- Topics›
- Defense spending and arms trade›
Military Service
Britain ended conscription back in 1957 and many European countries have since followed suit.
Yet, many countries across the world still enforce compulsory military service. The practice is controversial for many reasons including opposition on religious grounds or conscientious objection to military engagements.
Many democracies still have some form of mandatory military service, but a good number are not enforcing the rules to their full extent anymore, resulting in a practice of limited conscription where only a minority of those subject to the law are actually drafted. In these cases, exceptions are generously granted and/or a large number of military-aged men and women are rejected as unfit on broad grounds. In many countries, draft dodging through bribes and favors is also a possibility that lowers actual enrollment.
Fewer than 30 countries still actually require whole age cohorts to complete military service. Among them are Cuba and Colombia in Latin America; Angola, Eritrea and South Sudan in Africa as well as Finland, Austria and Switzerland in Europe (where substitute community service programs exists). Military service for all is more common in the Middle East. Israel, where both men an women join the military without many exceptions for two to three years, is a well-known example of this practice.
In Asia, Vietnam, Laos, North Korea and South Korea as well as Taiwan still require universal military service. While South Korea has regularly made headlines in connection with the (albeit postponed) draft of Kpop stars, Taiwan has recently unveiled plans to extend compulsory military service to one year in the light of tensions with China.
Katharina Buchholz
Data Journalist
katharina.buchholz@statista.com
Related Infographics
FAQ
The Statista "Chart of the Day", made available under the Creative Commons License CC BY-ND 3.0, may be used and displayed without charge by all commercial and non-commercial websites. Use is, however, only permitted with proper attribution to Statista. When publishing one of these graphics, please include a backlink to the respective infographic URL. More Information
The Statista "Chart of the Day" currently focuses on two sectors: "Media and Technology", updated daily and featuring the latest statistics from the media, internet, telecommunications and consumer electronics industries; and "Economy and Society", which current data from the United States and around the world relating to economic and political issues as well as sports and entertainment.
For individual content and infographics in your Corporate Design, please visit our agency website www.statista.design
Any more questions?
Get in touch with us quickly and easily.
We are happy tohelp!
Do you still have questions?
Feel free to contact us anytime using our contact form or visit our FAQ page.
Your contact to the Infographics Newsroom
Felix Richter
Data Journalist
felix.richter@statista.com +49 (40) 284 841 557
Statista Content & Design
Need infographics, animated videos, presentations, data research or social media charts?