Armed forces personnel in Paraguay
Paraguay: Armed forces personnel was 29,000 in 2020. ▲ Rising
Armed forces personnel in Paraguay, 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 Paraguay stood at 29,000.
That represents a change of up 13.9% over ten years.
Over the whole period, armed forces personnel in Paraguay peaked at 35,000 in 1996 and was at its lowest, 14,400, in 1985.
Paraguay ranks 88th of 173 countries on this measure, in the middle of the range.
The long-run direction has been consistently rising across the 33 years of available data.
Armed forces personnel in Paraguay, year by year
| Year | Value | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 1985 | 14,400 | — |
| 1989 | 16,000 | +11.1% |
| 1990 | 16,000 | +0.0% |
| 1991 | 16,000 | +0.0% |
| 1992 | 16,000 | +0.0% |
| 1993 | 16,000 | +0.0% |
| 1994 | 16,000 | +0.0% |
| 1995 | 28,300 | +76.9% |
| 1996 | 35,000 | +23.7% |
| 1997 | 35,000 | +0.0% |
| 1998 | 35,000 | +0.0% |
| 1999 | 35,000 | +0.0% |
| 2000 | 35,000 | +0.0% |
| 2001 | 33,400 | -4.6% |
| 2002 | 33,400 | +0.0% |
| 2003 | 33,400 | +0.0% |
| 2004 | 24,000 | -28.1% |
| 2005 | 25,000 | +4.2% |
| 2006 | 26,000 | +4.0% |
| 2007 | 26,000 | +0.0% |
| 2008 | 26,000 | +0.0% |
| 2009 | 25,450 | -2.1% |
| 2010 | 25,450 | +0.0% |
| 2011 | 25,450 | +0.0% |
| 2012 | 25,450 | +0.0% |
| 2013 | 25,450 | +0.0% |
| 2014 | 25,450 | +0.0% |
| 2015 | 25,450 | +0.0% |
| 2016 | 25,450 | +0.0% |
| 2017 | 27,000 | +6.1% |
| 2018 | 28,950 | +7.2% |
| 2019 | 29,000 | +0.2% |
| 2020 | 29,000 | +0.0% |
Paraguay compared with similar countries
- Paraguay's 29,000 is below the median for upper middle income countries, which is 64,000, 45% of the median. (48 countries reporting)
- Paraguay's 29,000 is above the median for Latin America & Caribbean, which is 28,500, 1.0× the median. (28 countries reporting)
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1980s | 15,200 | 14,400 | 16,000 | 2 |
| 1990s | 24,830 | 16,000 | 35,000 | 10 |
| 2000s | 28,765 | 24,000 | 35,000 | 10 |
| 2010s | 26,310 | 25,450 | 29,000 | 10 |
| 2020s | 29,000 | 29,000 | 29,000 | 1 |
Countries ranked near Paraguay
More reference data data for Paraguay
- Emission Totals - Indirect emissions (N2O) - Manure applied to Soils 0.3166 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Indirect emissions (N2O) - Manure left on Pasture 5.23 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Indirect emissions (N2O) - IPCC Agriculture 7.18 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Indirect emissions (N2O) - Crop Residues 0.6344 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Indirect emissions (N2O) - Agricultural Soils 7.18 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Emissions (N2O) - Manure applied to Soils 1.06 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Emissions (N2O) - Manure Management 0.5539 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Emissions (N2O) - Manure left on Pasture 29.48 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Emissions (N2O) - IPCC Agriculture 38.68 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Emissions (N2O) - Crop Residues 3.45 (2050)
Frequently asked questions
- What is armed forces personnel in Paraguay?
- Armed forces personnel in Paraguay was 29,000 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 Paraguay?
- The highest recorded value was 35,000 in 1996.
- What is the lowest armed forces personnel recorded in Paraguay?
- The lowest recorded value was 14,400 in 1985.
- How does Paraguay rank for armed forces personnel?
- Paraguay ranks 88th out of 173 countries with data for 2020.
- Is armed forces personnel rising or falling in Paraguay?
- Over the last ten years it is up 13.9%. The long-run trend across the full record is rising.
- Where does this Paraguay 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.