The World's Biggest Armed Forces (Year 2010)

Image: The Economist Online

In absolute numbers, rich and populous countries such as America, China and India keep the biggest militaries. Countries that have seen war (Iran, Vietnam) or are situated in strife-torn regions such as the Middle East also feature prominently. The most heavily militarised country of all is North Korea, where there are 49 military personnel for every 1,000 of its people.--The Economist

Image: Wikipedia.org

Malaysia has a slightly larger army than Jordan, so we're ranked somewhere around 42nd or 43rd in the world. Not bad for a country of 28.3 million(2010).

Among ASEAN countries, Vietnam tops the chart with almost half a million active soldiers, followed by Myanmar, Thailand, Indonesia, Cambodia, and the Philippines. Malaysia is ranked 7th, Singapore 8th, Laos 9th, and finally Brunei, with only 7000 active troops.



Malcolm
info:
http://www.economist.com/blogs/dailychart/2011/07/armed-forces?fsrc=scn/tw/te/dc/armiedtothehilt
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_countries_by_number_of_troops#endnote_MYS