Armed forces personnel in Turkmenistan
Turkmenistan: Armed forces personnel was 57,000 in 2020. ▲ Rising
Armed forces personnel in Turkmenistan, 1992–2020
Source: The Military Balance - International Institute for Strategic Studies, via World Bank (2026) – processed by Our World in Data.
Analysis
Turkmenistan recorded 57,000 for armed forces personnel in 2020. That is the highest value across all 29 years on record.
Compared with earlier readings it is up 35.7% on the previous year and up 159.1% over ten years.
Over the whole period, armed forces personnel in Turkmenistan peaked at 57,000 in 2020 and was at its lowest, 11,000, in 1995.
That places Turkmenistan 66th out of 173 countries with data for 2020, putting it in the middle of the range.
The long-run direction has been consistently rising across the 29 years of available data.
Armed forces personnel in Turkmenistan, year by year
| Year | Value | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 1992 | 28,000 | — |
| 1993 | 28,000 | +0.0% |
| 1994 | 15,000 | -46.4% |
| 1995 | 11,000 | -26.7% |
| 1996 | 18,000 | +63.6% |
| 1997 | 18,000 | +0.0% |
| 1998 | 19,000 | +5.6% |
| 1999 | 19,000 | +0.0% |
| 2000 | 14,500 | -23.7% |
| 2001 | 17,500 | +20.7% |
| 2002 | 17,500 | +0.0% |
| 2003 | 29,000 | +65.7% |
| 2004 | 26,000 | -10.3% |
| 2005 | 26,000 | +0.0% |
| 2006 | 22,000 | -15.4% |
| 2007 | 22,000 | +0.0% |
| 2008 | 22,000 | +0.0% |
| 2009 | 22,000 | +0.0% |
| 2010 | 22,000 | +0.0% |
| 2011 | 22,000 | +0.0% |
| 2012 | 22,000 | +0.0% |
| 2013 | 22,000 | +0.0% |
| 2014 | 36,500 | +65.9% |
| 2015 | 36,500 | +0.0% |
| 2016 | 41,500 | +13.7% |
| 2017 | 42,000 | +1.2% |
| 2018 | 41,500 | -1.2% |
| 2019 | 42,000 | +1.2% |
| 2020 | 57,000 | +35.7% |
Turkmenistan compared with similar countries
- Turkmenistan's 57,000 is below the median for upper middle income countries, which is 64,000, 89% of the median. (48 countries reporting)
- Turkmenistan's 57,000 is above the median for Europe & Central Asia, which is 26,500, 2.2× the median. (48 countries reporting)
Biggest year-on-year movements
Years where Armed forces personnel in Turkmenistan 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 |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2014 | +65.9% | 22,000 | 36,500 |
| 2003 | +65.7% | 17,500 | 29,000 |
| 1996 | +63.6% | 11,000 | 18,000 |
| 1994 | -46.4% | 28,000 | 15,000 |
| 2020 | +35.7% | 42,000 | 57,000 |
| 1995 | -26.7% | 15,000 | 11,000 |
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1990s | 19,500 | 11,000 | 28,000 | 8 |
| 2000s | 21,850 | 14,500 | 29,000 | 10 |
| 2010s | 32,800 | 22,000 | 42,000 | 10 |
| 2020s | 57,000 | 57,000 | 57,000 | 1 |
Countries ranked near Turkmenistan
More reference data data for Turkmenistan
- Emission Totals - Indirect emissions (N2O) - Manure applied to Soils 0.6549 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Indirect emissions (N2O) - Manure left on Pasture 1.75 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Indirect emissions (N2O) - IPCC Agriculture 2.51 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Indirect emissions (N2O) - Crop Residues 0.1077 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Indirect emissions (N2O) - Agricultural Soils 2.51 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Emissions (N2O) - Manure applied to Soils 2.2 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Emissions (N2O) - Manure Management 1.76 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Emissions (N2O) - Manure left on Pasture 6.69 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Emissions (N2O) - IPCC Agriculture 11.25 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Emissions (N2O) - Crop Residues 0.5864 (2050)
Frequently asked questions
- What is armed forces personnel in Turkmenistan?
- Armed forces personnel in Turkmenistan was 57,000 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 Turkmenistan?
- The highest recorded value was 57,000 in 2020.
- What is the lowest armed forces personnel recorded in Turkmenistan?
- The lowest recorded value was 11,000 in 1995.
- How does Turkmenistan rank for armed forces personnel?
- Turkmenistan ranks 66th out of 173 countries with data for 2020.
- Is armed forces personnel rising or falling in Turkmenistan?
- Over the last ten years it is up 159.1%. The long-run trend across the full record is rising.
- Where does this Turkmenistan 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 — 29 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.