Military personnel in Kuwait

Kuwait: Military personnel was 18,000 in 2022. ▲ Rising

Latest (2022)
18,000
Change on year
unchanged
World rank
100th
of 194 countries
All-time high
28,000
in 1997
All-time low
1,000
in 1961
Years of data
62
1961–2022

Military personnel in Kuwait, 1961–2022

010.0k20.0k30.0k196119912022

Source: Our World in Data.

Analysis

Kuwait recorded 18,000 for military personnel in 2022.

Compared with earlier readings it is up 12.5% over ten years.

Over the whole period, military personnel in Kuwait peaked at 28,000 in 1997 and was at its lowest, 1,000, in 1961.

That places Kuwait 100th out of 194 countries with data for 2022, putting it in the middle of the range.

The long-run direction has been consistently rising across the 62 years of available data.

Military personnel in Kuwait, year by year

Annual values for Military personnel in Kuwait, 1961 to 2022.
Year Value Change
1961 1,000 —
1962 1,000 +0.0%
1963 2,000 +100.0%
1964 2,000 +0.0%
1965 8,000 +300.0%
1966 8,000 +0.0%
1967 8,000 +0.0%
1968 10,000 +25.0%
1969 10,000 +0.0%
1970 10,000 +0.0%
1971 14,000 +40.0%
1972 14,000 +0.0%
1973 14,000 +0.0%
1974 15,000 +7.1%
1975 25,000 +66.7%
1976 25,000 +0.0%
1977 10,000 -60.0%
1978 10,000 +0.0%
1979 11,000 +10.0%
1980 12,000 +9.1%
1981 12,000 +0.0%
1982 13,000 +8.3%
1983 13,000 +0.0%
1984 15,000 +15.4%
1985 16,000 +6.7%
1986 18,000 +12.5%
1987 20,000 +11.1%
1988 15,000 -25.0%
1989 20,000 +33.3%
1990 7,000 -65.0%
1991 10,000 +42.9%
1992 12,000 +20.0%
1993 12,000 +0.0%
1994 15,000 +25.0%
1995 20,000 +33.3%
1996 22,000 +10.0%
1997 28,000 +27.3%
1998 21,000 -25.0%
1999 21,000 +0.0%
2000 15,000 -28.6%
2001 16,000 +6.7%
2002 16,000 +0.0%
2003 16,000 +0.0%
2004 16,000 +0.0%
2005 16,000 +0.0%
2006 16,000 +0.0%
2007 16,000 +0.0%
2008 16,000 +0.0%
2009 16,000 +0.0%
2010 16,000 +0.0%
2011 16,000 +0.0%
2012 16,000 +0.0%
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 18,000 +12.5%
2020 18,000 +0.0%
2021 18,000 +0.0%
2022 18,000 +0.0%

Kuwait compared with similar countries

  • Kuwait's 18,000 is below the median for high income countries, which is 18,500, 97% of the median. (64 countries reporting)
  • Kuwait's 18,000 is below the median for Middle East, North Africa, Afghanistan & Pakistan, which is 91,500, 20% of the median. (22 countries reporting)

Averages by decade

DecadeAverage LowestHighest Years
1960s 5,556 1,000 10,000 9
1970s 14,800 10,000 25,000 10
1980s 15,400 12,000 20,000 10
1990s 16,800 7,000 28,000 10
2000s 15,900 15,000 16,000 10
2010s 16,200 16,000 18,000 10
2020s 18,000 18,000 18,000 3

Countries ranked near Kuwait

  1. 98 Switzerland 20,000 compare
  2. 99 Finland 19,000 compare
  3. 100 Guatemala 18,000 compare
  4. 100 Slovakia 18,000 compare
  5. 103 Croatia 17,000 compare
  6. 103 Qatar 17,000 compare

See the full ranking of 194 places →

More reference data data for Kuwait

All data for Kuwait →

Frequently asked questions

What is military personnel in Kuwait?
Military personnel in Kuwait was 18,000 in 2022, according to Our World in Data.
What is the highest military personnel recorded in Kuwait?
The highest recorded value was 28,000 in 1997.
What is the lowest military personnel recorded in Kuwait?
The lowest recorded value was 1,000 in 1961.
How does Kuwait rank for military personnel?
Kuwait ranks 100th out of 194 countries with data for 2022.
Is military personnel rising or falling in Kuwait?
Over the last ten years it is up 12.5%. The long-run trend across the full record is rising.
Where does this Kuwait 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 Kuwait. Statizoid, drawing on Our World in Data. Retrieved 14 November 2026, from https://reference.statizoid.com/stat/military-personnel/kuwait/

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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