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Military personnel as a share of total population in China

China: Military personnel as a share of total population was 0.142 in 2022. ▬ Flat

Latest (2022)
0.142
Change on year
up 0.1%
World rank
134th
of 194 countries
All-time high
0.8704
in 1945
All-time low
0.0991
in 1913
Years of data
163
1860–2022

Military personnel as a share of total population in China, 1860–2022

00.20.40.60.8186019412022

Source: Our World in Data.

Analysis

In 2022, military personnel as a share of total population in China stood at 0.142.

That represents a change of up 0.1% on the previous year and down 14.4% over ten years.

Over the whole period, military personnel as a share of total population in China peaked at 0.8704 in 1945 and was at its lowest, 0.0991, in 1913.

China ranks 134th of 194 countries on this measure, in the middle of the range.

Military personnel as a share of total population in China, year by year

Year Value Change
1860 0.2636 —
1861 0.2669 +1.3%
1862 0.2703 +1.3%
1863 0.2737 +1.3%
1864 0.2771 +1.3%
1865 0.2806 +1.3%
1866 0.2841 +1.3%
1867 0.2877 +1.3%
1868 0.2917 +1.4%
1869 0.2901 -0.6%
1870 0.2884 -0.6%
1871 0.2868 -0.6%
1872 0.2852 -0.6%
1873 0.2835 -0.6%
1874 0.2819 -0.6%
1875 0.2803 -0.6%
1876 0.2787 -0.6%
1877 0.2772 -0.6%
1878 0.2756 -0.6%
1879 0.274 -0.6%
1880 0.2725 -0.6%
1881 0.2709 -0.6%
1882 0.2694 -0.6%
1883 0.2678 -0.6%
1884 0.2663 -0.6%
1885 0.2648 -0.6%
1886 0.2616 -1.2%
1887 0.2585 -1.2%
1888 0.2554 -1.2%
1889 0.2523 -1.2%
1890 0.2493 -1.2%
1891 0.2463 -1.2%
1892 0.2433 -1.2%
1893 0.2404 -1.2%
1894 0.2375 -1.2%
1895 0.2371 -0.2%
1896 0.2367 -0.2%
1897 0.2362 -0.2%
1898 0.2358 -0.2%
1899 0.2354 -0.2%
1900 0.235 -0.2%
1901 0.2345 -0.2%
1902 0.2273 -3.1%
1903 0.2266 -0.3%
1904 0.226 -0.3%
1905 0.2253 -0.3%
1906 0.2247 -0.3%
1907 0.224 -0.3%
1908 0.2234 -0.3%
1909 0.2227 -0.3%
1910 0.2221 -0.3%
1911 0.2221 +0.0%
1912 0.0994 -55.3%
1913 0.0991 -0.3%
1914 0.101 +1.9%
1915 0.1094 +8.4%
1916 0.1855 +69.5%
1917 0.1959 +5.6%
1918 0.2821 +44.0%
1919 0.2986 +5.8%
1920 0.3111 +4.2%
1921 0.3235 +4.0%
1922 0.3359 +3.8%
1923 0.3482 +3.7%
1924 0.3625 +4.1%
1925 0.3615 -0.3%
1926 0.3604 -0.3%
1927 0.361 +0.2%
1928 0.3581 -0.8%
1929 0.355 -0.8%
1930 0.352 -0.8%
1931 0.349 -0.8%
1932 0.3461 -0.8%
1933 0.3432 -0.8%
1934 0.3403 -0.8%
1935 0.3374 -0.8%
1936 0.3345 -0.8%
1937 0.3902 +16.7%
1938 0.1741 -55.4%
1939 0.2854 +63.9%
1940 0.3872 +35.7%
1941 0.4873 +25.8%
1942 0.5857 +20.2%
1943 0.6823 +16.5%
1944 0.7773 +13.9%
1945 0.8704 +12.0%
1946 0.7515 -13.7%
1947 0.7195 -4.3%
1948 0.6557 -8.9%
1949 0.4528 -30.9%
1950 0.6994 +54.5%
1951 0.5197 -25.7%
1952 0.5197 +0.0%
1953 0.5166 -0.6%
1954 0.5129 -0.7%
1955 0.4926 -4.0%
1956 0.5066 +2.8%
1957 0.5035 -0.6%
1958 0.5001 -0.7%
1959 0.4962 -0.8%
1960 0.4919 -0.9%
1961 0.3287 -33.2%
1962 0.3371 +2.6%
1963 0.3589 +6.5%
1964 0.3862 +7.6%
1965 0.3291 -14.8%
1966 0.3477 +5.6%
1967 0.353 +1.5%
1968 0.3551 +0.6%
1969 0.3495 -1.6%
1970 0.3431 -1.8%
1971 0.3488 +1.7%
1972 0.3487 -0.0%
1973 0.3645 +4.5%
1974 0.4723 +29.6%
1975 0.4635 -1.9%
1976 0.4556 -1.7%
1977 0.4486 -1.5%
1978 0.4629 +3.2%
1979 0.4668 +0.8%
1980 0.4655 -0.3%
1981 0.4692 +0.8%
1982 0.424 -9.6%
1983 0.3942 -7.0%
1984 0.3887 -1.4%
1985 0.3831 -1.4%
1986 0.3708 -3.2%
1987 0.3197 -13.8%
1988 0.3369 +5.4%
1989 0.3423 +1.6%
1990 0.3029 -11.5%
1991 0.2735 -9.7%
1992 0.267 -2.4%
1993 0.2533 -5.1%
1994 0.2425 -4.3%
1995 0.2401 -1.0%
1996 0.2151 -10.4%
1997 0.209 -2.8%
1998 0.2071 -1.0%
1999 0.1894 -8.5%
2000 0.22 +16.1%
2001 0.1816 -17.4%
2002 0.1752 -3.5%
2003 0.1727 -1.5%
2004 0.1719 -0.4%
2005 0.1711 -0.5%
2006 0.17 -0.6%
2007 0.169 -0.6%
2008 0.1568 -7.2%
2009 0.1617 +3.1%
2010 0.168 +3.9%
2011 0.167 -0.6%
2012 0.1659 -0.6%
2013 0.1652 -0.4%
2014 0.1678 +1.6%
2015 0.167 -0.5%
2016 0.1662 -0.5%
2017 0.1537 -7.5%
2018 0.1426 -7.2%
2019 0.1421 -0.3%
2020 0.1419 -0.2%
2021 0.1419 -0.0%
2022 0.142 +0.1%

China compared with similar countries

  • China's 0.142 is below the median for upper middle income countries, which is 0.2891, 49% of the median. (58 countries reporting)
  • China's 0.142 is below the median for East Asia & Pacific, which is 0.1865, 76% of the median. (30 countries reporting)

Biggest year-on-year movements

Years where Military personnel as a share of total population in China changed far more than this series normally does. A large move can be a real event or a change in how the figure was measured — the source note below says who published it.

YearChange FromTo
1916 +69.5% 0.1094 0.1855
1939 +63.9% 0.1741 0.2854
1950 +54.5% 0.4528 0.6994
1938 -55.4% 0.3902 0.1741
1912 -55.3% 0.2221 0.0994
1918 +44.0% 0.1959 0.2821

Averages by decade

DecadeAverage LowestHighest Years
1860s 0.2786 0.2636 0.2917 10
1870s 0.2812 0.274 0.2884 10
1880s 0.2639 0.2523 0.2725 10
1890s 0.2398 0.2354 0.2493 10
1900s 0.227 0.2227 0.235 10
1910s 0.1815 0.0991 0.2986 10
1920s 0.3477 0.3111 0.3625 10
1930s 0.3252 0.1741 0.3902 10
1940s 0.637 0.3872 0.8704 10
1950s 0.5267 0.4926 0.6994 10
1960s 0.3637 0.3287 0.4919 10
1970s 0.4175 0.3431 0.4723 10
1980s 0.3895 0.3197 0.4692 10
1990s 0.24 0.1894 0.3029 10
2000s 0.175 0.1568 0.22 10
2010s 0.1606 0.1421 0.168 10
2020s 0.1419 0.1419 0.142 3

Countries ranked near China

  1. 131 Sweden 0.143 compare
  2. 132 Togo 0.143 compare
  3. 133 Indonesia 0.142 compare
  4. 135 Uzbekistan 0.1374 compare
  5. 136 Democratic Republic of Congo 0.1309 compare
  6. 137 Niger 0.1304 compare

See the full ranking of 194 places →

More population data for China

All data for China →

Frequently asked questions

What is military personnel as a share of total population in China?
Military personnel as a share of total population in China was 0.142 in 2022, according to Our World in Data.
What is the highest military personnel as a share of total population recorded in China?
The highest recorded value was 0.8704 in 1945.
What is the lowest military personnel as a share of total population recorded in China?
The lowest recorded value was 0.0991 in 1913.
How does China rank for military personnel as a share of total population?
China ranks 134th out of 194 countries with data for 2022.
Is military personnel as a share of total population rising or falling in China?
Over the last ten years it is down 14.4%. The long-run trend across the full record is flat.
Where does this China data come from?
The figures come from Our World in Data, published as part of Military personnel as a share of total population. Statizoid updates them automatically from the source API.

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Military personnel as a share of total population in China. Statizoid, drawing on Our World in Data. Retrieved 12 November 2026, from https://population.statizoid.com/stat/military-personnel-as-a-share-of-total-population/china/

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About this data

Indicator
Military personnel as a share of total population
Source
Our World in Data
Licence
CC BY 4.0 (Our World in Data)
Coverage
194 places, 15,765 data points, 1816–2022
Last refreshed