Military personnel in Mexico

Mexico: Military personnel was 216,000 in 2022. ◆ Volatile

Latest (2022)
216,000
Change on year
unchanged
World rank
23rd
of 194 countries
All-time high
280,000
in 2011
All-time low
10,000
in 1863
Years of data
187
1831–2022

Military personnel in Mexico, 1831–2022

0100.0k200.0k300.0k183119262022

Source: Our World in Data.

Analysis

Mexico recorded 216,000 for military personnel in 2022.

That represents a change of down 22.9% over ten years.

Over the whole period, military personnel in Mexico peaked at 280,000 in 2011 and was at its lowest, 10,000, in 1863.

Mexico ranks 23rd of 194 countries on this measure, in the top quarter.

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

Military personnel in Mexico, year by year

Annual values for Military personnel in Mexico, 1831 to 2022.
Year Value Change
1831 25,000 —
1832 25,000 +0.0%
1833 25,000 +0.0%
1834 25,000 +0.0%
1835 25,000 +0.0%
1836 25,000 +0.0%
1837 25,000 +0.0%
1838 25,000 +0.0%
1839 25,000 +0.0%
1840 20,000 -20.0%
1841 20,000 +0.0%
1842 20,000 +0.0%
1843 20,000 +0.0%
1844 20,000 +0.0%
1845 20,000 +0.0%
1846 20,000 +0.0%
1847 20,000 +0.0%
1848 21,000 +5.0%
1849 22,000 +4.8%
1850 23,000 +4.5%
1851 24,000 +4.3%
1852 25,000 +4.2%
1853 26,000 +4.0%
1854 27,000 +3.8%
1855 26,000 -3.7%
1856 26,000 +0.0%
1857 26,000 +0.0%
1858 26,000 +0.0%
1859 26,000 +0.0%
1860 26,000 +0.0%
1861 26,000 +0.0%
1862 27,000 +3.8%
1863 10,000 -63.0%
1864 15,000 +50.0%
1865 21,000 +40.0%
1866 40,000 +90.5%
1867 33,000 -17.5%
1868 26,000 -21.2%
1869 18,000 -30.8%
1870 18,000 +0.0%
1871 18,000 +0.0%
1872 18,000 +0.0%
1873 20,000 +11.1%
1874 22,000 +10.0%
1875 22,000 +0.0%
1876 22,000 +0.0%
1877 22,000 +0.0%
1878 22,000 +0.0%
1879 22,000 +0.0%
1880 25,000 +13.6%
1881 22,000 -12.0%
1882 22,000 +0.0%
1883 21,000 -4.5%
1884 21,000 +0.0%
1885 21,000 +0.0%
1886 21,000 +0.0%
1887 21,000 +0.0%
1888 32,000 +52.4%
1889 37,000 +15.6%
1890 37,000 +0.0%
1891 38,000 +2.7%
1892 49,000 +28.9%
1893 38,000 -22.4%
1894 38,000 +0.0%
1895 38,000 +0.0%
1896 35,000 -7.9%
1897 33,000 -5.7%
1898 33,000 +0.0%
1899 33,000 +0.0%
1900 33,000 +0.0%
1901 33,000 +0.0%
1902 30,000 -9.1%
1903 29,000 -3.3%
1904 29,000 +0.0%
1905 29,000 +0.0%
1906 28,000 -3.4%
1907 28,000 +0.0%
1908 29,000 +3.6%
1909 30,000 +3.4%
1910 31,000 +3.3%
1911 32,000 +3.2%
1912 57,000 +78.1%
1913 31,000 -45.6%
1914 30,000 -3.2%
1915 180,000 +500.0%
1916 200,000 +11.1%
1918 55,000 -72.5%
1919 137,000 +149.1%
1920 120,000 -12.4%
1921 103,000 -14.2%
1922 85,000 -17.5%
1923 66,000 -22.4%
1924 52,000 -21.2%
1925 64,000 +23.1%
1926 64,000 +0.0%
1927 69,000 +7.8%
1928 74,000 +7.2%
1929 70,000 -5.4%
1930 65,000 -7.1%
1931 61,000 -6.2%
1932 54,000 -11.5%
1933 54,000 +0.0%
1934 59,000 +9.3%
1935 54,000 -8.5%
1936 48,000 -11.1%
1937 54,000 +12.5%
1938 49,000 -9.3%
1939 49,000 +0.0%
1942 52,000 +6.1%
1943 80,000 +53.8%
1946 61,000 -23.8%
1947 61,000 +0.0%
1948 61,000 +0.0%
1949 64,000 +4.9%
1950 55,000 -14.1%
1951 60,000 +9.1%
1952 56,000 -6.7%
1953 56,000 +0.0%
1954 56,000 +0.0%
1955 48,000 -14.3%
1956 48,000 +0.0%
1957 48,000 +0.0%
1958 49,000 +2.1%
1959 50,000 +2.0%
1960 50,000 +0.0%
1961 60,000 +20.0%
1962 64,000 +6.7%
1963 65,000 +1.6%
1964 65,000 +0.0%
1965 65,000 +0.0%
1966 75,000 +15.4%
1967 80,000 +6.7%
1968 75,000 -6.2%
1969 75,000 +0.0%
1970 80,000 +6.7%
1971 80,000 +0.0%
1972 80,000 +0.0%
1973 80,000 +0.0%
1974 85,000 +6.2%
1975 95,000 +11.8%
1976 100,000 +5.3%
1977 100,000 +0.0%
1978 120,000 +20.0%
1979 120,000 +0.0%
1980 120,000 +0.0%
1981 125,000 +4.2%
1982 130,000 +4.0%
1983 130,000 +0.0%
1984 129,000 -0.8%
1985 140,000 +8.5%
1986 141,000 +0.7%
1987 141,000 +0.0%
1988 154,000 +9.2%
1989 154,000 +0.0%
1990 175,000 +13.6%
1991 175,000 +0.0%
1992 175,000 +0.0%
1993 175,000 +0.0%
1994 175,000 +0.0%
1995 175,000 +0.0%
1996 175,000 +0.0%
1997 250,000 +42.9%
1998 255,000 +2.0%
1999 255,000 +0.0%
2000 193,000 -24.3%
2001 193,000 +0.0%
2002 193,000 +0.0%
2003 193,000 +0.0%
2004 193,000 +0.0%
2005 193,000 +0.0%
2006 193,000 +0.0%
2007 238,000 +23.3%
2008 249,000 +4.6%
2009 255,000 +2.4%
2010 268,000 +5.1%
2011 280,000 +4.5%
2012 280,000 +0.0%
2013 270,000 -3.6%
2014 270,000 +0.0%
2015 267,000 -1.1%
2016 277,000 +3.7%
2017 277,000 +0.0%
2018 277,000 +0.0%
2019 277,000 +0.0%
2020 236,000 -14.8%
2021 216,000 -8.5%
2022 216,000 +0.0%

Mexico compared with similar countries

  • Mexico's 216,000 is above the median for upper middle income countries, which is 23,000, 9.4× the median. (58 countries reporting)
  • Mexico's 216,000 is above the median for Latin America & Caribbean, which is 12,000, 18.0× the median. (33 countries reporting)

Biggest year-on-year movements

Years where Military personnel in Mexico 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
1915 +500.0% 30,000 180,000
1919 +149.1% 55,000 137,000
1866 +90.5% 21,000 40,000
1912 +78.1% 32,000 57,000
1918 -72.5% 200,000 55,000
1863 -63.0% 27,000 10,000

Averages by decade

DecadeAverage LowestHighest Years
1830s 25,000 25,000 25,000 9
1840s 20,300 20,000 22,000 10
1850s 25,500 23,000 27,000 10
1860s 24,200 10,000 40,000 10
1870s 20,600 18,000 22,000 10
1880s 24,300 21,000 37,000 10
1890s 37,200 33,000 49,000 10
1900s 29,800 28,000 33,000 10
1910s 83,667 30,000 200,000 9
1920s 76,700 52,000 120,000 10
1930s 54,700 48,000 65,000 10
1940s 63,167 52,000 80,000 6
1950s 52,600 48,000 60,000 10
1960s 67,400 50,000 80,000 10
1970s 94,000 80,000 120,000 10
1980s 136,400 120,000 154,000 10
1990s 198,500 175,000 255,000 10
2000s 209,300 193,000 255,000 10
2010s 274,300 267,000 280,000 10
2020s 222,667 216,000 236,000 3

Countries ranked near Mexico

  1. 20 Colombia 256,000 compare
  2. 21 Sri Lanka 255,000 compare
  3. 22 Japan 247,000 compare
  4. 24 France 203,000 compare
  5. 25 Morocco 196,000 compare
  6. 26 Iraq 193,000 compare

See the full ranking of 194 places →

More reference data data for Mexico

All data for Mexico →

Frequently asked questions

What is military personnel in Mexico?
Military personnel in Mexico was 216,000 in 2022, according to Our World in Data.
What is the highest military personnel recorded in Mexico?
The highest recorded value was 280,000 in 2011.
What is the lowest military personnel recorded in Mexico?
The lowest recorded value was 10,000 in 1863.
How does Mexico rank for military personnel?
Mexico ranks 23rd out of 194 countries with data for 2022.
Is military personnel rising or falling in Mexico?
Over the last ten years it is down 22.9%. The long-run trend across the full record is volatile.
Where does this Mexico 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 Mexico. Statizoid, drawing on Our World in Data. Retrieved 13 November 2026, from https://reference.statizoid.com/stat/military-personnel/mexico/

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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