Armed forces personnel, total in Zambia

Zambia: Armed forces personnel, total was 16,000 in 2020. ▼ Falling

Latest (2020)
16,000
Change on year
unchanged
World rank
113th
of 173 countries
All-time high
23,000
in 1995
All-time low
16,000
in 1990
Years of data
33
1985–2020

Armed forces personnel, total in Zambia, 1985–2020

05.0k10.0k15.0k20.0k25.0k1985200220201985: 16.2k1989: 17.0k1990: 16.0k1991: 16.0k1992: 16.0k1993: 16.0k1994: 16.0k1995: 23.0k1996: 23.0k1997: 23.0k1998: 23.0k1999: 23.0k2000: 23.0k2001: 23.0k2002: 23.0k2003: 19.5k2004: 16.0k2005: 16.0k2006: 16.0k2007: 16.0k2008: 16.0k2009: 16.5k2010: 16.5k2011: 16.5k2012: 16.5k2013: 16.5k2014: 16.5k2015: 16.5k2016: 16.5k2017: 16.0k2018: 16.1k2019: 16.0k2020: 16.0k

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

Analysis

Zambia recorded 16,000 for armed forces personnel, total in 2020. That is the lowest value across all 33 years on record.

Compared with earlier readings it is down 3.0% over ten years.

Over the whole period, armed forces personnel, total in Zambia peaked at 23,000 in 1995 and was at its lowest, 16,000, in 1990.

That places Zambia 113th 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 16,600 16,200 17,000 2
1990s 19,500 16,000 23,000 10
2000s 18,500 16,000 23,000 10
2010s 16,360 16,000 16,500 10
2020s 16,000 16,000 16,000 1

Countries ranked near Zambia

  1. 110 Mongolia 18,000 compare
  2. 110 Slovakia 18,000 compare
  3. 112 Tajikistan 17,000 compare
  4. 113 Ghana 16,000 compare
  5. 113 Namibia 16,000 compare
  6. 113 North Macedonia 16,000 compare

See the full ranking of 219 places →

More public sector data for Zambia

All data for Zambia →

Frequently asked questions

What is armed forces personnel, total in Zambia?
Armed forces personnel, total in Zambia was 16,000 in 2020, according to The Military Balance, International Institute for Strategic Studies.
What is the highest armed forces personnel, total recorded in Zambia?
The highest recorded value was 23,000 in 1995.
What is the lowest armed forces personnel, total recorded in Zambia?
The lowest recorded value was 16,000 in 1990.
How does Zambia rank for armed forces personnel, total?
Zambia ranks 113th out of 173 countries with data for 2020.
Is armed forces personnel, total rising or falling in Zambia?
Over the last ten years it is down 3.0%. The long-run trend across the full record is falling.
Where does this Zambia 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.