Armed forces personnel in South Sudan
South Sudan: Armed forces personnel was 53,000 in 2020. ▼ Falling
Armed forces personnel in South Sudan, 2010–2020
Source: The Military Balance - International Institute for Strategic Studies, via World Bank (2026) – processed by Our World in Data.
Analysis
The most recent figure for armed forces personnel in South Sudan is 53,000, measured in 2020. That is the lowest value across all 11 years on record.
The figure is down 71.4% on the previous year and down 62.1% over ten years.
Over the whole period, armed forces personnel in South Sudan peaked at 210,000 in 2011 and was at its lowest, 53,000, in 2020.
South Sudan ranks 67th of 173 countries on this measure, in the middle of the range.
The long-run direction has been consistently falling across the 11 years of available data.
Armed forces personnel in South Sudan, year by year
| Year | Value | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 2010 | 140,000 | — |
| 2011 | 210,000 | +50.0% |
| 2012 | 210,000 | +0.0% |
| 2013 | 185,000 | -11.9% |
| 2014 | 185,000 | +0.0% |
| 2015 | 185,000 | +0.0% |
| 2016 | 185,000 | +0.0% |
| 2017 | 185,000 | +0.0% |
| 2018 | 185,000 | +0.0% |
| 2019 | 185,000 | +0.0% |
| 2020 | 53,000 | -71.4% |
South Sudan compared with similar countries
- South Sudan's 53,000 is above the median for low income countries, which is 35,000, 1.5× the median. (25 countries reporting)
- South Sudan's 53,000 is above the median for Sub-Saharan Africa, which is 16,000, 3.3× the median. (47 countries reporting)
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2010s | 185,500 | 140,000 | 210,000 | 10 |
| 2020s | 53,000 | 53,000 | 53,000 | 1 |
Countries ranked near South Sudan
More reference data data for South Sudan
- Emission Totals - Indirect emissions (N2O) - Manure left on Pasture 7 (2019)
- Emission Totals - Indirect emissions (N2O) - Manure applied to Soils 0.3667 (2019)
- Emission Totals - Indirect emissions (N2O) - Agricultural Soils 7.41 (2019)
- Emission Totals - Emissions (CO2eq) from CH4 (AR5) - Enteric 19,422 (2019)
- Emission Totals - Emissions (CO2eq) (AR5) - Manure Management 684.53 (2019)
- Emission Totals - Emissions (CO2eq) (AR5) - Manure applied to Soils 325.82 (2019)
- Emission Totals - Emissions (CO2eq) (AR5) - Manure left on Pasture 8,797 (2019)
- Emission Totals - Emissions (CO2eq) from CH4 (AR5) - Burning - Crop 6.36 (2019)
- Emission Totals - Emissions (CO2eq) from CH4 (AR5) - Manure Management 577.67 (2019)
- Emission Totals - Emissions (CH4) - IPCC Agriculture 944.75 (2019)
Frequently asked questions
- What is armed forces personnel in South Sudan?
- Armed forces personnel in South Sudan was 53,000 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 South Sudan?
- The highest recorded value was 210,000 in 2011.
- What is the lowest armed forces personnel recorded in South Sudan?
- The lowest recorded value was 53,000 in 2020.
- How does South Sudan rank for armed forces personnel?
- South Sudan ranks 67th out of 173 countries with data for 2020.
- Is armed forces personnel rising or falling in South Sudan?
- Over the last ten years it is down 62.1%. The long-run trend across the full record is falling.
- Where does this South Sudan 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 — 11 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.