Armed forces personnel as a share of total population in Sudan
Sudan: Armed forces personnel as a share of total population was 0.3% in 2020. ▲ Rising
Armed forces personnel as a share of total population in Sudan, 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
Sudan recorded 0.3% for armed forces personnel as a share of total population in 2020.
That represents a change of up 13.0% on the previous year and down 14.0% over ten years.
Over the whole period, armed forces personnel as a share of total population in Sudan peaked at 0.7% in 2011 and was at its lowest, 0.3%, in 2019.
That places Sudan 95th out of 173 countries with data for 2020, putting it in the middle of the range.
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 Sudan, year by year
| Year | % | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 1985 | 0.3% | — |
| 1989 | 0.3% | +5.9% |
| 1990 | 0.3% | -2.0% |
| 1991 | 0.3% | -2.0% |
| 1992 | 0.4% | +23.6% |
| 1993 | 0.3% | -2.2% |
| 1994 | 0.3% | -2.5% |
| 1995 | 0.5% | +58.7% |
| 1996 | 0.4% | -23.8% |
| 1997 | 0.4% | -10.9% |
| 1998 | 0.4% | +13.0% |
| 1999 | 0.4% | -2.5% |
| 2000 | 0.4% | +6.2% |
| 2001 | 0.4% | +1.2% |
| 2002 | 0.4% | -2.4% |
| 2003 | 0.4% | -9.7% |
| 2004 | 0.4% | +3.4% |
| 2005 | 0.4% | -0.6% |
| 2007 | 0.4% | -1.5% |
| 2008 | 0.4% | -2.6% |
| 2009 | 0.4% | -2.9% |
| 2010 | 0.4% | -2.4% |
| 2011 | 0.7% | +104.2% |
| 2012 | 0.7% | -2.1% |
| 2013 | 0.7% | -2.3% |
| 2014 | 0.7% | -2.7% |
| 2015 | 0.7% | -3.0% |
| 2016 | 0.3% | -54.4% |
| 2017 | 0.3% | -3.6% |
| 2018 | 0.3% | -3.2% |
| 2019 | 0.3% | -3.1% |
| 2020 | 0.3% | +13.0% |
Sudan compared with similar countries
- Sudan's 0.3% is above the median for low income countries, which is 0.2%, 1.9× the median. (25 countries reporting)
- Sudan's 0.3% is above the median for Sub-Saharan Africa, which is 0.1%, 2.4× the median. (47 countries reporting)
Biggest year-on-year movements
Years where Armed forces personnel as a share of total population in Sudan 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 |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2011 | +104.2% | 0.4% | 0.7% |
| 1995 | +58.7% | 0.3% | 0.5% |
| 2016 | -54.4% | 0.7% | 0.3% |
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1980s | 0.3% | 0.3% | 0.3% | 2 |
| 1990s | 0.4% | 0.3% | 0.5% | 10 |
| 2000s | 0.4% | 0.4% | 0.4% | 9 |
| 2010s | 0.5% | 0.3% | 0.7% | 10 |
| 2020s | 0.3% | 0.3% | 0.3% | 1 |
Countries ranked near Sudan
More reference data data for Sudan
- Emission Totals - Indirect emissions (N2O) - Manure applied to Soils 0.5846 (2019)
- Emission Totals - Indirect emissions (N2O) - Manure left on Pasture 17.81 (2019)
- Emission Totals - Indirect emissions (N2O) - IPCC Agriculture 19.69 (2019)
- Emission Totals - Indirect emissions (N2O) - Crop Residues 0.4356 (2019)
- Emission Totals - Indirect emissions (N2O) - Agricultural Soils 19.69 (2019)
- Emission Totals - Emissions (N2O) - Manure applied to Soils 1.96 (2019)
- Emission Totals - Emissions (N2O) - Manure Management 0.8148 (2019)
- Emission Totals - Emissions (N2O) - Manure left on Pasture 80.68 (2019)
- Emission Totals - Emissions (N2O) - IPCC Agriculture 93.88 (2019)
- Emission Totals - Emissions (N2O) - Crop Residues 2.37 (2019)
Frequently asked questions
- What is armed forces personnel as a share of total population in Sudan?
- Armed forces personnel as a share of total population in Sudan was 0.3% 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 Sudan?
- The highest recorded value was 0.7% in 2011.
- What is the lowest armed forces personnel as a share of total population recorded in Sudan?
- The lowest recorded value was 0.3% in 2019.
- How does Sudan rank for armed forces personnel as a share of total population?
- Sudan ranks 95th out of 173 countries with data for 2020.
- Is armed forces personnel as a share of total population rising or falling in Sudan?
- Over the last ten years it is down 14.0%. The long-run trend across the full record is rising.
- Where does this 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.