Armed forces personnel in East Timor
East Timor: Armed forces personnel was 2,000 in 2020. ▲ Rising
Armed forces personnel in East Timor, 2004–2020
Source: The Military Balance - International Institute for Strategic Studies, via World Bank (2026) – processed by Our World in Data.
Analysis
East Timor recorded 2,000 for armed forces personnel in 2020.
That represents a change of up 50.2% over ten years.
Over the whole period, armed forces personnel in East Timor peaked at 2,200 in 2018 and was at its lowest, 1,000, in 2004.
East Timor ranks 156th of 173 countries on this measure, in the bottom quarter.
The long-run direction has been consistently rising across the 16 years of available data.
Armed forces personnel in East Timor, year by year
| Year | Value | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 2004 | 1,000 | — |
| 2006 | 1,000 | +0.0% |
| 2007 | 1,000 | +0.0% |
| 2008 | 1,000 | +0.0% |
| 2009 | 1,332 | +33.2% |
| 2010 | 1,332 | +0.0% |
| 2011 | 1,330 | -0.2% |
| 2012 | 1,330 | +0.0% |
| 2013 | 1,330 | +0.0% |
| 2014 | 1,330 | +0.0% |
| 2015 | 1,330 | +0.0% |
| 2016 | 1,330 | +0.0% |
| 2017 | 2,000 | +50.4% |
| 2018 | 2,200 | +10.0% |
| 2019 | 2,000 | -9.1% |
| 2020 | 2,000 | +0.0% |
East Timor compared with similar countries
- East Timor's 2,000 is below the median for lower middle income countries, which is 23,000, 9% of the median. (43 countries reporting)
- East Timor's 2,000 is below the median for East Asia & Pacific, which is 146,500, 1% of the median. (20 countries reporting)
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000s | 1,066 | 1,000 | 1,332 | 5 |
| 2010s | 1,551 | 1,330 | 2,200 | 10 |
| 2020s | 2,000 | 2,000 | 2,000 | 1 |
Countries ranked near East Timor
More reference data data for East Timor
- Emission Totals - Emissions (N2O) - Manure applied to Soils 0.1569 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Emissions (CO2eq) from N2O (AR5) - Manure left on 112.76 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Emissions (CO2eq) from N2O (AR5) - Manure Management 75.64 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Emissions (CO2eq) from N2O (AR5) - Manure applied 41.57 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Emissions (CO2eq) from N2O (AR5) - IPCC Agriculture 249.78 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Indirect emissions (N2O) - Manure left on Pasture 0.0888 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Emissions (N2O) - Agricultural Soils 0.6476 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Indirect emissions (N2O) - Manure applied to Soils 0.0468 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Indirect emissions (N2O) - Crop Residues 0.012 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Emissions (N2O) - IPCC Agriculture 0.9426 (2050)
Frequently asked questions
- What is armed forces personnel in East Timor?
- Armed forces personnel in East Timor was 2,000 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 East Timor?
- The highest recorded value was 2,200 in 2018.
- What is the lowest armed forces personnel recorded in East Timor?
- The lowest recorded value was 1,000 in 2004.
- How does East Timor rank for armed forces personnel?
- East Timor ranks 156th out of 173 countries with data for 2020.
- Is armed forces personnel rising or falling in East Timor?
- Over the last ten years it is up 50.2%. The long-run trend across the full record is rising.
- Where does this East Timor 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 — 16 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.