Statizoid

Military personnel as a share of total population in Iran

Iran: Military personnel as a share of total population was 0.6814 in 2022. ▲ Rising

Latest (2022)
0.6814
Change on year
down 1.2%
World rank
25th
of 194 countries
All-time high
1.26
in 1988
All-time low
0.0449
in 1917
Years of data
168
1855–2022

Military personnel as a share of total population in Iran, 1855–2022

00.250.50.7511.2185519382022

Source: Our World in Data.

Analysis

In 2022, military personnel as a share of total population in Iran stood at 0.6814.

That represents a change of down 1.2% on the previous year and down 0.4% over ten years.

Over the whole period, military personnel as a share of total population in Iran peaked at 1.26 in 1988 and was at its lowest, 0.0449, in 1917.

That places Iran 25th out of 194 countries with data for 2022, putting it in the top quarter.

The long-run direction has been consistently rising across the 168 years of available data.

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

Year Value Change
1855 0.288 —
1856 0.2857 -0.8%
1857 0.2835 -0.8%
1858 0.2813 -0.8%
1859 0.2791 -0.8%
1860 0.2923 +4.7%
1861 0.29 -0.8%
1862 0.2878 -0.8%
1863 0.2856 -0.8%
1864 0.2834 -0.8%
1865 0.2811 -0.8%
1866 0.2937 +4.5%
1867 0.2914 -0.8%
1868 0.2891 -0.8%
1869 0.2869 -0.8%
1870 0.2847 -0.8%
1871 0.2825 -0.8%
1872 0.2803 -0.8%
1873 0.2781 -0.8%
1874 0.2759 -0.8%
1875 0.2738 -0.8%
1876 0.4076 +48.8%
1877 0.4044 -0.8%
1878 0.4012 -0.8%
1879 0.3981 -0.8%
1880 0.3952 -0.7%
1881 0.392 -0.8%
1882 0.3857 -1.6%
1883 0.3795 -1.6%
1884 0.3734 -1.6%
1885 0.3061 -18.0%
1886 0.3012 -1.6%
1887 0.2964 -1.6%
1888 0.2916 -1.6%
1889 0.2869 -1.6%
1890 0.2823 -1.6%
1891 0.2778 -1.6%
1892 0.275 -1.0%
1893 0.2722 -1.0%
1894 0.2695 -1.0%
1895 0.2667 -1.0%
1896 0.264 -1.0%
1897 0.2614 -1.0%
1898 0.2587 -1.0%
1899 0.2561 -1.0%
1900 0.2535 -1.0%
1901 0.252 -0.6%
1902 0.2502 -0.7%
1903 0.2483 -0.8%
1904 0.2465 -0.7%
1905 0.2938 +19.2%
1906 0.2915 -0.8%
1907 0.2896 -0.7%
1908 0.2876 -0.7%
1909 0.2854 -0.8%
1910 0.2836 -0.7%
1911 0.2814 -0.8%
1912 0.2796 -0.7%
1913 0.2775 -0.7%
1914 0.5418 +95.2%
1915 0.5383 -0.6%
1916 0.5339 -0.8%
1917 0.0449 -91.6%
1918 0.4103 +813.4%
1919 0.3809 -7.2%
1920 0.3518 -7.6%
1921 0.3226 -8.3%
1922 0.2865 -11.2%
1923 0.2584 -9.8%
1924 0.2395 -7.3%
1925 0.3396 +41.8%
1926 0.3373 -0.7%
1927 0.3322 -1.5%
1928 0.3273 -1.5%
1929 0.3226 -1.5%
1930 0.3177 -1.5%
1931 0.3137 -1.3%
1932 0.3098 -1.3%
1933 0.7418 +139.5%
1934 0.7325 -1.3%
1935 0.7084 -3.3%
1936 0.6921 -2.3%
1937 0.6689 -3.4%
1938 0.6462 -3.4%
1939 0.2269 -64.9%
1940 0.8401 +270.3%
1941 0.8572 +2.0%
1942 0.4437 -48.2%
1943 0.5393 +21.5%
1944 0.5724 +6.1%
1945 0.5915 +3.3%
1946 0.6555 +10.8%
1947 0.5832 -11.0%
1948 0.5822 -0.2%
1949 0.7067 +21.4%
1950 0.7004 -0.9%
1951 0.738 +5.4%
1952 0.7734 +4.8%
1953 0.7553 -2.3%
1954 0.7376 -2.3%
1955 0.6985 -5.3%
1956 0.6646 -4.9%
1957 0.6971 +4.9%
1958 0.7223 +3.6%
1959 0.7503 +3.9%
1960 0.9702 +29.3%
1961 0.8368 -13.8%
1962 0.8772 +4.8%
1963 0.8506 -3.0%
1964 0.8248 -3.0%
1965 0.8198 -0.6%
1966 0.8143 -0.7%
1967 0.7928 -2.6%
1968 0.7718 -2.6%
1969 0.8051 +4.3%
1970 0.8535 +6.0%
1971 0.8649 +1.3%
1972 0.875 +1.2%
1973 0.9162 +4.7%
1974 0.9702 +5.9%
1975 1.17 +20.9%
1976 1.25 +6.2%
1977 0.9993 -19.8%
1978 0.9617 -3.8%
1979 1.1 +14.1%
1980 0.7763 -29.3%
1981 0.6368 -18.0%
1982 0.5658 -11.2%
1983 0.5445 -3.8%
1984 0.7315 +34.3%
1985 0.7215 -1.4%
1986 0.6977 -3.3%
1987 0.6909 -1.0%
1988 1.26 +82.4%
1989 1.14 -9.9%
1990 0.8074 -28.9%
1991 0.8328 +3.1%
1992 0.9238 +10.9%
1993 0.9029 -2.3%
1994 0.8833 -2.2%
1995 0.7752 -12.2%
1996 0.8834 +13.9%
1997 0.9474 +7.2%
1998 0.6995 -26.2%
1999 0.6887 -1.6%
2000 0.7577 +10.0%
2001 0.7856 +3.7%
2002 0.7678 -2.3%
2003 0.7878 +2.6%
2004 0.6922 -12.1%
2005 0.5987 -13.5%
2006 0.7679 +28.3%
2007 0.759 -1.2%
2008 0.7501 -1.2%
2009 0.7111 -5.2%
2010 0.7024 -1.2%
2011 0.6934 -1.3%
2012 0.6843 -1.3%
2013 0.6754 -1.3%
2014 0.667 -1.2%
2015 0.659 -1.2%
2016 0.6515 -1.1%
2017 0.6151 -5.6%
2018 0.6073 -1.3%
2019 0.6008 -1.1%
2020 0.6954 +15.7%
2021 0.6896 -0.8%
2022 0.6814 -1.2%

Iran compared with similar countries

  • Iran's 0.6814 is above the median for upper middle income countries, which is 0.2891, 2.4× the median. (58 countries reporting)
  • Iran's 0.6814 is above the median for Middle East, North Africa, Afghanistan & Pakistan, which is 0.5235, 1.3× the median. (22 countries reporting)

Biggest year-on-year movements

Years where Military personnel as a share of total population in Iran 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
1918 +813.4% 0.0449 0.4103
1940 +270.3% 0.2269 0.8401
1933 +139.5% 0.3098 0.7418
1914 +95.2% 0.2775 0.5418
1917 -91.6% 0.5339 0.0449
1988 +82.4% 0.6909 1.26

Averages by decade

DecadeAverage LowestHighest Years
1850s 0.2835 0.2791 0.288 5
1860s 0.2881 0.2811 0.2937 10
1870s 0.3287 0.2738 0.4076 10
1880s 0.3408 0.2869 0.3952 10
1890s 0.2684 0.2561 0.2823 10
1900s 0.2699 0.2465 0.2938 10
1910s 0.3572 0.0449 0.5418 10
1920s 0.3118 0.2395 0.3518 10
1930s 0.5358 0.2269 0.7418 10
1940s 0.6372 0.4437 0.8572 10
1950s 0.7237 0.6646 0.7734 10
1960s 0.8363 0.7718 0.9702 10
1970s 0.9957 0.8535 1.25 10
1980s 0.776 0.5445 1.26 10
1990s 0.8344 0.6887 0.9474 10
2000s 0.7378 0.5987 0.7878 10
2010s 0.6556 0.6008 0.7024 10
2020s 0.6888 0.6814 0.6954 3

Countries ranked near Iran

  1. 22 Cambodia 0.7208 compare
  2. 23 Djibouti 0.7036 compare
  3. 24 Sao Tome and Principe 0.6944 compare
  4. 26 Myanmar 0.6622 compare
  5. 27 Azerbaijan 0.6217 compare
  6. 28 Uruguay 0.6193 compare

See the full ranking of 194 places →

More population data for Iran

All data for Iran →

Frequently asked questions

What is military personnel as a share of total population in Iran?
Military personnel as a share of total population in Iran was 0.6814 in 2022, according to Our World in Data.
What is the highest military personnel as a share of total population recorded in Iran?
The highest recorded value was 1.26 in 1988.
What is the lowest military personnel as a share of total population recorded in Iran?
The lowest recorded value was 0.0449 in 1917.
How does Iran rank for military personnel as a share of total population?
Iran ranks 25th out of 194 countries with data for 2022.
Is military personnel as a share of total population rising or falling in Iran?
Over the last ten years it is down 0.4%. The long-run trend across the full record is rising.
Where does this Iran 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 Iran. 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/iran-islamic-rep/

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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