Racial and ethnic minority groups made up 40% of Defense Department active-duty military in 2015, up from 25% in 1990. Women make up 18% of the Navy and 14% of the Army.ģ As the country has become more racially and ethnically diverse, so has the U.S. Women comprise nearly one-in-five active-duty personnel in the Air Force (19%) but only 8% of all Marines. The share of women in the ranks varies significantly by service branch. And 15% of enlisted personnel were female in 2015, up from 11% in 1990. In 2015, 17% of active-duty officers were female – up from their share of 12% in 1990. Overall, 15% of DOD active-duty military personnel are women, up from 11% in 1990. 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.

Average size of a military tank