The EU, if it were to ever have a unified military force would see most of its personnel come from very few states. As can be seen in the map above, Nordic and Baltic countries have a limited number of military personnel.
Findings
- France has the largest number of military personnel at just over 200,000.
- Luxembourg has the smallest with just under one thousand.
- Only six countries have over 100,000 military personnel: France, Italy, Germany, United Kingdom, Spain, and Greece.
- Eight countries have less than 10,000 military personnel: Luxembourg, Malta, Latvia, Estonia, Slovenia, Finland, Lithuania, and Ireland.
Caveats
- Denmark was missing data.
Details
With the United Kingdom about to exit the European Union, the EU is about to lose one of its larger armies.
Baltic and Nordic countries have limited armies even though they are consistently worried about Russia's military might. Greece, on the other hand refuses to take any chances with their rival Turkey. Apparently, the Netherlands takes its mortal enemy, the sea, quite seriously as well yielding the ninth largest number of military personnel in the Union.
Data
| Country | Military Personnel |
|---|---|
| France | 207,000 |
| Italy | 183,465 |
| Germany | 178,800 |
| United Kingdom | 153,730 |
| Spain | 121,848 |
| Greece | 113,517 |
| Poland | 99,500 |
| Romania | 69,556 |
| Netherlands | 42,102 |
| Portugal | 30,302 |
| Belgium | 30,174 |
| Bulgaria | 25,188 |
| Austria | 22,689 |
| Hungary | 22,667 |
| Czech Republic | 20,222 |
| Sweden | 15,570 |
| Croatia | 15,380 |
| Slovakia | 13,338 |
| Cyprus | 11,747 |
| Ireland | 9,280 |
| Lithuania | 8,568 |
| Finland | 8,275 |
| Slovenia | 6,765 |
| Estonia | 6,285 |
| Latvia | 4,646 |
| Malta | 1,662 |
| Luxembourg | 821 |
Sources
European Defense Agnecy. 2017. "Defense Data Portal." Accessed October 25, 2017. http://www.eda.europa.eu/info-hub/defence-data-portal