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

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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

Syrian Arab Republic

Values and evidence for Syrian Arab Republic. Unavailable values are gaps, not zero.
Period	Value	Status	Provenance & calculation
1990	408,000 people	available	Inspect evidence World Bank — World Development Indicators · observation #99047 · revision 1 Value 408000.0000000000 · 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: 408000.0000000000 · Initial observation · 2026-10-17 04:48:14 · source revision unspecified
1991	408,000 people	available	Inspect evidence World Bank — World Development Indicators · observation #99046 · revision 1 Value 408000.0000000000 · 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: 408000.0000000000 · Initial observation · 2026-10-17 04:48:14 · source revision unspecified
1992	408,000 people	available	Inspect evidence World Bank — World Development Indicators · observation #99045 · revision 1 Value 408000.0000000000 · 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: 408000.0000000000 · Initial observation · 2026-10-17 04:48:14 · source revision unspecified
1993	408,000 people	available	Inspect evidence World Bank — World Development Indicators · observation #99044 · revision 1 Value 408000.0000000000 · 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: 408000.0000000000 · Initial observation · 2026-10-17 04:48:14 · source revision unspecified
1994	320,000 people	available	Inspect evidence World Bank — World Development Indicators · observation #99043 · revision 1 Value 320000.0000000000 · 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: 320000.0000000000 · Initial observation · 2026-10-17 04:48:14 · source revision unspecified
1995	531,000 people	available	Inspect evidence World Bank — World Development Indicators · observation #99042 · revision 1 Value 531000.0000000000 · 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: 531000.0000000000 · Initial observation · 2026-10-17 04:48:14 · source revision unspecified
1996	529,000 people	available	Inspect evidence World Bank — World Development Indicators · observation #99041 · revision 1 Value 529000.0000000000 · 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: 529000.0000000000 · Initial observation · 2026-10-17 04:48:14 · source revision unspecified
1997	428,000 people	available	Inspect evidence World Bank — World Development Indicators · observation #99040 · revision 1 Value 428000.0000000000 · 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: 428000.0000000000 · Initial observation · 2026-10-17 04:48:14 · source revision unspecified
1998	428,000 people	available	Inspect evidence World Bank — World Development Indicators · observation #99039 · revision 1 Value 428000.0000000000 · 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: 428000.0000000000 · Initial observation · 2026-10-17 04:48:14 · source revision unspecified
1999	424,000 people	available	Inspect evidence World Bank — World Development Indicators · observation #99038 · revision 1 Value 424000.0000000000 · 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: 424000.0000000000 · Initial observation · 2026-10-17 04:48:14 · source revision unspecified
2000	424,800 people	available	Inspect evidence World Bank — World Development Indicators · observation #99037 · revision 1 Value 424800.0000000000 · 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: 424800.0000000000 · Initial observation · 2026-10-17 04:48:14 · source revision unspecified
2001	429,000 people	available	Inspect evidence World Bank — World Development Indicators · observation #99036 · revision 1 Value 429000.0000000000 · 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: 429000.0000000000 · Initial observation · 2026-10-17 04:48:14 · source revision unspecified
2002	427,000 people	available	Inspect evidence World Bank — World Development Indicators · observation #99035 · revision 1 Value 427000.0000000000 · 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: 427000.0000000000 · Initial observation · 2026-10-17 04:48:14 · source revision unspecified
2003	427,000 people	available	Inspect evidence World Bank — World Development Indicators · observation #99034 · revision 1 Value 427000.0000000000 · 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: 427000.0000000000 · Initial observation · 2026-10-17 04:48:14 · source revision unspecified
2004	415,000 people	available	Inspect evidence World Bank — World Development Indicators · observation #99033 · revision 1 Value 415000.0000000000 · 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: 415000.0000000000 · Initial observation · 2026-10-17 04:48:14 · source revision unspecified
2005	416,000 people	available	Inspect evidence World Bank — World Development Indicators · observation #99032 · revision 1 Value 416000.0000000000 · 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: 416000.0000000000 · Initial observation · 2026-10-17 04:48:14 · source revision unspecified
2006	401,000 people	available	Inspect evidence World Bank — World Development Indicators · observation #99031 · revision 1 Value 401000.0000000000 · 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: 401000.0000000000 · Initial observation · 2026-10-17 04:48:14 · source revision unspecified
2007	401,000 people	available	Inspect evidence World Bank — World Development Indicators · observation #99030 · revision 1 Value 401000.0000000000 · 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: 401000.0000000000 · Initial observation · 2026-10-17 04:48:14 · source revision unspecified
2008	401,000 people	available	Inspect evidence World Bank — World Development Indicators · observation #99029 · revision 1 Value 401000.0000000000 · 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: 401000.0000000000 · Initial observation · 2026-10-17 04:48:14 · source revision unspecified
2009	403,000 people	available	Inspect evidence World Bank — World Development Indicators · observation #99028 · revision 1 Value 403000.0000000000 · 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: 403000.0000000000 · Initial observation · 2026-10-17 04:48:14 · source revision unspecified
2010	403,000 people	available	Inspect evidence World Bank — World Development Indicators · observation #99027 · revision 1 Value 403000.0000000000 · 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: 403000.0000000000 · Initial observation · 2026-10-17 04:48:14 · source revision unspecified
2011	178,000 people	available	Inspect evidence World Bank — World Development Indicators · observation #99026 · revision 1 Value 178000.0000000000 · 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: 178000.0000000000 · Initial observation · 2026-10-17 04:48:14 · source revision unspecified
2012	178,000 people	available	Inspect evidence World Bank — World Development Indicators · observation #99025 · revision 1 Value 178000.0000000000 · 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: 178000.0000000000 · Initial observation · 2026-10-17 04:48:14 · source revision unspecified
2013	178,000 people	available	Inspect evidence World Bank — World Development Indicators · observation #99024 · revision 1 Value 178000.0000000000 · 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: 178000.0000000000 · Initial observation · 2026-10-17 04:48:14 · source revision unspecified
2014	280,500 people	available	Inspect evidence World Bank — World Development Indicators · observation #99023 · revision 1 Value 280500.0000000000 · 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: 280500.0000000000 · Initial observation · 2026-10-17 04:48:14 · source revision unspecified
2015	277,500 people	available	Inspect evidence World Bank — World Development Indicators · observation #99022 · revision 1 Value 277500.0000000000 · 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: 277500.0000000000 · Initial observation · 2026-10-17 04:48:14 · source revision unspecified
2016	307,500 people	available	Inspect evidence World Bank — World Development Indicators · observation #99021 · revision 1 Value 307500.0000000000 · 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: 307500.0000000000 · Initial observation · 2026-10-17 04:48:14 · source revision unspecified
2017	239,000 people	available	Inspect evidence World Bank — World Development Indicators · observation #99020 · revision 1 Value 239000.0000000000 · 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: 239000.0000000000 · Initial observation · 2026-10-17 04:48:14 · source revision unspecified
2018	257,500 people	available	Inspect evidence World Bank — World Development Indicators · observation #99019 · revision 1 Value 257500.0000000000 · 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: 257500.0000000000 · Initial observation · 2026-10-17 04:48:14 · source revision unspecified
2019	269,000 people	available	Inspect evidence World Bank — World Development Indicators · observation #99018 · revision 1 Value 269000.0000000000 · 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: 269000.0000000000 · Initial observation · 2026-10-17 04:48:14 · source revision unspecified
2020	269,000 people	available	Inspect evidence World Bank — World Development Indicators · observation #99017 · revision 1 Value 269000.0000000000 · 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: 269000.0000000000 · Initial observation · 2026-10-17 04:48:14 · source revision unspecified
2021	Unavailable people	missing	Inspect evidence World Bank — World Development Indicators · observation #99016 · 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 04:48:14 · source revision unspecified
2022	Unavailable people	missing	Inspect evidence World Bank — World Development Indicators · observation #99015 · 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 04:48:14 · source revision unspecified
2023	Unavailable people	missing	Inspect evidence World Bank — World Development Indicators · observation #99014 · 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 04:48:14 · source revision unspecified
2024	Unavailable people	missing	Inspect evidence World Bank — World Development Indicators · observation #99013 · 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 04:48:14 · source revision unspecified
2025	Unavailable people	missing	Inspect evidence World Bank — World Development Indicators · observation #99012 · 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 04:48:14 · source revision unspecified

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