At the onset of the war in Afghanistan in the early 2000s, the United States mobilized thousands of reservists to complement its active duty military personnel when entering the region. This practice is not uncommon when countries are preparing to go to war. In fact, Russia is relying on its reserve personnel in its current ongoing conflict in Ukraine. (These are the greatest armies ever assembled on Earth.)
Many countries around the world rely on their reservists should a conflict erupt and military personnel are needed. These members of the military, although not active duty, make up a key component of any military force.
To identify the countries with the most military reserve personnel, 24/7 Wall St. reviewed 2024 Military Strength Ranking from Global Firepower, an annually updated defense-related statistics website with information on 145 countries. Countries were ranked on the total number of military reserves. We included supplemental information regarding active personnel, total population, fit-for-service, paramilitary forces, and overall military strength score.
Eight countries in the world are known to have reserve forces with more than 1 million at the ready, led by Vietnam’s estimated 5 million reservists, followed by the likes of Taiwan, Ukraine, and South Korea.
It is not surprising to find countries with large populations on this list. However, the number of reservists does not necessarily depend on the size of the population. Countries with relatively small populations, like Israel and Finland, have outsized reserves comparatively speaking. (These are the NATO members with the most military manpower.)
Outside of active troops and reservists, countries also have a third broad category of military personnel: paramilitary organizations, state-sanctioned forces that have sometimes acted outside the rules of engagement.
Here is a look at the countries with the most military reserve personnel:
30. Paraguay
Source: NatanaelGinting / iStock
- Reserves: 168,500
- Total military personnel: 199,150
- Active personnel: 15,650
- Paramilitary forces: 15,000
- Total population: 7,439,863
- Fit-for-service: 2,968,505
- Military strength score: 1.7053 – #85 out of 145
29. Thailand
Source: usnavy / Flickr
- Reserves: 200,000
- Total military personnel: 585,850
- Active personnel: 360,850
- Paramilitary forces: 25,000
- Total population: 69,794,997
- Fit-for-service: 27,917,999
- Military strength score: 0.3389 – #25 out of 145
28. Armenia
Source: Joel Carillet / iStock Unreleased via Getty Images
- Reserves: 210,000
- Total military personnel: 272,500
- Active personnel: 57,500
- Paramilitary forces: 5,000
- Total population: 2,989,091
- Fit-for-service: 1,371,993
- Military strength score: 2.0583 – #102 out of 145
27. Portugal
Source: mtcurado / iStock Unreleased via Getty Images
- Reserves: 211,700
- Total military personnel: 260,400
- Active personnel: 24,000
- Paramilitary forces: 24,700
- Total population: 10,467,366
- Fit-for-service: 4,029,936
- Military strength score: 0.5609 – #38 out of 145
26. Greece
Source: BalkansCat / iStock Editorial via Getty Images
- Reserves: 221,350
- Total military personnel: 419,050
- Active personnel: 142,700
- Paramilitary forces: 55,000
- Total population: 10,497,595
- Fit-for-service: 3,999,584
- Military strength score: 0.4349 – #32 out of 145
25. Singapore
Source: usnavy / Flickr
- Reserves: 252,500
- Total military personnel: 315,500
- Active personnel: 51,000
- Paramilitary forces: 12,000
- Total population: 5,975,383
- Fit-for-service: 2,605,267
- Military strength score: 0.4087 – #30 out of 145
24. Azerbaijan
Source: usarmyeurope_images / Flickr
- Reserves: 300,000
- Total military personnel: 441,400
- Active personnel: 126,400
- Paramilitary forces: 15,000
- Total population: 10,420,515
- Fit-for-service: 3,824,329
- Military strength score: 0.9934 – #59 out of 145
23. Kyrgyzstan
Source: usairforce / Flickr
- Reserves: 300,000
- Total military personnel: 378,000
- Active personnel: 23,000
- Paramilitary forces: 55,000
- Total population: 6,122,781
- Fit-for-service: 2,467,481
- Military strength score: 2.0057 – #100 out of 145
22. Brazil
Source: thenationalguard / Flickr
- Reserves: 340,000
- Total military personnel: 900,000
- Active personnel: 360,000
- Paramilitary forces: 200,000
- Total population: 218,689,757
- Fit-for-service: 88,131,972
- Military strength score: 0.1944 – #12 out of 145
21. Iran
Source: Majid Saeedi / Getty Images News via Getty Images
- Reserves: 350,000
- Total military personnel: 1,180,000
- Active personnel: 610,000
- Paramilitary forces: 220,000
- Total population: 87,590,873
- Fit-for-service: 41,167,710
- Military strength score: 0.2269 – #14 out of 145
20. Poland
Source: Kamila Kozioå‚ (Koziolkamila) / iStock via Getty Images
- Reserves: 350,000
- Total military personnel: 602,100
- Active personnel: 202,100
- Paramilitary forces: 50,000
- Total population: 37,991,766
- Fit-for-service: 15,272,690
- Military strength score: 0.2917 – #21 out of 145
19. Turkey
Source: Public Domain / Wikimedia Commons
- Reserves: 378,700
- Total military personnel: 883,900
- Active personnel: 355,200
- Paramilitary forces: 150,000
- Total population: 83,593,483
- Fit-for-service: 3,561,604
- Military strength score: 0.1697 – #8 out of 145
18. Peru
Source: feserc / Flickr
- Reserves: 385,000
- Total military personnel: 565,000
- Active personnel: 120,000
- Paramilitary forces: 60,000
- Total population: 32,440,172
- Fit-for-service: 12,619,227
- Military strength score: 0.8475 – #53 out of 145
17. Indonesia
Source: AWG97 / Wikimedia Commons
- Reserves: 400,000
- Total military personnel: 1,050,000
- Active personnel: 400,000
- Paramilitary forces: 250,000
- Total population: 279,476,346
- Fit-for-service: 113,746,873
- Military strength score: 0.2251 – #13 out of 145
16. Israel
Source: usembassyjlm / Flickr
- Reserves: 465,000
- Total military personnel: 670,000
- Active personnel: 170,000
- Paramilitary forces: 35,000
- Total population: 9,043,387
- Fit-for-service: 3,156,142
- Military strength score: 0.2596 – #17 out of 145
15. Egypt
Source: MC3 Scott Pittman/usnavy / Flickr
- Reserves: 480,000
- Total military personnel: 1,220,000
- Active personnel: 440,000
- Paramilitary forces: 300,000
- Total population: 109,546,720
- Fit-for-service: 37,684,072
- Military strength score: 0.2283 – #15 out of 145
14. China
Source: Pool / Getty Images News via Getty Images
- Reserves: 510,000
- Total military personnel: 3,170,000
- Active personnel: 2,035,000
- Paramilitary forces: 625,000
- Total population: 1,413,142,846
- Fit-for-service: 626,022,281
- Military strength score: 0.0706 – #3 out of 145
13. Pakistan
Source: dvids / Flickr
- Reserves: 550,000
- Total military personnel: 1,704,000
- Active personnel: 654,000
- Paramilitary forces: 500,000
- Total population: 247,653,551
- Fit-for-service: 84,202,207
- Military strength score: 0.1711 – #9 out of 145
12. North Korea
Source: alexkuehni / iStock Editorial via Getty Images
- Reserves: 560,000
- Total military personnel: 1,980,000
- Active personnel: 1,320,000
- Paramilitary forces: 100,000
- Total population: 26,072,217
- Fit-for-service: 5,266,588
- Military strength score: 0.5313 – #36 out of 145
11. Tajikistan
Source: thenationalguard / Flickr
- Reserves: 600,000
- Total military personnel: 629,500
- Active personnel: 9,500
- Paramilitary forces: 20,000
- Total population: 9,245,937
- Fit-for-service: 3,356,275
- Military strength score: 2.1265 – #107 out of 145
10. United States
Source: thenationalguard / Flickr
- Reserves: 799,500
- Total military personnel: 2,127,500
- Active personnel: 1,328,000
- Paramilitary forces: 0
- Total population: 339,665,118
- Fit-for-service: 123,977,768
- Military strength score: 0.0699 – #1 out of 145
9. Finland
Source: wstryder / Flickr
- Reserves: 870,000
- Total military personnel: 947,800
- Active personnel: 24,000
- Paramilitary forces: 53,800
- Total population: 5,614,571
- Fit-for-service: 1,908,954
- Military strength score: 0.7967 – #50 out of 145
8. United Kingdom
Source: ikholwadia / iStock via Getty Images
- Reserves: 924,000
- Total military personnel: 1,108,860
- Active personnel: 184,860
- Paramilitary forces: 0
- Total population: 68,138,484
- Fit-for-service: 25,074,962
- Military strength score: 0.1443 – #6 out of 145
7. India
Source: BDphoto / iStock Unreleased via Getty Images
- Reserves: 1,155,000
- Total military personnel: 5,137,550
- Active personnel: 1,455,550
- Paramilitary forces: 2,527,000
- Total population: 1,399,179,585
- Fit-for-service: 519,095,626
- Military strength score: 0.1023 – #4 out of 145
6. Philippines
Source: ClaudineVM / iStock Editorial via Getty Images
- Reserves: 1,200,000
- Total military personnel: 1,385,000
- Active personnel: 150,000
- Paramilitary forces: 35,000
- Total population: 116,434,200
- Fit-for-service: 41,101,273
- Military strength score: 0.4691 – #34 out of 145
5. Ukraine
Source: president_of_ukraine / Flickr
- Reserves: 1,200,000
- Total military personnel: 2,200,000
- Active personnel: 900,000
- Paramilitary forces: 100,000
- Total population: 43,306,477
- Fit-for-service: 15,460,412
- Military strength score: 0.2598 – #18 out of 145
4. Russia
Source: Kichigin / iStock via Getty Images
- Reserves: 2,000,000
- Total military personnel: 3,570,000
- Active personnel: 1,320,000
- Paramilitary forces: 250,000
- Total population: 141,698,923
- Fit-for-service: 46,477,247
- Military strength score: 0.0702 – #2 out of 145
3. Taiwan
Source: presidentialoffice / Flickr
- Reserves: 2,310,000
- Total military personnel: 2,580,000
- Active personnel: 215,000
- Paramilitary forces: 55,000
- Total population: 23,588,613
- Fit-for-service: 1,061,488
- Military strength score: 0.3302 – #24 out of 145
2. South Korea
Source: Chung Sung-Jun / Getty Images News via Getty Images
- Reserves: 3,100,000
- Total military personnel: 3,820,000
- Active personnel: 600,000
- Paramilitary forces: 120,000
- Total population: 51,966,948
- Fit-for-service: 21,306,449
- Military strength score: 0.1416 – #5 out of 145
1. Vietnam
Source: knittymarie / Flickr
- Reserves: 5,000,000
- Total military personnel: 5,850,000
- Active personnel: 600,000
- Paramilitary forces: 250,000
- Total population: 104,799,174
- Fit-for-service: 44,644,448
- Military strength score: 0.3158 – #22 out of 145
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