Côte d'Ivoire: Armed forces personnel (% of total labor force)

Key figures

Over five years it is down 0.00717 percentage points from 0.26% in 2015. Since 1990 it is down 0.11 percentage points from 0.36% in 1990. The World Bank has no value for 9 of the years in between; the chart leaves those gaps open rather than joining across them.

What the numbers say

In 2020, Côte d'Ivoire's armed forces personnel (% of total labor force) fell 1.02 percentage points on 2019 (from 1.27% to 0.25%).

Across the 17 yearly changes before that (1991 to 2019), the average change was +0.05 percentage points and a typical year strayed about 0.25 percentage points from that (the standard deviation). This year's change was 4.3 standard deviations below that average, so it was unusually large compared with the rest of the record.

On record, the biggest yearly rise was 1.01 percentage points in 2019 and the biggest yearly fall was 1.02 percentage points in 2020. The numbers show how large and when, not why; for the cause, look at what happened in that country in those years.

Worked out from the yearly values above. How the checks work: standard deviation, z-scores and straight-line trends.

How it compares

In 2020, Côte d'Ivoire had the 148th highest value of the 168 economies reporting that year. Higher is not always better: for some indicators the lowest value is the one to aim for. See the full ranking.

Closest to Côte d'Ivoire in the 2020 ranking

• Luxembourg — 145th of 168: 0.31%
• Ethiopia — 146th of 168: 0.28%
• Sweden — 147th of 168: 0.27%
• Lesotho — 149th of 168: 0.24%
• Zambia — 150th of 168: 0.24%
• Uganda — 151st of 168: 0.24%

What this measures

Armed forces personnel are active duty military personnel, including paramilitary forces if the training, organization, equipment, and control suggest they may be used to support or replace regular military forces. Labor force comprises all people who meet the International Labour Organization's definition of the economically active population.

Limitations: Data exclude personnel not on active duty, therefore they underestimate the share of the labor force working for the defense establishment. Governments rarely report the size of their armed forces, so such data typically come from intelligence sources. Unless otherwise indicated, reserves includes all reservists committed to rejoining the armed forces in an emergency, except when national reserve service obligations following conscription last almost a lifetime.

Regional and income-group figures are computed by the World Bank as a weighted average.

All 22 values

Armed forces personnel (% of total labor force) in nearby economies

• Angola — 0.87% (2020)
• Benin — 0.21% (2020)
• Botswana — 0.92% (2020)
• Burkina Faso — 0.12% (2020)
• Burundi — 0.59% (2020)
• Cabo Verde — 0.51% (2020)
• Cameroon — 0.34% (2020)
• Central African Republic — 0.54% (2020)
• Chad — 0.85% (2020)
• Congo, Dem. Rep.

More public sector data for Côte d'Ivoire

• Military expenditure (current USD) — 759.44 million (2025)
• Military expenditure (current LCU) — 441.6 billion (2025)
• Military expenditure (% of GDP) — 0.77% (2025)
• Arms imports (SIPRI trend indicator values) — 15 million (2025)
• Taxes on exports (current LCU) — 995.2 billion (2023)
• Taxes on exports (% of tax revenue) — 15.58% (2023)
• Taxes on goods and services (current LCU) — 2.44 trillion (2023)
• Taxes on goods and services (% of industry and services value added) — 6.54% (2023)
• Customs and other import duties (current LCU) — 756.49 billion (2023)

Reading data like this

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Questions people ask

What is Côte d'Ivoire's armed forces personnel (% of total labor force)?

0.25% in 2020, according to the World Bank (World Development Indicators).

How has it changed since 1990?

It is down 0.11 percentage points from 0.36% in 1990. The highest value was 1.27% in 2019 and the lowest 0.23% in 2009.

How does Côte d'Ivoire rank?

148th highest of 168 economies with data for 2020.

Is the latest change in armed forces personnel (% of total labor force) unusual for Côte d'Ivoire?

In 2020, Côte d'Ivoire's armed forces personnel (% of total labor force) fell 1.02 percentage points on 2019 (from 1.27% to 0.25%). Across the 17 yearly changes before that (1991 to 2019), the average change was +0.05 percentage points and a typical year strayed about 0.25 percentage points from that (the standard deviation). This year's change was 4.3 standard deviations below that average, so it was unusually large compared with the rest of the record.

Source

World Bank, World Development Indicators, indicator MS.MIL.TOTL.TF.ZS, licensed CC BY 4.0. Original source: The Military Balance, International Institute for Strategic Studies Figures are fetched from the World Bank API and refreshed monthly; see the series on data.worldbank.org. The full definition and method are in the World Bank's metadata glossary. Comparisons use the same World Bank release.

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