Armed forces personnel as a share of total population in South Sudan
South Sudan: 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 South Sudan, 2010–2020
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 South Sudan stood at 0.5%. That is the lowest value across all 11 years on record.
That represents a change of down 72.1% on the previous year and down 65.5% over ten years.
Over the whole period, armed forces personnel as a share of total population in South Sudan peaked at 2.0% in 2011 and was at its lowest, 0.5%, in 2020.
South Sudan ranks 62nd of 173 countries on this measure, in the middle of the range.
The long-run direction has been consistently falling across the 11 years of available data.
Armed forces personnel as a share of total population in South Sudan, year by year
| Year | % | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 2010 | 1.4% | — |
| 2011 | 2.0% | +42.1% |
| 2012 | 2.0% | -4.4% |
| 2013 | 1.7% | -15.1% |
| 2014 | 1.6% | -0.6% |
| 2015 | 1.7% | +1.1% |
| 2016 | 1.7% | +2.6% |
| 2017 | 1.8% | +5.6% |
| 2018 | 1.8% | +1.3% |
| 2019 | 1.8% | -2.9% |
| 2020 | 0.5% | -72.1% |
South Sudan compared with similar countries
- South Sudan's 0.5% is above the median for low income countries, which is 0.2%, 3.1× the median. (25 countries reporting)
- South Sudan's 0.5% is above the median for Sub-Saharan Africa, which is 0.1%, 3.8× the median. (47 countries reporting)
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2010s | 1.8% | 1.4% | 2.0% | 10 |
| 2020s | 0.5% | 0.5% | 0.5% | 1 |
Countries ranked near South Sudan
More reference data data for South Sudan
- Emission Totals - Indirect emissions (N2O) - Manure left on Pasture 7 (2019)
- Emission Totals - Indirect emissions (N2O) - Manure applied to Soils 0.3667 (2019)
- Emission Totals - Indirect emissions (N2O) - Agricultural Soils 7.41 (2019)
- Emission Totals - Emissions (CO2eq) from CH4 (AR5) - Enteric 19,422 (2019)
- Emission Totals - Emissions (CO2eq) (AR5) - Manure Management 684.53 (2019)
- Emission Totals - Emissions (CO2eq) (AR5) - Manure applied to Soils 325.82 (2019)
- Emission Totals - Emissions (CO2eq) (AR5) - Manure left on Pasture 8,797 (2019)
- Emission Totals - Emissions (CO2eq) from CH4 (AR5) - Burning - Crop 6.36 (2019)
- Emission Totals - Emissions (CO2eq) from CH4 (AR5) - Manure Management 577.67 (2019)
- Emission Totals - Emissions (CH4) - IPCC Agriculture 944.75 (2019)
Frequently asked questions
- What is armed forces personnel as a share of total population in South Sudan?
- Armed forces personnel as a share of total population in South Sudan 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 South Sudan?
- The highest recorded value was 2.0% in 2011.
- What is the lowest armed forces personnel as a share of total population recorded in South Sudan?
- The lowest recorded value was 0.5% in 2020.
- How does South Sudan rank for armed forces personnel as a share of total population?
- South Sudan ranks 62nd out of 173 countries with data for 2020.
- Is armed forces personnel as a share of total population rising or falling in South Sudan?
- Over the last ten years it is down 65.5%. The long-run trend across the full record is falling.
- Where does this South Sudan 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.
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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.