Military personnel in Mali

Mali: Military personnel was 21,000 people in 2022. ▲ Rising

Latest (2022)
21,000 people
Change on year
unchanged
World rank
95th
of 194 countries
All-time high
21,000 people
in 2021
All-time low
2,000 people
in 1961
Years of data
63
1960–2022

Military personnel in Mali, 1960–2022

05.0k10.0k15.0k20.0k196019912022

Source: Correlates of War - National Material Capabilities Version 7.0 (2026) – with minor processing by Our World in Data. Measured in people.

Analysis

In 2022, military personnel in Mali stood at 21,000 people. That is the highest value across all 63 years on record.

The figure is up 200.0% over ten years.

Over the whole period, military personnel in Mali peaked at 21,000 people in 2021 and was at its lowest, 2,000 people, in 1961.

That places Mali 95th 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 63 years of available data.

Averages by decade

DecadeAverage LowestHighest Years
1960s 5,500 people 2,000 people 8,000 people 10
1970s 7,600 people 5,000 people 8,000 people 10
1980s 7,900 people 7,000 people 8,000 people 10
1990s 11,400 people 10,000 people 13,000 people 10
2000s 7,000 people 7,000 people 7,000 people 10
2010s 6,900 people 3,000 people 10,000 people 10
2020s 18,333 people 13,000 people 21,000 people 3

Countries ranked near Mali

  1. 92 Austria 23,000 people compare
  2. 92 Belgium 23,000 people compare
  3. 92 Lithuania 23,000 people compare
  4. 95 Georgia 21,000 people compare
  5. 95 Uruguay 21,000 people compare
  6. 98 Switzerland 20,000 people compare

See the full ranking of 194 places →

More reference data data for Mali

All data for Mali →

Frequently asked questions

What is military personnel in Mali?
Military personnel in Mali was 21,000 people in 2022, according to Correlates of War - National Material Capabilities Version 7.0 (2026) – with minor processing by Our World in Data.
What is the highest military personnel recorded in Mali?
The highest recorded value was 21,000 people in 2021.
What is the lowest military personnel recorded in Mali?
The lowest recorded value was 2,000 people in 1961.
How does Mali rank for military personnel?
Mali ranks 95th out of 194 countries with data for 2022.
Is military personnel rising or falling in Mali?
Over the last ten years it is up 200.0%. The long-run trend across the full record is rising.
Where does this Mali data come from?
The figures come from Correlates of War - National Material Capabilities Version 7.0 (2026) – with minor processing by Our World in Data, published as part of Military personnel. Statizoid updates them automatically from the source API.

Download this data

CSV · JSON — 63 observations, free to reuse under CC BY 4.0 (Our World in Data).

About this data

Indicator
Military personnel
Unit
people
Source
Correlates of War - National Material Capabilities Version 7.0 (2026) – with minor processing by Our World in Data
Licence
CC BY 4.0 (Our World in Data)
Coverage
194 places, 15,765 data points, 1816–2022
Last refreshed

Troops under the command of the national government, intended for use against foreign adversaries, and held ready for combat as of January 1 of the given year.