Armed forces personnel in Bolivia
Bolivia: Armed forces personnel was 71,000 in 2020. ▲ Rising
Armed forces personnel in Bolivia, 1985–2020
Source: The Military Balance - International Institute for Strategic Studies, via World Bank (2026) – processed by Our World in Data.
Analysis
Bolivia recorded 71,000 for armed forces personnel in 2020.
The figure is down 14.7% over ten years.
Over the whole period, armed forces personnel in Bolivia peaked at 83,200 in 2009 and was at its lowest, 27,600, in 1985.
That places Bolivia 59th 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 33 years of available data.
Armed forces personnel in Bolivia, year by year
| Year | Value | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 1985 | 27,600 | — |
| 1989 | 30,000 | +8.7% |
| 1990 | 30,000 | +0.0% |
| 1991 | 33,000 | +10.0% |
| 1992 | 32,000 | -3.0% |
| 1993 | 32,000 | +0.0% |
| 1994 | 28,000 | -12.5% |
| 1995 | 64,100 | +128.9% |
| 1996 | 64,100 | +0.0% |
| 1997 | 70,600 | +10.1% |
| 1998 | 70,600 | +0.0% |
| 1999 | 69,600 | -1.4% |
| 2000 | 69,600 | +0.0% |
| 2001 | 68,600 | -1.4% |
| 2002 | 68,600 | +0.0% |
| 2003 | 68,600 | +0.0% |
| 2004 | 68,000 | -0.9% |
| 2005 | 70,000 | +2.9% |
| 2006 | 83,000 | +18.6% |
| 2007 | 83,000 | +0.0% |
| 2008 | 83,000 | +0.0% |
| 2009 | 83,200 | +0.2% |
| 2010 | 83,200 | +0.0% |
| 2011 | 83,200 | +0.0% |
| 2012 | 83,200 | +0.0% |
| 2013 | 83,200 | +0.0% |
| 2014 | 71,200 | -14.4% |
| 2015 | 71,200 | +0.0% |
| 2016 | 71,200 | +0.0% |
| 2017 | 71,000 | -0.3% |
| 2018 | 71,100 | +0.1% |
| 2019 | 71,000 | -0.1% |
| 2020 | 71,000 | +0.0% |
Bolivia compared with similar countries
- Bolivia's 71,000 is above the median for lower middle income countries, which is 23,000, 3.1× the median. (43 countries reporting)
- Bolivia's 71,000 is above the median for Latin America & Caribbean, which is 28,500, 2.5× the median. (28 countries reporting)
Biggest year-on-year movements
Years where Armed forces personnel in Bolivia 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 | +128.9% | 28,000 | 64,100 |
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1980s | 28,800 | 27,600 | 30,000 | 2 |
| 1990s | 49,400 | 28,000 | 70,600 | 10 |
| 2000s | 74,560 | 68,000 | 83,200 | 10 |
| 2010s | 75,950 | 71,000 | 83,200 | 10 |
| 2020s | 71,000 | 71,000 | 71,000 | 1 |
Countries ranked near Bolivia
- 56 Lebanon 80,000 compare
- 57 Cuba 76,000 compare
- 58 Canada 72,000 compare
- 59 Dominican Republic 71,000 compare
- 59 Kazakhstan 71,000 compare
- 62 Uzbekistan 68,000 compare
More reference data data for Bolivia
- Emission Totals - Indirect emissions (N2O) - Manure applied to Soils 0.7329 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Indirect emissions (N2O) - Manure left on Pasture 3.91 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Indirect emissions (N2O) - IPCC Agriculture 5.22 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Indirect emissions (N2O) - Crop Residues 0.3892 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Indirect emissions (N2O) - Agricultural Soils 5.22 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Emissions (N2O) - Manure applied to Soils 2.46 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Emissions (N2O) - Manure Management 1.33 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Emissions (N2O) - Manure left on Pasture 18.39 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Emissions (N2O) - IPCC Agriculture 25.12 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Emissions (N2O) - Crop Residues 2.12 (2050)
Frequently asked questions
- What is armed forces personnel in Bolivia?
- Armed forces personnel in Bolivia was 71,000 in 2020, according to The Military Balance - International Institute for Strategic Studies, via World Bank (2026) – processed by Our World in Data.
- What is the highest armed forces personnel recorded in Bolivia?
- The highest recorded value was 83,200 in 2009.
- What is the lowest armed forces personnel recorded in Bolivia?
- The lowest recorded value was 27,600 in 1985.
- How does Bolivia rank for armed forces personnel?
- Bolivia ranks 59th out of 173 countries with data for 2020.
- Is armed forces personnel rising or falling in Bolivia?
- Over the last ten years it is down 14.7%. The long-run trend across the full record is rising.
- Where does this Bolivia data come from?
- The figures come from The Military Balance - International Institute for Strategic Studies, via World Bank (2026) – processed by Our World in Data, published as part of Armed forces personnel. 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.