Armed forces personnel as a share of total population in Nepal
Nepal: Armed forces personnel as a share of total population was 0.4% in 2020. ▲ Rising
Armed forces personnel as a share of total population in Nepal, 1985–2020
Source: 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. Measured in %.
Analysis
The most recent figure for armed forces personnel as a share of total population in Nepal is 0.4%, measured in 2020.
That represents a change of down 1.9% on the previous year and down 33.0% over ten years.
Over the whole period, armed forces personnel as a share of total population in Nepal peaked at 0.6% in 2009 and was at its lowest, 0.1%, in 1985.
Nepal ranks 80th of 173 countries on this measure, in the middle of the range.
The long-run direction has been consistently rising across the 33 years of available data.
Armed forces personnel as a share of total population in Nepal, year by year
| Year | % | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 1985 | 0.1% | — |
| 1989 | 0.2% | +28.4% |
| 1990 | 0.2% | -2.4% |
| 1991 | 0.2% | -2.6% |
| 1992 | 0.2% | -2.8% |
| 1993 | 0.2% | -2.7% |
| 1994 | 0.2% | -2.5% |
| 1995 | 0.3% | +75.7% |
| 1996 | 0.3% | +10.2% |
| 1997 | 0.4% | +18.6% |
| 1998 | 0.4% | +2.6% |
| 1999 | 0.4% | -1.8% |
| 2000 | 0.4% | -1.7% |
| 2001 | 0.3% | -6.0% |
| 2002 | 0.4% | +4.2% |
| 2003 | 0.4% | +11.6% |
| 2004 | 0.5% | +25.6% |
| 2005 | 0.5% | -1.1% |
| 2006 | 0.5% | -1.0% |
| 2007 | 0.5% | -0.8% |
| 2008 | 0.5% | -0.7% |
| 2009 | 0.6% | +19.6% |
| 2010 | 0.6% | -0.6% |
| 2011 | 0.6% | -0.4% |
| 2012 | 0.6% | -0.3% |
| 2013 | 0.6% | -0.2% |
| 2014 | 0.6% | -0.3% |
| 2015 | 0.6% | -0.0% |
| 2016 | 0.6% | -0.5% |
| 2017 | 0.4% | -29.5% |
| 2018 | 0.4% | -0.6% |
| 2019 | 0.4% | -0.8% |
| 2020 | 0.4% | -1.9% |
Nepal compared with similar countries
- Nepal's 0.4% is above the median for lower middle income countries, which is 0.2%, 1.8× the median. (43 countries reporting)
- Nepal's 0.4% is above the median for South Asia, which is 0.4%, 1.0× the median. (5 countries reporting)
Biggest year-on-year movements
Years where Armed forces personnel as a share of total population in Nepal changed far more than this series normally does. A large move can be a real event or a change in how the figure was measured — the source note below says who published it.
| Year | Change | From | To |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1995 | +75.7% | 0.2% | 0.3% |
| 1989 | +28.4% | 0.1% | 0.2% |
| 2017 | -29.5% | 0.6% | 0.4% |
| 2004 | +25.6% | 0.4% | 0.5% |
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1980s | 0.2% | 0.1% | 0.2% | 2 |
| 1990s | 0.3% | 0.2% | 0.4% | 10 |
| 2000s | 0.5% | 0.3% | 0.6% | 10 |
| 2010s | 0.5% | 0.4% | 0.6% | 10 |
| 2020s | 0.4% | 0.4% | 0.4% | 1 |
Countries ranked near Nepal
More reference data data for Nepal
- Emission Totals - Indirect emissions (N2O) - Manure applied to Soils 0.7753 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Indirect emissions (N2O) - Manure left on Pasture 2.5 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Indirect emissions (N2O) - IPCC Agriculture 4.14 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Indirect emissions (N2O) - Crop Residues 0.7853 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Indirect emissions (N2O) - Agricultural Soils 4.14 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Emissions (N2O) - Manure applied to Soils 2.6 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Emissions (N2O) - Manure Management 0.7974 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Emissions (N2O) - Manure left on Pasture 11.28 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Emissions (N2O) - IPCC Agriculture 19.44 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Emissions (N2O) - Crop Residues 4.28 (2050)
Frequently asked questions
- What is armed forces personnel as a share of total population in Nepal?
- Armed forces personnel as a share of total population in Nepal was 0.4% in 2020, according to 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.
- What is the highest armed forces personnel as a share of total population recorded in Nepal?
- The highest recorded value was 0.6% in 2009.
- What is the lowest armed forces personnel as a share of total population recorded in Nepal?
- The lowest recorded value was 0.1% in 1985.
- How does Nepal rank for armed forces personnel as a share of total population?
- Nepal ranks 80th out of 173 countries with data for 2020.
- Is armed forces personnel as a share of total population rising or falling in Nepal?
- Over the last ten years it is down 33.0%. The long-run trend across the full record is rising.
- Where does this Nepal data come from?
- The figures 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 part of Armed forces personnel as a share of total population. Statizoid updates them automatically from the source API.
Download this data
CSV · JSON — 33 observations, free to reuse under CC BY 4.0 (Our World in Data).
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.