Armed forces personnel in Senegal
Senegal: Armed forces personnel was 19,000 in 2020. ▲ Rising
Armed forces personnel in Senegal, 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 Senegal stood at 19,000. That is the highest value across all 33 years on record.
Compared with earlier readings it is up 2.0% over ten years.
Over the whole period, armed forces personnel in Senegal peaked at 19,000 in 2005 and was at its lowest, 10,100, in 1985.
Senegal ranks 108th 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 Senegal, year by year
| Year | Value | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 1985 | 10,100 | — |
| 1989 | 15,000 | +48.5% |
| 1990 | 18,000 | +20.0% |
| 1991 | 18,000 | +0.0% |
| 1992 | 18,000 | +0.0% |
| 1993 | 18,000 | +0.0% |
| 1994 | 14,000 | -22.2% |
| 1995 | 17,400 | +24.3% |
| 1996 | 17,400 | +0.0% |
| 1997 | 17,350 | -0.3% |
| 1998 | 17,000 | -2.0% |
| 1999 | 17,000 | +0.0% |
| 2000 | 15,400 | -9.4% |
| 2001 | 15,600 | +1.3% |
| 2002 | 15,200 | -2.6% |
| 2003 | 18,600 | +22.4% |
| 2004 | 18,000 | -3.2% |
| 2005 | 19,000 | +5.6% |
| 2006 | 19,000 | +0.0% |
| 2007 | 19,000 | +0.0% |
| 2008 | 19,000 | +0.0% |
| 2009 | 18,620 | -2.0% |
| 2010 | 18,620 | +0.0% |
| 2011 | 18,600 | -0.1% |
| 2012 | 18,600 | +0.0% |
| 2013 | 18,600 | +0.0% |
| 2014 | 18,600 | +0.0% |
| 2015 | 18,600 | +0.0% |
| 2016 | 18,600 | +0.0% |
| 2017 | 19,000 | +2.2% |
| 2018 | 18,600 | -2.1% |
| 2019 | 19,000 | +2.2% |
| 2020 | 19,000 | +0.0% |
Senegal compared with similar countries
- Senegal's 19,000 is below the median for lower middle income countries, which is 23,000, 83% of the median. (43 countries reporting)
- Senegal's 19,000 is above the median for Sub-Saharan Africa, which is 16,000, 1.2× the median. (47 countries reporting)
Biggest year-on-year movements
Years where Armed forces personnel in Senegal 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 |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1989 | +48.5% | 10,100 | 15,000 |
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1980s | 12,550 | 10,100 | 15,000 | 2 |
| 1990s | 17,215 | 14,000 | 18,000 | 10 |
| 2000s | 17,742 | 15,200 | 19,000 | 10 |
| 2010s | 18,682 | 18,600 | 19,000 | 10 |
| 2020s | 19,000 | 19,000 | 19,000 | 1 |
Countries ranked near Senegal
More reference data data for Senegal
- Emission Totals - Indirect emissions (N2O) - Manure applied to Soils 0.2247 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Indirect emissions (N2O) - Manure left on Pasture 3.89 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Indirect emissions (N2O) - IPCC Agriculture 4.55 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Indirect emissions (N2O) - Crop Residues 0.1649 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Indirect emissions (N2O) - Agricultural Soils 4.55 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Emissions (N2O) - Manure applied to Soils 0.7534 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Emissions (N2O) - Manure Management 0.5106 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Emissions (N2O) - Manure left on Pasture 17.48 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Emissions (N2O) - IPCC Agriculture 20.77 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Emissions (N2O) - Crop Residues 0.8979 (2050)
Frequently asked questions
- What is armed forces personnel in Senegal?
- Armed forces personnel in Senegal was 19,000 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 Senegal?
- The highest recorded value was 19,000 in 2005.
- What is the lowest armed forces personnel recorded in Senegal?
- The lowest recorded value was 10,100 in 1985.
- How does Senegal rank for armed forces personnel?
- Senegal ranks 108th out of 173 countries with data for 2020.
- Is armed forces personnel rising or falling in Senegal?
- Over the last ten years it is up 2.0%. The long-run trend across the full record is rising.
- Where does this Senegal 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.