North Korea vs United States: Military personnel, gaps filled

North Korea
1.28 million people
in 2022
United States
1.36 million people
in 2022
North Korea rank
4th
United States rank
3rd

Military personnel, gaps filled over time

  • North Korea
  • United States
02.5M5.0M7.5M10.0M12.5M181619192022

How they compare

United States currently reports 1.36 million people against 1.28 million people in North Korea, a difference of 80,000 people.

That makes United States's figure about 1.1 times North Korea's.

Across all 75 years both countries report, United States has been ahead every year.

North Korea ranks 4th and United States ranks 3rd of 194 countries.

United States has averaged higher in every one of the 9 decades both report.

Head to head by decade

Decade North Korea United States Difference Ahead
1940s 130,000 people 1.53 million people 1.40 million people United States
1950s 267,100 people 2.85 million people 2.58 million people United States
1960s 384,800 people 2.89 million people 2.51 million people United States
1970s 510,200 people 2.28 million people 1.77 million people United States
1980s 816,000 people 2.20 million people 1.39 million people United States
1990s 1.11 million people 1.75 million people 635,000 people United States
2000s 1.09 million people 1.46 million people 366,400 people United States
2010s 1.20 million people 1.46 million people 259,700 people United States
2020s 1.28 million people 1.37 million people 91,667 people United States

Averages of every year both report within each decade.

Frequently asked questions

Which has higher military personnel, gaps filled, North Korea or United States?
United States, at 1.36 million people against 1.28 million people in North Korea as of 2022.
What is the difference in military personnel, gaps filled between North Korea and United States?
80,000 people, with United States ahead.
How many years of comparable data are there for North Korea and United States?
75 years are reported by both, from 1948 to 2022.
How do North Korea and United States rank globally for military personnel, gaps filled?
North Korea ranks 4th and United States ranks 3rd of 194 countries.
Where does this data come from?
Statizoid (derived), published as Military personnel, gaps filled. Statizoid refreshes it automatically from the source and publishes the full history for both places.

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North Korea vs United States: Military personnel, gaps filled. Statizoid, drawing on Statizoid (derived). Retrieved 21 September 2026, from https://reference.statizoid.com/compare/military-personnel-gaps-filled/korea-dem-people-s-rep/united-states/

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About this data

Indicator
Military personnel, gaps filled
Unit
people
Source
Statizoid (derived)
Licence
Derived by Statizoid from the sources named on the page
Coverage
194 places, 15,868 data points, 1816–2022
Last refreshed

Military personnel with 103 missing years estimated by linear interpolation between the nearest real observations. Only gaps of 4 years or fewer are filled, and never beyond the first or last actual measurement — these are filled holes, not forecasts.