Military personnel in Nicaragua

Nicaragua: Military personnel was 12,000 in 2022. ◆ Volatile

Latest (2022)
12,000
Change on year
unchanged
World rank
116th
of 194 countries
All-time high
80,000
in 1987
All-time low
1,000
in 1920
Years of data
117
1900–2022

Military personnel in Nicaragua, 1900–2022

020.0k40.0k60.0k80.0k190019612022

Source: Our World in Data.

Analysis

In 2022, military personnel in Nicaragua stood at 12,000.

That represents a change of unchanged over ten years.

Over the whole period, military personnel in Nicaragua peaked at 80,000 in 1987 and was at its lowest, 1,000, in 1920.

Nicaragua ranks 116th 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 Nicaragua, year by year

Annual values for Military personnel in Nicaragua, 1900 to 2022.
Year Value Change
1900 2,000 —
1901 2,000 +0.0%
1902 2,000 +0.0%
1903 2,000 +0.0%
1904 2,000 +0.0%
1905 2,000 +0.0%
1906 4,000 +100.0%
1907 4,000 +0.0%
1908 4,000 +0.0%
1909 4,000 +0.0%
1910 4,000 +0.0%
1911 4,000 +0.0%
1912 4,000 +0.0%
1913 4,000 +0.0%
1914 4,000 +0.0%
1915 4,000 +0.0%
1916 2,000 -50.0%
1917 2,000 +0.0%
1918 2,000 +0.0%
1919 2,000 +0.0%
1920 1,000 -50.0%
1921 2,000 +100.0%
1922 2,000 +0.0%
1923 3,000 +50.0%
1924 3,000 +0.0%
1925 3,000 +0.0%
1926 3,000 +0.0%
1927 3,000 +0.0%
1928 3,000 +0.0%
1929 3,000 +0.0%
1930 3,000 +0.0%
1931 3,000 +0.0%
1932 2,000 -33.3%
1933 3,000 +50.0%
1934 2,000 -33.3%
1935 2,000 +0.0%
1936 2,000 +0.0%
1937 3,000 +50.0%
1938 2,000 -33.3%
1939 4,000 +100.0%
1946 3,000 -25.0%
1947 3,000 +0.0%
1948 3,000 +0.0%
1949 3,000 +0.0%
1950 3,000 +0.0%
1951 3,000 +0.0%
1952 3,000 +0.0%
1953 3,000 +0.0%
1954 3,000 +0.0%
1955 3,000 +0.0%
1956 3,000 +0.0%
1957 4,000 +33.3%
1958 4,000 +0.0%
1959 5,000 +25.0%
1960 5,000 +0.0%
1961 5,000 +0.0%
1962 5,000 +0.0%
1963 5,000 +0.0%
1964 6,000 +20.0%
1965 6,000 +0.0%
1966 6,000 +0.0%
1967 6,000 +0.0%
1968 6,000 +0.0%
1969 6,000 +0.0%
1970 6,000 +0.0%
1971 6,000 +0.0%
1972 6,000 +0.0%
1973 6,000 +0.0%
1974 6,000 +0.0%
1975 5,000 -16.7%
1976 5,000 +0.0%
1977 6,000 +20.0%
1978 6,000 +0.0%
1979 6,000 +0.0%
1980 24,000 +300.0%
1981 39,000 +62.5%
1982 41,000 +5.1%
1983 46,000 +12.2%
1984 67,000 +45.7%
1985 74,000 +10.4%
1986 75,000 +1.4%
1987 80,000 +6.7%
1988 74,000 -7.5%
1989 65,000 -12.2%
1990 28,000 -56.9%
1991 20,000 -28.6%
1992 15,000 -25.0%
1993 15,000 +0.0%
1994 14,000 -6.7%
1995 14,000 +0.0%
1996 14,000 +0.0%
1997 14,000 +0.0%
1998 14,000 +0.0%
1999 12,000 -14.3%
2000 16,000 +33.3%
2001 16,000 +0.0%
2002 14,000 -12.5%
2003 14,000 +0.0%
2004 14,000 +0.0%
2005 14,000 +0.0%
2006 14,000 +0.0%
2007 14,000 +0.0%
2008 14,000 +0.0%
2009 12,000 -14.3%
2010 12,000 +0.0%
2011 12,000 +0.0%
2012 12,000 +0.0%
2013 12,000 +0.0%
2014 12,000 +0.0%
2015 12,000 +0.0%
2016 12,000 +0.0%
2017 12,000 +0.0%
2018 12,000 +0.0%
2019 12,000 +0.0%
2020 12,000 +0.0%
2021 12,000 +0.0%
2022 12,000 +0.0%

Nicaragua compared with similar countries

  • Nicaragua's 12,000 is below the median for lower middle income countries, which is 15,500, 77% of the median. (46 countries reporting)
  • Nicaragua's 12,000 is above the median for Latin America & Caribbean, which is 12,000, 1.0× the median. (33 countries reporting)

Averages by decade

DecadeAverage LowestHighest Years
1900s 2,800 2,000 4,000 10
1910s 3,200 2,000 4,000 10
1920s 2,600 1,000 3,000 10
1930s 2,600 2,000 4,000 10
1940s 3,000 3,000 3,000 4
1950s 3,400 3,000 5,000 10
1960s 5,600 5,000 6,000 10
1970s 5,800 5,000 6,000 10
1980s 58,500 24,000 80,000 10
1990s 16,000 12,000 28,000 10
2000s 14,200 12,000 16,000 10
2010s 12,000 12,000 12,000 10
2020s 12,000 12,000 12,000 3

Countries ranked near Nicaragua

  1. 115 Togo 13,000 compare
  2. 116 Benin 12,000 compare
  3. 116 Cyprus 12,000 compare
  4. 119 Bosnia and Herzegovina 11,000 compare
  5. 119 Kyrgyzstan 11,000 compare
  6. 119 Malawi 11,000 compare
  7. 119 Mozambique 11,000 compare

See the full ranking of 194 places →

More reference data data for Nicaragua

All data for Nicaragua →

Frequently asked questions

What is military personnel in Nicaragua?
Military personnel in Nicaragua was 12,000 in 2022, according to Our World in Data.
What is the highest military personnel recorded in Nicaragua?
The highest recorded value was 80,000 in 1987.
What is the lowest military personnel recorded in Nicaragua?
The lowest recorded value was 1,000 in 1920.
How does Nicaragua rank for military personnel?
Nicaragua ranks 116th out of 194 countries with data for 2022.
Is military personnel rising or falling in Nicaragua?
Over the last ten years it is unchanged. The long-run trend across the full record is volatile.
Where does this Nicaragua 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 Nicaragua. Statizoid, drawing on Our World in Data. Retrieved 13 November 2026, from https://reference.statizoid.com/stat/military-personnel/nicaragua/

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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