Armed forces personnel of total labor force in United States of America

United States of America: Armed forces personnel of total labor force was 0.8375 in 2020. ▼ Falling

Latest (2020)
0.8375
Change on year
up 1.9%
World rank
87th
of 171 countries
All-time high
1.71
in 1990
All-time low
0.8207
in 2017
Years of data
31
1990–2020

Armed forces personnel of total labor force in United States of America, 1990–2020

00.511.51990200520201990: 1.71991: 1.61992: 1.51993: 1.41994: 1.31995: 1.21996: 1.11997: 1.11998: 1.11999: 1.12000: 0.9892001: 0.9592002: 0.9832003: 0.9872004: 0.9742005: 12006: 0.9652007: 0.9932008: 0.9732009: 0.9882010: 0.9912011: 0.9592012: 0.9342013: 0.8952014: 0.8592015: 0.8322016: 0.8232017: 0.8212018: 0.8262019: 0.8222020: 0.838

Source: Our World in Data.

Analysis

In 2020, armed forces personnel of total labor force in United States of America stood at 0.8375.

That represents a change of up 1.9% on the previous year and down 15.5% over ten years.

Over the whole period, armed forces personnel of total labor force in United States of America peaked at 1.71 in 1990 and was at its lowest, 0.8207, in 2017.

That places United States of America 87th out of 171 countries with data for 2020, putting it in the middle of the range.

The long-run direction has been consistently falling across the 31 years of available data.

Armed forces personnel of total labor force in United States of America, year by year

Annual values for Armed forces personnel of total labor force in United States of America, 1990 to 2020.
Year Value Change
1990 1.71
1991 1.65 -3.4%
1992 1.47 -10.9%
1993 1.38 -6.2%
1994 1.28 -7.1%
1995 1.2 -6.3%
1996 1.13 -5.4%
1997 1.08 -4.2%
1998 1.11 +2.7%
1999 1.09 -2.5%
2000 0.9887 -8.9%
2001 0.9586 -3.1%
2002 0.983 +2.5%
2003 0.9867 +0.4%
2004 0.9741 -1.3%
2005 1.01 +3.7%
2006 0.9648 -4.4%
2007 0.993 +2.9%
2008 0.973 -2.0%
2009 0.9877 +1.5%
2010 0.9912 +0.4%
2011 0.9588 -3.3%
2012 0.9345 -2.5%
2013 0.895 -4.2%
2014 0.8586 -4.1%
2015 0.832 -3.1%
2016 0.8228 -1.1%
2017 0.8207 -0.3%
2018 0.8262 +0.7%
2019 0.8217 -0.5%
2020 0.8375 +1.9%

Averages by decade

DecadeAverage LowestHighest Years
1990s 1.31 1.08 1.71 10
2000s 0.9819 0.9586 1.01 10
2010s 0.8761 0.8207 0.9912 10
2020s 0.8375 0.8375 0.8375 1

Countries ranked near United States of America

  1. 84 Norway 0.8547 compare
  2. 85 Suriname 0.8478 compare
  3. 86 Chad 0.8456 compare
  4. 88 Bosnia and Herzegovina 0.8126 compare
  5. 89 Kyrgyzstan 0.8115 compare
  6. 90 Malaysia 0.8061 compare

See the full ranking of 171 places →

More work & labour data for United States of America

All data for United States of America →

Frequently asked questions

What is armed forces personnel of total labor force in United States of America?
Armed forces personnel of total labor force in United States of America was 0.8375 in 2020, according to Our World in Data.
What is the highest armed forces personnel of total labor force recorded in United States of America?
The highest recorded value was 1.71 in 1990.
What is the lowest armed forces personnel of total labor force recorded in United States of America?
The lowest recorded value was 0.8207 in 2017.
How does United States of America rank for armed forces personnel of total labor force?
United States of America ranks 87th out of 171 countries with data for 2020.
Is armed forces personnel of total labor force rising or falling in United States of America?
Over the last ten years it is down 15.5%. The long-run trend across the full record is falling.
Where does this United States of America data come from?
The figures come from Our World in Data, published as part of Armed forces personnel of total labor force. Statizoid updates them automatically from the source API.

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Armed forces personnel of total labor force in United States of America. Statizoid, drawing on Our World in Data. Retrieved 27 August 2026, from https://labour.statizoid.com/stat/armed-forces-personnel-of-total-labor-force/united-states/

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About this data

Indicator
Armed forces personnel of total labor force
Source
Our World in Data
Licence
CC BY 4.0 (Our World in Data)
Coverage
171 places, 5,022 data points, 1990–2020
Last refreshed