Armed forces personnel as a share of the total labor force in Finland
Finland: Armed forces personnel as a share of the total labor force was 0.8% in 2020. ▼ Falling
Armed forces personnel as a share of the total labor force in Finland, 1990–2020
Source: The Military Balance - International Institute for Strategic Studies, via World Bank (2026) – processed by Our World in Data. Measured in %.
Analysis
The most recent figure for armed forces personnel as a share of the total labor force in Finland is 0.8%, measured in 2020. That is the lowest value across all 31 years on record.
That represents a change of down 18.4% on the previous year and down 14.2% over ten years.
Over the whole period, armed forces personnel as a share of the total labor force in Finland peaked at 1.5% in 1996 and was at its lowest, 0.8%, in 2020.
Finland ranks 91st of 171 countries on this measure, in the middle of the range.
The long-run direction has been consistently falling across the 31 years of available data.
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1990s | 1.3% | 1.2% | 1.5% | 10 |
| 2000s | 1.2% | 0.9% | 1.3% | 10 |
| 2010s | 0.9% | 0.9% | 1.0% | 10 |
| 2020s | 0.8% | 0.8% | 0.8% | 1 |
Countries ranked near Finland
- 88 Bosnia and Herzegovina 0.8% compare
- 89 Kyrgyzstan 0.8% compare
- 90 Malaysia 0.8% compare
- 92 Trinidad and Tobago 0.8% compare
- 93 Brazil 0.8% compare
- 94 Tajikistan 0.7% compare
More work & labour data for Finland
- Legislation on sexual harassment in employment 1 (1=yes; 0=no) (2023)
- Criminal sanctions or compensation for workplace sexual harassment 1 (1=yes; 0=no) (2023)
- Women can take the same jobs as men 1 (1=yes; 0=no) (2023)
- Labor force participation rate, total (% of total population ages 15+) 59.7% (2025)
- Labor force participation rate, male (% of male population ages 15+) 63.0% (2025)
- Ratio of female to male labor force participation rate (%) 89.7% (2025)
- Labor force participation rate, female (% of female population ages 15 56.5% (2025)
- Labor force participation rate, total (% of total population ages 15-6 79.4% (2025)
- Labor force participation rate, male (% of male population ages 15-64) 80.1% (2025)
- Labor force participation rate, female (% of female population ages 15 78.7% (2025)
Frequently asked questions
- What is armed forces personnel as a share of the total labor force in Finland?
- Armed forces personnel as a share of the total labor force in Finland was 0.8% in 2020, according to The Military Balance - International Institute for Strategic Studies, via World Bank (2026) – processed by Our World in Data.
- What is the highest armed forces personnel as a share of the total labor force recorded in Finland?
- The highest recorded value was 1.5% in 1996.
- What is the lowest armed forces personnel as a share of the total labor force recorded in Finland?
- The lowest recorded value was 0.8% in 2020.
- How does Finland rank for armed forces personnel as a share of the total labor force?
- Finland ranks 91st out of 171 countries with data for 2020.
- Is armed forces personnel as a share of the total labor force rising or falling in Finland?
- Over the last ten years it is down 14.2%. The long-run trend across the full record is falling.
- Where does this Finland data come from?
- The figures come from The Military Balance - International Institute for Strategic Studies, via World Bank (2026) – processed by Our World in Data, published as part of Armed forces personnel as a share of the total labor force. Statizoid updates them automatically from the source API.
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CSV · JSON — 31 observations, free to reuse under CC BY 4.0 (Our World in Data).
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.