Military personnel as a share of total population in Belgium
Belgium: Military personnel as a share of total population was 0.2% in 2022. ▼ Falling
Latest (2022)
0.2%
Change on year
down 4.8%
World rank
109th
of 194 countries
All-time high
2.8%
in 1919
All-time low
0.2%
in 2022
Years of data
189
1830–2022
Military personnel as a share of total population in Belgium, 1830–2022
Source: Correlates of War - National Material Capabilities Version 7.0 (2026) – with major processing by Our World in Data. Measured in %.
Analysis
In 2022, military personnel as a share of total population in Belgium stood at 0.2%. That is the lowest value across all 189 years on record.
Compared with earlier readings it is down 4.8% on the previous year and down 35.7% over ten years.
Over the whole period, military personnel as a share of total population in Belgium peaked at 2.8% in 1919 and was at its lowest, 0.2%, in 2022.
Belgium ranks 109th of 194 countries on this measure, in the middle of the range.
The long-run direction has been consistently falling across the 189 years of available data.
Military personnel as a share of total population in Belgium, year by year
| Year | % | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 1830 | 1.5% | — |
| 1831 | 1.3% | -13.2% |
| 1832 | 1.1% | -15.1% |
| 1833 | 0.9% | -18.3% |
| 1834 | 0.7% | -21.9% |
| 1835 | 0.7% | -0.3% |
| 1836 | 0.7% | -0.8% |
| 1837 | 1.1% | +52.3% |
| 1838 | 1.1% | +3.3% |
| 1839 | 1.2% | +11.5% |
| 1840 | 1.1% | -10.8% |
| 1841 | 1.0% | -10.3% |
| 1842 | 0.9% | -12.9% |
| 1843 | 0.8% | -12.0% |
| 1844 | 0.8% | -1.0% |
| 1845 | 0.7% | -1.0% |
| 1846 | 0.7% | -0.9% |
| 1847 | 0.7% | -0.0% |
| 1848 | 0.8% | +2.6% |
| 1849 | 0.8% | +2.5% |
| 1850 | 0.8% | +1.9% |
| 1851 | 0.8% | +1.8% |
| 1852 | 0.8% | +1.8% |
| 1853 | 0.8% | +2.0% |
| 1854 | 0.9% | +1.8% |
| 1855 | 0.9% | +2.1% |
| 1856 | 0.9% | +1.7% |
| 1857 | 0.9% | -1.0% |
| 1858 | 0.9% | -1.0% |
| 1859 | 0.9% | -1.0% |
| 1860 | 0.8% | -1.3% |
| 1861 | 0.8% | -1.0% |
| 1862 | 0.8% | -1.1% |
| 1863 | 0.8% | -1.1% |
| 1864 | 0.8% | -1.0% |
| 1865 | 0.8% | -0.9% |
| 1866 | 0.8% | +3.2% |
| 1867 | 0.8% | -1.4% |
| 1868 | 0.8% | -1.3% |
| 1869 | 0.8% | -1.2% |
| 1870 | 0.8% | -1.3% |
| 1871 | 0.8% | -0.5% |
| 1872 | 0.8% | -1.2% |
| 1873 | 0.8% | -1.5% |
| 1874 | 0.7% | -1.6% |
| 1875 | 0.8% | +6.2% |
| 1876 | 0.9% | +8.3% |
| 1877 | 0.8% | -1.4% |
| 1878 | 0.8% | -1.2% |
| 1879 | 0.8% | -1.1% |
| 1880 | 0.8% | +0.3% |
| 1881 | 0.8% | -1.2% |
| 1882 | 0.8% | -1.2% |
| 1883 | 0.8% | -3.3% |
| 1884 | 0.8% | +3.3% |
| 1885 | 0.8% | -3.3% |
| 1886 | 0.8% | -3.1% |
| 1887 | 0.8% | -1.1% |
| 1888 | 0.8% | +5.7% |
| 1889 | 0.8% | -1.1% |
| 1890 | 0.7% | -5.9% |
| 1891 | 0.8% | +7.7% |
| 1892 | 0.8% | +3.1% |
| 1893 | 0.8% | -8.8% |
| 1894 | 0.7% | -1.3% |
| 1895 | 0.7% | -1.1% |
| 1896 | 0.7% | +0.8% |
| 1897 | 0.7% | +0.7% |
| 1898 | 0.7% | -5.3% |
| 1899 | 0.7% | +3.1% |
| 1900 | 0.8% | +4.9% |
| 1901 | 0.7% | -7.3% |
| 1902 | 0.7% | +0.7% |
| 1903 | 0.7% | -7.3% |
| 1904 | 0.6% | -5.6% |
| 1905 | 0.6% | -1.2% |
| 1906 | 0.6% | -1.1% |
| 1907 | 0.6% | -1.1% |
| 1908 | 0.6% | +3.6% |
| 1909 | 0.6% | -0.9% |
| 1910 | 0.6% | +4.7% |
| 1911 | 0.6% | -2.9% |
| 1912 | 0.6% | -1.1% |
| 1913 | 0.6% | +1.2% |
| 1914 | 1.5% | +138.2% |
| 1915 | 2.0% | +35.2% |
| 1916 | 2.5% | +21.4% |
| 1917 | 2.5% | +3.3% |
| 1918 | 2.8% | +9.0% |
| 1919 | 2.8% | +1.2% |
| 1920 | 2.1% | -24.7% |
| 1921 | 1.3% | -36.5% |
| 1922 | 1.6% | +16.1% |
| 1923 | 1.7% | +12.7% |
| 1924 | 1.1% | -39.0% |
| 1925 | 1.0% | -1.6% |
| 1926 | 1.1% | +0.4% |
| 1927 | 0.8% | -21.1% |
| 1928 | 0.8% | -2.4% |
| 1929 | 0.8% | +2.3% |
| 1930 | 0.9% | +2.6% |
| 1931 | 0.8% | -5.1% |
| 1932 | 0.8% | +0.8% |
| 1933 | 0.8% | -1.9% |
| 1934 | 0.8% | +2.7% |
| 1935 | 0.8% | -0.3% |
| 1936 | 0.8% | -1.8% |
| 1937 | 0.9% | +7.1% |
| 1938 | 1.1% | +24.6% |
| 1939 | 1.0% | -5.7% |
| 1940 | 1.0% | -2.4% |
| 1945 | 1.0% | -3.0% |
| 1946 | 0.9% | -1.8% |
| 1947 | 0.9% | -6.4% |
| 1948 | 0.8% | -5.8% |
| 1949 | 0.8% | -2.1% |
| 1950 | 0.9% | +5.4% |
| 1951 | 0.9% | +3.6% |
| 1952 | 0.9% | +4.6% |
| 1953 | 1.0% | +5.6% |
| 1954 | 1.0% | +5.3% |
| 1955 | 1.1% | +2.7% |
| 1956 | 1.1% | +3.6% |
| 1957 | 1.1% | +2.3% |
| 1958 | 1.2% | +4.2% |
| 1959 | 1.2% | +1.3% |
| 1960 | 1.2% | +1.3% |
| 1961 | 1.2% | -0.7% |
| 1962 | 1.2% | -0.0% |
| 1963 | 1.2% | +3.8% |
| 1964 | 1.2% | -0.9% |
| 1965 | 1.2% | -0.9% |
| 1966 | 1.2% | -0.7% |
| 1967 | 1.2% | -0.6% |
| 1968 | 1.2% | -0.4% |
| 1969 | 1.2% | -0.3% |
| 1970 | 1.1% | -4.4% |
| 1971 | 1.1% | -0.2% |
| 1972 | 1.1% | -4.9% |
| 1973 | 1.1% | +1.6% |
| 1974 | 1.1% | -2.2% |
| 1975 | 1.1% | -2.2% |
| 1976 | 1.0% | -0.2% |
| 1977 | 1.1% | +3.8% |
| 1978 | 1.1% | +1.8% |
| 1979 | 1.1% | -1.9% |
| 1980 | 1.1% | +0.8% |
| 1981 | 1.1% | +1.8% |
| 1982 | 1.1% | -0.9% |
| 1983 | 1.1% | +0.0% |
| 1984 | 1.1% | -1.8% |
| 1985 | 1.1% | -0.0% |
| 1986 | 1.1% | -0.0% |
| 1987 | 1.1% | +1.8% |
| 1988 | 1.1% | +0.6% |
| 1989 | 1.1% | -0.4% |
| 1990 | 1.1% | -3.9% |
| 1991 | 1.0% | -4.8% |
| 1992 | 0.8% | -22.4% |
| 1993 | 0.7% | -11.6% |
| 1994 | 0.5% | -24.5% |
| 1995 | 0.5% | -11.5% |
| 1996 | 0.4% | -4.5% |
| 1997 | 0.5% | +1.9% |
| 1998 | 0.4% | -6.1% |
| 1999 | 0.4% | -2.4% |
| 2000 | 0.4% | -7.2% |
| 2001 | 0.4% | -1.2% |
| 2002 | 0.4% | -0.5% |
| 2003 | 0.4% | +4.7% |
| 2004 | 0.4% | -5.4% |
| 2005 | 0.4% | -5.7% |
| 2006 | 0.3% | -0.8% |
| 2007 | 0.4% | +7.2% |
| 2008 | 0.4% | -0.9% |
| 2009 | 0.4% | -3.3% |
| 2010 | 0.3% | -3.3% |
| 2011 | 0.3% | -0.6% |
| 2012 | 0.3% | -11.0% |
| 2013 | 0.3% | -3.7% |
| 2014 | 0.3% | -6.6% |
| 2015 | 0.3% | -0.6% |
| 2016 | 0.3% | -0.6% |
| 2017 | 0.3% | -3.4% |
| 2018 | 0.3% | -3.8% |
| 2019 | 0.2% | -7.4% |
| 2020 | 0.2% | -4.1% |
| 2021 | 0.2% | -7.9% |
| 2022 | 0.2% | -4.8% |
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1830s | 1.0% | 0.7% | 1.5% | 10 |
| 1840s | 0.8% | 0.7% | 1.1% | 10 |
| 1850s | 0.8% | 0.8% | 0.9% | 10 |
| 1860s | 0.8% | 0.8% | 0.8% | 10 |
| 1870s | 0.8% | 0.7% | 0.9% | 10 |
| 1880s | 0.8% | 0.8% | 0.8% | 10 |
| 1890s | 0.8% | 0.7% | 0.8% | 10 |
| 1900s | 0.7% | 0.6% | 0.8% | 10 |
| 1910s | 1.7% | 0.6% | 2.8% | 10 |
| 1920s | 1.2% | 0.8% | 2.1% | 10 |
| 1930s | 0.9% | 0.8% | 1.1% | 10 |
| 1940s | 0.9% | 0.8% | 1.0% | 6 |
| 1950s | 1.0% | 0.9% | 1.2% | 10 |
| 1960s | 1.2% | 1.2% | 1.2% | 10 |
| 1970s | 1.1% | 1.0% | 1.1% | 10 |
| 1980s | 1.1% | 1.1% | 1.1% | 10 |
| 1990s | 0.6% | 0.4% | 1.1% | 10 |
| 2000s | 0.4% | 0.3% | 0.4% | 10 |
| 2010s | 0.3% | 0.2% | 0.3% | 10 |
| 2020s | 0.2% | 0.2% | 0.2% | 3 |
Countries ranked near Belgium
- 106 Paraguay 0.2% compare
- 107 Gabon 0.2% compare
- 108 Japan 0.2% compare
- 110 Kazakhstan 0.2% compare
- 111 Cape Verde 0.2% compare
- 112 Guinea-Bissau 0.2% compare
More population data for Belgium
- Population regions with projections, annual growth rate -0.1652 % change on previous year (2100)
- Urban and rural population 2050, annual growth rate -0.1094 % change on previous year (2050)
- Population long run with projections, annual growth rate -0.1652 % change on previous year (2100)
- Un population 2024 vs 2022, annual growth rate -0.0945 % change on previous year (2100)
- Africa's Development Dynamics (AfDD) Table 05 - Demographic estimates 12,091 Persons (2050)
- Africa's Development Dynamics (AfDD) Table 03 - Annual population 0.2011 Percent per annum (2030)
- Projected population under age 5, annual growth rate 0.0085 % change on previous year (2100)
- World population growth -0.2% (2100)
- Population density 365.29 people per km² (2100)
- Number of children under 5, by world region 461,216 people (2100)
Frequently asked questions
- What is military personnel as a share of total population in Belgium?
- Military personnel as a share of total population in Belgium was 0.2% in 2022, according to Correlates of War - National Material Capabilities Version 7.0 (2026) – with major processing by Our World in Data.
- What is the highest military personnel as a share of total population recorded in Belgium?
- The highest recorded value was 2.8% in 1919.
- What is the lowest military personnel as a share of total population recorded in Belgium?
- The lowest recorded value was 0.2% in 2022.
- How does Belgium rank for military personnel as a share of total population?
- Belgium ranks 109th out of 194 countries with data for 2022.
- Is military personnel as a share of total population rising or falling in Belgium?
- Over the last ten years it is down 35.7%. The long-run trend across the full record is falling.
- Where does this Belgium data come from?
- The figures come from Correlates of War - National Material Capabilities Version 7.0 (2026) – with major processing by Our World in Data, published as part of Military personnel as a share of total population. Statizoid updates them automatically from the source API.
Download this data
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About this data
Ratio of military personnel to total population, expressed as a percentage.