Military personnel as a share of total population in Saudi Arabia
Saudi Arabia: Military personnel as a share of total population was 0.7988 in 2022. ▲ Rising
Latest (2022)
0.7988
Change on year
down 2.6%
World rank
19th
of 194 countries
All-time high
1.25
in 1971
All-time low
0.1306
in 1948
Years of data
96
1927–2022
Military personnel as a share of total population in Saudi Arabia, 1927–2022
Source: Our World in Data.
Analysis
In 2022, military personnel as a share of total population in Saudi Arabia stood at 0.7988.
That represents a change of down 2.6% on the previous year and down 3.4% over ten years.
Over the whole period, military personnel as a share of total population in Saudi Arabia peaked at 1.25 in 1971 and was at its lowest, 0.1306, in 1948.
Saudi Arabia ranks 19th of 194 countries on this measure, in the top 10%.
The long-run direction has been consistently rising across the 96 years of available data.
Military personnel as a share of total population in Saudi Arabia, year by year
| Year | Value | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 1927 | 0.2079 | — |
| 1928 | 0.2034 | -2.2% |
| 1929 | 0.1989 | -2.2% |
| 1930 | 0.1946 | -2.2% |
| 1931 | 0.1903 | -2.2% |
| 1932 | 0.1861 | -2.2% |
| 1933 | 0.1821 | -2.2% |
| 1934 | 0.1781 | -2.2% |
| 1935 | 0.1742 | -2.2% |
| 1936 | 0.1704 | -2.2% |
| 1937 | 0.1667 | -2.2% |
| 1938 | 0.163 | -2.2% |
| 1939 | 0.1594 | -2.2% |
| 1940 | 0.1559 | -2.2% |
| 1941 | 0.1525 | -2.2% |
| 1942 | 0.1492 | -2.2% |
| 1943 | 0.1459 | -2.2% |
| 1944 | 0.1427 | -2.2% |
| 1945 | 0.1396 | -2.2% |
| 1946 | 0.1365 | -2.2% |
| 1947 | 0.1336 | -2.2% |
| 1948 | 0.1306 | -2.2% |
| 1949 | 0.1597 | +22.2% |
| 1950 | 0.1874 | +17.4% |
| 1951 | 0.214 | +14.2% |
| 1952 | 0.239 | +11.7% |
| 1953 | 0.2626 | +9.9% |
| 1954 | 0.9689 | +269.0% |
| 1955 | 0.9185 | -5.2% |
| 1956 | 0.8698 | -5.3% |
| 1957 | 0.8229 | -5.4% |
| 1958 | 0.777 | -5.6% |
| 1959 | 0.757 | -2.6% |
| 1960 | 0.7362 | -2.7% |
| 1961 | 0.8335 | +13.2% |
| 1962 | 0.8535 | +2.4% |
| 1963 | 0.7811 | -8.5% |
| 1964 | 0.8632 | +10.5% |
| 1965 | 0.8346 | -3.3% |
| 1966 | 0.9076 | +8.8% |
| 1967 | 0.9743 | +7.3% |
| 1968 | 1.13 | +15.8% |
| 1969 | 1.09 | -3.7% |
| 1970 | 1.13 | +4.1% |
| 1971 | 1.25 | +10.6% |
| 1972 | 1.2 | -4.3% |
| 1973 | 1.14 | -4.5% |
| 1974 | 1.09 | -4.8% |
| 1975 | 1.03 | -5.0% |
| 1976 | 0.9799 | -5.3% |
| 1977 | 0.9268 | -5.4% |
| 1978 | 0.8757 | -5.5% |
| 1979 | 0.871 | -0.5% |
| 1980 | 0.8226 | -5.6% |
| 1981 | 0.7773 | -5.5% |
| 1982 | 0.7445 | -4.2% |
| 1983 | 0.7047 | -5.3% |
| 1984 | 0.6674 | -5.3% |
| 1985 | 0.6325 | -5.2% |
| 1986 | 0.5994 | -5.2% |
| 1987 | 0.5877 | -1.9% |
| 1988 | 0.5993 | +2.0% |
| 1989 | 0.5681 | -5.2% |
| 1990 | 0.9818 | +72.8% |
| 1991 | 1.15 | +17.6% |
| 1992 | 1.01 | -12.2% |
| 1993 | 0.9914 | -2.2% |
| 1994 | 0.9232 | -6.9% |
| 1995 | 0.9586 | +3.8% |
| 1996 | 0.9556 | -0.3% |
| 1997 | 0.9234 | -3.4% |
| 1998 | 0.9415 | +2.0% |
| 1999 | 0.9091 | -3.4% |
| 2000 | 0.9349 | +2.8% |
| 2001 | 0.9581 | +2.5% |
| 2002 | 0.9164 | -4.4% |
| 2003 | 0.8752 | -4.5% |
| 2004 | 0.839 | -4.1% |
| 2005 | 0.81 | -3.4% |
| 2006 | 0.7883 | -2.7% |
| 2007 | 0.8682 | +10.1% |
| 2008 | 0.8496 | -2.1% |
| 2009 | 0.8285 | -2.5% |
| 2010 | 0.8585 | +3.6% |
| 2011 | 0.8429 | -1.8% |
| 2012 | 0.8272 | -1.9% |
| 2013 | 0.7815 | -5.5% |
| 2014 | 0.7603 | -2.7% |
| 2015 | 0.7193 | -5.4% |
| 2016 | 0.7033 | -2.2% |
| 2017 | 0.7374 | +4.9% |
| 2018 | 0.7476 | +1.4% |
| 2019 | 0.7449 | -0.4% |
| 2020 | 0.7325 | -1.7% |
| 2021 | 0.8204 | +12.0% |
| 2022 | 0.7988 | -2.6% |
Saudi Arabia compared with similar countries
- Saudi Arabia's 0.7988 is above the median for high income countries, which is 0.3016, 2.6× the median. (64 countries reporting)
- Saudi Arabia's 0.7988 is above the median for Middle East, North Africa, Afghanistan & Pakistan, which is 0.5235, 1.5× the median. (22 countries reporting)
Biggest year-on-year movements
Years where Military personnel as a share of total population in Saudi Arabia 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.
| Year | Change | From | To |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1954 | +269.0% | 0.2626 | 0.9689 |
| 1990 | +72.8% | 0.5681 | 0.9818 |
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1920s | 0.2034 | 0.1989 | 0.2079 | 3 |
| 1930s | 0.1765 | 0.1594 | 0.1946 | 10 |
| 1940s | 0.1446 | 0.1306 | 0.1597 | 10 |
| 1950s | 0.6017 | 0.1874 | 0.9689 | 10 |
| 1960s | 0.8999 | 0.7362 | 1.13 | 10 |
| 1970s | 1.05 | 0.871 | 1.25 | 10 |
| 1980s | 0.6703 | 0.5681 | 0.8226 | 10 |
| 1990s | 0.9753 | 0.9091 | 1.15 | 10 |
| 2000s | 0.8668 | 0.7883 | 0.9581 | 10 |
| 2010s | 0.7723 | 0.7033 | 0.8585 | 10 |
| 2020s | 0.7839 | 0.7325 | 0.8204 | 3 |
Countries ranked near Saudi Arabia
More population data for Saudi Arabia
- Population regions with projections, annual growth rate 0.6339 % change on previous year (2100)
- Urban and rural population 2050, annual growth rate 0.5774 % change on previous year (2050)
- Population long run with projections, annual growth rate 0.6339 % change on previous year (2100)
- Un population 2024 vs 2022, annual growth rate -0.1019 % change on previous year (2100)
- Africa's Development Dynamics (AfDD) Table 05 - Demographic estimates 48,374 Persons (2050)
- Africa's Development Dynamics (AfDD) Table 03 - Annual population 1.2 Percent per annum (2030)
- Projected population under age 5, annual growth rate 0.5868 % change on previous year (2100)
- Population growth rate 0.629 (2100)
- Population density 33.03 (2100)
- Projected population under age 5 4.10 million (2100)
Frequently asked questions
- What is military personnel as a share of total population in Saudi Arabia?
- Military personnel as a share of total population in Saudi Arabia was 0.7988 in 2022, according to Our World in Data.
- What is the highest military personnel as a share of total population recorded in Saudi Arabia?
- The highest recorded value was 1.25 in 1971.
- What is the lowest military personnel as a share of total population recorded in Saudi Arabia?
- The lowest recorded value was 0.1306 in 1948.
- How does Saudi Arabia rank for military personnel as a share of total population?
- Saudi Arabia ranks 19th out of 194 countries with data for 2022.
- Is military personnel as a share of total population rising or falling in Saudi Arabia?
- Over the last ten years it is down 3.4%. The long-run trend across the full record is rising.
- Where does this Saudi Arabia 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.
Download this data
CSV · JSON — 96 observations, free to reuse under CC BY 4.0 (Our World in Data).