Number of personnel in the UK armed forces 2012-2024 by gender

In 2024, there were approximately 121,900 men in the armed forces of the United Kingdom, and 16,220 women. The reduction in personnel witnessed by the British Armed Forces in recent years is the result of a conscious attempt by the UK government to cut costs and modernize the military. This policy has been pursued since the 2010 Strategic Defence and Security Review, which among other things sought to replace many full-time regulars with reservists, and to end the UK’s permanent deployment in Germany. 

Cuts across air land and sea

While the army has born the brunt of these cuts to personnel, all branches of the armed forces have also had to contend with the same issue. Since 2012, the Army has seen its personnel reduced by around 28,800, the RAF by 9,200, and the Navy by around 3,540 While the share of GDP spent on defense has not fallen quite as dramatically since 2012, over the long term, the UK has almost halved defense spending since the end of the Cold War. As of 2021, the UK spent 2.3 percent of GDP on defense, slightly above the minimum NATO requirement of two percent of GDP. Recent geopolitical events, such as the Russian invasion of Ukraine, have led to renewed calls for increased defence spending, with the current UK government aiming to spend 2.5 percent of GDP in the near future.

Age of personnel

In 2024, the average age across all ranks and branches in the UK armed forces was 31. This was the average age for all branches of the armed forces, except for the RAF, which had an average age of 33. During the same year, there were approximately 54,800 people in their 20s in the armed forces, compared with 45,410 in their 30s. Additionally, there were only around 7,760 people under the age of 20 in the armed forces, and just 90 aged 60 or over.