Military personnel in Yemen

Yemen: Military personnel was 40,000 in 2022. ▼ Falling

Latest (2022)
40,000
Change on year
unchanged
World rank
69th
of 194 countries
All-time high
127,000
in 1990
All-time low
20,000
in 2016
Years of data
33
1990–2022

Military personnel in Yemen, 1990–2022

25.0k50.0k75.0k100.0k125.0k1990200620221990: 127.0k1991: 127.0k1992: 64.0k1993: 64.0k1994: 69.0k1995: 68.0k1996: 69.0k1997: 69.0k1998: 69.0k1999: 69.0k2000: 66.0k2001: 54.0k2002: 66.0k2003: 67.0k2004: 67.0k2005: 67.0k2006: 67.0k2007: 67.0k2008: 67.0k2009: 67.0k2010: 67.0k2011: 67.0k2012: 67.0k2013: 67.0k2014: 67.0k2015: 67.0k2016: 20.0k2017: 20.0k2018: 20.0k2019: 40.0k2020: 40.0k2021: 40.0k2022: 40.0k

Source: Our World in Data.

Analysis

The most recent figure for military personnel in Yemen is 40,000, measured in 2022.

The figure is down 40.3% over ten years.

Over the whole period, military personnel in Yemen peaked at 127,000 in 1990 and was at its lowest, 20,000, in 2016.

That places Yemen 69th out of 194 countries with data for 2022, putting it in the middle of the range.

The long-run direction has been consistently falling across the 33 years of available data.

Military personnel in Yemen, year by year

Annual values for Military personnel in Yemen, 1990 to 2022.
Year Value Change
1990 127,000 —
1991 127,000 +0.0%
1992 64,000 -49.6%
1993 64,000 +0.0%
1994 69,000 +7.8%
1995 68,000 -1.4%
1996 69,000 +1.5%
1997 69,000 +0.0%
1998 69,000 +0.0%
1999 69,000 +0.0%
2000 66,000 -4.3%
2001 54,000 -18.2%
2002 66,000 +22.2%
2003 67,000 +1.5%
2004 67,000 +0.0%
2005 67,000 +0.0%
2006 67,000 +0.0%
2007 67,000 +0.0%
2008 67,000 +0.0%
2009 67,000 +0.0%
2010 67,000 +0.0%
2011 67,000 +0.0%
2012 67,000 +0.0%
2013 67,000 +0.0%
2014 67,000 +0.0%
2015 67,000 +0.0%
2016 20,000 -70.1%
2017 20,000 +0.0%
2018 20,000 +0.0%
2019 40,000 +100.0%
2020 40,000 +0.0%
2021 40,000 +0.0%
2022 40,000 +0.0%

Yemen compared with similar countries

  • Yemen's 40,000 is above the median for low income countries, which is 33,000, 1.2× the median. (25 countries reporting)
  • Yemen's 40,000 is below the median for Middle East, North Africa, Afghanistan & Pakistan, which is 91,500, 44% of the median. (22 countries reporting)

Averages by decade

DecadeAverage LowestHighest Years
1990s 79,500 64,000 127,000 10
2000s 65,500 54,000 67,000 10
2010s 50,200 20,000 67,000 10
2020s 40,000 40,000 40,000 3

Countries ranked near Yemen

  1. 66 Armenia 43,000 compare
  2. 66 Oman 43,000 compare
  3. 68 Ecuador 41,000 compare
  4. 70 Kazakhstan 39,000 compare
  5. 71 Bulgaria 37,000 compare
  6. 71 Turkmenistan 37,000 compare

See the full ranking of 194 places →

More reference data data for Yemen

All data for Yemen →

Frequently asked questions

What is military personnel in Yemen?
Military personnel in Yemen was 40,000 in 2022, according to Our World in Data.
What is the highest military personnel recorded in Yemen?
The highest recorded value was 127,000 in 1990.
What is the lowest military personnel recorded in Yemen?
The lowest recorded value was 20,000 in 2016.
How does Yemen rank for military personnel?
Yemen ranks 69th out of 194 countries with data for 2022.
Is military personnel rising or falling in Yemen?
Over the last ten years it is down 40.3%. The long-run trend across the full record is falling.
Where does this Yemen 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 Yemen. Statizoid, drawing on Our World in Data. Retrieved 14 November 2026, from https://reference.statizoid.com/stat/military-personnel/yemen-rep/

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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