Armed forces personnel in Iran
Iran: Armed forces personnel was 650,000 in 2020. ▼ Falling
Armed forces personnel in Iran, 1985–2020
Source: Our World in Data.
Analysis
Iran recorded 650,000 for armed forces personnel in 2020.
The figure is up 15.5% over ten years.
Over the whole period, armed forces personnel in Iran peaked at 868,000 in 1997 and was at its lowest, 440,000, in 1990.
Iran ranks 10th of 173 countries on this measure, in the top 10%.
The long-run direction has been consistently falling across the 33 years of available data.
Armed forces personnel in Iran, year by year
| Year | Value | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 1985 | 610,000 | — |
| 1989 | 604,000 | -1.0% |
| 1990 | 440,000 | -27.2% |
| 1991 | 465,000 | +5.7% |
| 1992 | 528,000 | +13.5% |
| 1993 | 528,000 | +0.0% |
| 1994 | 528,000 | +0.0% |
| 1995 | 763,000 | +44.5% |
| 1996 | 863,000 | +13.1% |
| 1997 | 868,000 | +0.6% |
| 1998 | 820,000 | -5.5% |
| 1999 | 785,600 | -4.2% |
| 2000 | 753,000 | -4.1% |
| 2001 | 553,000 | -26.6% |
| 2002 | 560,000 | +1.3% |
| 2003 | 580,000 | +3.6% |
| 2004 | 460,000 | -20.7% |
| 2005 | 585,000 | +27.2% |
| 2006 | 585,000 | +0.0% |
| 2007 | 563,000 | -3.8% |
| 2008 | 563,000 | +0.0% |
| 2009 | 563,000 | +0.0% |
| 2010 | 563,000 | +0.0% |
| 2011 | 563,000 | +0.0% |
| 2012 | 563,000 | +0.0% |
| 2013 | 563,000 | +0.0% |
| 2014 | 563,000 | +0.0% |
| 2015 | 563,000 | +0.0% |
| 2016 | 563,000 | +0.0% |
| 2017 | 563,000 | +0.0% |
| 2018 | 650,000 | +15.5% |
| 2019 | 650,000 | +0.0% |
| 2020 | 650,000 | +0.0% |
Iran compared with similar countries
- Iran's 650,000 is above the median for upper middle income countries, which is 64,000, 10.2× the median. (48 countries reporting)
- Iran's 650,000 is above the median for Middle East, North Africa, Afghanistan & Pakistan, which is 80,000, 8.1× the median. (23 countries reporting)
Biggest year-on-year movements
Years where Armed forces personnel in Iran 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 | +44.5% | 528,000 | 763,000 |
| 2005 | +27.2% | 460,000 | 585,000 |
| 1990 | -27.2% | 604,000 | 440,000 |
| 2001 | -26.6% | 753,000 | 553,000 |
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1980s | 607,000 | 604,000 | 610,000 | 2 |
| 1990s | 658,860 | 440,000 | 868,000 | 10 |
| 2000s | 576,500 | 460,000 | 753,000 | 10 |
| 2010s | 580,400 | 563,000 | 650,000 | 10 |
| 2020s | 650,000 | 650,000 | 650,000 | 1 |
Countries ranked near Iran
More reference data data for Iran
- Emission Totals - Indirect emissions (N2O) - Agricultural Soils 26.62 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Direct emissions (N2O) - Crop Residues 5.96 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Emissions (CO2eq) (AR5) - Burning - Crop residues 281.19 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Direct emissions (N2O) - Agricultural Soils 78.8 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Emissions (CO2eq) (AR5) - Agricultural Soils 27,934 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Direct emissions (N2O) - Manure applied to Soils 8.15 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Direct emissions (N2O) - IPCC Agriculture 78.8 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Emissions (CH4) - Manure Management 95.57 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Emissions (N2O) - Burning - Crop residues 0.2091 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Emissions (N2O) - Manure applied to Soils 11.62 (2050)
Frequently asked questions
- What is armed forces personnel in Iran?
- Armed forces personnel in Iran was 650,000 in 2020, according to Our World in Data.
- What is the highest armed forces personnel recorded in Iran?
- The highest recorded value was 868,000 in 1997.
- What is the lowest armed forces personnel recorded in Iran?
- The lowest recorded value was 440,000 in 1990.
- How does Iran rank for armed forces personnel?
- Iran ranks 10th out of 173 countries with data for 2020.
- Is armed forces personnel rising or falling in Iran?
- Over the last ten years it is up 15.5%. The long-run trend across the full record is falling.
- Where does this Iran data come from?
- The figures come from 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).