Armed forces personnel in Cambodia
Cambodia: Armed forces personnel was 191,000 in 2020. ▲ Rising
Armed forces personnel in Cambodia, 1985–2020
Source: The Military Balance - International Institute for Strategic Studies, via World Bank (2026) – processed by Our World in Data.
Analysis
Cambodia recorded 191,000 for armed forces personnel in 2020.
Compared with earlier readings it is down 0.2% over ten years.
Over the whole period, armed forces personnel in Cambodia peaked at 360,500 in 1997 and was at its lowest, 35,000, in 1985.
That places Cambodia 33rd out of 173 countries with data for 2020, putting it in the top quarter.
The long-run direction has been consistently rising across the 33 years of available data.
Armed forces personnel in Cambodia, year by year
| Year | Value | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 1985 | 35,000 | — |
| 1989 | 99,000 | +182.9% |
| 1990 | 112,000 | +13.1% |
| 1991 | 112,000 | +0.0% |
| 1992 | 135,000 | +20.5% |
| 1993 | 102,000 | -24.4% |
| 1994 | 70,000 | -31.4% |
| 1995 | 308,500 | +340.7% |
| 1996 | 307,700 | -0.3% |
| 1997 | 360,500 | +17.2% |
| 1998 | 359,000 | -0.4% |
| 1999 | 359,000 | +0.0% |
| 2000 | 360,000 | +0.3% |
| 2001 | 207,000 | -42.5% |
| 2002 | 192,000 | -7.2% |
| 2003 | 192,000 | +0.0% |
| 2004 | 192,000 | +0.0% |
| 2005 | 191,000 | -0.5% |
| 2006 | 191,000 | +0.0% |
| 2007 | 191,000 | +0.0% |
| 2008 | 191,000 | +0.0% |
| 2009 | 191,300 | +0.2% |
| 2010 | 191,300 | +0.0% |
| 2011 | 191,300 | +0.0% |
| 2012 | 191,300 | +0.0% |
| 2013 | 191,300 | +0.0% |
| 2014 | 191,300 | +0.0% |
| 2015 | 191,300 | +0.0% |
| 2016 | 191,300 | +0.0% |
| 2017 | 191,000 | -0.2% |
| 2018 | 191,300 | +0.2% |
| 2019 | 191,000 | -0.2% |
| 2020 | 191,000 | +0.0% |
Cambodia compared with similar countries
- Cambodia's 191,000 is above the median for lower middle income countries, which is 23,000, 8.3× the median. (43 countries reporting)
- Cambodia's 191,000 is above the median for East Asia & Pacific, which is 146,500, 1.3× the median. (20 countries reporting)
Biggest year-on-year movements
Years where Armed forces personnel in Cambodia 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 | +340.7% | 70,000 | 308,500 |
| 1989 | +182.9% | 35,000 | 99,000 |
| 2001 | -42.5% | 360,000 | 207,000 |
| 1994 | -31.4% | 102,000 | 70,000 |
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1980s | 67,000 | 35,000 | 99,000 | 2 |
| 1990s | 222,570 | 70,000 | 360,500 | 10 |
| 2000s | 209,830 | 191,000 | 360,000 | 10 |
| 2010s | 191,240 | 191,000 | 191,300 | 10 |
| 2020s | 191,000 | 191,000 | 191,000 | 1 |
Countries ranked near Cambodia
More reference data data for Cambodia
- Emission Totals - Indirect emissions (N2O) - Manure applied to Soils 0.6712 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Indirect emissions (N2O) - Manure left on Pasture 0.8536 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Indirect emissions (N2O) - IPCC Agriculture 2.73 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Indirect emissions (N2O) - Crop Residues 0.8836 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Indirect emissions (N2O) - Agricultural Soils 2.73 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Emissions (N2O) - Manure applied to Soils 2.25 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Emissions (N2O) - Manure Management 4.25 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Emissions (N2O) - Manure left on Pasture 4.85 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Emissions (N2O) - IPCC Agriculture 17.66 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Emissions (N2O) - Crop Residues 4.81 (2050)
Frequently asked questions
- What is armed forces personnel in Cambodia?
- Armed forces personnel in Cambodia was 191,000 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 Cambodia?
- The highest recorded value was 360,500 in 1997.
- What is the lowest armed forces personnel recorded in Cambodia?
- The lowest recorded value was 35,000 in 1985.
- How does Cambodia rank for armed forces personnel?
- Cambodia ranks 33rd out of 173 countries with data for 2020.
- Is armed forces personnel rising or falling in Cambodia?
- Over the last ten years it is down 0.2%. The long-run trend across the full record is rising.
- Where does this Cambodia 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.