Armed forces personnel, total in Belgium

Belgium: Armed forces personnel, total was 24,000 in 2020. ▼ Falling

Latest (2020)
24,000
Change on year
down 7.7%
World rank
96th
of 173 countries
All-time high
110,000
in 1989
All-time low
24,000
in 2020
Years of data
33
1985–2020

Armed forces personnel, total in Belgium, 1985–2020

20.0k40.0k60.0k80.0k100.0k120.0k1985200220201985: 91.6k1989: 110.0k1990: 106.0k1991: 101.0k1992: 79.0k1993: 70.0k1994: 53.0k1995: 47.2k1996: 46.3k1997: 44.5k1998: 43.7k1999: 41.8k2000: 39.3k2001: 39.4k2002: 39.2k2003: 40.8k2004: 36.0k2005: 37.0k2006: 40.0k2007: 39.0k2008: 39.0k2009: 39.5k2010: 35.7k2011: 34.0k2012: 30.7k2013: 37.5k2014: 37.6k2015: 36.4k2016: 33.8k2017: 32.0k2018: 31.5k2019: 26.0k2020: 24.0k

Source: The Military Balance, International Institute for Strategic Studies.

Analysis

Belgium recorded 24,000 for armed forces personnel, total in 2020. That is the lowest value across all 33 years on record.

That represents a change of down 7.7% on the previous year and down 32.8% over ten years.

Over the whole period, armed forces personnel, total in Belgium peaked at 110,000 in 1989 and was at its lowest, 24,000, in 2020.

Belgium ranks 96th of 173 countries on this measure, in the middle of the range.

The long-run direction has been consistently falling across the 33 years of available data.

Averages by decade

DecadeAverage LowestHighest Years
1980s 100,800 91,600 110,000 2
1990s 63,240 41,750 106,000 10
2000s 38,918 36,000 40,800 10
2010s 33,524 26,000 37,600 10
2020s 24,000 24,000 24,000 1

Countries ranked near Belgium

  1. 93 Georgia 26,000 compare
  2. 94 Kuwait 25,000 compare
  3. 94 Norway 25,000 compare
  4. 96 Kenya 24,000 compare
  5. 98 Austria 23,000 compare
  6. 98 Honduras 23,000 compare

See the full ranking of 219 places →

More public sector data for Belgium

All data for Belgium →

Frequently asked questions

What is armed forces personnel, total in Belgium?
Armed forces personnel, total in Belgium was 24,000 in 2020, according to The Military Balance, International Institute for Strategic Studies.
What is the highest armed forces personnel, total recorded in Belgium?
The highest recorded value was 110,000 in 1989.
What is the lowest armed forces personnel, total recorded in Belgium?
The lowest recorded value was 24,000 in 2020.
How does Belgium rank for armed forces personnel, total?
Belgium ranks 96th out of 173 countries with data for 2020.
Is armed forces personnel, total rising or falling in Belgium?
Over the last ten years it is down 32.8%. The long-run trend across the full record is falling.
Where does this Belgium data come from?
The figures come from The Military Balance, International Institute for Strategic Studies, published as part of Armed forces personnel, total. Statizoid updates them automatically from the source API.

Download this data

CSV · JSON — 33 observations, free to reuse under CC BY 4.0 (World Bank Open Data).

About this data

Indicator
Armed forces personnel, total
Source
The Military Balance, International Institute for Strategic Studies
Licence
CC BY 4.0 (World Bank Open Data)
Coverage
219 places, 6,823 data points, 1985–2020
Last refreshed

Armed forces personnel are active duty military personnel, including paramilitary forces if the training, organization, equipment, and control suggest they may be used to support or replace regular military forces.