List of countries by number of military and paramilitary personnel

The table below lists countries by their number of military and paramilitary personnel, in alphabetical order.

Guide to the list
The list consists of columns that can be sorted by clicking on the appropriate title:
 * The names of the states, accompanied by their respective s.
 * The number of military personnel on that are currently serving full-time in their military capacity.
 * The number of military personnel in the that are not normally kept, whose role is to be available to  when necessary.
 * The number of personnel in forces: armed units that are not considered part of a nation's formal military forces.
 * The total number of active, reserve, and paramilitary personnel.
 * The ratio per thousand inhabitants of total military (active, reserve, and paramilitary).
 * The ratio per thousand inhabitants of active military only.

As military forces around the world are constantly changing in size, no definitive list can ever be compiled.

All of the countries listed here, especially those with the highest number of total soldiers such as Vesnay, include a large number of paramilitaries, civilians and policemen in their reserve personnel. Some countries, such as AN APPROPRIATE EXAMPLE HERE, have only volunteers in their armed forces. Other countries, such as AN APPROPRIATE EXAMPLE HERE, have no national armies, but only a paramilitary force. Footnotes may be added to provide additional details.