Military personnel in Ghana

Ghana: Military personnel was 16,000 in 2022. ◆ Volatile

Latest (2022)
16,000
Change on year
unchanged
World rank
105th
of 194 countries
All-time high
40,000
in 1972
All-time low
2,000
in 1957
Years of data
66
1957–2022

Military personnel in Ghana, 1957–2022

010.0k20.0k30.0k40.0k195719892022

Source: Our World in Data.

Analysis

Ghana recorded 16,000 for military personnel in 2022.

Compared with earlier readings it is unchanged over ten years.

Over the whole period, military personnel in Ghana peaked at 40,000 in 1972 and was at its lowest, 2,000, in 1957.

That places Ghana 105th out of 194 countries with data for 2022, putting it 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 Ghana, year by year

Annual values for Military personnel in Ghana, 1957 to 2022.
Year Value Change
1957 2,000 —
1958 2,000 +0.0%
1959 2,000 +0.0%
1960 5,000 +150.0%
1961 10,000 +100.0%
1962 10,000 +0.0%
1963 18,000 +80.0%
1964 25,000 +38.9%
1965 25,000 +0.0%
1966 30,000 +20.0%
1967 30,000 +0.0%
1968 35,000 +16.7%
1969 35,000 +0.0%
1970 35,000 +0.0%
1971 35,000 +0.0%
1972 40,000 +14.3%
1973 40,000 +0.0%
1974 35,000 -12.5%
1975 20,000 -42.9%
1976 20,000 +0.0%
1977 18,000 -10.0%
1978 19,000 +5.6%
1979 15,000 -21.1%
1980 14,000 -6.7%
1981 9,000 -35.7%
1982 9,000 +0.0%
1983 8,000 -11.1%
1984 15,000 +87.5%
1985 15,000 +0.0%
1986 9,000 -40.0%
1987 11,000 +22.2%
1988 16,000 +45.5%
1989 16,000 +0.0%
1990 9,000 -43.8%
1991 9,000 +0.0%
1992 7,000 -22.2%
1993 7,000 +0.0%
1994 7,000 +0.0%
1995 7,000 +0.0%
1996 7,000 +0.0%
1997 7,000 +0.0%
1998 7,000 +0.0%
1999 7,000 +0.0%
2000 7,000 +0.0%
2001 7,000 +0.0%
2002 7,000 +0.0%
2003 7,000 +0.0%
2004 7,000 +0.0%
2005 7,000 +0.0%
2006 7,000 +0.0%
2007 14,000 +100.0%
2008 14,000 +0.0%
2009 14,000 +0.0%
2010 16,000 +14.3%
2011 12,000 -25.0%
2012 16,000 +33.3%
2013 16,000 +0.0%
2014 16,000 +0.0%
2015 16,000 +0.0%
2016 16,000 +0.0%
2017 16,000 +0.0%
2018 16,000 +0.0%
2019 16,000 +0.0%
2020 16,000 +0.0%
2021 16,000 +0.0%
2022 16,000 +0.0%

Ghana compared with similar countries

  • Ghana's 16,000 is above the median for lower middle income countries, which is 15,500, 1.0× the median. (46 countries reporting)
  • Ghana's 16,000 is above the median for Sub-Saharan Africa, which is 14,000, 1.1× the median. (48 countries reporting)

Averages by decade

DecadeAverage LowestHighest Years
1950s 2,000 2,000 2,000 3
1960s 22,300 5,000 35,000 10
1970s 27,700 15,000 40,000 10
1980s 12,200 8,000 16,000 10
1990s 7,400 7,000 9,000 10
2000s 9,100 7,000 14,000 10
2010s 15,600 12,000 16,000 10
2020s 16,000 16,000 16,000 3

Countries ranked near Ghana

  1. 103 Croatia 17,000 compare
  2. 103 Qatar 17,000 compare
  3. 105 Mauritania 16,000 compare
  4. 107 Denmark 15,000 compare
  5. 107 Honduras 15,000 compare
  6. 107 Sweden 15,000 compare
  7. 107 Zambia 15,000 compare

See the full ranking of 194 places →

More reference data data for Ghana

All data for Ghana →

Frequently asked questions

What is military personnel in Ghana?
Military personnel in Ghana was 16,000 in 2022, according to Our World in Data.
What is the highest military personnel recorded in Ghana?
The highest recorded value was 40,000 in 1972.
What is the lowest military personnel recorded in Ghana?
The lowest recorded value was 2,000 in 1957.
How does Ghana rank for military personnel?
Ghana ranks 105th out of 194 countries with data for 2022.
Is military personnel rising or falling in Ghana?
Over the last ten years it is unchanged. The long-run trend across the full record is volatile.
Where does this Ghana 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 Ghana. Statizoid, drawing on Our World in Data. Retrieved 13 November 2026, from https://reference.statizoid.com/stat/military-personnel/ghana/

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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