Armed forces personnel in Guinea-Bissau
Guinea-Bissau: Armed forces personnel was 4,000 in 2020. ▼ Falling
Armed forces personnel in Guinea-Bissau, 1985–2020
Source: The Military Balance - International Institute for Strategic Studies, via World Bank (2026) – processed by Our World in Data.
Analysis
Guinea-Bissau recorded 4,000 for armed forces personnel in 2020. That is the lowest value across all 33 years on record.
That represents a change of down 38.1% over ten years.
Over the whole period, armed forces personnel in Guinea-Bissau peaked at 14,200 in 2003 and was at its lowest, 4,000, in 2017.
That places Guinea-Bissau 149th out of 173 countries with data for 2020, putting it in the bottom quarter.
The long-run direction has been consistently falling across the 33 years of available data.
Armed forces personnel in Guinea-Bissau, year by year
| Year | Value | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 1985 | 8,550 | — |
| 1989 | 10,000 | +17.0% |
| 1990 | 12,000 | +20.0% |
| 1991 | 12,000 | +0.0% |
| 1992 | 11,000 | -8.3% |
| 1993 | 11,000 | +0.0% |
| 1994 | 7,000 | -36.4% |
| 1995 | 9,200 | +31.4% |
| 1996 | 9,300 | +1.1% |
| 1997 | 9,250 | -0.5% |
| 1998 | 9,250 | +0.0% |
| 1999 | 9,300 | +0.5% |
| 2000 | 9,300 | +0.0% |
| 2001 | 11,300 | +21.5% |
| 2002 | 11,300 | +0.0% |
| 2003 | 14,200 | +25.7% |
| 2004 | 9,000 | -36.6% |
| 2005 | 9,000 | +0.0% |
| 2006 | 9,000 | +0.0% |
| 2007 | 9,000 | +0.0% |
| 2008 | 6,000 | -33.3% |
| 2009 | 6,458 | +7.6% |
| 2010 | 6,458 | +0.0% |
| 2011 | 6,450 | -0.1% |
| 2012 | 6,450 | +0.0% |
| 2013 | 6,450 | +0.0% |
| 2014 | 6,450 | +0.0% |
| 2015 | 4,450 | -31.0% |
| 2016 | 4,450 | +0.0% |
| 2017 | 4,000 | -10.1% |
| 2018 | 4,450 | +11.2% |
| 2019 | 4,000 | -10.1% |
| 2020 | 4,000 | +0.0% |
Guinea-Bissau compared with similar countries
- Guinea-Bissau's 4,000 is below the median for low income countries, which is 35,000, 11% of the median. (25 countries reporting)
- Guinea-Bissau's 4,000 is below the median for Sub-Saharan Africa, which is 16,000, 25% of the median. (47 countries reporting)
Biggest year-on-year movements
Years where Armed forces personnel in Guinea-Bissau 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 |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2004 | -36.6% | 14,200 | 9,000 |
| 1994 | -36.4% | 11,000 | 7,000 |
| 2008 | -33.3% | 9,000 | 6,000 |
| 1995 | +31.4% | 7,000 | 9,200 |
| 2015 | -31.0% | 6,450 | 4,450 |
| 2003 | +25.7% | 11,300 | 14,200 |
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1980s | 9,275 | 8,550 | 10,000 | 2 |
| 1990s | 9,930 | 7,000 | 12,000 | 10 |
| 2000s | 9,456 | 6,000 | 14,200 | 10 |
| 2010s | 5,361 | 4,000 | 6,458 | 10 |
| 2020s | 4,000 | 4,000 | 4,000 | 1 |
Countries ranked near Guinea-Bissau
- 148 Trinidad and Tobago 5,000 compare
- 149 Fiji 4,000 compare
- 149 Gambia 4,000 compare
- 149 Papua New Guinea 4,000 compare
More reference data data for Guinea-Bissau
- Emission Totals - Indirect emissions (N2O) - Manure applied to Soils 0.0583 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Indirect emissions (N2O) - Manure left on Pasture 0.3098 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Indirect emissions (N2O) - IPCC Agriculture 0.395 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Indirect emissions (N2O) - Crop Residues 0.0269 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Indirect emissions (N2O) - Agricultural Soils 0.395 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Emissions (N2O) - Manure applied to Soils 0.1955 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Emissions (N2O) - Manure Management 0.2346 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Emissions (N2O) - Manure left on Pasture 1.56 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Emissions (N2O) - IPCC Agriculture 2.15 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Emissions (N2O) - Crop Residues 0.1466 (2050)
Frequently asked questions
- What is armed forces personnel in Guinea-Bissau?
- Armed forces personnel in Guinea-Bissau was 4,000 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 Guinea-Bissau?
- The highest recorded value was 14,200 in 2003.
- What is the lowest armed forces personnel recorded in Guinea-Bissau?
- The lowest recorded value was 4,000 in 2017.
- How does Guinea-Bissau rank for armed forces personnel?
- Guinea-Bissau ranks 149th out of 173 countries with data for 2020.
- Is armed forces personnel rising or falling in Guinea-Bissau?
- Over the last ten years it is down 38.1%. The long-run trend across the full record is falling.
- Where does this Guinea-Bissau 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.