Statizoid

France vs Saudi Arabia: Armed forces personnel

France
304,000
in 2020
Saudi Arabia
282,000
in 2020
France rank
23rd
Saudi Arabia rank
25th

Armed forces personnel over time

  • France
  • Saudi Arabia
100.0k200.0k300.0k400.0k500.0k600.0k198520022020

How they compare

France currently reports 304,000 against 282,000 in Saudi Arabia, a difference of 22,000.

That makes France's figure about 1.1 times Saudi Arabia's.

Across all 33 years both countries report, France has been ahead every year.

France ranks 23rd and Saudi Arabia ranks 25th of 173 countries.

Individual pages

About this data

Indicator
Armed forces personnel
Source
The Military Balance - International Institute for Strategic Studies, via World Bank (2026) – processed by Our World in Data
Licence
CC BY 4.0 (Our World in Data)
Coverage
173 places, 5,352 data points, 1985–2020
Last refreshed

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.