Armed forces personnel as a share of total population in Panama
Panama: Armed forces personnel as a share of total population was 0.7% in 2020. ▲ Rising
Armed forces personnel as a share of total population in Panama, 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
In 2020, armed forces personnel as a share of total population in Panama stood at 0.7%.
That represents a change of down 1.4% on the previous year and up 97.2% over ten years.
Over the whole period, armed forces personnel as a share of total population in Panama peaked at 0.7% in 2019 and was at its lowest, 0.3%, in 2014.
That places Panama 44th out of 173 countries with data for 2020, putting it in the top quarter.
The long-run direction has been consistently rising across the 32 years of available data.
Armed forces personnel as a share of total population in Panama, year by year
| Year | % | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 1985 | 0.5% | — |
| 1989 | 0.6% | +6.8% |
| 1990 | 0.4% | -23.1% |
| 1991 | 0.5% | +6.8% |
| 1992 | 0.4% | -10.2% |
| 1993 | 0.4% | -2.1% |
| 1994 | 0.4% | -2.0% |
| 1995 | 0.4% | +5.1% |
| 1996 | 0.4% | -2.0% |
| 1997 | 0.4% | -2.0% |
| 1998 | 0.4% | -2.0% |
| 1999 | 0.4% | -2.0% |
| 2000 | 0.4% | -1.9% |
| 2001 | 0.4% | -1.9% |
| 2002 | 0.4% | -1.9% |
| 2003 | 0.4% | -1.9% |
| 2005 | 0.4% | -2.1% |
| 2006 | 0.4% | -1.8% |
| 2007 | 0.3% | -1.8% |
| 2008 | 0.3% | -1.8% |
| 2009 | 0.3% | -1.8% |
| 2010 | 0.3% | -1.8% |
| 2011 | 0.3% | -1.8% |
| 2012 | 0.3% | -1.7% |
| 2013 | 0.3% | -1.7% |
| 2014 | 0.3% | -1.7% |
| 2015 | 0.6% | +80.6% |
| 2016 | 0.5% | -1.7% |
| 2017 | 0.6% | +15.9% |
| 2018 | 0.6% | -1.7% |
| 2019 | 0.7% | +6.0% |
| 2020 | 0.7% | -1.4% |
Panama compared with similar countries
- Panama's 0.7% is above the median for high income countries, which is 0.5%, 1.4× the median. (57 countries reporting)
- Panama's 0.7% is above the median for Latin America & Caribbean, which is 0.4%, 1.8× the median. (28 countries reporting)
Biggest year-on-year movements
Years where Armed forces personnel as a share of total population in Panama 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 |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2015 | +80.6% | 0.3% | 0.6% |
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1980s | 0.6% | 0.5% | 0.6% | 2 |
| 1990s | 0.4% | 0.4% | 0.5% | 10 |
| 2000s | 0.4% | 0.3% | 0.4% | 9 |
| 2010s | 0.5% | 0.3% | 0.7% | 10 |
| 2020s | 0.7% | 0.7% | 0.7% | 1 |
Countries ranked near Panama
More reference data data for Panama
- Emission Totals - Indirect emissions (N2O) - Manure applied to Soils 0.1446 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Indirect emissions (N2O) - Manure left on Pasture 0.6179 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Indirect emissions (N2O) - IPCC Agriculture 0.9793 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Indirect emissions (N2O) - Crop Residues 0.0285 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Indirect emissions (N2O) - Agricultural Soils 0.9793 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Emissions (N2O) - Manure applied to Soils 0.4849 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Emissions (N2O) - Manure Management 0.2267 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Emissions (N2O) - Manure left on Pasture 3.44 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Emissions (N2O) - IPCC Agriculture 5.08 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Emissions (N2O) - Crop Residues 0.1553 (2050)
Frequently asked questions
- What is armed forces personnel as a share of total population in Panama?
- Armed forces personnel as a share of total population in Panama was 0.7% 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 Panama?
- The highest recorded value was 0.7% in 2019.
- What is the lowest armed forces personnel as a share of total population recorded in Panama?
- The lowest recorded value was 0.3% in 2014.
- How does Panama rank for armed forces personnel as a share of total population?
- Panama ranks 44th out of 173 countries with data for 2020.
- Is armed forces personnel as a share of total population rising or falling in Panama?
- Over the last ten years it is up 97.2%. The long-run trend across the full record is rising.
- Where does this Panama 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 — 32 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.