By comparison, the number of active-duty members of the Coast Guard has ticked up.Ģ The active-duty force remains largely male-dominated, but women have made inroads in recent decades. The size of the Marine Corps’ active-duty force has also decreased, but not to the extent of these other branches. The Army, Navy and Air Force are substantially smaller in numbers today compared with their size in 1990. The Marine Corps made up 14% of the active-duty military, while the Coast Guard made up 3%. The Navy and Air Force were comparable in size, each accounting for roughly a quarter of active-duty personnel. In 2015, 36% of all active-duty military personnel were serving in the Army.

Here are some key facts about today’s military.ġ The Army remains the largest branch of the U.S. In addition, the share of Americans serving in the active-duty military has declined marginally to 0.4% of the population in 2015 (down from 0.5% in 2009).

This marks the smallest active-duty force since 2001, according to a new Pew Research Center analysis of data from the U.S. There were 1,340,533 active-duty troops in 2015 (including those serving in the U.S. military has edged downward, its demographic makeup has changed, largely in ways that reflect trends in the broader society. (Mark Wilson/Getty Images)Īs the size of the active-duty U.S.

Troops assembled at Al Udeid Air Base in Qatar in December 2013.

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