France vs Germany: Military personnel

France

203,000 people

in 2022

Germany

183,000 people

in 2022

France rank

24th

Germany rank

27th

Military personnel over time

France
Germany

How they compare

France currently reports 203,000 people against 183,000 people in Germany, a difference of 20,000 people.

That makes France's figure about 1.1 times Germany's.

The two have swapped places 18 times across 161 shared years of data; in 1816 it was France ahead.

France ranks 24th and Germany ranks 27th of 194 countries.

Individual pages

Military personnel in France
Military personnel in Germany
Full country ranking

About this data

Indicator: Military personnel
Unit: people
Source: Correlates of War - National Material Capabilities Version 7.0 (2026) – with minor processing by Our World in Data
Licence: CC BY 4.0 (Our World in Data)
Coverage: 194 places, 15,765 data points, 1816–2022
Last refreshed: 07 August 2026

Troops under the command of the national government, intended for use against foreign adversaries, and held ready for combat as of January 1 of the given year.