Armed forces personnel in Mexico
Mexico: Armed forces personnel was 341,000 in 2020. ▲ Rising
Armed forces personnel in Mexico, 1985–2020
Source: The Military Balance - International Institute for Strategic Studies, via World Bank (2026) – processed by Our World in Data.
Analysis
Mexico recorded 341,000 for armed forces personnel in 2020.
The figure is up 4.0% on the previous year and up 2.8% over ten years.
Over the whole period, armed forces personnel in Mexico peaked at 348,000 in 2018 and was at its lowest, 129,100, in 1985.
That places Mexico 19th 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 Mexico, year by year
| Year | Value | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 1985 | 129,100 | — |
| 1989 | 154,000 | +19.3% |
| 1990 | 175,000 | +13.6% |
| 1991 | 175,000 | +0.0% |
| 1992 | 175,000 | +0.0% |
| 1993 | 175,000 | +0.0% |
| 1994 | 175,000 | +0.0% |
| 1995 | 189,000 | +8.0% |
| 1996 | 190,000 | +0.5% |
| 1997 | 190,000 | +0.0% |
| 1998 | 190,000 | +0.0% |
| 1999 | 193,770 | +2.0% |
| 2000 | 207,800 | +7.2% |
| 2001 | 203,800 | -1.9% |
| 2002 | 203,800 | +0.0% |
| 2003 | 203,800 | +0.0% |
| 2004 | 203,000 | -0.4% |
| 2005 | 204,000 | +0.5% |
| 2006 | 280,000 | +37.3% |
| 2007 | 286,000 | +2.1% |
| 2008 | 305,000 | +6.6% |
| 2009 | 331,750 | +8.8% |
| 2010 | 331,750 | +0.0% |
| 2011 | 329,750 | -0.6% |
| 2012 | 329,750 | +0.0% |
| 2013 | 325,450 | -1.3% |
| 2014 | 336,050 | +3.3% |
| 2015 | 336,050 | +0.0% |
| 2016 | 336,050 | +0.0% |
| 2017 | 336,000 | -0.0% |
| 2018 | 348,000 | +3.6% |
| 2019 | 328,000 | -5.7% |
| 2020 | 341,000 | +4.0% |
Mexico compared with similar countries
- Mexico's 341,000 is above the median for upper middle income countries, which is 64,000, 5.3× the median. (48 countries reporting)
- Mexico's 341,000 is above the median for Latin America & Caribbean, which is 28,500, 12.0× the median. (28 countries reporting)
Biggest year-on-year movements
Years where Armed forces personnel in Mexico 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 |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2006 | +37.3% | 204,000 | 280,000 |
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1980s | 141,550 | 129,100 | 154,000 | 2 |
| 1990s | 182,777 | 175,000 | 193,770 | 10 |
| 2000s | 242,895 | 203,000 | 331,750 | 10 |
| 2010s | 333,685 | 325,450 | 348,000 | 10 |
| 2020s | 341,000 | 341,000 | 341,000 | 1 |
Countries ranked near Mexico
More reference data data for Mexico
- Emission Totals - Indirect emissions (N2O) - Manure applied to Soils 4.11 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Indirect emissions (N2O) - Manure left on Pasture 16.66 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Indirect emissions (N2O) - IPCC Agriculture 32.65 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Indirect emissions (N2O) - Crop Residues 1.75 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Indirect emissions (N2O) - Agricultural Soils 32.65 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Emissions (N2O) - Manure applied to Soils 13.78 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Emissions (N2O) - Manure Management 7.36 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Emissions (N2O) - Manure left on Pasture 84.69 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Emissions (N2O) - IPCC Agriculture 157.18 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Emissions (N2O) - Crop Residues 9.55 (2050)
Frequently asked questions
- What is armed forces personnel in Mexico?
- Armed forces personnel in Mexico was 341,000 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 Mexico?
- The highest recorded value was 348,000 in 2018.
- What is the lowest armed forces personnel recorded in Mexico?
- The lowest recorded value was 129,100 in 1985.
- How does Mexico rank for armed forces personnel?
- Mexico ranks 19th out of 173 countries with data for 2020.
- Is armed forces personnel rising or falling in Mexico?
- Over the last ten years it is up 2.8%. The long-run trend across the full record is rising.
- Where does this Mexico 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.