Military personnel in Vietnam

Vietnam: Military personnel was 482,000 in 2022. ▲ Rising

Latest (2022)
482,000
Change on year
unchanged
World rank
11th
of 194 countries
All-time high
1.26 million
in 1986
All-time low
180,000
in 1954
Years of data
69
1954–2022

Military personnel in Vietnam, 1954–2022

250.0k500.0k750.0k1.0M1.2M195419882022

Source: Our World in Data.

Analysis

Vietnam recorded 482,000 for military personnel in 2022.

Compared with earlier readings it is unchanged over ten years.

Over the whole period, military personnel in Vietnam peaked at 1.26 million in 1986 and was at its lowest, 180,000, in 1954.

That places Vietnam 11th out of 194 countries with data for 2022, putting it in the top 10%.

The long-run direction has been consistently rising across the 69 years of available data.

Military personnel in Vietnam, year by year

Annual values for Military personnel in Vietnam, 1954 to 2022.
Year Value Change
1954 180,000 —
1955 190,000 +5.6%
1956 200,000 +5.3%
1957 210,000 +5.0%
1958 220,000 +4.8%
1959 230,000 +4.5%
1960 240,000 +4.3%
1961 250,000 +4.2%
1962 260,000 +4.0%
1963 250,000 -3.8%
1964 256,000 +2.4%
1965 256,000 +0.0%
1966 256,000 +0.0%
1967 418,000 +63.3%
1968 447,000 +6.9%
1969 477,000 +6.7%
1970 452,000 -5.2%
1971 455,000 +0.7%
1972 625,000 +37.4%
1973 630,000 +0.8%
1974 665,000 +5.6%
1975 643,000 -3.3%
1976 637,000 -0.9%
1977 615,000 -3.5%
1978 660,000 +7.3%
1979 650,000 -1.5%
1980 900,000 +38.5%
1981 1.00 million +11.1%
1982 1.00 million +0.0%
1983 1.03 million +2.9%
1984 1.23 million +19.2%
1985 1.03 million -16.3%
1986 1.26 million +22.7%
1987 1.26 million +0.0%
1988 1.25 million -0.8%
1989 1.25 million +0.0%
1990 1.05 million -16.0%
1991 1.04 million -1.0%
1992 857,000 -17.6%
1993 857,000 +0.0%
1994 700,000 -18.3%
1995 650,000 -7.1%
1996 650,000 +0.0%
1997 650,000 +0.0%
1998 640,000 -1.5%
1999 485,000 -24.2%
2000 484,000 -0.2%
2001 484,000 +0.0%
2002 484,000 +0.0%
2003 484,000 +0.0%
2004 484,000 +0.0%
2005 484,000 +0.0%
2006 455,000 -6.0%
2007 455,000 +0.0%
2008 455,000 +0.0%
2009 455,000 +0.0%
2010 455,000 +0.0%
2011 455,000 +0.0%
2012 482,000 +5.9%
2013 482,000 +0.0%
2014 482,000 +0.0%
2015 482,000 +0.0%
2016 482,000 +0.0%
2017 482,000 +0.0%
2018 482,000 +0.0%
2019 482,000 +0.0%
2020 482,000 +0.0%
2021 482,000 +0.0%
2022 482,000 +0.0%

Vietnam compared with similar countries

  • Vietnam's 482,000 is above the median for upper middle income countries, which is 23,000, 21.0× the median. (58 countries reporting)
  • Vietnam's 482,000 is above the median for East Asia & Pacific, which is 9,500, 50.7× the median. (30 countries reporting)

Biggest year-on-year movements

Years where Military personnel in Vietnam 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
1967 +63.3% 256,000 418,000
1980 +38.5% 650,000 900,000
1972 +37.4% 455,000 625,000

Averages by decade

DecadeAverage LowestHighest Years
1950s 205,000 180,000 230,000 6
1960s 311,000 240,000 477,000 10
1970s 603,200 452,000 665,000 10
1980s 1.12 million 900,000 1.26 million 10
1990s 757,900 485,000 1.05 million 10
2000s 472,400 455,000 484,000 10
2010s 476,600 455,000 482,000 10
2020s 482,000 482,000 482,000 3

Countries ranked near Vietnam

  1. 8 Iran 610,000 compare
  2. 9 South Korea 555,000 compare
  3. 10 Ethiopia 503,000 compare
  4. 12 Egypt 439,000 compare
  5. 13 Indonesia 396,000 compare
  6. 14 Brazil 367,000 compare

See the full ranking of 194 places →

More reference data data for Vietnam

All data for Vietnam →

Frequently asked questions

What is military personnel in Vietnam?
Military personnel in Vietnam was 482,000 in 2022, according to Our World in Data.
What is the highest military personnel recorded in Vietnam?
The highest recorded value was 1.26 million in 1986.
What is the lowest military personnel recorded in Vietnam?
The lowest recorded value was 180,000 in 1954.
How does Vietnam rank for military personnel?
Vietnam ranks 11th out of 194 countries with data for 2022.
Is military personnel rising or falling in Vietnam?
Over the last ten years it is unchanged. The long-run trend across the full record is rising.
Where does this Vietnam 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 Vietnam. Statizoid, drawing on Our World in Data. Retrieved 14 November 2026, from https://reference.statizoid.com/stat/military-personnel/viet-nam/

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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