World Development Indicators · observation #97631 · revision 1 Value 1271000.0000000000 · reported · Published Unknown · Retrieved 2026-10-17 Source reference Active-duty military personnel reported through World Bank from The Military Balance. Personnel totals measure force scale, not readiness or capability. Provider world_bank · indicator MS.MIL.TOTL.P1 · dataset 2 · reported Dataset updated 2026-10-08 (not observation publication date) Revision history Revision 1: 1271000.0000000000 · Initial observation · 2026-10-17 04:48:08 · source revision unspecified
2003	1,271,000 people	available	Inspect evidence World Bank — World Development Indicators · observation #97630 · revision 1 Value 1271000.0000000000 · reported · Published Unknown · Retrieved 2026-10-17 Source reference Active-duty military personnel reported through World Bank from The Military Balance. Personnel totals measure force scale, not readiness or capability. Provider world_bank · indicator MS.MIL.TOTL.P1 · dataset 2 · reported Dataset updated 2026-10-08 (not observation publication date) Revision history Revision 1: 1271000.0000000000 · Initial observation · 2026-10-17 04:48:08 · source revision unspecified
2004	1,295,000 people	available	Inspect evidence World Bank — World Development Indicators · observation #97629 · revision 1 Value 1295000.0000000000 · reported · Published Unknown · Retrieved 2026-10-17 Source reference Active-duty military personnel reported through World Bank from The Military Balance. Personnel totals measure force scale, not readiness or capability. Provider world_bank · indicator MS.MIL.TOTL.P1 · dataset 2 · reported Dataset updated 2026-10-08 (not observation publication date) Revision history Revision 1: 1295000.0000000000 · Initial observation · 2026-10-17 04:48:08 · source revision unspecified
2005	1,295,000 people	available	Inspect evidence World Bank — World Development Indicators · observation #97628 · revision 1 Value 1295000.0000000000 · reported · Published Unknown · Retrieved 2026-10-17 Source reference Active-duty military personnel reported through World Bank from The Military Balance. Personnel totals measure force scale, not readiness or capability. Provider world_bank · indicator MS.MIL.TOTL.P1 · dataset 2 · reported Dataset updated 2026-10-08 (not observation publication date) Revision history Revision 1: 1295000.0000000000 · Initial observation · 2026-10-17 04:48:08 · source revision unspecified
2006	1,295,000 people	available	Inspect evidence World Bank — World Development Indicators · observation #97627 · revision 1 Value 1295000.0000000000 · reported · Published Unknown · Retrieved 2026-10-17 Source reference Active-duty military personnel reported through World Bank from The Military Balance. Personnel totals measure force scale, not readiness or capability. Provider world_bank · indicator MS.MIL.TOTL.P1 · dataset 2 · reported Dataset updated 2026-10-08 (not observation publication date) Revision history Revision 1: 1295000.0000000000 · Initial observation · 2026-10-17 04:48:08 · source revision unspecified
2007	1,295,000 people	available	Inspect evidence World Bank — World Development Indicators · observation #97626 · revision 1 Value 1295000.0000000000 · reported · Published Unknown · Retrieved 2026-10-17 Source reference Active-duty military personnel reported through World Bank from The Military Balance. Personnel totals measure force scale, not readiness or capability. Provider world_bank · indicator MS.MIL.TOTL.P1 · dataset 2 · reported Dataset updated 2026-10-08 (not observation publication date) Revision history Revision 1: 1295000.0000000000 · Initial observation · 2026-10-17 04:48:08 · source revision unspecified
2008	1,295,000 people	available	Inspect evidence World Bank — World Development Indicators · observation #97625 · revision 1 Value 1295000.0000000000 · reported · Published Unknown · Retrieved 2026-10-17 Source reference Active-duty military personnel reported through World Bank from The Military Balance. Personnel totals measure force scale, not readiness or capability. Provider world_bank · indicator MS.MIL.TOTL.P1 · dataset 2 · reported Dataset updated 2026-10-08 (not observation publication date) Revision history Revision 1: 1295000.0000000000 · Initial observation · 2026-10-17 04:48:08 · source revision unspecified
2009	1,379,000 people	available	Inspect evidence World Bank — World Development Indicators · observation #97624 · revision 1 Value 1379000.0000000000 · reported · Published Unknown · Retrieved 2026-10-17 Source reference Active-duty military personnel reported through World Bank from The Military Balance. Personnel totals measure force scale, not readiness or capability. Provider world_bank · indicator MS.MIL.TOTL.P1 · dataset 2 · reported Dataset updated 2026-10-08 (not observation publication date) Revision history Revision 1: 1379000.0000000000 · Initial observation · 2026-10-17 04:48:08 · source revision unspecified
2010	1,379,000 people	available	Inspect evidence World Bank — World Development Indicators · observation #97623 · revision 1 Value 1379000.0000000000 · reported · Published Unknown · Retrieved 2026-10-17 Source reference Active-duty military personnel reported through World Bank from The Military Balance. Personnel totals measure force scale, not readiness or capability. Provider world_bank · indicator MS.MIL.TOTL.P1 · dataset 2 · reported Dataset updated 2026-10-08 (not observation publication date) Revision history Revision 1: 1379000.0000000000 · Initial observation · 2026-10-17 04:48:08 · source revision unspecified
2011	1,379,000 people	available	Inspect evidence World Bank — World Development Indicators · observation #97622 · revision 1 Value 1379000.0000000000 · reported · Published Unknown · Retrieved 2026-10-17 Source reference Active-duty military personnel reported through World Bank from The Military Balance. Personnel totals measure force scale, not readiness or capability. Provider world_bank · indicator MS.MIL.TOTL.P1 · dataset 2 · reported Dataset updated 2026-10-08 (not observation publication date) Revision history Revision 1: 1379000.0000000000 · Initial observation · 2026-10-17 04:48:08 · source revision unspecified
2012	1,379,000 people	available	Inspect evidence World Bank — World Development Indicators · observation #97621 · revision 1 Value 1379000.0000000000 · reported · Published Unknown · Retrieved 2026-10-17 Source reference Active-duty military personnel reported through World Bank from The Military Balance. Personnel totals measure force scale, not readiness or capability. Provider world_bank · indicator MS.MIL.TOTL.P1 · dataset 2 · reported Dataset updated 2026-10-08 (not observation publication date) Revision history Revision 1: 1379000.0000000000 · Initial observation · 2026-10-17 04:48:08 · source revision unspecified
2013	1,379,000 people	available	Inspect evidence World Bank — World Development Indicators · observation #97620 · revision 1 Value 1379000.0000000000 · reported · Published Unknown · Retrieved 2026-10-17 Source reference Active-duty military personnel reported through World Bank from The Military Balance. Personnel totals measure force scale, not readiness or capability. Provider world_bank · indicator MS.MIL.TOTL.P1 · dataset 2 · reported Dataset updated 2026-10-08 (not observation publication date) Revision history Revision 1: 1379000.0000000000 · Initial observation · 2026-10-17 04:48:08 · source revision unspecified
2014	1,379,000 people	available	Inspect evidence World Bank — World Development Indicators · observation #97619 · revision 1 Value 1379000.0000000000 · reported · Published Unknown · Retrieved 2026-10-17 Source reference Active-duty military personnel reported through World Bank from The Military Balance. Personnel totals measure force scale, not readiness or capability. Provider world_bank · indicator MS.MIL.TOTL.P1 · dataset 2 · reported Dataset updated 2026-10-08 (not observation publication date) Revision history Revision 1: 1379000.0000000000 · Initial observation · 2026-10-17 04:48:08 · source revision unspecified
2015	1,379,000 people	available	Inspect evidence World Bank — World Development Indicators · observation #97618 · revision 1 Value 1379000.0000000000 · reported · Published Unknown · Retrieved 2026-10-17 Source reference Active-duty military personnel reported through World Bank from The Military Balance. Personnel totals measure force scale, not readiness or capability. Provider world_bank · indicator MS.MIL.TOTL.P1 · dataset 2 · reported Dataset updated 2026-10-08 (not observation publication date) Revision history Revision 1: 1379000.0000000000 · Initial observation · 2026-10-17 04:48:08 · source revision unspecified
2016	1,469,000 people	available	Inspect evidence World Bank — World Development Indicators · observation #97617 · revision 1 Value 1469000.0000000000 · reported · Published Unknown · Retrieved 2026-10-17 Source reference Active-duty military personnel reported through World Bank from The Military Balance. Personnel totals measure force scale, not readiness or capability. Provider world_bank · indicator MS.MIL.TOTL.P1 · dataset 2 · reported Dataset updated 2026-10-08 (not observation publication date) Revision history Revision 1: 1469000.0000000000 · Initial observation · 2026-10-17 04:48:08 · source revision unspecified
2017	1,469,000 people	available	Inspect evidence World Bank — World Development Indicators · observation #97616 · revision 1 Value 1469000.0000000000 · reported · Published Unknown · Retrieved 2026-10-17 Source reference Active-duty military personnel reported through World Bank from The Military Balance. Personnel totals measure force scale, not readiness or capability. Provider world_bank · indicator MS.MIL.TOTL.P1 · dataset 2 · reported Dataset updated 2026-10-08 (not observation publication date) Revision history Revision 1: 1469000.0000000000 · Initial observation · 2026-10-17 04:48:08 · source revision unspecified
2018	1,469,000 people	available	Inspect evidence World Bank — World Development Indicators · observation #97615 · revision 1 Value 1469000.0000000000 · reported · Published Unknown · Retrieved 2026-10-17 Source reference Active-duty military personnel reported through World Bank from The Military Balance. Personnel totals measure force scale, not readiness or capability. Provider world_bank · indicator MS.MIL.TOTL.P1 · dataset 2 · reported Dataset updated 2026-10-08 (not observation publication date) Revision history Revision 1: 1469000.0000000000 · Initial observation · 2026-10-17 04:48:08 · source revision unspecified
2019	1,469,000 people	available	Inspect evidence World Bank — World Development Indicators · observation #97614 · revision 1 Value 1469000.0000000000 · reported · Published Unknown · Retrieved 2026-10-17 Source reference Active-duty military personnel reported through World Bank from The Military Balance. Personnel totals measure force scale, not readiness or capability. Provider world_bank · indicator MS.MIL.TOTL.P1 · dataset 2 · reported Dataset updated 2026-10-08 (not observation publication date) Revision history Revision 1: 1469000.0000000000 · Initial observation · 2026-10-17 04:48:08 · source revision unspecified
2020	1,469,000 people	available	Inspect evidence World Bank — World Development Indicators · observation #97613 · revision 1 Value 1469000.0000000000 · reported · Published Unknown · Retrieved 2026-10-17 Source reference Active-duty military personnel reported through World Bank from The Military Balance. Personnel totals measure force scale, not readiness or capability. Provider world_bank · indicator MS.MIL.TOTL.P1 · dataset 2 · reported Dataset updated 2026-10-08 (not observation publication date) Revision history Revision 1: 1469000.0000000000 · Initial observation · 2026-10-17 04:48:08 · source revision unspecified
2021	Unavailable people	missing	Inspect evidence World Bank — World Development Indicators · observation #97612 · revision 1 Value Missing · reported · Published Unknown · Retrieved 2026-10-17 Source reference Active-duty military personnel reported through World Bank from The Military Balance. Personnel totals measure force scale, not readiness or capability. Provider world_bank · indicator MS.MIL.TOTL.P1 · dataset 2 · reported Dataset updated 2026-10-08 (not observation publication date) Revision history Revision 1: Missing · Initial observation · 2026-10-17 04:48:08 · source revision unspecified
2022	Unavailable people	missing	Inspect evidence World Bank — World Development Indicators · observation #97611 · revision 1 Value Missing · reported · Published Unknown · Retrieved 2026-10-17 Source reference Active-duty military personnel reported through World Bank from The Military Balance. Personnel totals measure force scale, not readiness or capability. Provider world_bank · indicator MS.MIL.TOTL.P1 · dataset 2 · reported Dataset updated 2026-10-08 (not observation publication date) Revision history Revision 1: Missing · Initial observation · 2026-10-17 04:48:08 · source revision unspecified
2023	Unavailable people	missing	Inspect evidence World Bank — World Development Indicators · observation #97610 · revision 1 Value Missing · reported · Published Unknown · Retrieved 2026-10-17 Source reference Active-duty military personnel reported through World Bank from The Military Balance. Personnel totals measure force scale, not readiness or capability. Provider world_bank · indicator MS.MIL.TOTL.P1 · dataset 2 · reported Dataset updated 2026-10-08 (not observation publication date) Revision history Revision 1: Missing · Initial observation · 2026-10-17 04:48:08 · source revision unspecified
2024	Unavailable people	missing	Inspect evidence World Bank — World Development Indicators · observation #97609 · revision 1 Value Missing · reported · Published Unknown · Retrieved 2026-10-17 Source reference Active-duty military personnel reported through World Bank from The Military Balance. Personnel totals measure force scale, not readiness or capability. Provider world_bank · indicator MS.MIL.TOTL.P1 · dataset 2 · reported Dataset updated 2026-10-08 (not observation publication date) Revision history Revision 1: Missing · Initial observation · 2026-10-17 04:48:08 · source revision unspecified
2025	Unavailable people	missing	Inspect evidence World Bank — World Development Indicators · observation #97608 · revision 1 Value Missing · reported · Published Unknown · Retrieved 2026-10-17 Source reference Active-duty military personnel reported through World Bank from The Military Balance. Personnel totals measure force scale, not readiness or capability. Provider world_bank · indicator MS.MIL.TOTL.P1 · dataset 2 · reported Dataset updated 2026-10-08 (not observation publication date) Revision history Revision 1: Missing · Initial observation · 2026-10-17 04:48:08 · source revision unspecified

Something looks wrong? Request a data review and include this page URL and the observation period.