Throughout the 19th century, the share of military personnel employed by the United States government was below 0.2 percent of the total population in most years. There were noticeable spikes in enlistments and conscriptions during the American Civil War (1861-65), the First World War (1917-18*), and Second World War (1941-45*), as well as smaller increases during the Mexican-American War (1946-48) and the Spanish-American War (1898), but figures were generally much lower than the post-WWII era.

Following the Second World War, the United States abandoned many of its isolationist positions as it sought to become the world's leading superpower. This involved stationing millions of troops in overseas bases during the Cold War, in strategically important locations such as West Germany, Japan, and Taiwan. Additionally, involvement in conflicts such as the Korean War (1950-1953) and Vietnam War (1964-1973*) kept military employment high, usually between 1-2 percent until the 1970s. Figures remained just below the one percent mark until the 1990s, when the end of the Cold War and the growing influence of technology in conventional warfare saw a decrease in demand for many traditional combat roles. Despite U.S. involvement in a number of overseas conflicts in the 21st century, military personnel represented less than 0.5 percent of the total population in most years between 2000 and 2016.

Detailed listing of all U.S. Military Active Duty deaths since 1/1/2001 giving branch of service, age at death, military occupational code, location of death, and casualty category

Detailed listing of all U.S. Military Active Duty deaths for 2007

United States US: Armed Forces Personnel: Total data was reported at 1,348,400.000 Person in 2016. This records an increase from the previous number of 1,347,300.000 Person for 2015. United States US: Armed Forces Personnel: Total data is updated yearly, averaging 1,546,000.000 Person from Sep 1985 (Median) to 2016, with 29 observations. The data reached an all-time high of 2,240,000.000 Person in 1989 and a record low of 1,347,300.000 Person in 2015. United States US: Armed Forces Personnel: Total data remains active status in CEIC and is reported by World Bank. The data is categorized under Global Database’s United States – Table US.World Bank.WDI: Defense and Official Development Assistance. 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.; ; International Institute for Strategic Studies, The Military Balance.; Sum; Data for some countries are based on partial or uncertain data or rough estimates.

The graph illustrates the number of personnel in each branch of the U.S. Military for the year 2024. The x-axis lists the military branches: Army, Navy, Marine Corps, Air Force, Space Force, and Coast Guard. The y-axis represents the number of personnel, ranging from 9,446 to 449,816. Among the branches, the Army has the highest number of personnel with 449,816, followed by the Navy with 332,336 and the Air Force with 315,958. The Marine Corps and Coast Guard have 173,096 and 40,612 personnel, respectively, while the Space Force has the lowest number at 9,446. The data is displayed in a bar graph format, effectively highlighting the distribution of military personnel across the different branches.

SELECTED SOCIAL CHARACTERISTICS IN THE UNITED STATES VETERAN STATUS - DP02 Universe - Civilian population 18 Year and over Survey-Program - American Community Survey 5-year estimates Years - 2020, 2021, 2022 Veteran status is used to identify people with active duty military service and service in the military Reserves and the National Guard. Veterans are men and women who have served (even for a short time), but are not currently serving, on active duty in the U.S. Army, Navy, Air Force, Marine Corps, or the Coast Guard, or who served in the U.S. Merchant Marine during World War II. People who served in the National Guard or Reserves are classified as veterans only if they were ever called or ordered to active duty, not counting the 4-6 months for initial training or yearly summer camps.

VBA EDUCATION PROGRAM to provide educational assistance to persons entering the Armed Forces after December 31, 1976, and before July 1, 1985; to assist persons in obtaining an education they might otherwise not be able to afford; and to promote and assist the all volunteer military program of the United States by attracting qualified persons to serve in the Armed Forces. The participant must have entered on active duty on or after January 1, 1977, and before July 1, 1985, and either served on active duty for more than 180 continuous days receiving an other than dishonorable discharge, or have been discharged after January, 1, 1977 because of a service-connected disability. Also eligible are participants who serve for more than 180 days and who continue on active duty and have completed their first period of obligated service (or 6 years of active duty, whichever comes first). Participants must also have satisfactorily contributed to the program. (Satisfactory contribution consists of monthly deduction of $25 to $100 from military pay, up to a maximum of $2,700, for deposit in a special training fund.) Participants may make lump-sum contributions. No individuals on active duty in the Armed Forces may initially begin contributing to this program after March 31, 1987.

VBA EDUCATION BENEFITS PROGRAM to provide educational assistance to persons entering the Armed Forces after December 31, 1976, and before July 1, 1985; to assist persons in obtaining an education they might otherwise not be able to afford; and to promote and assist the all volunteer military program of the United States by attracting qualified persons to serve in the Armed Forces. The participant must have entered on active duty on or after January 1, 1977, and before July 1, 1985, and either served on active duty for more than 180 continuous days receiving an other than dishonorable discharge, or have been discharged after January, 1, 1977 because of a service-connected disability. Also eligible are participants who serve for more than 180 days and who continue on active duty and have completed their first period of obligated service (or 6 years of active duty, whichever comes first). Participants must also have satisfactorily contributed to the program. (Satisfactory contribution consists of monthly deduction of $25 to $100 from military pay, up to a maximum of $2,700, for deposit in a special training fund.) Participants may make lump-sum contributions. No individuals on active duty in the Armed Forces may initially begin contributing to this program after March 31, 1987.

In 2023, there were 1.27 million active duty U.S. Department of Defense members, including officers and enlisted personnel. This represents a slight decrease in comparison to the previous year. Further, by 2034, it is expected that the number of military retirees in the country will reach 2.4 million.

The American Civil War is the conflict with the largest number of American military fatalities in history. In fact, the Civil War's death toll is comparable to all other major wars combined, the deadliest of which were the World Wars, which have a combined death toll of more than 520,000 American fatalities. The ongoing series of conflicts and interventions in the Middle East and North Africa, collectively referred to as the War on Terror in the west, has a combined death toll of more than 7,000 for the U.S. military since 2001. Other records In terms of the number of deaths per day, the American Civil War is still at the top, with an average of 425 deaths per day, while the First and Second World Wars have averages of roughly 100 and 200 fatalities per day respectively. Technically, the costliest battle in U.S. military history was the Battle of Elsenborn Ridge, which was a part of the Battle of the Bulge in the Second World War, and saw upwards of 5,000 deaths over 10 days. However, the Battle of Gettysburg had more military fatalities of American soldiers, with almost 3,200 Union deaths and over 3,900 Confederate deaths, giving a combined total of more than 7,000. The Battle of Antietam is viewed as the bloodiest day in American military history, with over 3,600 combined fatalities and almost 23,000 total casualties on September 17, 1862. Revised Civil War figures For more than a century, the total death toll of the American Civil War was generally accepted to be around 620,000, a number which was first proposed by Union historians William F. Fox and Thomas L. Livermore in 1888. This number was calculated by using enlistment figures, battle reports, and census data, however many prominent historians since then have thought the number should be higher. In 2011, historian J. David Hacker conducted further investigations and claimed that the number was closer to 750,000 (and possibly as high as 850,000). While many Civil War historians agree that this is possible, and even likely, obtaining consistently accurate figures has proven to be impossible until now; both sides were poor at keeping detailed records throughout the war, and much of the Confederacy's records were lost by the war's end. Many Confederate widows also did not register their husbands death with the authorities, as they would have then been ineligible for benefits.

Release Date: 2018-08-10.[NOTE: Includes firms with payroll at any time during 2016. Employment reflects the number of paid employees during the March 12 pay period. Data are based on Census administrative records, and the estimates of business ownership by gender, ethnicity, race, and veteran status are from the 2016 Annual Survey of Entrepreneurs. Detail may not add to total due to rounding or because a Hispanic firm may be of any race. Moreover, each owner had the option of selecting more than one race and therefore is included in each race selected. Respondent firms include all firms that responded to the characteristic(s) tabulated in this dataset and reported gender, ethnicity, race, or veteran status for at least one owner and were not publicly held or not classifiable by gender, ethnicity, race, and veteran status. The 2016 Annual Survey of Entrepreneurs asked for information for up to four persons owning the largest percentage(s) of the business. Percentages are for owners of respondent firms only and are not recalculated when the dataset is resorted. Percentages are always based on total reporting (defined above) within a gender, ethnicity, race, veteran status, and/or industry group for the characteristics tabulated in this dataset. Firms with more than one domestic establishment are counted in each geographic area and industry in which they operate, but only once in the U.S. and state totals for all sectors. For information on confidentiality protection, sampling error, nonsampling error, and definitions, see Survey Methodology.]..Table Name. . Statistics for Veteran Owners of Respondent Employer Firms by Owner's Specific Veteran Characteristics by Sector, Veteran Status, and Years in Business for the U.S., States, and Top 50 MSAs: 2016. ..Release Schedule. . This file was released in August 2018.. ..Key Table Information. . These data are related to all other 2016 ASE files.. Refer to the Methodology section of the Annual Survey of Entrepreneurs website for additional information.. ..Universe. . The universe for the 2016 Annual Survey of Entrepreneurs (ASE) includes all U.S. firms with paid employees operating during 2016 with receipts of $1,000 or more which are classified in the North American Industry Classification System (NAICS) sectors 11 through 99, except for NAICS 111, 112, 482, 491, 521, 525, 813, 814, and 92 which are not covered. Firms with more than one domestic establishment are counted in each geographic area and industry in which they operate, but only once in the U.S. total.. For Characteristics of Business Owners (CBO) data, all estimates are of owners of firms responding to the ASE. That is, estimates are based only on firms providing gender, ethnicity, race, or veteran status; or firms not classifiable by gender, ethnicity, race, and veteran status that returned an ASE online questionnaire with at least one question answered. The ASE online questionnaire provided space for up to four owners to report their characteristics.. CBO data are not representative of all owners of all firms operating in the United States. The data do not represent all business owners in the United States.. ..Geographic Coverage. . The data are shown for:. . United States. States and the District of Columbia. The fifty most populous metropolitan areas. . ..Industry Coverage. . The data are shown for the total of all sectors (00) and the 2-digit NAICS code level.. ..Data Items and Other Identifying Records. . Statistics for Veteran Owners of Respondent Employer Firms by Owner's Specific Veteran Characteristics by Sector, Veteran Status, and Years in Business for the U.S., States, and Top 50 MSAs: 2016 contains data on:. . Number of owners of respondent firms with paid employees. Percent of number of owners of respondent firms with paid employees. . The data are shown for:. . Gender, ethnicity, race and veteran status of owners of respondent firms. . Veteran. . . Years in business. . All firms. Firms less than 2 years in business. Firms with 2 to 3 years in business. Firms with 4 to 5 years in business. Firms with 6 to 10 years in business. Firms with 11 to 15 years in business. Firms with 16 or more years in business. . . Owner's specific veteran characteristics. . Served on active duty military service. Service-disabled. Served on post-9/11 active duty military service. Served on active duty military service in reference year. Served in the National Guard or as a military reservist in reference year. None of the above. Total reporting. Item not reported by veterans. . . . ..Sort Order. . Data are presented in as...

This dataset utilizes 2020 US Census data and the Esri 2023 Estimate (#) of the Total Population in the geographic area. Total Population includes population living in households, on active duty in the Armed Forces, and living in group quarters such as correctional facilities, skilled nursing facilities, juvenile facilities, college dorms, and military barracks.

Release Date: 2017-07-13.[NOTE: Includes firms with payroll at any time during 2015. Employment reflects the number of paid employees during the March 12 pay period. Data are based on Census administrative records, and the estimates of business ownership by gender, ethnicity, race, and veteran status are from the 2015 Annual Survey of Entrepreneurs. Detail may not add to total due to rounding or because a Hispanic firm may be of any race. Moreover, each owner had the option of selecting more than one race and therefore is included in each race selected. Respondent firms include all firms that responded to the characteristic(s) tabulated in this dataset and reported gender, ethnicity, race, or veteran status for at least one owner and were not publicly held or not classifiable by gender, ethnicity, race, and veteran status. The 2015 Annual Survey of Entrepreneurs asked for information for up to four persons owning the largest percentage(s) of the business. Percentages are for owners of respondent firms only and are not recalculated when the dataset is resorted. Percentages are always based on total reporting (defined above) within a gender, ethnicity, race, veteran status, and/or industry group for the characteristics tabulated in this dataset. Firms with more than one domestic establishment are counted in each geographic area and industry in which they operate, but only once in the U.S. and state totals for all sectors. For information on confidentiality protection, sampling error, nonsampling error, and definitions, see Survey Methodology.]..Table Name. . Statistics for Veteran Owners of Respondent Employer Firms by Owner's Specific Veteran Characteristics by Sector, Veteran Status, and Years in Business for the U.S., States, and Top 50 MSAs: 2015. ..Release Schedule. . This file was released in July 2017.. ..Key Table Information. . These data are related to all other 2015 ASE files.. Refer to the Methodology section of the Annual Survey of Entrepreneurs website for additional information.. ..Universe. . The universe for the 2015 Annual Survey of Entrepreneurs (ASE) includes all U.S. firms with paid employees operating during 2015 with receipts of $1,000 or more which are classified in the North American Industry Classification System (NAICS) sectors 11 through 99, except for NAICS 111, 112, 482, 491, 521, 525, 813, 814, and 92 which are not covered. Firms with more than one domestic establishment are counted in each geographic area and industry in which they operate, but only once in the U.S. total.. For Characteristics of Business Owners (CBO) data, all estimates are of owners of firms responding to the ASE. That is, estimates are based only on firms providing gender, ethnicity, race, or veteran status; or firms not classifiable by gender, ethnicity, race, and veteran status that returned an ASE online questionnaire with at least one question answered. The ASE online questionnaire provided space for up to four owners to report their characteristics.. CBO data are not representative of all owners of all firms operating in the United States. The data do not represent all business owners in the United States.. ..Geographic Coverage. . The data are shown for:. . United States. States and the District of Columbia. The fifty most populous metropolitan areas. . ..Industry Coverage. . The data are shown for the total of all sectors (00) and the 2-digit NAICS code level.. ..Data Items and Other Identifying Records. . Statistics for Veteran Owners of Respondent Employer Firms by Owner's Specific Veteran Characteristics by Sector, Veteran Status, and Years in Business for the U.S., States, and Top 50 MSAs: 2015 contains data on:. . Number of owners of respondent firms with paid employees. Percent of number of owners of respondent firms with paid employees. . The data are shown for:. . Gender, ethnicity, race and veteran status of owners of respondent firms. . Veteran. . . Years in business. . All firms. Firms less than 2 years in business. Firms with 2 to 3 years in business. Firms with 4 to 5 years in business. Firms with 6 to 10 years in business. Firms with 11 to 15 years in business. Firms with 16 or more years in business. . . Owner's specific veteran characteristics. . Served on active duty military service. Service-disabled. Served on post-9/11 active duty military service. Served on active duty military service in reference year. Served in the National Guard or as a military reservist in reference year. None of the above. Total reporting. Item not reported by veterans. . . . ..Sort Order. . Data are presented in asce...

In the fiscal year of 2019, 25.14 percent of all active-duty enlisted women were employed as administrators. A further 14.79 percent of active-duty women were employed in the medical field, as compared to 5.75 percent of men.

Annual Population Estimates for United States, States, Counties, and Subcounty Places, and for Puerto Rico and Its Municipios: April 1, 2010 to July 1, 2015// Source: U.S. Census Bureau, Population Division // The contents of this file are released on a rolling basis from December through May. // Note: The estimates are based on the 2010 Census and reflect changes to the April 1, 2010 population due to the Count Question Resolution program and geographic program revisions. // Persons on active duty in the Armed Forces were not enumerated in the 2010 Census. Therefore, variables for the 2010 Census civilian, civilian noninstitutionalized, and resident population plus Armed Forces overseas populations cannot be derived and are not available on these files. // For detailed information about the methods used to create the population estimates, see https://www.census.gov/popest/methodology/index.html. // Each year, the Census Bureau's Population Estimates Program (PEP) utilizes current data on births, deaths, and migration to calculate population change since the most recent decennial census, and produces a time series of estimates of population. The annual time series of estimates begins with the most recent decennial census data and extends to the vintage year. The vintage year (e.g., V2015) refers to the final year of the time series. The reference date for all estimates is July 1, unless otherwise specified. With each new issue of estimates, the Census Bureau revises estimates for years back to the last census. As each vintage of estimates includes all years since the most recent decennial census, the latest vintage of data available supersedes all previously produced estimates for those dates. The Population Estimates Program provides additional information including historical and intercensal estimates, evaluation estimates, demographic analysis, and research papers on its website: https://www.census.gov/popest/index.html

VBA EDUCATION BENEFITS PROGRAM to help servicepersons adjust to civilian life after separation from military service, assist in the recruitment and retention of highly qualified personnel in the active and reserve components in the Armed Forces by providing education benefits, and to provide educational opportunities to the dependents of certain service members and veterans. Individuals who entered active duty after September 10, 2001 may be eligible for the Post-9/11 GI Bill. Individuals can use the Post-9/11 GI Bill after serving 90 days on active duty (excluding entry level and skill training). Only periods of active duty under title 10 will be used to establish eligibility for the Post 9/11 GI Bill. A high school diploma or equivalency certificate is always required for eligibility. Individuals who are eligible for the Montgomery GI Bill – Active Duty (chapter 30), the Montgomery GI Bill – Selected Reserve (chapter 1606), or the Reserve Educational Assistance Program (REAP) will have to make an irrevocable election to relinquish eligibility under one of those benefit programs to establish eligibility under the Post-9/11 GI Bill. The dependent children of a person who died in the line of duty while serving as a member of the Armed Forces may be eligible to use benefits under the Fry Scholarship provision of the Post-9/11 GI Bill. The spouse and/or child(ren) of a veteran or service member may be eligible for the Post 9/11 GI Bill if the veteran or service member transfers entitlement to those dependents. Eligibility to transfer entitlement to dependents is determined by the Department of Defense. This is not a complete list of eligibility requirements. For more information on the latest changes to the Post-9/11 GI Bill go to the VA web-site.

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.

VBA EDUCATION PROGRAMS to provide, through purchase and/or fabrication, prosthetic and related appliances, equipment and services to eligible veterans so that they may live and work as productive citizens. Veterans eligible for prosthetic services are service-connected veterans seeking care for a service-connected disability; veterans with compensable service-connected disabilities generally rated 10 percent or more; former prisoners of war, veterans discharged or released from active military service for a disability that was incurred or aggravated in the line of duty, and veterans who are in receipt of Section 1151 benefits; veterans who are in receipt of increased pension based on a need of regular aid and attendance or by reason of being permanently housebound; veterans who have annual income and net worth below the "means test" threshold; all other veterans who are not required to pay a copayment for their care, i.e., veterans of the Mexican border period and World War I, compensated zero (0) percent service-connected veterans who are receiving statutory awards, veterans exposed to a toxic substance, radiation or environmental hazard (limited to certain disabilities); and veterans who must pay a copayment for their care. Ineligible veterans are nonservice-connected veterans residing or sojourning in foreign lands.

Between 2003 and 2024, the annual number of civilian deaths due to the Iraq war has fluctuated significantly. As of July, there were 210 deaths in 2024. Civilian Deaths in the Iraq WarCivilian casualties are the deaths of non-military individuals as a result of military operations. The number of documented civilian deaths in the Iraq war peaked in 2006 at 29,526 casualties. Since then, the number had fallen to 4,162 casualties documented in the year 2011, and the number of casualties has been decreasing again since 2014. Due to the nature of the Iraq war and of war reporting, data cannot be considered exact. Many civilian deaths that occurred during the war in Iraq may remain unaccounted for. The Iraq war was launched in March 2003 upon the invasion of Iraq by U.S. forces. Eight years later, in December 2011, the U.S. formally declared an end to the Iraq war. From the start of the war in 2003 until September 30, 2015, it is estimated that the United States spent a total of over 819 billion US dollars on war costs in Iraq. This number includes funding requested by the President and appropriated by Congress, and accounts for both military and non-military spending. Spending was highest in 2008, that year over 142 billion US dollars were spent in Iraq by the United States government. As of 2022, around 6,561 U.S. active-duty military personnel were deployed in North Africa, the Near East, and South Asia. The number of US American soldiers killed in Iraq peaked in 2007 with just over nine hundred causalities. In the same year, there were over 25,000 civilian deaths in Iraq.

As of 2021, there were over 200,000 living United States veterans who served in the Second World War. The Department of Veteran Affairs projects that the number of living veterans will decline rapidly in the fifteen years until 2036, at which point just a few hundred Americans who served in the war will be still alive. The passing of the "Greatest Generation" is seen as symbolic by some, as for many people they represented the era when the United States' power on the world stage was at its greatest. The Second World war is particularly remembered as a "just" war in the U.S., as the United States was seen as fighting for democracy and self-determination, and against the tyrannies of Fascism, Nazism, and Japanese Imperialism.

The United States' involvement in the Second World War

World War II marked the peak in military enlistments in U.S. history, with over 16 million service members serving worldwide during the conflict. The U.S. joined the war in 1941 due to Imperial Japan's attack on the U.S. naval base at Pearl Harbor, Hawaii, before joining the European theater of the war in 1944 during the Invasion of Normandy. The U.S. military played a vital role in the defeat of Nazi Germany on the Western Front in May 1945, while the Soviet Red Army defeated the Wehrmacht in the East. The U.S. was also vital in the defeat of Fascist Italy, as they had led an allied invasion force onto the Italian peninsula from Northern Africa in September 1943. The final action of the war took place in the Asian theater of war, as Imperial Japan was the last of the Axis powers to concede defeat to the Allies. The United States effectively ended the war with the dropping of two nuclear bombs on Hiroshima and Nagasaki in August 1945, leading to as many as a quarter of a million deaths. It remains to this day the sole use of atomic weapons in an active conflict.