West Bank and Gaza: Armed forces personnel, total

Key figures

Since 2005 it is down 100% from 56,000 in 2005. The World Bank has no value for 6 of the years in between; the chart leaves those gaps open rather than joining across them.

How it compares

In 2020, West Bank and Gaza had the 166th 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 West Bank and Gaza in the 2020 ranking

• Iceland — 167th of 170: 0
• Libya — 168th of 170: 0
• Seychelles — 169th of 170: 0

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 10 values

Armed forces personnel, total in nearby economies

• Afghanistan — 165,000 (2020)
• Algeria — 326,000 (2020)
• Bahrain — 19,000 (2020)
• Djibouti — 13,000 (2020)
• Egypt, Arab Rep. — 836,000 (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)

More public sector data for West Bank and Gaza

• Intentional homicides (per 100,000 people) — 0.62 (2022)
• Statistical performance indicators (SPI): Pillar 1 data use score (scale 0-100) — 70 (2024)
• Statistical performance indicators (SPI): Pillar 3 data products score (scale 0-100) — 71.47 (2024)
• Expense (current LCU) — 4.74 billion (2021)
• Expense (% of GDP) — 26.17% (2021)
• Primary government expenditures as a proportion of original approved budget (%) — 91.17% (2024)
• Internally displaced persons, new displacement associated with conflict and violence (number of cases) — 3.44 million (2023)
• Statistical performance indicators (SPI): Pillar 4 data sources score (scale 0-100)

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 West Bank and Gaza's armed forces personnel, total?

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

How has it changed since 2005?

It is down 100% from 56,000 in 2005. The highest value was 56,000 in 2005 and the lowest 0 in 2019.

How does West Bank and Gaza rank?

166th 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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