Military personnel in Bangladesh

Bangladesh: Military personnel was 163,000 in 2022. ▲ Rising

Latest (2022)
163,000
Change on year
unchanged
World rank
31st
of 194 countries
All-time high
163,000
in 2020
All-time low
47,000
in 1972
Years of data
51
1972–2022

Military personnel in Bangladesh, 1972–2022

50.0k75.0k100.0k125.0k150.0k175.0k197219972022

Source: Our World in Data.

Analysis

Bangladesh recorded 163,000 for military personnel in 2022. That is the highest value across all 51 years on record.

Compared with earlier readings it is up 3.8% over ten years.

Over the whole period, military personnel in Bangladesh peaked at 163,000 in 2020 and was at its lowest, 47,000, in 1972.

That places Bangladesh 31st out of 194 countries with data for 2022, putting it in the top quarter.

The long-run direction has been consistently rising across the 51 years of available data.

Military personnel in Bangladesh, year by year

Annual values for Military personnel in Bangladesh, 1972 to 2022.
Year Value Change
1972 47,000 —
1973 86,000 +83.0%
1974 100,000 +16.3%
1975 100,000 +0.0%
1976 126,000 +26.0%
1977 126,000 +0.0%
1978 129,000 +2.4%
1979 120,000 -7.0%
1980 71,000 -40.8%
1981 77,000 +8.5%
1982 77,000 +0.0%
1983 77,000 +0.0%
1984 81,000 +5.2%
1985 91,000 +12.3%
1986 91,000 +0.0%
1987 102,000 +12.1%
1988 102,000 +0.0%
1989 103,000 +1.0%
1990 103,000 +0.0%
1991 107,000 +3.9%
1992 107,000 +0.0%
1993 107,000 +0.0%
1994 113,000 +5.6%
1995 115,000 +1.8%
1996 113,000 -1.7%
1997 110,000 -2.7%
1998 110,000 +0.0%
1999 110,000 +0.0%
2000 137,000 +24.5%
2001 137,000 +0.0%
2002 137,000 +0.0%
2003 126,000 -8.0%
2004 126,000 +0.0%
2005 126,000 +0.0%
2006 126,000 +0.0%
2007 127,000 +0.8%
2008 150,000 +18.1%
2009 157,000 +4.7%
2010 157,000 +0.0%
2011 157,000 +0.0%
2012 157,000 +0.0%
2013 157,000 +0.0%
2014 157,000 +0.0%
2015 157,000 +0.0%
2016 157,000 +0.0%
2017 157,000 +0.0%
2018 157,000 +0.0%
2019 157,000 +0.0%
2020 163,000 +3.8%
2021 163,000 +0.0%
2022 163,000 +0.0%

Bangladesh compared with similar countries

  • Bangladesh's 163,000 is above the median for lower middle income countries, which is 15,500, 10.5× the median. (46 countries reporting)
  • Bangladesh's 163,000 is above the median for South Asia, which is 130,000, 1.3× the median. (6 countries reporting)

Averages by decade

DecadeAverage LowestHighest Years
1970s 104,250 47,000 129,000 8
1980s 87,200 71,000 103,000 10
1990s 109,500 103,000 115,000 10
2000s 134,900 126,000 157,000 10
2010s 157,000 157,000 157,000 10
2020s 163,000 163,000 163,000 3

Countries ranked near Bangladesh

  1. 28 Israel 170,000 compare
  2. 29 Syria 169,000 compare
  3. 29 Taiwan 169,000 compare
  4. 32 Italy 161,000 compare
  5. 33 United Kingdom 150,000 compare
  6. 34 Philippines 145,000 compare

See the full ranking of 194 places →

More reference data data for Bangladesh

All data for Bangladesh →

Frequently asked questions

What is military personnel in Bangladesh?
Military personnel in Bangladesh was 163,000 in 2022, according to Our World in Data.
What is the highest military personnel recorded in Bangladesh?
The highest recorded value was 163,000 in 2020.
What is the lowest military personnel recorded in Bangladesh?
The lowest recorded value was 47,000 in 1972.
How does Bangladesh rank for military personnel?
Bangladesh ranks 31st out of 194 countries with data for 2022.
Is military personnel rising or falling in Bangladesh?
Over the last ten years it is up 3.8%. The long-run trend across the full record is rising.
Where does this Bangladesh data come from?
The figures come from Our World in Data, published as part of Military personnel. Statizoid updates them automatically from the source API.

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Military personnel in Bangladesh. Statizoid, drawing on Our World in Data. Retrieved 13 November 2026, from https://reference.statizoid.com/stat/military-personnel/bangladesh/

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About this data

Indicator
Military personnel
Source
Our World in Data
Licence
CC BY 4.0 (Our World in Data)
Coverage
194 places, 15,765 data points, 1816–2022
Last refreshed