List of countries by number of military and paramilitary personnel

It includes any government-sponsored soldiers used to further the domestic and foreign policies of their respective government.

The term "country" is used in its most common use, in the sense of state which exercises sovereignty or has limited recognition.

Other countries, such as Mauritius and Panama, have no national armies, but only a paramilitary force.

For a typical country, the proportion of this total that comprises actual combat forces is about 26%[citation needed] (so, for every soldier there will be around three support personnel).

[1] Not included in the list are the militaries of Abkhazia, Andorra, Bhutan, Comoros, Eswatini, Maldives, Monaco, Northern Cyprus, Sahrawi Arab Democratic Republic, Saint Kitts and Nevis, San Marino, São Tomé and Príncipe, Somaliland, South Ossetia, and Tonga.