Top 10 Largest Armies In The World (2024)

An Army consists of the military personnel that is tasked with the responsibility of defending the security of a country. Furthermore, they are the officers concerned with protecting a country from external or internal attacks. The total number of the army of a country is made up of:

• Active personnel: This refers to officers that are on active duty, whose sole job is to protect the country from external and internal attacks. They usually reside on base and can be dispatched to any conflict location within or outside the country spontaneously. 
• Reserved personnel: This type of officer refers to officers that are supplementary to the military. They are not usually on active duty as they may have their career and they cannot be dispatched to any location spontaneously. 
• Paramilitary personnel: These are members of the public that are organized to operate like or assist the military in protecting the country.

The largest armies in the world are ranked by the cumulative number of all military personnel that each country has. China has the largest army in the world with active personnel that amounts to 2,183,000 and 510,000 reserved soldiers.

Top 10 Largest Armies In The World

1. China 

China has the largest army in the world with 2,183,000 active army personnel, 510,000 reserved personnel, and 624,000 paramilitary officers. This large number is attributed to the large population of The People’s Republic of China. The country also has an impressive annual military budget of over $250 billion which is similarly, the second-largest defense budget in the world. 

The Chinese army is tasked with securing the autonomy, domestic safety, and national integrity of the People’s Republic of China.

2. India 

With active army personnel of 1,450,000 soldiers, 1,155,000 reserved personnel, and 2,527,000 paramilitary personnel, India ranks as the second-largest army in the world. They are reported to have nuclear weapons in their artillery so they are undoubtedly an army that cannot be toyed with.

The Indian army which is headquartered in New Delhi is tasked with the responsibility of defending the country’s borders and also ensuring the country’s internal protection. The Indian army is backed with an estimated defense budget of $49 billion.

3. The United States of America 

The USA has functional military personnel of 1,390,000, 442,000 reserve personnel, and no paramilitary personnel. However, the United States has the strongest army in the world with top-notch and powerful weapons. Additionally, the USA also has one of the largest defense budgets in the world and the biggest military base in the world.

The USA Army is headquartered in Virginia, and it is tasked with the responsibility of preserving the safety and defense of the country.

4. North Korea

With active military personnel of 1,280,000 soldiers and 6,300,000 reserved army personnel, North Korea ranks as the fourth largest army in the world. The tussle between the country and South Korea lead to the rapid formation of a great army.

However, with a minimal defense budget of $7.5 billion the country’s military cannot be underestimated because of the nuclear weapons in their artillery. The Military headquarters of North Korea is in Pyongyang.

5. Russia 

The second strongest army in the world has active military personnel that amounts to 1,013,628, reserved personnel that is a total of 2,572,500 soldiers, and 250,000 paramilitary personnel. Russia is also recognized to have one of the biggest defense budgets of $154 billion and massive nuclear weapon artillery.

The Military headquarters of Russia is situated in Moscow and it is tasked with the responsibility of defending the Russian state.

6. Pakistan 

Pakistan has active personnel of 640,000 soldiers, 500,000 reserved personnel, and 500,000 paramilitary personnel. It is considered the biggest army in an Islamic country which earned it a spot on the list of the largest armies in the world. The Pakistan Army is in coalition with China.

With a defense budget of over $7 billion, the Pakistan Army is tasked with the responsibility of national harmony and unity. The Military headquarter of the Pakistan Army is at Rawalpindi.

7. South Korea

The country has active military personnel of 625,000 soldiers, 500,000 reserved personnel, and 75,000 paramilitary officers. The country has a compulsory service for every male citizen of the country in a bid to build a formidable military force. The South Korean Army is supported with a defense budget of about $46 billion and it is headquartered in Seoul.

8. Iran 

Iran has active military personnel of 575,000, reserved personnel that amount to 350,000, and 90,000 paramilitary personnel. Backed by a military budget of $5 billion, the Iranian Army has one of the strongest militaries regardless of the number of their military personnel. The Iranian is tasked with the responsibility of protecting the Iranian state from external and internal attacks and the military headquarters of the Iranian Army is situated in Tehran.

9. Vietnam 

With active military personnel of 482,000 soldiers and 5,000,000 reserved personnel, Vietnam has one of the largest armies in the world. Furthermore, Vietnam’s army is a strong army that builds its army by making military service compulsory for every male citizen. The Vietnam army is backed with a defense budget of $3.365 billion.

10. Egypt 

The strongest military in Africa has active personnel of 450,000 soldiers, 480,000 reserved personnel and 300,000 paramilitary personnel occupies the 10th spot on the Top ten Largest Armies in the World. The Egyptian army boasts of substantial military artillery, and a good annual budget estimated to be about $4.4 billion. The Military headquarter of the Egyptian army is located in Cairo.

There are a lot of armies that have an enormous number of soldiers, most of them are referred to as Battalions when they are in a group. Every country has its own army, and every country no doubt has a large number of armies, but there are ranks given to these countries according to how large their armies are, as soldiers die every now and then, and some young ones are recruited immediately.

There is no pattern, and neither is there a specific number of soldiers enlisted in an army, but some countries have a larger number of armies than other countries and these countries have been grouped into a majority of 10. It is to be known that most countries focus more on the use of arms and the care of their armies, while some rarely ponder about their armies, as they just have them on the side to be in the line of battle when the need calls for it.

The countries that have been listed in the top 10 largest armies in the world, not only have large numbers of soldiers as an army, these countries take good care and have a way of maintaining their soldiers to the very last. These countries know that the men who stand guard during battle are the ones who should be celebrated every day, and that is why in most countries, there are specific days given as holidays to the general public, to honor the names of heroes, especially those who had fallen in the line of battle, protecting their country and making sure that all goes well no matter what.

Importance Of Armies To Their Country

1. Help to maintain order in the country

Although most countries do not make use of the military kind of rule, the Army helps to restore law and order for their country. They help to put a kind of balance between good and evil in their country, and even outside their country. When the country is on the verge of a terrorist attack, most of the time, the Armies are sought out, to help with strategic operations that would help to put the country in a safer zone and clear all intending attacks on the country.

These men fight to the death and that is exactly how and what they are trained for. It is okay for a country to rely on its Army for help when there is a crisis in the country, most of the time, the Army helps to alleviate crisis from hitting the country. This is one thing that the Army is very good at any one thing that they have done time and time again, which is to restore and maintain peace and order in the country.

2. Help to protect the country

The Army helps to protect the country against external influences and attacks in every way. The Army usually goes on undercover missions to find out information that would be relevant for the country, they also help to protect the country during a battle, or at the battlefront against enemy countries that have taken it upon themselves to destroy their country. The men in the Army do not eat or sleep most times until they have achieved their goals to protect their country at all costs.

3. First responders to attack

When a country is under attack, everyone has become very tense and is very scared to do anything for themselves. The Army is the first line of response to every attack on a country. While they try to calm society and put everyone in a comfortable, they are the ones who head on the face of the attack and try to stop it with everything that they have. They have in every way proved with this that they will never stop fighting for their country, and neither will they give up on their country.

4. Defend the integrity and power of the country

The Army helps to keep the integrity and power of the county intact in every situation. It sees to it that the country does not experience any form of backlash or disgrace, and it keeps the country’s top secrets very safe, and that is why most Army would rather die than give up their countries to other countries.

There is a list of Armies that are very powerful and very large in number, and this article has carefully selected the first 10 Armies that are known to be the largest ever.

Related:

• Top 10 Best Air Forces In The World
• List Of Countries By Military Power
• Top 10 Most Powerful Countries In The World

Closing

The top ten Largest Armies in the world ranked above are not to toy with when it comes to military combat faceoff as they are well skilled in the art of military combat. The Vital determinant of the size of the Army of a country is the cumulative number of all of their Military personnel. The defense budget is also a vital element to be considered when ranking a country for its size.

China ranks first place in the top ten largest Armies in the World with active military personnel of 2,183,000 soldiers and 510,000 reserved personnel closely followed by India and the United States of America.

I am hopeful that this piece has been helpful so I would love to get feedback from you. You can do that by dropping your thoughts and comments in the comment section below. I am looking forward to reading your thoughts about the countries ranked above.