Italy, France, and Spain are the three European Union member states with the largest military, measured by the number of service personnel. As of 2020, Italy had ******* active service personnel, while France had slightly less at *******. Other large European countries had significantly smaller militaries, with Poland, the fourth-largest military in the EU, having a larger force than Germany, the largest EU country by population size. While the number of military personnel is a good indicator of the importance which a country places on national defense, in modern warfare it is not an accurate representation of military power (i.e., the ability to defeat another country in a war). Instead, this is largely determined by military-technological prowess, such as in advanced weaponry and other equipment.

In 2025, there were estimated to be approximately 34,500 active-duty United States military personnel in Germany, the highest of any European country.

The number of military personnel serving in member states of the European Union has declined from approximately *** million people at the end of the Cold War in 1989, to less than *** million by 2020. European Union countries cooperate closely on issues of defense and security, particularly as the vast majority of EU member states are also members of NATO. However, the current Common Security and Defense Policy of the EU does not amount to a formal military alliance, nor an EU army.

In 2025, the United States had the largest number of active military personnel out of all North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) countries, with almost *** million troops. The country with the second-largest number of military personnel was Türkiye, at around ******* active personnel. Additionally, the U.S. has by far the most armored vehicles in NATO, as well as the largest Navy and Air Force. NATO in brief NATO, which was formed in 1949, is the most powerful military alliance in the world. At its formation, NATO began with 12 member countries, which by 2024 had increased to 32. NATO was originally formed to deter Soviet expansion into Europe, with member countries expected to come to each other’s defense in case of an attack. Member countries are also obliged to commit to spending two percent of their respective GDPs on defense, although many states have recently fallen far short of this target. NATO in the contemporary world Some questioned the purpose of NATO after the fall of the Berlin Wall in 1989 and the collapse of the Soviet Union a few years later. In 2019, French President Emmanuel Macron even called the organization 'brain-dead' amid dissatisfaction with the leadership of the U.S. President at the time, Donald Trump. NATO has, however, seen a revival after Russia's invasion of Ukraine in February 2022. Following the invasion, Sweden and Finland both abandoned decades of military neutrality and applied to join the alliance, with Finland joining in 2023 and Sweden in 2024.

This is a quarterly publication containing requirements, strengths, intake and outflow from the UK Armed Forces. This data is broken down by Service, Officer/Rank, Training Indicator, gender and ethnicity. Outflow information by Service, officer/rank and exit reason, including Voluntary Outflow, is also shown.

Source agency: Defence

Designation: National Statistics

Language: English

Alternative title: UKAFQMS

The global Military Vehicle Sustainment Market size is set to grow from USD 17.77 billion in 2024 to USD 29.5 billion by 2034, reflecting a CAGR of more than 5.2% between 2025 and 2034. Major companies in the industry include AM General LLC, BAE Systems plc, Elbit Systems Ltd., FNSS Defence Systems, General Dynamics Corporation, Hanwha Defense, Iveco Defence Vehicles, Kongsberg Gruppen ASA, Krauss-Maffei Wegmann GmbH & Co. KG, Leonardo S.p.A., Lockheed Martin Corporation, Navistar Defense, LLC, Northrop Grumman Corporation, Oshkosh Defense, LLC, Raytheon Technologies Corporation, Rheinmetall AG, Saab AB, Textron Systems, Thales Group.

Kompendium zawierające wykaz wszystkich zmian mocnych stron i przepływów QPR między danymi statystycznymi dotyczącymi przepływów z okresu kończącego się w dniu 31 marca 2009 r. a okresem kończącym się w dniu 31 października 2011 r. oraz danymi statystycznymi dotyczącymi siły od dnia 1 maja 2009 r. do dnia 1 października 2011 r.

Agencja źródłowa:Obrona

Oznaczenie: Statystyki krajowe Język: angielski

Tytuł alternatywny: UK Armed Forces Quarterly Personnel Statistics Revision CompendiumKompendium zawierające wykaz wszystkich zmian mocnych stron i przepływów QPR między danymi statystycznymi dotyczącymi przepływów z okresu kończącego się w dniu 31 marca 2009 r. a okresem kończącym się w dniu 31 października 2011 r. oraz danymi statystycznymi dotyczącymi siły od dnia 1 maja 2009 r. do dnia 1 października 2011 r.

Agencja źródłowa: Obrona Oznaczenie:Statystyki krajowe

Język: angielski Tytuł alternatywny:UK Armed Forces Quarterly Personnel Statistics Revision Compendium Agencja źródłowa: Obrona Oznaczenie: Statystyki krajowe

Język: angielski

Tytuł alternatywny: UK Armed Forces Quarterly Personnel Statistics Revision Compendium

Over the course of the Second World War approximately 127.2 million people were mobilized. The world's population in 1940 was roughly 2.3 billion, meaning that between five and six percent of the world was drafted into the military in some capacity. Approximately one in every 25 people mobilized were women, who generally served in an administrative or medical role, although hundreds of thousands of women did see active combat. Largest armies In absolute numbers, the Soviet Union mobilized the largest number of people at just under 34.5 million, and this included roughly 35 percent of the USSR's male population. By the war's end, more Soviets were mobilized than all European Axis powers combined. However, in relative terms, it was Germany who mobilized the largest share of its male population, with approximately 42 percent of men serving. The USSR was forced to find a balance between reinforcing its frontlines and maintaining agricultural and military production to supply its army (in addition to those in annexed territory after 1941), whereas a large share of soldiers taken from the German workforce were replaced by workers drafted or forcibly taken from other countries (including concentration camp prisoners and PoWs). Studying the figures The figures given in these statistics are a very simplified and rounded overview - in reality, there were many nuances in the number of people who were effectively mobilized for each country, their roles, and their status as auxiliary, collaborative, or resistance forces. The British Empire is the only power where distinctions are made between the metropole and its colonies or territories, whereas breakdowns of those who fought in other parts of Asia or Africa remains unclear. Additionally, when comparing this data with total fatalities, it is important to account for the civilian death toll, i.e. those who were not mobilized.

As of May 2025, China had the largest armed forces in the world by active duty military personnel, with about *********** active soldiers. India, the United States, North Korea, and Russia rounded out the top five largest armies. Difference between active and reserve personnel Active personnel, also known as active duty in the United States and active service in the United Kingdom, are those individuals whose full-time occupation is being part of a military force. Active duty contrasts with a military’s reserve force, which are individuals who have both a military role and a civilian career. The number of active duty forces in the U.S. is much larger than its reserve membership. What is the strongest army? The strength of a country’s armed forces is not only determined by how many personnel they maintain, but also the number and quality of their military equipment. For example, looking only at personnel does not factor in the overwhelmingly higher number of nuclear warheads owned by Russia and the United States compared to other countries. One way to answer this question is to look at the total amount of money each country spends on their military, as spending includes both personnel and technology. In terms of countries with the highest military spending, the United States leads the world with an annual budget almost ***** times larger than second-placed China.

This is a monthly publication containing requirements, strengths, intake and outflow from the UK Armed Forces by Service. Voluntary Outflow information by Service is also shown.

Source agency: Defence

Designation: National Statistics

Language: English

Alternative title: UKAFMMS

Since 2012, the number of military personnel in ****** has increased by more than *******, reaching a record high of******** staff in 2025. In 2024, ****** had the largest number of military personnel among Central and Eastern European countries.

In 2023, Lockheed Martin was the world's largest arms-producing and military services company, with arms sales amounting to over 60 billion U.S. dollars. Arms sales constituted 90 percent of total company sales in that year. RTX and Boeing followed on the places behind. Except for three European companies and one Russian, all the largest arms dealers in the world were either based in the Untied States or China. Worsening security landscape drives global military spending With the Russian invasion of Ukraine, the Israel-Hamas war in Gaza, and rising tensions between China and the United States, particularly concerning the status of Taiwan, global military spending reached new records in 2023. Whereas global military spending remained stable during the 2010s, it has increased annually the last years. Leading military spenders The United States is, by far, the largest military spender in the world, spending three times as much as China in second. In terms of share of the gross domestic product (GDP), Ukraine is the leading military spender, which must be seen in light of its war with Russia.

In January 2023, almost one year after Russia launched its full-scale invasion of Ukraine, pressure is mounting for European and NATO countries to provide additional military hardware to Ukraine, particularly main battle tanks such as the Leopard 2. The German-made tank is widely used across Europe and the NATO alliance and could potentially be supplied in significant numbers to the Ukrainian army. The ability to do this largely depends on the approval of the German government however, as re-exporting the tanks to Ukraine legally requires their permission. The German government was initially reluctant to do this, but as of late January is set to reverse this stance and approve the delivery of Leopards to Ukraine.