El Salvador vs United States of America: Military personnel as a share of total population

El Salvador
0.4%
in 2022
United States of America
0.4%
in 2022
El Salvador rank
54th
United States of America rank
55th

Military personnel as a share of total population over time

  • El Salvador
  • United States of America
02468181619192022

How they compare

El Salvador currently reports 0.4% against 0.4% in United States of America, a difference of 0.0%.

The two have swapped places 10 times across 142 shared years of data; in 1875 it was El Salvador ahead.

El Salvador ranks 54th and United States of America ranks 55th of 194 countries.

Across the 16 decades both report, El Salvador averaged higher in 6 and United States of America in 10.

Head to head by decade

Decade El Salvador United States of America Difference Ahead
1870s 0.2% 0.1% 0.1% El Salvador
1880s 0.2% 0.1% 0.1% El Salvador
1890s 0.5% 0.1% 0.4% El Salvador
1900s 0.4% 0.1% 0.2% El Salvador
1910s 0.3% 0.6% 0.3% United States of America
1920s 0.3% 0.2% 0.0% El Salvador
1930s 0.2% 0.2% 0.0% United States of America
1940s 0.2% 1.3% 1.2% United States of America
1950s 0.2% 1.7% 1.5% United States of America
1960s 0.2% 1.5% 1.3% United States of America
1970s 0.2% 1.1% 0.9% United States of America
1980s 0.8% 0.9% 0.2% United States of America
1990s 0.6% 0.7% 0.1% United States of America
2000s 0.3% 0.5% 0.2% United States of America
2010s 0.3% 0.5% 0.1% United States of America
2020s 0.4% 0.4% 0.0% El Salvador

Averages of every year both report within each decade.

Frequently asked questions

Which has higher military personnel as a share of total population, El Salvador or United States of America?
El Salvador, at 0.4% against 0.4% in United States of America as of 2022.
What is the difference in military personnel as a share of total population between El Salvador and United States of America?
0.0%, with El Salvador ahead.
How many years of comparable data are there for El Salvador and United States of America?
142 years are reported by both, from 1875 to 2022.
How do El Salvador and United States of America rank globally for military personnel as a share of total population?
El Salvador ranks 54th and United States of America ranks 55th of 194 countries.
Where does this data come from?
Correlates of War - National Material Capabilities Version 7.0 (2026) – with major processing by Our World in Data, published as Military personnel as a share of total population. Statizoid refreshes it automatically from the source and publishes the full history for both places.

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El Salvador vs United States of America: Military personnel as a share of total population. Statizoid, drawing on Correlates of War - National Material Capabilities Version 7.0 (2026) – with major processing by Our World in Data. Retrieved 16 September 2026, from https://population.statizoid.com/compare/military-personnel-as-a-share-of-total-population/el-salvador/united-states/

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About this data

Indicator
Military personnel as a share of total population
Unit
%
Source
Correlates of War - National Material Capabilities Version 7.0 (2026) – with major processing by Our World in Data
Licence
CC BY 4.0 (Our World in Data)
Coverage
194 places, 15,765 data points, 1816–2022
Last refreshed

Ratio of military personnel to total population, expressed as a percentage.