Special Report

This Military Has the Largest Arsenal of Guns

24/7 Wall St. Staff

Published: December 28, 2023 1:24 pm

There are 177 countries in the world and according to the latest available comparable data, there are at least 133 million military firearms spread amongst them. These firearms are not only a leading tool of conflict and violence, as exemplified by the current war between Russia and Ukraine, but they also make up the largest pool of centrally controlled weapons stockpiles. The most military firearms per military personnel are Russia and Ukraine, coming in at No. 2 and No. 1 on this list, with nearly 21 weapons for each of the 1.5 million Russian troops and just over 21 firearms for each of the 311,000 Ukrainian troops, based on a 2019 estimate.  

24/7 Wall St. reviewed 2017 military-owned firearms data from Small Arms Survey, an international firearms-monitoring organization to identify the militaries that possess the largest arsenal of guns. We used the 2019 troop count, which includes paramilitary forces, from the World Bank to rank nearly 160 countries by the estimated number of military-owned firearms per enlisted troop. Troop counts as a percentage of the workforce, population figures, and military spending in current U.S. dollars and as a share of gross domestic product are also from the World Bank. 

The top 30 countries with the biggest military weapons stockpiles, which together have a population of 2 billion people, had 7.3 million armed forces personnel in 2019. These countries spent $399 billion on their defense budgets in 2020. By comparison, the United States spent $778 billion on its military in 2020, and that has increased to $817 billion for fiscal 2023. (This is every firearm currently used by the U.S. military.)

Although the United States leads the world by a long shot in how much it spends on defense, it is not among the countries with the most military firearms per troop. By that measure, it ranks 54th. Still, the U.S. leads the world, by a very long shot, in the number of civilian firearms and civilian firearms per civilian. (These are countries with the most gun deaths per capita.)

Thirteen of these 30 countries that possess the largest arsenal of guns are located in Europe, including the two Western European countries of Switzerland and Austria. The only African country on this list is Tanzania while the only three South American countries listed here are Paraguay, Argentina, and Ecuador.

The country with the world’s largest armed forces is China, with 2.54 million military personnel, while North Korea is second (1.47 million), and Russia third (1.45 million). As a share of the national labor force, North Korea leads the world with military personnel accounting for 8.7% of the workforce, followed by Israel and Armenia.

Among the 30 countries with the largest arsenal of weapons per troop, China leads in spending with a $252 billion budget in 2020. Russia, Israel, and Singapore spent between $10.9 billion and $61.7 billion each. The countries that spent the largest share of their GDP on their military, more than 4%, in 2020 are Russia, Ukraine, Israel, Azerbaijan, and Armenia. The U.S. spent about 3.7% of its GDP on its armed forces that year.

Here is the military that possesses the largest arsenal of guns.

30. Kazakhstan

Source: Public Domain / Wikimedia Commons

• Est. military-owned firearms: 5.3 per troop (375,690 total)
• Est. military personnel (incl. paramilitary troops), 2019: 71,000 (0.8% of labor force)
• Annual military spending, 2020: $1.7 billion (1.1% of GDP)
• Population, 2021: 19,002,586
• Region: Central Asia

29. Estonia

Source: KavalenkavaVolha / Getty Images

• Est. military-owned firearms: 5.5 per troop (38,760 total)
• Est. military personnel (incl. paramilitary troops), 2019: 7,000 (1.0% of labor force)
• Annual military spending, 2020: $701.0 million (2.3% of GDP)
• Population, 2021: 1,329,254
• Region: Northern Europe

28. North Korea

Source: alexkuehni / iStock via Getty Images

• Est. military-owned firearms: 5.7 per troop (8,363,100 total)
• Est. military personnel (incl. paramilitary troops), 2019: 1,469,000 (8.7% of labor force)
• Annual military spending, 2020: N/A
• Population, 2021: 25,887,045
• Region: Eastern Asia

27. Israel

Source: Nancy Anderson / iStock via Getty Images

• Est. military-owned firearms: 5.7 per troop (1,016,900 total)
• Est. military personnel (incl. paramilitary troops), 2019: 178,000 (4.3% of labor force)
• Annual military spending, 2020: $21.7 billion (5.6% of GDP)
• Population, 2021: 9,364,000
• Region: Western Asia

26. Ecuador

Source: AlanFalcony / iStock via Getty Images

• Est. military-owned firearms: 6.0 per troop (253,668 total)
• Est. military personnel (incl. paramilitary troops), 2019: 42,000 (0.5% of labor force)
• Annual military spending, 2020: $2.2 billion (2.4% of GDP)
• Population, 2021: 17,888,474
• Region: South America

25. Cyprus

Source: Public Domain / Flickr

• Est. military-owned firearms: 6.2 per troop (99,000 total)
• Est. military personnel (incl. paramilitary troops), 2019: 16,000 (2.5% of labor force)
• Annual military spending, 2020: $418.8 million (1.8% of GDP)
• Population, 2021: 1,215,588
• Region: Western Asia

24. Czech Republic

Czech Army 152mm howitzer (CC BY 2.0) by The Joint Multinational Training Command Public Affairs Office

• Est. military-owned firearms: 6.3 per troop (157,233 total)
• Est. military personnel (incl. paramilitary troops), 2019: 25,000 (0.5% of labor force)
• Annual military spending, 2020: $3.3 billion (1.4% of GDP)
• Population, 2021: 10,703,446
• Region: Eastern Europe

23. Portugal

Source: mtcurado / iStock Unreleased via Getty Images

• Est. military-owned firearms: 6.4 per troop (333,640 total)
• Est. military personnel (incl. paramilitary troops), 2019: 52,000 (1.0% of labor force)
• Annual military spending, 2020: $4.6 billion (2.1% of GDP)
• Population, 2021: 10,299,423
• Region: Southern Europe

22. Azerbaijan

Source: Handout / Getty Images

• Est. military-owned firearms: 6.6 per troop (537,920 total)
• Est. military personnel (incl. paramilitary troops), 2019: 82,000 (1.6% of labor force)
• Annual military spending, 2020: $2.2 billion (5.4% of GDP)
• Population, 2021: 10,145,212
• Region: Western Asia

21. Argentina

Source: narvikk / iStock via Getty Images

• Est. military-owned firearms: 6.6 per troop (679,770 total)
• Est. military personnel (incl. paramilitary troops), 2019: 103,000 (0.5% of labor force)
• Annual military spending, 2020: $2.9 billion (0.8% of GDP)
• Population, 2021: 45,808,747
• Region: South America

20. Tanzania

Source: wilpunt / Getty Images

• Est. military-owned firearms: 6.8 per troop (190,050 total)
• Est. military personnel (incl. paramilitary troops), 2019: 28,000 (0.1% of labor force)
• Annual military spending, 2020: $659.3 million (1.0% of GDP)
• Population, 2021: 61,498,438
• Region: Eastern Africa

19. Kyrgyzstan

Source: Collab Media / Getty Images

• Est. military-owned firearms: 6.9 per troop (145,010 total)
• Est. military personnel (incl. paramilitary troops), 2019: 21,000 (0.8% of labor force)
• Annual military spending, 2020: $127.5 million (1.8% of GDP)
• Population, 2021: 6,694,200
• Region: Central Asia

18. Vietnam

Source: HuyThoai / iStock Editorial via Getty Images

• Est. military-owned firearms: 7.3 per troop (3,829,200 total)
• Est. military personnel (incl. paramilitary troops), 2019: 522,000 (0.9% of labor force)
• Annual military spending, 2020: N/A
• Population, 2021: 98,168,829
• Region: South-eastern Asia

17. Paraguay

Source: Donyanedomam / Getty Images

• Est. military-owned firearms: 8.1 per troop (235,780 total)
• Est. military personnel (incl. paramilitary troops), 2019: 29,000 (0.8% of labor force)
• Annual military spending, 2020: $364.3 million (1.0% of GDP)
• Population, 2021: 7,219,641
• Region: South America

16. Denmark

Source: Plougmann / iStock Unreleased via Getty Images

• Est. military-owned firearms: 8.3 per troop (124,120 total)
• Est. military personnel (incl. paramilitary troops), 2019: 15,000 (0.5% of labor force)
• Annual military spending, 2020: $5.0 billion (1.4% of GDP)
• Population, 2021: 5,856,733
• Region: Northern Europe

15. Sweden

Source: johan_h / iStock via Getty Images

• Est. military-owned firearms: 9.3 per troop (139,180 total)
• Est. military personnel (incl. paramilitary troops), 2019: 15,000 (0.3% of labor force)
• Annual military spending, 2020: $6.5 billion (1.2% of GDP)
• Population, 2021: 10,415,811
• Region: Northern Europe

14. Singapore

BMT passing out parade 100115 (CC BY-SA 4.0) by Seloloving

• Est. military-owned firearms: 9.7 per troop (574,140 total)
• Est. military personnel (incl. paramilitary troops), 2019: 59,000 (1.7% of labor force)
• Annual military spending, 2020: $10.9 billion (3.2% of GDP)
• Population, 2021: 5,453,566
• Region: South-eastern Asia

13. Armenia

Source: Joel Carillet / iStock Unreleased via Getty Images

• Est. military-owned firearms: 10.4 per troop (509,240 total)
• Est. military personnel (incl. paramilitary troops), 2019: 49,000 (3.9% of labor force)
• Annual military spending, 2020: $634.0 million (4.9% of GDP)
• Population, 2021: 2,968,128
• Region: Western Asia

12. China

Source: Александр Семенов / iStock Editorial via Getty Images

• Est. military-owned firearms: 10.8 per troop (27,466,400 total)
• Est. military personnel (incl. paramilitary troops), 2019: 2,535,000 (0.3% of labor force)
• Annual military spending, 2020: $252.3 billion (1.7% of GDP)
• Population, 2021: 1,412,360,000
• Region: Eastern Asia

11. Austria

Source: RossHelen / iStock via Getty Images

• Est. military-owned firearms: 10.9 per troop (240,880 total)
• Est. military personnel (incl. paramilitary troops), 2019: 22,000 (0.5% of labor force)
• Annual military spending, 2020: $3.6 billion (0.8% of GDP)
• Population, 2021: 8,956,279
• Region: Western Europe

10. Nicaragua

Source: Mlenny / E+ via Getty Images

• Est. military-owned firearms: 11.4 per troop (136,800 total)
• Est. military personnel (incl. paramilitary troops), 2019: 12,000 (0.4% of labor force)
• Annual military spending, 2020: $78.0 million (0.7% of GDP)
• Population, 2021: 6,702,379
• Region: Central America

9. Serbia

Source: SStajic / iStock via Getty Images

• Est. military-owned firearms: 12.0 per troop (384,422 total)
• Est. military personnel (incl. paramilitary troops), 2019: 32,000 (1.0% of labor force)
• Annual military spending, 2020: $1.1 billion (2.1% of GDP)
• Population, 2021: 6,844,078
• Region: Southern Europe

8. Cuba

Source: Sean Pavone / iStock via Getty Images

• Est. military-owned firearms: 12.6 per troop (958,100 total)
• Est. military personnel (incl. paramilitary troops), 2019: 76,000 (1.4% of labor force)
• Annual military spending, 2020: N/A
• Population, 2021: 11,317,498
• Region: Caribbean

7. Switzerland

Source: hxyume / iStock Unreleased via Getty Images

• Est. military-owned firearms: 16.2 per troop (324,484 total)
• Est. military personnel (incl. paramilitary troops), 2019: 20,000 (0.4% of labor force)
• Annual military spending, 2020: $5.7 billion (0.8% of GDP)
• Population, 2021: 8,697,723
• Region: Western Europe

6. Moldova

Source: Calin Stan / Getty Images

• Est. military-owned firearms: 16.4 per troop (98,600 total)
• Est. military personnel (incl. paramilitary troops), 2019: 6,000 (0.6% of labor force)
• Annual military spending, 2020: $44.5 million (0.4% of GDP)
• Population, 2021: 2,573,928
• Region: Eastern Europe

5. Finland

Source: Andreas Rentz / Getty Images

• Est. military-owned firearms: 17.6 per troop (475,030 total)
• Est. military personnel (incl. paramilitary troops), 2019: 27,000 (1.0% of labor force)
• Annual military spending, 2020: $4.1 billion (1.5% of GDP)
• Population, 2021: 5,541,696
• Region: Northern Europe

4. Mongolia

Source: tanukiphoto / Getty Images

• Est. military-owned firearms: 18.0 per troop (323,400 total)
• Est. military personnel (incl. paramilitary troops), 2019: 18,000 (1.3% of labor force)
• Annual military spending, 2020: $112.2 million (0.8% of GDP)
• Population, 2021: 3,329,282
• Region: Eastern Asia

3. Slovenia

Source: photos / iStock Editorial via Getty Images

• Est. military-owned firearms: 18.8 per troop (131,686 total)
• Est. military personnel (incl. paramilitary troops), 2019: 7,000 (0.7% of labor force)
• Annual military spending, 2020: $574.8 million (1.1% of GDP)
• Population, 2021: 2,107,007
• Region: Southern Europe

2. Russian Federation

Source: Handout / Getty Images News via Getty Images

• Est. military-owned firearms: 20.8 per troop (30,272,900 total)
• Est. military personnel (incl. paramilitary troops), 2019: 1,454,000 (2.0% of labor force)
• Annual military spending, 2020: $61.7 billion (4.3% of GDP)
• Population, 2021: 143,446,060
• Region: Eastern Europe

1. Ukraine

Source: Anastasia Vlasova / Getty Images News via Getty Images

• Est. military-owned firearms: 21.2 per troop (6,600,000 total)
• Est. military personnel (incl. paramilitary troops), 2019: 311,000 (1.5% of labor force)
• Annual military spending, 2020: $5.9 billion (4.1% of GDP)
• Population, 2021: 43,814,581
• Region: Eastern Europe