Military personnel as a share of total population in Finland

Finland: Military personnel as a share of total population was 0.3% in 2022. ◆ Volatile

Latest (2022)
0.3%
Change on year
down 0.5%
World rank
68th
of 194 countries
All-time high
9.3%
in 1943
All-time low
0.3%
in 2022
Years of data
102
1919–2022

Military personnel as a share of total population in Finland, 1919–2022

0246810191919702022

Source: Correlates of War - National Material Capabilities Version 7.0 (2026) – with major processing by Our World in Data. Measured in %.

Analysis

The most recent figure for military personnel as a share of total population in Finland is 0.3%, measured in 2022. That is the lowest value across all 102 years on record.

The figure is down 0.5% on the previous year and down 16.1% over ten years.

Over the whole period, military personnel as a share of total population in Finland peaked at 9.3% in 1943 and was at its lowest, 0.3%, in 2022.

Finland ranks 68th of 194 countries on this measure, in the middle of the range.

The series is highly variable year to year, so single readings are best treated with caution.

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

Annual values for Military personnel as a share of total population in Finland, 1919 to 2022.
Year % Change
1919 1.2%
1920 1.1% -13.4%
1921 1.1% +3.7%
1922 0.9% -15.1%
1923 0.9% -4.2%
1924 0.9% +5.9%
1925 1.0% +2.3%
1926 0.9% -10.2%
1927 0.9% +2.2%
1928 0.9% -0.6%
1929 0.8% -4.2%
1930 0.8% -7.7%
1931 0.9% +14.2%
1932 0.8% -7.2%
1933 0.9% +9.7%
1934 0.9% -3.9%
1935 0.9% -0.3%
1936 0.9% -1.1%
1937 0.8% -0.8%
1938 1.0% +15.2%
1939 1.0% +2.5%
1940 8.1% +710.8%
1943 9.3% +15.1%
1944 9.3% -0.8%
1945 0.8% -91.0%
1946 1.1% +28.6%
1947 1.1% +1.0%
1948 1.1% -1.3%
1949 1.1% -1.3%
1950 1.0% -1.1%
1951 1.0% -0.9%
1952 1.0% -1.1%
1953 1.0% -1.2%
1954 1.0% -1.1%
1955 1.0% -1.1%
1956 1.0% -1.1%
1957 1.0% -1.0%
1958 1.0% -0.8%
1959 1.0% -0.8%
1960 0.9% -0.8%
1961 1.1% +13.5%
1962 1.0% -2.7%
1963 0.8% -26.1%
1964 0.9% +13.6%
1965 0.9% -0.3%
1966 0.9% -0.4%
1967 0.9% -0.5%
1968 0.9% -0.4%
1969 0.9% +0.0%
1970 0.9% +0.4%
1971 0.9% -0.1%
1972 0.9% -0.6%
1973 0.9% -0.6%
1974 0.9% -0.5%
1975 0.8% -0.4%
1976 0.8% -10.3%
1977 0.8% +10.8%
1978 0.8% -0.3%
1979 0.8% -10.5%
1980 0.8% +0.0%
1981 0.8% -0.4%
1982 0.7% -0.6%
1983 0.8% +10.4%
1984 0.8% -0.5%
1985 0.8% -0.4%
1986 0.8% -7.8%
1987 0.8% -0.3%
1988 0.8% +7.8%
1989 0.8% -2.9%
1990 0.6% -20.9%
1991 0.6% +2.6%
1992 0.7% +2.6%
1993 0.6% -6.5%
1994 0.7% +12.4%
1995 0.6% -8.9%
1996 0.7% +9.0%
1997 0.7% -0.3%
1998 0.7% -0.3%
1999 0.7% -0.2%
2000 0.6% -8.8%
2001 0.6% -0.2%
2002 0.6% -0.2%
2003 0.5% -15.8%
2004 0.5% +3.4%
2005 0.5% -0.3%
2006 0.5% -0.4%
2007 0.5% +3.1%
2008 0.5% -0.5%
2009 0.5% -0.5%
2010 0.4% -21.0%
2011 0.4% -4.7%
2012 0.4% -0.4%
2013 0.4% -0.5%
2014 0.4% -0.4%
2015 0.4% -0.4%
2016 0.4% -0.4%
2017 0.4% -0.1%
2018 0.4% -0.1%
2019 0.4% -0.1%
2020 0.4% -0.1%
2021 0.3% -13.8%
2022 0.3% -0.5%

Averages by decade

DecadeAverage LowestHighest Years
1910s 1.2% 1.2% 1.2% 1
1920s 0.9% 0.8% 1.1% 10
1930s 0.9% 0.8% 1.0% 10
1940s 4.0% 0.8% 9.3% 8
1950s 1.0% 1.0% 1.0% 10
1960s 0.9% 0.8% 1.1% 10
1970s 0.8% 0.8% 0.9% 10
1980s 0.8% 0.7% 0.8% 10
1990s 0.7% 0.6% 0.7% 10
2000s 0.6% 0.5% 0.6% 10
2010s 0.4% 0.4% 0.4% 10
2020s 0.4% 0.3% 0.4% 3

Countries ranked near Finland

  1. 65 Chile 0.4% compare
  2. 66 Namibia 0.3% compare
  3. 67 Bosnia and Herzegovina 0.3% compare
  4. 69 Trinidad and Tobago 0.3% compare
  5. 70 Hungary 0.3% compare
  6. 71 Slovakia 0.3% compare

See the full ranking of 194 places →

More population data for Finland

All data for Finland →

Frequently asked questions

What is military personnel as a share of total population in Finland?
Military personnel as a share of total population in Finland was 0.3% 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 Finland?
The highest recorded value was 9.3% in 1943.
What is the lowest military personnel as a share of total population recorded in Finland?
The lowest recorded value was 0.3% in 2022.
How does Finland rank for military personnel as a share of total population?
Finland ranks 68th out of 194 countries with data for 2022.
Is military personnel as a share of total population rising or falling in Finland?
Over the last ten years it is down 16.1%. The long-run trend across the full record is volatile.
Where does this Finland 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

CSV · JSON — 102 observations, free to reuse under CC BY 4.0 (Our World in Data).

Share, cite or embed this page

Cite this page

Military personnel as a share of total population in Finland. Statizoid, drawing on Correlates of War - National Material Capabilities Version 7.0 (2026) – with major processing by Our World in Data. Retrieved 02 September 2026, from https://population.statizoid.com/stat/military-personnel-as-a-share-of-total-population/finland/

Embed or link this data

Paste this into a page to link back to these figures. The data itself is free to reuse under CC BY 4.0 (Our World in Data); please keep the attribution.

<a href="https://population.statizoid.com/stat/military-personnel-as-a-share-of-total-population/finland/">Military personnel as a share of total population in Finland</a> — Statizoid

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.