Armed forces personnel in Mongolia
Mongolia: Armed forces personnel was 18,000 in 2020. ▼ Falling
Armed forces personnel in Mongolia, 1985–2020
Source: The Military Balance - International Institute for Strategic Studies, via World Bank (2026) – processed by Our World in Data.
Analysis
In 2020, armed forces personnel in Mongolia stood at 18,000.
The figure is up 4.7% over ten years.
Over the whole period, armed forces personnel in Mongolia peaked at 33,500 in 1996 and was at its lowest, 14,900, in 1997.
Mongolia ranks 110th of 173 countries on this measure, in the middle of the range.
The long-run direction has been consistently falling across the 33 years of available data.
Armed forces personnel in Mongolia, year by year
| Year | Value | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 1985 | 33,000 | — |
| 1989 | 33,000 | +0.0% |
| 1990 | 32,000 | -3.0% |
| 1991 | 31,000 | -3.1% |
| 1992 | 21,000 | -32.3% |
| 1993 | 18,000 | -14.3% |
| 1994 | 18,000 | +0.0% |
| 1995 | 31,100 | +72.8% |
| 1996 | 33,500 | +7.7% |
| 1997 | 14,900 | -55.5% |
| 1998 | 17,000 | +14.1% |
| 1999 | 16,300 | -4.1% |
| 2000 | 16,300 | +0.0% |
| 2001 | 16,300 | +0.0% |
| 2002 | 16,300 | +0.0% |
| 2003 | 15,800 | -3.1% |
| 2004 | 15,000 | -5.1% |
| 2005 | 16,000 | +6.7% |
| 2006 | 16,000 | +0.0% |
| 2007 | 16,000 | +0.0% |
| 2008 | 17,000 | +6.2% |
| 2009 | 17,200 | +1.2% |
| 2010 | 17,200 | +0.0% |
| 2011 | 17,200 | +0.0% |
| 2012 | 17,200 | +0.0% |
| 2013 | 17,500 | +1.7% |
| 2014 | 17,500 | +0.0% |
| 2015 | 17,500 | +0.0% |
| 2016 | 17,500 | +0.0% |
| 2017 | 18,000 | +2.9% |
| 2018 | 17,700 | -1.7% |
| 2019 | 18,000 | +1.7% |
| 2020 | 18,000 | +0.0% |
Mongolia compared with similar countries
- Mongolia's 18,000 is below the median for upper middle income countries, which is 64,000, 28% of the median. (48 countries reporting)
- Mongolia's 18,000 is below the median for East Asia & Pacific, which is 146,500, 12% of the median. (20 countries reporting)
Biggest year-on-year movements
Years where Armed forces personnel in Mongolia 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 | +72.8% | 18,000 | 31,100 |
| 1997 | -55.5% | 33,500 | 14,900 |
| 1992 | -32.3% | 31,000 | 21,000 |
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1980s | 33,000 | 33,000 | 33,000 | 2 |
| 1990s | 23,280 | 14,900 | 33,500 | 10 |
| 2000s | 16,190 | 15,000 | 17,200 | 10 |
| 2010s | 17,530 | 17,200 | 18,000 | 10 |
| 2020s | 18,000 | 18,000 | 18,000 | 1 |
Countries ranked near Mongolia
More reference data data for Mongolia
- Emission Totals - Indirect emissions (N2O) - Manure applied to Soils 0.8173 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Indirect emissions (N2O) - Manure left on Pasture 3.37 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Indirect emissions (N2O) - IPCC Agriculture 4.25 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Indirect emissions (N2O) - Crop Residues 0.0069 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Indirect emissions (N2O) - Agricultural Soils 4.25 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Emissions (N2O) - Manure applied to Soils 2.74 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Emissions (N2O) - Manure Management 3.16 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Emissions (N2O) - Manure left on Pasture 12.74 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Emissions (N2O) - IPCC Agriculture 18.89 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Emissions (N2O) - Crop Residues 0.0378 (2050)
Frequently asked questions
- What is armed forces personnel in Mongolia?
- Armed forces personnel in Mongolia was 18,000 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 Mongolia?
- The highest recorded value was 33,500 in 1996.
- What is the lowest armed forces personnel recorded in Mongolia?
- The lowest recorded value was 14,900 in 1997.
- How does Mongolia rank for armed forces personnel?
- Mongolia ranks 110th out of 173 countries with data for 2020.
- Is armed forces personnel rising or falling in Mongolia?
- Over the last ten years it is up 4.7%. The long-run trend across the full record is falling.
- Where does this Mongolia 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.