Australia vs Costa Rica: Armed forces personnel as a share of the total labor force
Australia
0.4%
in 2020
Costa Rica
0.4%
in 2020
Australia rank
125th
Costa Rica rank
128th
Armed forces personnel as a share of the total labor force over time
- Australia
- Costa Rica
How they compare
Australia currently reports 0.4% against 0.4% in Costa Rica, a difference of 0.0%.
That makes Australia's figure about 1.1 times Costa Rica's.
The two have swapped places 2 times across 29 shared years of data; in 1990 it was Australia ahead.
Australia ranks 125th and Costa Rica ranks 128th of 171 countries.
Across the 4 decades both report, Australia averaged higher in 2 and Costa Rica in 2.
Head to head by decade
| Decade | Australia | Costa Rica | Difference | Ahead |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1990s | 0.7% | 0.9% | 0.2% | Costa Rica |
| 2000s | 0.5% | 0.8% | 0.3% | Costa Rica |
| 2010s | 0.5% | 0.4% | 0.0% | Australia |
| 2020s | 0.4% | 0.4% | 0.0% | Australia |
Averages of every year both report within each decade.
Frequently asked questions
- Which has higher armed forces personnel as a share of the total labor force, Australia or Costa Rica?
- Australia, at 0.4% against 0.4% in Costa Rica as of 2020.
- What is the difference in armed forces personnel as a share of the total labor force between Australia and Costa Rica?
- 0.0%, with Australia ahead.
- How many years of comparable data are there for Australia and Costa Rica?
- 29 years are reported by both, from 1990 to 2020.
- How do Australia and Costa Rica rank globally for armed forces personnel as a share of the total labor force?
- Australia ranks 125th and Costa Rica ranks 128th of 171 countries.
- Where does this data come from?
- The Military Balance - International Institute for Strategic Studies, via World Bank (2026) – processed by Our World in Data, published as Armed forces personnel as a share of the total labor force. Statizoid refreshes it automatically from the source and publishes the full history for both places.
Individual pages
About this data
Armed forces personnel are active duty military personnel, including paramilitary forces if their training, organization, equipment, and control suggest they may be used to support or replace regular military forces.