Armed forces personnel as a share of total population in Poland
Poland: Armed forces personnel as a share of total population was 0.5% in 2020. ▼ Falling
Armed forces personnel as a share of total population in Poland, 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
Poland recorded 0.5% for armed forces personnel as a share of total population in 2020.
Compared with earlier readings it is up 0.1% on the previous year and up 55.4% over ten years.
Over the whole period, armed forces personnel as a share of total population in Poland peaked at 0.9% in 1989 and was at its lowest, 0.3%, in 2011.
Poland ranks 63rd of 173 countries on this measure, in the middle of the range.
The long-run direction has been consistently falling across the 33 years of available data.
Armed forces personnel as a share of total population in Poland, year by year
| Year | % | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 1985 | 0.9% | — |
| 1989 | 0.9% | +7.6% |
| 1990 | 0.8% | -10.8% |
| 1991 | 0.8% | -2.8% |
| 1992 | 0.7% | -11.7% |
| 1993 | 0.7% | -3.9% |
| 1994 | 0.7% | -2.0% |
| 1995 | 0.8% | +18.4% |
| 1996 | 0.7% | -9.6% |
| 1997 | 0.7% | -2.8% |
| 1998 | 0.7% | -0.4% |
| 1999 | 0.7% | +0.1% |
| 2000 | 0.6% | -9.5% |
| 2001 | 0.6% | -4.5% |
| 2002 | 0.5% | -19.1% |
| 2003 | 0.5% | +0.1% |
| 2004 | 0.4% | -12.1% |
| 2005 | 0.4% | +0.1% |
| 2006 | 0.4% | -8.5% |
| 2007 | 0.4% | -3.9% |
| 2008 | 0.4% | +0.8% |
| 2009 | 0.3% | -15.1% |
| 2010 | 0.3% | -0.2% |
| 2011 | 0.3% | -3.0% |
| 2012 | 0.5% | +46.1% |
| 2013 | 0.5% | -0.0% |
| 2014 | 0.5% | -0.0% |
| 2015 | 0.5% | -0.0% |
| 2016 | 0.5% | +3.3% |
| 2017 | 0.5% | +7.1% |
| 2018 | 0.5% | +3.0% |
| 2019 | 0.5% | -3.9% |
| 2020 | 0.5% | +0.1% |
Poland compared with similar countries
- Poland's 0.5% is above the median for high income countries, which is 0.5%, 1.1× the median. (57 countries reporting)
- Poland's 0.5% is above the median for Europe & Central Asia, which is 0.5%, 1.1× the median. (48 countries reporting)
Biggest year-on-year movements
Years where Armed forces personnel as a share of total population in Poland 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 |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2012 | +46.1% | 0.3% | 0.5% |
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1980s | 0.9% | 0.9% | 0.9% | 2 |
| 1990s | 0.7% | 0.7% | 0.8% | 10 |
| 2000s | 0.4% | 0.3% | 0.6% | 10 |
| 2010s | 0.4% | 0.3% | 0.5% | 10 |
| 2020s | 0.5% | 0.5% | 0.5% | 1 |
Countries ranked near Poland
More reference data data for Poland
- Emission Totals - Indirect emissions (N2O) - Manure applied to Soils 2.62 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Indirect emissions (N2O) - Manure left on Pasture 0.499 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Indirect emissions (N2O) - IPCC Agriculture 9.36 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Indirect emissions (N2O) - Crop Residues 0.8896 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Indirect emissions (N2O) - Agricultural Soils 9.36 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Emissions (N2O) - Manure applied to Soils 8.77 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Emissions (N2O) - Manure Management 5.77 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Emissions (N2O) - Manure left on Pasture 2.57 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Emissions (N2O) - IPCC Agriculture 43.86 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Emissions (N2O) - Crop Residues 4.84 (2050)
Frequently asked questions
- What is armed forces personnel as a share of total population in Poland?
- Armed forces personnel as a share of total population in Poland was 0.5% 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 Poland?
- The highest recorded value was 0.9% in 1989.
- What is the lowest armed forces personnel as a share of total population recorded in Poland?
- The lowest recorded value was 0.3% in 2011.
- How does Poland rank for armed forces personnel as a share of total population?
- Poland ranks 63rd out of 173 countries with data for 2020.
- Is armed forces personnel as a share of total population rising or falling in Poland?
- Over the last ten years it is up 55.4%. The long-run trend across the full record is falling.
- Where does this Poland 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.