Olan McEvoy
Research expert covering the European Union for society, economy, and politics.
Get in touch with us nowEU Military Defense: total armed forces personnel in the European Union 1989-2019
The number of military personnel serving in member states of the European Union has declined from approximately 3.4 million people at the end of the Cold War in 1989, to less than two million by 2019. While European Union countries cooperate closely on issues of defense and security, particularly as the vast majority of EU member states are also members of NATO, the current Common Security and Defence Policy of the EU does not amount to a formal military alliance, nor an EU army.
