Military personnel as a share of total population in Italy

Italy: Military personnel as a share of total population was 0.27 in 2022. ◆ Volatile

Latest (2022)
0.27
Change on year
down 0.4%
World rank
88th
of 194 countries
All-time high
8.71
in 1918
All-time low
0.27
in 2022
Years of data
206
1816–2022

Military personnel as a share of total population in Italy, 1816–2022

02468181619192022

Source: Our World in Data.

Analysis

The most recent figure for military personnel as a share of total population in Italy is 0.27, measured in 2022. That is the lowest value across all 206 years on record.

Compared with earlier readings it is down 0.4% on the previous year and down 11.1% over ten years.

Over the whole period, military personnel as a share of total population in Italy peaked at 8.71 in 1918 and was at its lowest, 0.27, in 2022.

That places Italy 88th out of 194 countries with data for 2022, putting it 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 Italy, year by year

Annual values for Military personnel as a share of total population in Italy, 1816 to 2022.
Year Value Change
1816 0.5053 —
1817 1.03 +103.4%
1818 1.02 -0.9%
1819 1.01 -0.9%
1820 1.05 +4.2%
1821 1.09 +3.9%
1822 1.41 +29.1%
1823 0.4737 -66.4%
1824 0.6668 +40.8%
1825 0.6608 -0.9%
1826 0.6547 -0.9%
1827 0.6486 -0.9%
1828 0.7379 +13.8%
1829 0.7311 -0.9%
1830 0.7243 -0.9%
1831 0.7176 -0.9%
1832 0.711 -0.9%
1833 0.7044 -0.9%
1834 0.6968 -1.1%
1835 0.8448 +21.2%
1836 0.8355 -1.1%
1837 0.8263 -1.1%
1838 0.8172 -1.1%
1839 0.7519 -8.0%
1840 0.8155 +8.5%
1841 0.7503 -8.0%
1842 0.6638 -11.5%
1843 0.5989 -9.8%
1844 0.5982 -0.1%
1845 0.591 -1.2%
1846 0.6671 +12.9%
1847 0.7414 +11.1%
1848 1.42 +92.1%
1849 1.42 -0.2%
1850 0.83 -41.6%
1851 1.11 +33.8%
1852 1.11 -0.3%
1853 1.02 -7.5%
1854 1.02 -0.3%
1855 1.06 +3.7%
1856 1.04 -2.1%
1857 1.01 -2.2%
1858 1.01 -0.3%
1859 1.05 +3.7%
1860 0.769 -26.7%
1861 0.8337 +8.4%
1862 0.7616 -8.6%
1863 1.12 +47.6%
1864 1.48 +31.4%
1865 0.837 -43.3%
1866 0.9246 +10.5%
1867 1.55 +68.2%
1868 1.16 -25.7%
1869 0.7972 -31.0%
1870 0.6729 -15.6%
1871 1.36 +102.2%
1872 0.651 -52.1%
1873 0.5952 -8.6%
1874 0.6503 +9.3%
1875 0.6538 +0.5%
1876 0.5662 -13.4%
1877 0.5485 -3.1%
1878 0.7281 +32.7%
1879 0.5956 -18.2%
1880 0.592 -0.6%
1881 0.5884 -0.6%
1882 0.5672 -3.6%
1883 0.5666 -0.1%
1884 0.7695 +35.8%
1885 0.7742 +0.6%
1886 0.7721 -0.3%
1887 0.7768 +0.6%
1888 0.7948 +2.3%
1889 0.8522 +7.2%
1890 0.8496 -0.3%
1891 0.87 +2.4%
1892 0.7858 -9.7%
1893 0.8549 +8.8%
1894 0.8041 -5.9%
1895 0.7316 -9.0%
1896 0.7172 -2.0%
1897 0.7787 +8.6%
1898 0.9959 +27.9%
1899 0.8214 -17.5%
1900 0.8099 -1.4%
1901 0.8054 -0.6%
1902 0.844 +4.8%
1903 0.8224 -2.6%
1904 0.7965 -3.2%
1905 0.8014 +0.6%
1906 0.8013 -0.0%
1907 0.6535 -18.4%
1908 0.6718 +2.8%
1909 0.7356 +9.5%
1910 0.733 -0.4%
1911 0.8391 +14.5%
1912 1.14 +35.4%
1913 0.8131 -28.4%
1914 0.9585 +17.9%
1915 8.68 +805.7%
1916 8.61 -0.9%
1917 8.62 +0.1%
1918 8.71 +1.0%
1919 5.54 -36.3%
1920 2.31 -58.3%
1921 0.7637 -66.9%
1922 0.7618 -0.2%
1923 0.8078 +6.0%
1924 0.9799 +21.3%
1925 0.7645 -22.0%
1926 0.8033 +5.1%
1927 0.7988 -0.6%
1928 0.7888 -1.3%
1929 0.7768 -1.5%
1930 0.8144 +4.8%
1931 0.7612 -6.5%
1932 0.8514 +11.8%
1933 0.8657 +1.7%
1934 0.8562 -1.1%
1935 3.24 +278.1%
1936 0.7984 -75.3%
1937 1.08 +34.9%
1938 1.11 +3.5%
1939 1.32 +18.4%
1940 3.67 +178.4%
1942 8.31 +126.3%
1943 3.8 -54.3%
1944 0.6297 -83.4%
1945 0.6121 -2.8%
1946 0.5729 -6.4%
1947 0.6124 +6.9%
1948 0.6684 +9.1%
1949 0.7061 +5.6%
1950 0.4989 -29.3%
1951 0.6749 +35.3%
1952 0.6818 +1.0%
1953 0.6881 +0.9%
1954 0.6522 -5.2%
1955 0.6539 +0.3%
1956 0.6541 +0.0%
1957 0.6527 -0.2%
1958 0.6488 -0.6%
1959 0.6574 +1.3%
1960 0.6394 -2.7%
1961 0.93 +45.4%
1962 0.9238 -0.7%
1963 1 +8.8%
1964 1.14 +13.6%
1965 0.8827 -22.7%
1966 0.8283 -6.2%
1967 0.8129 -1.9%
1968 0.8077 -0.6%
1969 0.8125 +0.6%
1970 0.8082 -0.5%
1971 0.8045 -0.5%
1972 0.9378 +16.6%
1973 1 +6.7%
1974 0.969 -3.2%
1975 0.8279 -14.6%
1976 0.8166 -1.4%
1977 0.8489 +4.0%
1978 0.8708 +2.6%
1979 0.8701 -0.1%
1980 0.886 +1.8%
1981 0.8937 +0.9%
1982 0.9128 +2.1%
1983 0.8762 -4.0%
1984 0.8911 +1.7%
1985 0.882 -1.0%
1986 0.9241 +4.8%
1987 0.8789 -4.9%
1988 0.8809 +0.2%
1989 0.8794 -0.2%
1990 0.855 -2.8%
1991 0.8335 -2.5%
1992 0.8284 -0.6%
1993 0.7888 -4.8%
1994 0.7622 -3.4%
1995 0.7591 -0.4%
1996 0.7511 -1.1%
1997 0.7284 -3.0%
1998 0.7007 -3.8%
1999 0.6819 -2.7%
2000 0.4381 -35.8%
2001 0.4037 -7.9%
2002 0.3756 -6.9%
2003 0.3456 -8.0%
2004 0.3364 -2.7%
2005 0.3272 -2.7%
2006 0.3233 -1.2%
2007 0.3211 -0.7%
2008 0.3107 -3.2%
2009 0.4865 +56.6%
2010 0.4842 -0.5%
2011 0.3046 -37.1%
2012 0.3039 -0.3%
2013 0.3033 -0.2%
2014 0.2954 -2.6%
2015 0.2958 +0.1%
2016 0.2945 -0.4%
2017 0.2898 -1.6%
2018 0.2903 +0.2%
2019 0.2844 -2.0%
2020 0.2771 -2.6%
2021 0.2712 -2.1%
2022 0.27 -0.4%

Italy compared with similar countries

  • Italy's 0.27 is below the median for high income countries, which is 0.3016, 90% of the median. (64 countries reporting)
  • Italy's 0.27 is below the median for Europe & Central Asia, which is 0.2903, 93% of the median. (52 countries reporting)

Biggest year-on-year movements

Years where Military personnel as a share of total population in Italy 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
1915 +805.7% 0.9585 8.68
1935 +278.1% 0.8562 3.24
1940 +178.4% 1.32 3.67
1942 +126.3% 3.67 8.31
1817 +103.4% 0.5053 1.03
1871 +102.2% 0.6729 1.36

Averages by decade

DecadeAverage LowestHighest Years
1810s 0.8901 0.5053 1.03 4
1820s 0.8126 0.4737 1.41 10
1830s 0.763 0.6968 0.8448 10
1840s 0.827 0.591 1.42 10
1850s 1.03 0.83 1.11 10
1860s 1.02 0.7616 1.55 10
1870s 0.7022 0.5485 1.36 10
1880s 0.7054 0.5666 0.8522 10
1890s 0.8209 0.7172 0.9959 10
1900s 0.7742 0.6535 0.844 10
1910s 4.46 0.733 8.71 10
1920s 0.9555 0.7618 2.31 10
1930s 1.17 0.7612 3.24 10
1940s 2.18 0.5729 8.31 9
1950s 0.6463 0.4989 0.6881 10
1960s 0.8784 0.6394 1.14 10
1970s 0.8755 0.8045 1 10
1980s 0.8905 0.8762 0.9241 10
1990s 0.7689 0.6819 0.855 10
2000s 0.3668 0.3107 0.4865 10
2010s 0.3146 0.2844 0.4842 10
2020s 0.2728 0.27 0.2771 3

Countries ranked near Italy

  1. 85 Albania 0.2829 compare
  2. 86 Bhutan 0.2825 compare
  3. 87 Bolivia 0.2815 compare
  4. 89 Pakistan 0.2675 compare
  5. 90 Spain 0.2593 compare
  6. 91 Portugal 0.2592 compare

See the full ranking of 194 places →

More population data for Italy

All data for Italy →

Frequently asked questions

What is military personnel as a share of total population in Italy?
Military personnel as a share of total population in Italy was 0.27 in 2022, according to Our World in Data.
What is the highest military personnel as a share of total population recorded in Italy?
The highest recorded value was 8.71 in 1918.
What is the lowest military personnel as a share of total population recorded in Italy?
The lowest recorded value was 0.27 in 2022.
How does Italy rank for military personnel as a share of total population?
Italy ranks 88th out of 194 countries with data for 2022.
Is military personnel as a share of total population rising or falling in Italy?
Over the last ten years it is down 11.1%. The long-run trend across the full record is volatile.
Where does this Italy 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 Italy. 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/italy/

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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