Armed forces personnel, total in Nigeria
Nigeria: Armed forces personnel, total was 223,000 in 2020. ▲ Rising
Armed forces personnel, total in Nigeria, 1985–2020
Source: The Military Balance, International Institute for Strategic Studies.
Analysis
In 2020, armed forces personnel, total in Nigeria stood at 223,000. That is the highest value across all 33 years on record.
That represents a change of up 37.7% over ten years.
Over the whole period, armed forces personnel, total in Nigeria peaked at 223,000 in 2018 and was at its lowest, 76,000, in 1992.
That places Nigeria 30th out of 173 countries with data for 2020, putting it in the top quarter.
The long-run direction has been consistently rising across the 33 years of available data.
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1980s | 100,500 | 94,000 | 107,000 | 2 |
| 1990s | 93,620 | 76,000 | 124,000 | 10 |
| 2000s | 155,700 | 106,500 | 162,000 | 10 |
| 2010s | 187,100 | 162,000 | 223,000 | 10 |
| 2020s | 223,000 | 223,000 | 223,000 | 1 |
Countries ranked near Nigeria
More public sector data for Nigeria
- Arms imports 67.00 million SIPRI trend indicator values (2024)
- Military expenditure 0.6% (2024)
- Military expenditure 1.13 billion current USD (2024)
- Armed forces personnel 0.2% (2020)
- Statistical performance indicators (SPI): Pillar 1 data use score 100 scale 0-100 (2024)
- Statistical performance indicators (SPI): Pillar 3 data products score 74.86 scale 0-100 (2024)
- Military expenditure 1.68 trillion current LCU (2024)
- Proportion of seats held by women in national parliaments 4.2% (2025)
- Military expenditure 3.1% (2024)
- Internally displaced persons, new displacement associated with disaste 166,000 number of cases (2023)
Frequently asked questions
- What is armed forces personnel, total in Nigeria?
- Armed forces personnel, total in Nigeria was 223,000 in 2020, according to The Military Balance, International Institute for Strategic Studies.
- What is the highest armed forces personnel, total recorded in Nigeria?
- The highest recorded value was 223,000 in 2018.
- What is the lowest armed forces personnel, total recorded in Nigeria?
- The lowest recorded value was 76,000 in 1992.
- How does Nigeria rank for armed forces personnel, total?
- Nigeria ranks 30th out of 173 countries with data for 2020.
- Is armed forces personnel, total rising or falling in Nigeria?
- Over the last ten years it is up 37.7%. The long-run trend across the full record is rising.
- Where does this Nigeria 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
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.