Nigeria vs Sierra Leone: Armed forces personnel as a share of total population
Nigeria
0.1%
in 2020
Sierra Leone
0.1%
in 2020
Nigeria rank
149th
Sierra Leone rank
146th
Armed forces personnel as a share of total population over time
- Nigeria
- Sierra Leone
How they compare
Sierra Leone currently reports 0.1% against 0.1% in Nigeria, a difference of 0.0%.
That makes Sierra Leone's figure about 1.1 times Nigeria's.
The two have swapped places 3 times across 33 shared years of data; in 1985 it was Nigeria ahead.
Nigeria ranks 149th and Sierra Leone ranks 146th of 173 countries.
Across the 5 decades both report, Nigeria averaged higher in 1 and Sierra Leone in 4.
Head to head by decade
| Decade | Nigeria | Sierra Leone | Difference | Ahead |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1980s | 0.1% | 0.1% | 0.0% | Nigeria |
| 1990s | 0.1% | 0.2% | 0.1% | Sierra Leone |
| 2000s | 0.1% | 0.2% | 0.1% | Sierra Leone |
| 2010s | 0.1% | 0.1% | 0.0% | Sierra Leone |
| 2020s | 0.1% | 0.1% | 0.0% | Sierra Leone |
Averages of every year both report within each decade.
Frequently asked questions
- Which has higher armed forces personnel as a share of total population, Nigeria or Sierra Leone?
- Sierra Leone, at 0.1% against 0.1% in Nigeria as of 2020.
- What is the difference in armed forces personnel as a share of total population between Nigeria and Sierra Leone?
- 0.0%, with Sierra Leone ahead.
- How many years of comparable data are there for Nigeria and Sierra Leone?
- 33 years are reported by both, from 1985 to 2020.
- How do Nigeria and Sierra Leone rank globally for armed forces personnel as a share of total population?
- Nigeria ranks 149th and Sierra Leone ranks 146th of 173 countries.
- Where does this data come from?
- The Military Balance - International Institute for Strategic Studies, via World Bank (2026); Population based on various sources (2024) – with minor processing by Our World in Data, published as Armed forces personnel as a share of total population. Statizoid refreshes it automatically from the source and publishes the full history for both places.
Individual pages
About this data
Armed forces personnel are active duty military personnel, including paramilitary forces if their training, organization, equipment, and control suggest they may be used to support or replace regular military forces.