Armed forces personnel, total in Portugal

Portugal: Armed forces personnel, total was 52,000 in 2020. ▼ Falling

Latest (2020)
52,000
Change on year
unchanged
World rank
68th
of 173 countries
All-time high
122,000
in 1994
All-time low
52,000
in 2017
Years of data
33
1985–2020

Armed forces personnel, total in Portugal, 1985–2020

025.0k50.0k75.0k100.0k125.0k1985200220201985: 73.0k1989: 104.0k1990: 87.0k1991: 86.0k1992: 80.0k1993: 68.0k1994: 122.0k1995: 104.0k1996: 104.0k1997: 100.2k1998: 94.5k1999: 90.6k2000: 90.5k2001: 90.0k2002: 90.0k2003: 92.6k2004: 91.0k2005: 93.0k2006: 91.0k2007: 91.0k2008: 91.0k2009: 91.0k2010: 90.3k2011: 90.3k2012: 90.3k2013: 79.8k2014: 78.1k2015: 73.6k2016: 74.5k2017: 52.0k2018: 52.2k2019: 52.0k2020: 52.0k

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

Analysis

The most recent figure for armed forces personnel, total in Portugal is 52,000, measured in 2020. That is the lowest value across all 33 years on record.

That represents a change of down 42.4% over ten years.

Over the whole period, armed forces personnel, total in Portugal peaked at 122,000 in 1994 and was at its lowest, 52,000, in 2017.

That places Portugal 68th out of 173 countries with data for 2020, putting it 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 88,500 73,000 104,000 2
1990s 93,630 68,000 122,000 10
2000s 91,114 90,000 93,000 10
2010s 73,323 52,000 90,334 10
2020s 52,000 52,000 52,000 1

Countries ranked near Portugal

  1. 65 Singapore 59,000 compare
  2. 66 Turkmenistan 57,000 compare
  3. 67 South Sudan 53,000 compare
  4. 69 Zimbabwe 51,000 compare
  5. 70 Tunisia 48,000 compare
  6. 71 Armenia 47,000 compare
  7. 71 Oman 47,000 compare

See the full ranking of 219 places →

More public sector data for Portugal

All data for Portugal →

Frequently asked questions

What is armed forces personnel, total in Portugal?
Armed forces personnel, total in Portugal was 52,000 in 2020, according to The Military Balance, International Institute for Strategic Studies.
What is the highest armed forces personnel, total recorded in Portugal?
The highest recorded value was 122,000 in 1994.
What is the lowest armed forces personnel, total recorded in Portugal?
The lowest recorded value was 52,000 in 2017.
How does Portugal rank for armed forces personnel, total?
Portugal ranks 68th out of 173 countries with data for 2020.
Is armed forces personnel, total rising or falling in Portugal?
Over the last ten years it is down 42.4%. The long-run trend across the full record is falling.
Where does this Portugal 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.