World Factbook
XX
Last updated: 2026-03-28 (today)
Military deployments
as of mid-2025, there were approximately 68,000 personnel deployed on UN peacekeeping missions worldwide (2025)
Military expenditures
Military Expenditures 2020
2.3% of GDP (2020 est.)
Military Expenditures 2021
2.2% of GDP (2021 est.)
Military Expenditures 2022
2.2% of GDP (2022 est.)
Military Expenditures 2023
2.3% of GDP (2023 est.)
Military Expenditures 2024
2.4% of GDP (2024 est.)
Military equipment inventories and acquisitions
the US is the world's leading arms exporter (2024)
Military and security service personnel strengths
approximately 20-21 million active-duty military personnel worldwide (2025)
note: the largest militaries in the world based on personnel numbers belong to China, India, the US, North Korea, and Russia