Armed forces personnel in Brazil
Brazil: Armed forces personnel was 762,000 in 2020. ▲ Rising
Armed forces personnel in Brazil, 1985–2020
Source: The Military Balance - International Institute for Strategic Studies, via World Bank (2026) – processed by Our World in Data.
Analysis
Brazil recorded 762,000 for armed forces personnel in 2020. That is the highest value across all 33 years on record.
The figure is up 6.8% over ten years.
Over the whole period, armed forces personnel in Brazil peaked at 762,000 in 2019 and was at its lowest, 276,000, in 1985.
That places Brazil 8th out of 173 countries with data for 2020, putting it in the top 10%.
The long-run direction has been consistently rising across the 33 years of available data.
Armed forces personnel in Brazil, year by year
| Year | Value | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 1985 | 276,000 | — |
| 1989 | 319,000 | +15.6% |
| 1990 | 295,000 | -7.5% |
| 1991 | 295,000 | +0.0% |
| 1992 | 296,000 | +0.3% |
| 1993 | 296,000 | +0.0% |
| 1994 | 296,000 | +0.0% |
| 1995 | 680,600 | +129.9% |
| 1996 | 680,600 | +0.0% |
| 1997 | 700,300 | +2.9% |
| 1998 | 698,850 | -0.2% |
| 1999 | 676,600 | -3.2% |
| 2000 | 673,200 | -0.5% |
| 2001 | 673,200 | +0.0% |
| 2002 | 673,200 | +0.0% |
| 2003 | 673,200 | +0.0% |
| 2004 | 687,000 | +2.0% |
| 2005 | 673,000 | -2.0% |
| 2006 | 754,000 | +12.0% |
| 2007 | 721,000 | -4.4% |
| 2008 | 721,000 | +0.0% |
| 2009 | 713,480 | -1.0% |
| 2010 | 713,480 | +0.0% |
| 2011 | 713,480 | +0.0% |
| 2012 | 713,480 | +0.0% |
| 2013 | 713,480 | +0.0% |
| 2014 | 729,500 | +2.2% |
| 2015 | 729,500 | +0.0% |
| 2016 | 729,500 | +0.0% |
| 2017 | 730,000 | +0.1% |
| 2018 | 761,500 | +4.3% |
| 2019 | 762,000 | +0.1% |
| 2020 | 762,000 | +0.0% |
Brazil compared with similar countries
- Brazil's 762,000 is above the median for upper middle income countries, which is 64,000, 11.9× the median. (48 countries reporting)
- Brazil's 762,000 is above the median for Latin America & Caribbean, which is 28,500, 26.7× the median. (28 countries reporting)
Biggest year-on-year movements
Years where Armed forces personnel in Brazil 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 | +129.9% | 296,000 | 680,600 |
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1980s | 297,500 | 276,000 | 319,000 | 2 |
| 1990s | 491,495 | 295,000 | 700,300 | 10 |
| 2000s | 696,228 | 673,000 | 754,000 | 10 |
| 2010s | 729,592 | 713,480 | 762,000 | 10 |
| 2020s | 762,000 | 762,000 | 762,000 | 1 |
Countries ranked near Brazil
More reference data data for Brazil
- Emission Totals - Indirect emissions (N2O) - Manure applied to Soils 13.82 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Indirect emissions (N2O) - Manure left on Pasture 72.83 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Indirect emissions (N2O) - IPCC Agriculture 139.27 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Indirect emissions (N2O) - Crop Residues 9.01 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Indirect emissions (N2O) - Agricultural Soils 139.27 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Emissions (N2O) - Manure applied to Soils 46.34 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Emissions (N2O) - Manure Management 18.99 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Emissions (N2O) - Manure left on Pasture 405.35 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Emissions (N2O) - IPCC Agriculture 699.19 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Emissions (N2O) - Crop Residues 49.04 (2050)
Frequently asked questions
- What is armed forces personnel in Brazil?
- Armed forces personnel in Brazil was 762,000 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 Brazil?
- The highest recorded value was 762,000 in 2019.
- What is the lowest armed forces personnel recorded in Brazil?
- The lowest recorded value was 276,000 in 1985.
- How does Brazil rank for armed forces personnel?
- Brazil ranks 8th out of 173 countries with data for 2020.
- Is armed forces personnel rising or falling in Brazil?
- Over the last ten years it is up 6.8%. The long-run trend across the full record is rising.
- Where does this Brazil 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.