Military personnel in Taiwan
Taiwan: Military personnel was 169,000 people in 2022. ▼ Falling
Latest (2022)
169,000 people
Change on year
unchanged
World rank
29th
of 194 countries
All-time high
1.50 million people
in 1949
All-time low
163,000 people
in 2019
Years of data
74
1949–2022
Military personnel in Taiwan, 1949–2022
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 Taiwan stood at 169,000 people.
Compared with earlier readings it is down 41.7% over ten years.
Over the whole period, military personnel in Taiwan peaked at 1.50 million people in 1949 and was at its lowest, 163,000 people, in 2019.
Taiwan ranks 29th of 194 countries on this measure, in the top quarter.
The long-run direction has been consistently falling across the 74 years of available data.
Military personnel in Taiwan, year by year
| Year | people | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 1949 | 1.50 million people | — |
| 1950 | 300,000 people | -80.0% |
| 1951 | 500,000 people | +66.7% |
| 1952 | 500,000 people | +0.0% |
| 1953 | 600,000 people | +20.0% |
| 1954 | 600,000 people | +0.0% |
| 1955 | 600,000 people | +0.0% |
| 1956 | 530,000 people | -11.7% |
| 1957 | 580,000 people | +9.4% |
| 1958 | 630,000 people | +8.6% |
| 1959 | 615,000 people | -2.4% |
| 1960 | 600,000 people | -2.4% |
| 1961 | 580,000 people | -3.3% |
| 1962 | 570,000 people | -1.7% |
| 1963 | 544,000 people | -4.6% |
| 1964 | 600,000 people | +10.3% |
| 1965 | 524,000 people | -12.7% |
| 1966 | 544,000 people | +3.8% |
| 1967 | 547,000 people | +0.6% |
| 1968 | 528,000 people | -3.5% |
| 1969 | 555,000 people | +5.1% |
| 1970 | 522,000 people | -5.9% |
| 1971 | 540,000 people | +3.4% |
| 1972 | 550,000 people | +1.9% |
| 1973 | 503,000 people | -8.5% |
| 1974 | 493,000 people | -2.0% |
| 1975 | 504,000 people | +2.2% |
| 1976 | 475,000 people | -5.8% |
| 1977 | 460,000 people | -3.2% |
| 1978 | 471,000 people | +2.4% |
| 1979 | 468,000 people | -0.6% |
| 1980 | 465,000 people | -0.6% |
| 1981 | 461,000 people | -0.9% |
| 1982 | 457,000 people | -0.9% |
| 1983 | 464,000 people | +1.5% |
| 1984 | 484,000 people | +4.3% |
| 1985 | 444,000 people | -8.3% |
| 1986 | 424,000 people | -4.5% |
| 1987 | 424,000 people | +0.0% |
| 1988 | 406,000 people | -4.2% |
| 1989 | 406,000 people | +0.0% |
| 1990 | 370,000 people | -8.9% |
| 1991 | 370,000 people | +0.0% |
| 1992 | 360,000 people | -2.7% |
| 1993 | 442,000 people | +22.8% |
| 1994 | 425,000 people | -3.8% |
| 1995 | 425,000 people | +0.0% |
| 1996 | 400,000 people | -5.9% |
| 1997 | 400,000 people | +0.0% |
| 1998 | 370,000 people | -7.5% |
| 1999 | 370,000 people | +0.0% |
| 2000 | 370,000 people | +0.0% |
| 2001 | 370,000 people | +0.0% |
| 2002 | 370,000 people | +0.0% |
| 2003 | 290,000 people | -21.6% |
| 2004 | 290,000 people | +0.0% |
| 2005 | 290,000 people | +0.0% |
| 2006 | 290,000 people | +0.0% |
| 2007 | 290,000 people | +0.0% |
| 2008 | 290,000 people | +0.0% |
| 2009 | 290,000 people | +0.0% |
| 2010 | 290,000 people | +0.0% |
| 2011 | 290,000 people | +0.0% |
| 2012 | 290,000 people | +0.0% |
| 2013 | 290,000 people | +0.0% |
| 2014 | 290,000 people | +0.0% |
| 2015 | 290,000 people | +0.0% |
| 2016 | 215,000 people | -25.9% |
| 2017 | 215,000 people | +0.0% |
| 2018 | 215,000 people | +0.0% |
| 2019 | 163,000 people | -24.2% |
| 2020 | 163,000 people | +0.0% |
| 2021 | 169,000 people | +3.7% |
| 2022 | 169,000 people | +0.0% |
Biggest year-on-year movements
Years where Military personnel in Taiwan 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.
| Year | Change | From | To |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1950 | -80.0% | 1.50 million people | 300,000 people |
| 1951 | +66.7% | 300,000 people | 500,000 people |
| 2016 | -25.9% | 290,000 people | 215,000 people |
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1940s | 1.50 million people | 1.50 million people | 1.50 million people | 1 |
| 1950s | 545,500 people | 300,000 people | 630,000 people | 10 |
| 1960s | 559,200 people | 524,000 people | 600,000 people | 10 |
| 1970s | 498,600 people | 460,000 people | 550,000 people | 10 |
| 1980s | 443,500 people | 406,000 people | 484,000 people | 10 |
| 1990s | 393,200 people | 360,000 people | 442,000 people | 10 |
| 2000s | 314,000 people | 290,000 people | 370,000 people | 10 |
| 2010s | 254,800 people | 163,000 people | 290,000 people | 10 |
| 2020s | 167,000 people | 163,000 people | 169,000 people | 3 |
Countries ranked near Taiwan
More reference data data for Taiwan
- Emission Totals - Emissions (CO2eq) from N2O (AR5) - IPCC Agriculture 2,323 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Emissions (CH4) - IPCC Agriculture 111.86 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Emissions (CH4) - Manure Management 46.04 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Indirect emissions (N2O) - Agricultural Soils 1.84 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Emissions (N2O) - Manure applied to Soils 1.51 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Indirect emissions (N2O) - Crop Residues 0.0594 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Indirect emissions (N2O) - Manure applied to Soils 0.4506 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Emissions (N2O) - Agricultural Soils 7.6 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Emissions (CO2eq) from N2O (AR5) - Manure left on 360.08 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Emissions (CO2eq) from N2O (AR5) - Agricultural 2,013 (2050)
Frequently asked questions
- What is military personnel in Taiwan?
- Military personnel in Taiwan was 169,000 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 Taiwan?
- The highest recorded value was 1.50 million people in 1949.
- What is the lowest military personnel recorded in Taiwan?
- The lowest recorded value was 163,000 people in 2019.
- How does Taiwan rank for military personnel?
- Taiwan ranks 29th out of 194 countries with data for 2022.
- Is military personnel rising or falling in Taiwan?
- Over the last ten years it is down 41.7%. The long-run trend across the full record is falling.
- Where does this Taiwan 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 — 74 observations, free to reuse under CC BY 4.0 (Our World in Data).
About this data
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.