Egypt, Arab Rep.: Armed forces personnel, total

Key figures

What the numbers say

In 2020, Egypt, Arab Rep.'s armed forces personnel, total did not change 0% on 2019 (from 836,000 to 836,000).

Across the 30 yearly changes before that (1990 to 2019), the average change was +2.4% and a typical year strayed about 8.2% from that (the standard deviation). This year's change was 0.3 standard deviations below that average, so it was an ordinary year: it sits within the range of normal year-to-year movement.

On record, the biggest yearly rise was 41.9% in 1995 and the biggest yearly fall was 3.6% in 1990. The numbers show how large and when, not why; for the cause, look at what happened in that country in those years.

From 2011 to 2020 the straight-line trend is upward, about 57.58 a year. A straight line explains 52% of the movement over 10 observed 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, Egypt, Arab Rep. had the 7th highest value of the 170 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 Egypt, Arab Rep. in the 2020 ranking

• Russian Federation — 4th of 170: 1.45 million
• United States — 5th of 170: 1.4 million
• Pakistan — 6th of 170: 943,000
• Brazil — 8th of 170: 762,000
• Indonesia — 9th of 170: 676,000
• Iran, Islamic Rep. — 10th of 170: 650,000

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.

Limitations: Data excludes personnel not on active duty, therefore it underestimates the share of the labor force working for the defense establishment. The cooperation of governments of all countries listed in “The Military Balance” has been sought by IISS and, in many cases, received. However, some data in “The Military Balance” is estimated.

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

All 33 values

Armed forces personnel, total in nearby economies

• Afghanistan — 165,000 (2020)
• Algeria — 326,000 (2020)
• Bahrain — 19,000 (2020)
• Djibouti — 13,000 (2020)
• Iran, Islamic Rep. — 650,000 (2020)
• Iraq — 459,000 (2020)
• Israel — 178,000 (2020)
• Jordan — 116,000 (2020)
• Kuwait — 25,000 (2020)
• Lebanon — 80,000 (2020)
• Libya — 0 (2020)
• Malta

More public sector data for Egypt, Arab Rep.

• Arms imports (SIPRI trend indicator values) — 697 million (2025)
• Military expenditure (current USD) — 2.5 billion (2025)
• Military expenditure (current LCU) — 123.24 billion (2025)
• Military expenditure (% of GDP) — 0.61% (2025)
• Arms exports (SIPRI trend indicator values) — 2 million (2024)
• Net investment in nonfinancial assets (current LCU) — 61.75 billion (2015)
• Net investment in nonfinancial assets (% of GDP) — 2.53% (2015)
• Net lending (+) / net borrowing (-) (current LCU) — -262.17 billion (2015)
• Net lending (+) / net borrowing (-) (% of GDP) — -10.73% (2015)

Reading data like this

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Questions people ask

What is Egypt, Arab Rep.'s armed forces personnel, total?

836,000 in 2020, according to the World Bank (World Development Indicators).

How has it changed since 1985?

It is up 87.87% from 445,000 in 1985 (1.82% a year on average, compounded). The highest value was 866,000 in 2006 and the lowest 424,000 in 1992.

How does Egypt, Arab Rep. rank?

7th highest of 170 economies with data for 2020.

Is the latest change in armed forces personnel, total unusual for Egypt, Arab Rep.?

In 2020, Egypt, Arab Rep.'s armed forces personnel, total did not change 0% on 2019 (from 836,000 to 836,000). Across the 30 yearly changes before that (1990 to 2019), the average change was +2.4% and a typical year strayed about 8.2% from that (the standard deviation). This year's change was 0.3 standard deviations below that average, so it was an ordinary year: it sits within the range of normal year-to-year movement.

Source

World Bank, World Development Indicators, indicator MS.MIL.TOTL.P1, 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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