Military personnel in Yemen

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

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

Military personnel in Yemen, 1990–2022

25.0k50.0k75.0k100.0k125.0k1990200620221990: 127.0k people1991: 127.0k people1992: 64.0k people1993: 64.0k people1994: 69.0k people1995: 68.0k people1996: 69.0k people1997: 69.0k people1998: 69.0k people1999: 69.0k people2000: 66.0k people2001: 54.0k people2002: 66.0k people2003: 67.0k people2004: 67.0k people2005: 67.0k people2006: 67.0k people2007: 67.0k people2008: 67.0k people2009: 67.0k people2010: 67.0k people2011: 67.0k people2012: 67.0k people2013: 67.0k people2014: 67.0k people2015: 67.0k people2016: 20.0k people2017: 20.0k people2018: 20.0k people2019: 40.0k people2020: 40.0k people2021: 40.0k people2022: 40.0k people

Source: Correlates of War - National Material Capabilities Version 7.0 (2026) – with minor processing by Our World in Data. Measured in people.

Analysis

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

The figure is down 40.3% over ten years.

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

Averages by decade

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

Countries ranked near Yemen

  1. 66 Armenia 43,000 people compare
  2. 66 Oman 43,000 people compare
  3. 68 Ecuador 41,000 people compare
  4. 70 Kazakhstan 39,000 people compare
  5. 71 Bulgaria 37,000 people compare
  6. 71 Turkmenistan 37,000 people 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 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 Yemen?
The highest recorded value was 127,000 people in 1990.
What is the lowest military personnel recorded in Yemen?
The lowest recorded value was 20,000 people 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 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 — 33 observations, free to reuse under CC BY 4.0 (Our World in Data).

About this data

Indicator
Military personnel
Unit
people
Source
Correlates of War - National Material Capabilities Version 7.0 (2026) – with minor processing by Our World in Data
Licence
CC BY 4.0 (Our World in Data)
Coverage
194 places, 15,765 data points, 1816–2022
Last refreshed

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.