Military

This Country Had The Smallest Army in WWII: Every Participant Ranked

24/7 Wall St. Staff

Published: March 9, 2024 8:10 am

The Second World War was the largest and deadliest conflict in history. Over six years, more than 70 countries engaged in the conflict which led to an estimated 35 to 60 million casualties, the majority of whom were civilians. It began with the German invasion of Poland in September 1939 and ended on September 2, 1945, when Japan surrendered after the atomic bomb was dropped on Hiroshima and Nagasaki (although in Europe, the war ended in May 1945).

The war was also one of the most destructive in history due to the use of heavy artillery. Tanks, aircraft, and more left much of Europe, Japan, parts of Africa, and many other Pacific islands in ruin. Cities and towns were razed, bridges and railroads were demolished, and many landscapes that saw battle were burned. (Here are 35 images that capture the horrors of World War II.)

Using data compiled by Statista, 24/7 Wall St. identified the country that had the smallest army in World War II. Countries are ranked by the total estimated number of troops mobilized during the war. We only considered the 22 countries with available data that mobilized over 200,000 troops. 

The United States did not officially join the war until Pearl Harbor was bombed by Japan. By this point, the war had been raging for about two years but the American war effort ramped up quickly. Not only did the U.S. put its industrial might into mass weapons and material production, it also mobilized an estimated 16.4 million troops, more than any other country but Germany and Russia, which mobilized 18.1 million and 34.7 million troops, respectively.

In the European Theater, one of two main areas of combat, fighting between Germany and Russia on the Eastern Front was especially devastating. The attempted German invasion of Russia, known as Operation Barbarossa, resulted in some of the deadliest battles and sieges in history.

As a result, during the war, no country suffered more deaths – both civilian and military deaths – than Russia. More than 23 million Russians are estimated to have been killed in WWII. For context, American deaths are estimated to have totaled less than half a million. (This is how every war in American history ended.)

These are the nations that mobilized the most troops during WWII.

22. New Zealand

Source: Fox Photos / Hulton Archive via Getty Images

• Total troops mobilized: Approx. 204,000 (12.4% of pop.)
• War deaths: Approx. 11,671 military (0.7% of pop.)
• Side of conflict: Allies
• National population in 1939: Approx. 1,641,600
• Date entered war: Sept. 3, 1939

21. South Africa

Source: FPG / Archive Photos via Getty Images

• Total troops mobilized: Approx. 330,000 (3.2% of pop.)
• War deaths: Approx. 11,900 military (0.1% of pop.)
• Side of conflict: Allies
• National population in 1939: Approx. 10,160,000
• Date entered war: Sept. 4, 1939

20. Netherlands

Source: Public Domain / Wikimedia Commons

• Total troops mobilized: Approx. 400,000 (4.6% of pop.)
• War deaths: Approx. 7,900 military; 198,000 civilian (2.4% of pop.)
• Side of conflict: Allies
• National population in 1939: Approx. 8,729,000
• Date entered war: May 10, 1940

19. Bulgaria

Source: Public Domain / Wikimedia Commons

• Total troops mobilized: Approx. 450,000 (7.0% of pop.)
• War deaths: Approx. 22,000 military; 3,000 civilian (0.4% of pop.)
• Side of conflict: Axis and later the Allies
• National population in 1939: Approx. 6,458,000
• Date entered war: April 20, 1941

18. Greece

Source: Public Domain / Wikimedia Commons

• Total troops mobilized: Approx. 540,000 (7.5% of pop.)
• War deaths: Approx. 20,000 military; 400,000 civilian (5.8% of pop.)
• Side of conflict: Allies
• National population in 1939: Approx. 7,222,000
• Date entered war: Oct. 28, 1940

17. Hungary

Source: Slobodsky / Wikimedia Commons

• Total troops mobilized: Approx. 600,000 (6.6% of pop.)
• War deaths: Approx. 300,000 military; 680,000 civilian (10.7% of pop.)
• Side of conflict: Axis
• National population in 1939: Approx. 9,129,000
• Date entered war: June 27, 1941

16. Belgium

Source: Keystone / Hulton Archive via Getty Images

• Total troops mobilized: Approx. 600,000 (7.2% of pop.)
• War deaths: Approx. 12,100 military; 76,000 civilian (1.1% of pop.)
• Side of conflict: Allies
• National population in 1939: Approx. 8,387,000
• Date entered war: May 10, 1940

15. Finland

Source: Keystone / Hulton Archive via Getty Images

• Total troops mobilized: Approx. 650,000 (17.6% of pop.)
• War deaths: Approx. 95,000 military; 2,000 civilian (2.6% of pop.)
• Side of conflict: Possessed by Axis powers, ultimately declared war on Germany
• National population in 1939: Approx. 3,700,000
• Date entered war: Nov. 30, 1939

14. Australia

Source: Hulton Archive / Hulton Archive via Getty Images

• Total troops mobilized: Approx. 1,000,000 (14.4% of pop.)
• War deaths: Approx. 39,366 military; 735 civilian (0.6% of pop.)
• Side of conflict: Allies
• National population in 1939: Approx. 6,936,000
• Date entered war: Sept. 3, 1939

13. Canada

Source: Stanley Sherman / Hulton Archive via Getty Images

• Total troops mobilized: Approx. 1,100,000 (9.8% of pop.)
• War deaths: Approx. 45,300 military (0.4% of pop.)
• Side of conflict: Allies
• National population in 1939: Approx. 11,267,000
• Date entered war: Sept. 10, 1939

12. Yugoslavia

Source: Bundesarchiv, Bild 101I-161-0256-10 / Dick / CC-BY-SA 3.0 / Wikimedia Commons

• Total troops mobilized: Approx. 1,500,000 (9.7% of pop.)
• War deaths: Approx. 446,000 military; 581,000 civilian (6.7% of pop.)
• Side of conflict: Axis, eventually invaded by Germany
• National population in 1939: Approx. 15,400,000
• Date entered war: April 6, 1941

11. Romania

Source: Archive Photos / Archive Photos via Getty Images

• Total troops mobilized: Approx. 2,000,000 (10.0% of pop.)
• War deaths: Approx. 370,000 military; 533,000 civilian (4.5% of pop.)
• Side of conflict: Axis and later the Allies
• National population in 1939: Approx. 19,934,000
• Date entered war: June 22, 1941

10. Poland

Source: A. J. O'Brien / Hulton Archive via Getty Images

• Total troops mobilized: Approx. 2,000,000 (5.8% of pop.)
• War deaths: Approx. 400,000 military; 5,200,000 civilian (16.1% of pop.)
• Side of conflict: Allies
• National population in 1939: Approx. 34,775,000
• Date entered war: Sept. 1, 1939

9. India

Source: A. R. Tanner / Hulton Archive via Getty Images

• Total troops mobilized: Approx. 2,581,000 (0.7% of pop.)
• War deaths: Approx. 87,000 military; 1,500,000 civilian (0.4% of pop.)
• Side of conflict: Allies
• National population in 1939: Approx. 378,000,000
• Date entered war: Sept. 3, 1939

8. France

Source: Evening Standard / Hulton Archive via Getty Images

• Total troops mobilized: Approx. 5,000,000 (12.0% of pop.)
• War deaths: Approx. 212,000 military; 260,000 civilian (1.1% of pop.)
• Side of conflict: Allies (the puppet state of Vichy France was an Axis power)
• National population in 1939: Approx. 41,700,000
• Date entered war: Sept. 3, 1939

7. United Kingdom

Source: cjp / iStock via Getty Images

• Total troops mobilized: Approx. 5,896,000 (12.3% of pop.)
• War deaths: Approx. 382,600 military; 67,800 civilian (0.9% of pop.)
• Side of conflict: Allies
• National population in 1939: Approx. 47,760,000
• Date entered war: Sept. 3, 1939

6. Japan

Source: Hulton Archive / Hulton Archive via Getty Images

• Total troops mobilized: Approx. 9,100,000 (12.7% of pop.)
• War deaths: Approx. 2,000,000 military; 600,000 civilian (3.6% of pop.)
• Side of conflict: Axis
• National population in 1939: Approx. 71,380,000
• Date entered war: July 7, 1937 (beginning of the Second Sino-Japanese War)

5. Italy

Source: Hulton Archive / Hulton Archive via Getty Images

• Total troops mobilized: Approx. 9,100,000 (20.5% of pop.)
• War deaths: Approx. 306,400 military; 153,100 civilian (1.0% of pop.)
• Side of conflict: Axis
• National population in 1939: Approx. 44,394,000
• Date entered war: June 10, 1940

4. China

Source: FPG / Archive Photos via Getty Images

• Total troops mobilized: Approx. 14,000,000 (2.7% of pop.)
• War deaths: Approx. 4,000,000 military; 16,000,000 civilian (3.9% of pop.)
• Side of conflict: Allies
• National population in 1939: Approx. 517,568,000
• Date entered war: July 7, 1937 (beginning of the Second Sino-Japanese War)

3. United States

Source: Fox Photos / Hulton Archive via Getty Images

• Total troops mobilized: Approx. 16,354,000 (12.5% of pop.)
• War deaths: Approx. 407,318 military; 11,200 civilian (0.3% of pop.)
• Side of conflict: Allies
• National population in 1939: Approx. 131,028,000
• Date entered war: Dec. 7, 1941

2. Germany

Source: Hulton Archive / Hulton Archive via Getty Images

• Total troops mobilized: Approx. 18,100,000 (22.7% of pop.)
• War deaths: Approx. 5,500,000 military; 2,000,000 civilian (9.4% of pop.)
• Side of conflict: Axis
• National population in 1939: Approx. 79,800,000
• Date entered war: Sept. 1, 1939

1. Soviet Union

Source: Yevgeny Khaldei / Hulton Archive via Getty Images

• Total troops mobilized: Approx. 34,746,000 (31.8% of pop.)
• War deaths: Approx. 10,700,000 military; 12,500,000 civilian (21.2% of Russian pop.)
• Side of conflict: Allies
• National population in 1939: Approx. 109,300,000 (Russia)
• Date entered war: Sept. 17, 1939

Methodology

24/7 Wall St. used data compiled by Statista to identify the country that had the smallest army in WWII. Countries are ranked by the total estimated number of troops mobilized during the war. We only considered the 22 countries with available data that mobilized over 200,000 troops. Supplemental data on military and civilians killed and population totals in 1939 are estimates from the World War II Database, an online compilation of historical facts about the war. 

Troop totals are estimates only and, in some cases, represent troops who fought for both the Allied and Axis powers. Though the war began in Europe in 1939, for this story, the war is considered to have begun in 1937 for both China and Japan with the outbreak of the Second Sino-Japanese War.

Troop mobilization estimates for Italy vary considerably, depending on the source, and may include Libyan and East African troops. Estimates for Japan may also include Thai troops as well as troops from Japanese colonies like Korea and Taiwan. Troop estimates for Romania may overlap with troop counts from Yugoslavia and Croatia.