Military personnel in Chile

Chile: Military personnel was 69,000 in 2022. ◆ Volatile

Latest (2022)
69,000
Change on year
unchanged
World rank
54th
of 194 countries
All-time high
127,000
in 1986
All-time low
2,000
in 1842
Years of data
178
1839–2022

Military personnel in Chile, 1839–2022

025.0k50.0k75.0k100.0k125.0k183919302022

Source: Our World in Data.

Analysis

The most recent figure for military personnel in Chile is 69,000, measured in 2022.

Compared with earlier readings it is up 16.9% over ten years.

Over the whole period, military personnel in Chile peaked at 127,000 in 1986 and was at its lowest, 2,000, in 1842.

Chile ranks 54th of 194 countries on this measure, in the middle of the range.

The series is highly variable year to year, so single readings are best treated with caution.

Military personnel in Chile, year by year

Annual values for Military personnel in Chile, 1839 to 2022.
Year Value Change
1839 3,000 —
1840 3,000 +0.0%
1841 3,000 +0.0%
1842 2,000 -33.3%
1843 2,000 +0.0%
1844 2,000 +0.0%
1845 2,000 +0.0%
1846 2,000 +0.0%
1847 3,000 +50.0%
1848 2,000 -33.3%
1849 3,000 +50.0%
1850 3,000 +0.0%
1851 3,000 +0.0%
1852 3,000 +0.0%
1853 3,000 +0.0%
1854 4,000 +33.3%
1855 4,000 +0.0%
1856 3,000 -25.0%
1857 4,000 +33.3%
1858 3,000 -25.0%
1859 4,000 +33.3%
1860 4,000 +0.0%
1861 4,000 +0.0%
1862 4,000 +0.0%
1863 4,000 +0.0%
1864 4,000 +0.0%
1865 4,000 +0.0%
1866 4,000 +0.0%
1867 4,000 +0.0%
1868 4,000 +0.0%
1869 5,000 +25.0%
1870 6,000 +20.0%
1871 6,000 +0.0%
1872 5,000 -16.7%
1873 5,000 +0.0%
1874 5,000 +0.0%
1875 5,000 +0.0%
1876 4,000 -20.0%
1877 5,000 +25.0%
1878 5,000 +0.0%
1879 5,000 +0.0%
1880 5,000 +0.0%
1881 14,000 +180.0%
1882 16,000 +14.3%
1883 16,000 +0.0%
1884 14,000 -12.5%
1885 10,000 -28.6%
1886 8,000 -20.0%
1887 8,000 +0.0%
1888 8,000 +0.0%
1889 8,000 +0.0%
1890 10,000 +25.0%
1891 9,000 -10.0%
1892 9,000 +0.0%
1893 8,000 -11.1%
1894 8,000 +0.0%
1895 12,000 +50.0%
1896 12,000 +0.0%
1897 13,000 +8.3%
1898 22,000 +69.2%
1899 22,000 +0.0%
1900 21,000 -4.5%
1901 23,000 +9.5%
1902 19,000 -17.4%
1903 20,000 +5.3%
1904 13,000 -35.0%
1905 13,000 +0.0%
1906 12,000 -7.7%
1907 21,000 +75.0%
1908 22,000 +4.8%
1909 24,000 +9.1%
1910 24,000 +0.0%
1911 26,000 +8.3%
1912 34,000 +30.8%
1913 33,000 -2.9%
1914 27,000 -18.2%
1915 27,000 +0.0%
1916 27,000 +0.0%
1917 27,000 +0.0%
1918 27,000 +0.0%
1919 29,000 +7.4%
1920 30,000 +3.4%
1921 31,000 +3.3%
1922 31,000 +0.0%
1923 28,000 -9.7%
1924 25,000 -10.7%
1925 23,000 -8.0%
1926 27,000 +17.4%
1927 30,000 +11.1%
1928 27,000 -10.0%
1929 25,000 -7.4%
1930 23,000 -8.0%
1931 21,000 -8.7%
1932 20,000 -4.8%
1933 22,000 +10.0%
1934 20,000 -9.1%
1935 24,000 +20.0%
1936 24,000 +0.0%
1937 26,000 +8.3%
1938 23,000 -11.5%
1939 24,000 +4.3%
1946 34,000 +41.7%
1947 35,000 +2.9%
1948 36,000 +2.9%
1949 38,000 +5.6%
1950 39,000 +2.6%
1951 39,000 +0.0%
1952 40,000 +2.6%
1953 50,000 +25.0%
1954 55,000 +10.0%
1955 42,000 -23.6%
1956 42,000 +0.0%
1957 41,000 -2.4%
1958 40,000 -2.4%
1959 41,000 +2.5%
1960 41,000 +0.0%
1961 63,000 +53.7%
1962 63,000 +0.0%
1963 75,000 +19.0%
1964 70,000 -6.7%
1965 70,000 +0.0%
1966 65,000 -7.1%
1967 70,000 +7.7%
1968 70,000 +0.0%
1969 70,000 +0.0%
1970 70,000 +0.0%
1971 70,000 +0.0%
1972 75,000 +7.1%
1973 75,000 +0.0%
1974 90,000 +20.0%
1975 110,000 +22.2%
1976 111,000 +0.9%
1977 111,000 +0.0%
1978 111,000 +0.0%
1979 111,000 +0.0%
1980 116,000 +4.5%
1981 116,000 +0.0%
1982 116,000 +0.0%
1983 126,000 +8.6%
1984 123,000 -2.4%
1985 124,000 +0.8%
1986 127,000 +2.4%
1987 127,000 +0.0%
1988 96,000 -24.4%
1989 95,000 -1.0%
1990 95,000 +0.0%
1991 90,000 -5.3%
1992 92,000 +2.2%
1993 92,000 +0.0%
1994 102,000 +10.9%
1995 102,000 +0.0%
1996 102,000 +0.0%
1997 102,000 +0.0%
1998 100,000 -2.0%
1999 88,000 -12.0%
2000 87,000 -1.1%
2001 88,000 +1.1%
2002 80,000 -9.1%
2003 77,000 -3.8%
2004 78,000 +1.3%
2005 78,000 +0.0%
2006 78,000 +0.0%
2007 76,000 -2.6%
2008 65,000 -14.5%
2009 61,000 -6.2%
2010 61,000 +0.0%
2011 59,000 -3.3%
2012 59,000 +0.0%
2013 59,000 +0.0%
2014 61,000 +3.4%
2015 61,000 +0.0%
2016 65,000 +6.6%
2017 65,000 +0.0%
2018 77,000 +18.5%
2019 77,000 +0.0%
2020 77,000 +0.0%
2021 69,000 -10.4%
2022 69,000 +0.0%

Chile compared with similar countries

  • Chile's 69,000 is above the median for high income countries, which is 18,500, 3.7× the median. (64 countries reporting)
  • Chile's 69,000 is above the median for Latin America & Caribbean, which is 12,000, 5.8× the median. (33 countries reporting)

Biggest year-on-year movements

Years where Military personnel in Chile 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.

YearChange FromTo
1881 +180.0% 5,000 14,000
1907 +75.0% 12,000 21,000
1898 +69.2% 13,000 22,000
1961 +53.7% 41,000 63,000
1847 +50.0% 2,000 3,000
1849 +50.0% 2,000 3,000

Averages by decade

DecadeAverage LowestHighest Years
1830s 3,000 3,000 3,000 1
1840s 2,400 2,000 3,000 10
1850s 3,400 3,000 4,000 10
1860s 4,100 4,000 5,000 10
1870s 5,100 4,000 6,000 10
1880s 10,700 5,000 16,000 10
1890s 12,500 8,000 22,000 10
1900s 18,800 12,000 24,000 10
1910s 28,100 24,000 34,000 10
1920s 27,700 23,000 31,000 10
1930s 22,700 20,000 26,000 10
1940s 35,750 34,000 38,000 4
1950s 42,900 39,000 55,000 10
1960s 65,700 41,000 75,000 10
1970s 93,400 70,000 111,000 10
1980s 116,600 95,000 127,000 10
1990s 96,500 88,000 102,000 10
2000s 76,800 61,000 88,000 10
2010s 64,400 59,000 77,000 10
2020s 71,667 69,000 77,000 3

Countries ranked near Chile

  1. 51 South Africa 74,000 compare
  2. 52 Argentina 72,000 compare
  3. 52 Romania 72,000 compare
  4. 55 Canada 67,000 compare
  5. 56 Azerbaijan 64,000 compare
  6. 57 Australia 60,000 compare
  7. 57 Lebanon 60,000 compare

See the full ranking of 194 places →

More reference data data for Chile

All data for Chile →

Frequently asked questions

What is military personnel in Chile?
Military personnel in Chile was 69,000 in 2022, according to Our World in Data.
What is the highest military personnel recorded in Chile?
The highest recorded value was 127,000 in 1986.
What is the lowest military personnel recorded in Chile?
The lowest recorded value was 2,000 in 1842.
How does Chile rank for military personnel?
Chile ranks 54th out of 194 countries with data for 2022.
Is military personnel rising or falling in Chile?
Over the last ten years it is up 16.9%. The long-run trend across the full record is volatile.
Where does this Chile 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 Chile. Statizoid, drawing on Our World in Data. Retrieved 13 November 2026, from https://reference.statizoid.com/stat/military-personnel/chile/

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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