Armed forces personnel in Turkey
Turkey: Armed forces personnel was 512,000 in 2020. ▼ Falling
Armed forces personnel in Turkey, 1985–2020
Source: The Military Balance - International Institute for Strategic Studies, via World Bank (2026) – processed by Our World in Data.
Analysis
Turkey recorded 512,000 for armed forces personnel in 2020. That is the lowest value across all 33 years on record.
That represents a change of down 16.4% over ten years.
Over the whole period, armed forces personnel in Turkey peaked at 841,200 in 1999 and was at its lowest, 512,000, in 2015.
Turkey ranks 13th of 173 countries on this measure, in the top 10%.
The long-run direction has been consistently falling across the 33 years of available data.
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1980s | 705,000 | 630,000 | 780,000 | 2 |
| 1990s | 765,480 | 686,000 | 841,200 | 10 |
| 2000s | 650,520 | 612,000 | 827,700 | 10 |
| 2010s | 562,420 | 512,000 | 612,800 | 10 |
| 2020s | 512,000 | 512,000 | 512,000 | 1 |
Countries ranked near Turkey
More reference data data for Turkey
- Spring temperature anomalies -0.2619 °C (2026)
- Summer temperature anomalies 0.4067 °C (2026)
- Temperature anomalies by month 0.6004 °C (2026)
- Universal right to vote in practice 2 (2025)
- Autumn temperature anomalies 0.4405 °C (2025)
- Winter temperature anomalies 1.69 °C (2025)
- Consumer price index 1,784 2010 = 100 (2025)
- Universal right to vote 2 (2025)
- Competitive elections 0 (2025)
- Men's universal right to vote 1 (2025)
Frequently asked questions
- What is armed forces personnel in Turkey?
- Armed forces personnel in Turkey was 512,000 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 Turkey?
- The highest recorded value was 841,200 in 1999.
- What is the lowest armed forces personnel recorded in Turkey?
- The lowest recorded value was 512,000 in 2015.
- How does Turkey rank for armed forces personnel?
- Turkey ranks 13th out of 173 countries with data for 2020.
- Is armed forces personnel rising or falling in Turkey?
- Over the last ten years it is down 16.4%. The long-run trend across the full record is falling.
- Where does this Turkey 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.
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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.