Lesotho: Armed forces personnel, total

Key figures

What the numbers say

From 2011 to 2020 there is no clear straight-line trend: a straight line explains less than 1% of the movement over 10 observed years, so the value is moving around more than it is heading anywhere.

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

How it compares

In 2020, Lesotho had the 154th 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 Lesotho in the 2020 ranking

• Mauritius — 153rd of 170: 3,000
• Bahamas, The — 154th of 170: 2,000
• Belize — 155th of 170: 2,000
• Liberia — 157th of 170: 2,000
• Malta — 158th of 170: 2,000
• Suriname — 159th of 170: 2,000

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

• Angola — 117,000 (2020)
• Benin — 12,000 (2020)
• Botswana — 9,000 (2020)
• Burkina Faso — 11,000 (2020)
• Burundi — 31,000 (2020)
• Cabo Verde — 1,000 (2020)
• Cameroon — 34,000 (2020)
• Central African Republic — 10,000 (2020)
• Chad — 45,000 (2020)
• Congo, Dem. Rep. — 134,000 (2020)
• Congo, Rep. — 12,000 (2020)

More public sector data for Lesotho

• Military expenditure (current USD) — 39.91 million (2025)
• Military expenditure (current LCU) — 713.78 million (2025)
• Military expenditure (% of GDP) — 1.63% (2025)
• Grants and other revenue (current LCU) — 7.98 billion (2024)
• Taxes on goods and services (current LCU) — 7.69 billion (2024)
• Taxes on goods and services (% of industry and services value added) — 22.08% (2024)
• Customs and other import duties (current LCU) — 3.04 billion (2024)
• Customs and other import duties (% of tax revenue) — 19.61% (2024)
• Taxes on international trade (current LCU) — 3.04 billion (2024)

Reading data like this

• Where to find free public data, and how to check it before you trust it — 2 min read
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Questions people ask

What is Lesotho's armed forces personnel, total?

2,000 in 2020, according to the World Bank (World Development Indicators).

How has it changed since 1985?

It is unchanged at from 2,000 in 1985. The highest value was 2,000 in 1985 and the lowest 2,000 in 1985.

How does Lesotho rank?

154th highest of 170 economies with data for 2020.

Where does this data come from?

The World Bank's World Development Indicators, licensed CC BY 4.0. Original source: The Military Balance, International Institute for Strategic Studies.

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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