Accredited official statistics

Quarterly service personnel statistics 1 April 2024

Updated 21 November 2024

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This publication provides information on the number of Military Personnel (defined as the Strength), joining (Intake) and leaving (Outflow) the UK Armed Forces. Detail is provided for both the Full-Time Armed Forces (AF) and Reserves. Further statistics can be found in the Excel tables.

The historic trends in Reserve personnel numbers in this report relate to the targets outlined in the Future Reserves 2020 (FR20) programme.

Some of the statistics previously published in the following publications can now be found in this release:

▼183,230 Strength of UK Forces Service Personnel
at 1 April 2024, a decrease of 5,590 (3 per cent) since 1 April 2023.
▼129,760 Full-Time Trained Strength (RN/RM & RAF) and Full-Time Trade Trained Strength (Army)
at 1 April 2024, a decrease of 3,800 (3 per cent) since 1 April 2023.
▲11,300 People joined the UK Regular Armed Forces
in the past 12 months (1 April 2023 - 31 March 2024), an increase of 210 (2 per cent) compared with the previous 12 month period.
▼15,730 People left the UK Regular Armed Forces
in the past 12 months (1 April 2023 - 31 March 2024), a decrease of 780 (5 per cent) compared with the previous 12 month period.
▼29,570 Strength of the Trained Future Reserves 2020
at 1 April 2024, a decrease of 790 (3 per cent) since 1 April 2023.
▲3,930 People joined the Future Reserves 2020
in the past 12 months (1 April 2023 - 31 March 2024), an increase of 360 (10 per cent) compared with the previous 12 month period.
▼5,270 People left the Future Reserves 2020
in the past 12 months (1 April 2023 - 31 March 2024), a decrease of 360 (6 per cent) compared with the previous 12 month period.

Responsible Statistician: Tri-Service Head of Branch

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Background Quality Report: Background Quality Report

Introduction

This publication contains information on the Strength, Intake, Outflow and Gains to Trained Strength (GTS) for the UK Armed Forces overall and each of the Services; Royal Navy/Royal Marines (RN/RM), Army and Royal Air Force (RAF).

The Ministry of Defence (MOD) announced on 29 June 2016 that it was changing the definition of Trained Strength for Army to include Phase 1 trained personnel, which affected some Tri-Service totals (see Army Trained Strength in the Policy Background section for more detail). The MOD held a public consultation on SDSR Resilience: Trained strength definition for the Army and resultant changes to Ministry of Defence Armed Forces personnel statistics, between 11 July and 21 August 2016. A consultation response was published on 7 November 2016. The changes outlined in the consultation and response have been incorporated into this publication from the 1 October 2016 edition onwards. This affects statistics in some of the accompanying Excel tables, specifically tables: 3a, 3e, 5a, 5b, 5c, 5d, 6a, 6b, 7a, 7b and 7c. Terminology has also been updated in Excel tables 3c and 4.

Detailed statistics, including unrounded figures, and historic time series can be found in the Excel tables. These include quarterly statistics on the number of Service and Civilian Personnel, Separated Service (the proportion of personnel breaching harmony guidelines), Applications to each of the Services and Military Salaries. Historic statistics can be found in the following archived publications:

The glossary contains definitions of terminology used in this publication.

A calendar of upcoming MOD statistical releases can be found on GOV.UK.

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Accredited Official Statistics are called National Statistics in the Statistics and Registration Service Act 2007. These Accredited Official Statistics were independently reviewed by the Office for Statistics Regulation in September 2023. They comply with the standards of trustworthiness, quality and value in the Code of Practice for Statistics and should be labelled ‘Accredited Official Statistics’. Accreditation can be broadly interpreted to mean that the statistics:

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Policy Background

The main factors affecting decisions about the size of the Armed Forces required by the MOD to achieve success in its military tasks include:

  • An assessment of current and future threats to UK national security;
  • The need for contingent / reactive capability – the requirement to be able to respond immediately to domestic or international crisis;
  • Current operational and international obligations (e.g. NATO, UN);
  • Changes in technology, the introduction of new equipment and restructuring that leads to equipment becoming obsolete or surplus to requirements;
  • The need to deliver against the military tasks as efficiently as possible, maintaining a balanced, affordable defence budget.

The Service Personnel Statistics in previous versions of this publication arere reported against the 2015 Strategic Defence and Security Review (SDSR), released in November 2015. Prior to SDSR 2015, publications reported against the planned Future Force 2020, as set out in the SDSR 2010 which planned to reduce the size of the Armed Forces.

Army Trained Strength

On 29 June 2016, the MOD announced that the Army planned to use Regular and Reserve Phase 1 Trained personnel in response to crises within the UK. Following this, the term ‘Trained Strength’ would include all Army personnel Trained in the core function of their Service (i.e. those who have completed Phase 1 Training). The MOD has consulted on these changes and the resultant impact they will have on this publication and a consultation response was published on 7 October 2016.

From the 1 October 2016 edition onwards, Army personnel who have completed Phase 1 Training (basic Service Training) but not Phase 2 Training (Trade Training), are considered Trained personnel. This change enabled the Army to meet the SDSR 15 commitment to improve support to UK resilience. The Trained Strength definition for the Royal Navy, RAF, Maritime Reserve and RAF Reserves has not changed, reflecting the requirement for their personnel to complete Phase 2 Training to be able to fulfil the core function of their respective Services.

Army personnel who have completed Phase 2 Training are now called ‘Trade Trained’. This population aligns with the old definition of Trained personnel, therefore maintaining the continuity of the statistical time series.

The Army have undertaken a review of training requirements and Royal Engineers Other Ranks personnel joining from 1 July 2019 will become Trade Trained after Initial Trade Training (ITT) and will join the Full-time Trade Trained Strength (FTTTS), and therefore we may see a change in the trend.

Full-Time Armed Forces Personnel

In order to meet the personnel reduction targets set out in SDSR 2010, the Three Month Exercise (3ME) and Army 2020 (A2020), a redundancy programme coupled with adjusted recruiting (Intake) and contract extensions, were set. The aforementioned redundancy programme is now complete.

On 23 November 2015, MOD published the National Security Strategy and Strategic Defence and Security Review 2015. SDSR 2015 outlined plans to uplift the size of the Regular Armed Forces, setting targets for a Strength of 82,000 for the Army, and increasing the Royal Navy/Royal Marines and Royal Air Force by a total of 700 personnel. The SDSR 2015 Defence Key Facts booklet announced new targets for 2020 for each of the Services.

Future Reserves 2020 (FR20) Programme

The Future Reserves 2020 (FR20) programme aimed to increase the size of the Reserve Forces. Further information on the growth of the Reserves can be found in the Policy Background section of previous Monthly Service Personnel Statistics publications.

As a result of the changes to Army Trained Strength (referred to above) and their impact on the Army Reserve, the MOD released a Written Ministerial Statement containing revised Future Reserves 2020 (FR20) Strength growth profiles on 8 November 2016. Reporting of the growth of the Reserves will be based on Strength profiles only.

There has been no formal announcement of new targets beyond 31 March 2019. However, the Ministry of Defence’s recruitment campaign is a long-term programme.

Reserves Forces 2030 (RF30) Programme

The Reserve Forces 2030 (RF30) Review does not include a target for additional personnel numbers beyond those in the Future Reserves 2020 (FR20) programme.

RF30 builds on the work carried out by FR20; the RF30 Review offers 18 recommendations grouped into four key areas in which the Reserves will need to continue to adapt in order to develop their utility.  These are: redefining the Reserves’ relationship with society; expanding the role of the Reserves; unlocking the potential of reservists; and transforming support to the Reserves.

The Ministry of Defence has established an implementation programme to consider the RF30 recommendations.  A formal response, or responses, to the RF30 Review will follow the RF30 implementation programme’s detailed analysis of the recommendations.

UK Service Personnel

Strength is the number of personnel.

UK Regulars are Full-Time Service personnel, including Nursing Services, excluding FTRS personnel, Gurkhas, mobilised Reservists, Military Provost Guarding Service (MPGS), Locally Engaged Personnel (LEP), and Non Regular Permanent Service (NRPS).

Volunteer Reserves voluntarily accept an annual training commitment and are liable to be mobilised to deploy on operations. They can be utilised on a part-time or Full-Time basis to provide support to the Regular Forces at home and overseas.

UK Service Personnel comprise the total Strength of the military personnel employed by the Ministry of Defence (Excel table, Table 1). The current Strength (as at 1 April 2024) of the UK Armed Forces is 183,230 which includes:

  • All UK Regular personnel and all Gurkha personnel (which comprised 77.7 per cent of UK Service Personnel);
  • Volunteer Reserve personnel (which comprised 17.7 per cent of UK Service Personnel);
  • Other Personnel including the Serving Regular Reserve, Sponsored Reserve, Military Provost Guard Service, Locally Engaged Personnel and elements of the Full-Time Reserve Service (FTRS) (which comprised 4.6 per cent of UK Service Personnel).

The total Strength of the UK Forces1 has decreased between 1 April 2023 and 1 April 2024 by 3.0 per cent (5,590 personnel), as shown in Table 1. Compared to 1 April 2023, the Gurkhas and other Personnel has increased, however the UK Regular Forces and Volunteer Reserves have decreased.

Table 1: Trends in UK Forces Strength1

01-Apr-21 01-Apr-22 01-Apr-23 01-Oct-23 01-Jan-24 01-Apr-24 % Change since 1 Apr 23
UK Forces Personnel 198,880 196,240 188,820 184,860 183,130 183,230 -3.0%
UK Regular Forces 149,280 147,980 142,560 139,490 138,100 138,120 -3.1%
Gurkhas 4,010 4,110 4,180 4,100 4,060 4,300 3.0%
Volunteer Reserve 37,420 35,860 33,790 32,950 32,580 32,420 -4.0%
Other Personnel 8,170 8,290 8,290 8,320 8,390 8,380 1.0%
Royal Navy / Royal Marines 40,400 40,130 38,770 37,960 37,730 37,780 -2.5%
UK Regular Forces 33,850 33,930 32,840 32,130 31,910 32,000 -2.6%
Volunteer Reserve 4,080 3,810 3,460 3,360 3,310 3,310 -4.3%
Other Personnel 2,480 2,400 2,470 2,470 2,510 2,480 0.1%
Army 120,660 118,240 113,440 111,170 110,030 110,300 -2.8%
UK Regular Forces 82,230 80,730 77,540 75,980 75,170 75,320 -2.9%
Gurkhas 4,010 4,110 4,180 4,100 4,060 4,300 3.0%
Volunteer Reserve 30,040 28,810 27,190 26,550 26,240 26,090 -4.1%
Other Personnel 4,380 4,590 4,530 4,550 4,560 4,590 1.3%
Royal Air Force 37,810 37,880 36,610 35,730 35,380 35,140 -4.0%
UK Regular Forces 33,200 33,320 32,180 31,380 31,020 30,800 -4.3%
Volunteer Reserve 3,300 3,250 3,140 3,050 3,030 3,030 -3.5%
Other Personnel 1,310 1,310 1,290 1,310 1,320 1,320 2.1%
  1. UK Forces comprises all UK Regular, Gurkha, Volunteer Reserve and Other personnel. The constituents of “Other personnel” are reported towards the top of this page.

Full-Time Trained Strength (RN/RM & RAF) and Full-Time Trade Trained Strength (Army)

The FTTS and FTTTS total has decreased between 1 April 2023 and 1 April 2024 by 2.8 per cent (3,800 personnel). The RN/RM, Army and RAF decreased by 1.7, 3.1 and 3.3 per cent, respectively as shown in Table 2.

Table 2: FTTS and FTTTS

01-Apr-21 01-Apr-22 01-Apr-23 01-Oct-23 01-Jan-24 01-Apr-24 % Change since 1 Apr 23
FTTS (RN/RM & RAF) and FTTTS (Army) 136,600 136,820 133,570 131,310 130,660 129,760 -2.8%
RN/RM (FTTS) 29,460 29,760 29,350 29,040 28,920 28,840 -1.7%
Army (FTTTS) 77,200 77,190 74,830 73,520 73,190 72,510 -3.1%
RAF(FTTS) 29,940 29,870 29,380 28,750 28,550 28,420 -3.3%

FTTS and FTTTS includes all UK Regular personnel, Gurkhas and the relevant elements of the Full-Time Reserve Service (FTRS) (see glossary for more detail).

Figure 1: FTTS and FTTTS

A line graph showing FTTS (RN/RM & RAF) & FTTTS (Army). FTTS & FTTTS decreased until October 2019, then increased until July 2021, after which it has decreased.

Full-Time Trained Strength (FTTS) and Full-Time Trade Trained Strength (FTTTS) - Army

Table 3: Comparison FTTS and FTTTS (Army)

01-Apr-23 01-Jul-23 01-Oct-23 01-Jan-24 01-Apr-24
Full-Time Trained Strength 79,010 78,240 77,350 76,670 75,970
of which Trade Trained 74,830 74,110 73,520 73,190 72,510

Figure 2: FTTS & FTTTS in the Army since Trained Strength definition change in October 16

As can be seen from Figure 2 above, both Army FTTS and Army FTTTS saw an increase between 1 April 2019 and 1 October 2021, but both have gradually decreased since. The Army FTTS and Army FTTTS at 1 April 2024 are lower than at 1 April 2023 by 3.8 and 3.1 per cent, respectively.

Table 4: Army Officers and Other Ranks by Training Status

01-Apr-21 01-Apr-22 01-Apr-23 01-Oct-23 01-Jan-24 01-Apr-24
Trained Officers 12,770 12,840 12,580 12,550 12,490 12,270
Trade Trained Officers 12,490 12,550 12,320 12,250 12,200 12,090
Trained Other Ranks 69,420 69,120 66,430 64,800 64,180 63,700
Trade Trained Other Ranks 64,710 64,640 62,520 61,260 60,980 60,410

Since 1 April 2023, the FTTS and FTTTS Officers have decreased by 2.4 and 1.8 per cent, respectively. The FTTS and FTTTS Other Ranks have decreased by 4.1 and 3.4 per cent, respectively since 1 April 2023, as can be seen from Table 4 above.

UK Regular Personnel

At 1 April 2024, the Trained and Untrained Strength of the UK Regular Forces was 138,120. The service split for this figure can be found in Table 5 below.

There are 9,770 Untrained personnel in the UK Regular Forces, of which 3,530 are in the RN/RM, 3,800 in the Army and 2,440 are in the RAF. The Untrained Strength reflects the number of personnel who can potentially join the Trained Strength.

Table 5: UK Regular Forces by Service and Training Status

01-Apr-23 01-Apr-24
RN/RM 32,840 32,000
of which Trained 29,030 88.4% 28,470 89.0%
Army 77,540 75,320
of which Trained 74,890 96.6% 71,860 95.4%
of which Trade Trained 70,980 91.6% 68,520 91.0%
RAF 32,180 30,800
of which Trained 29,320 91.1% 28,360 92.1%

Intake and Outflow

In the 12 months to 31 March 2024, when comparing Intake and Outflow, there was a net decrease of 4,430 personnel in the UK Regular Forces. Comparing to the 12 months to 31 March 2023, there was a net decrease of 5,420 personnel. Outflow has decreased by 4.7 per cent and Intake has increased by 1.9 per cent since 31 March 2023.

Intake

  • Untrained and direct Trained/Trade Trained Intake to the UK Regular Forces was 11,300 in the 12 months to 31 March 2024, compared to 11,090 to the 12 months to 31 March 2023.
  • In the 12 months to 31 March 2024, Intake to the RN/RM and RAF decreased by 11.3 and 17.3 per cent, respectively, while for Army it increased by 13.5 per cent compared to the 12 months to 31 March 2023.

Figure 3: Intake to and Outflow from the UK Regular Forces over rolling 12-month periods from 1 April 2017 - 31 March 2024

Outflow

Voluntary Outflow (VO) encompasses all Trained (RN/RM & RAF) and Trade Trained (Army) personnel who voluntarily exit before the end of their agreed engagement or commission period.

Time Expiry is a term used to describe those in the Armed Services who reach the end of their engagement or commission and then leave.

Other includes Outflow from the Trained (RN/RM & RAF) and Trade Trained (Army) Strength due to, amongst others, medical reasons, misconduct, compassionate, dismissals and death.

VO Rate is the number of personnel voluntarily Outflowing as a proportion of the average Trained Strength for the Outflow period.

  • Outflow from the Trained and Untrained UK Regular Forces was 15,730 in the 12 months to 31 March 2024, up slightly from 16,510 to the 12 months to 31 March 2023.

  • Across all Services, VO was the most common reason for Outflow from the Trained (RN/RM & RAF) and Trade Trained (Army), accounting for 61.0 per cent of Outflow in the 12 months to 31 March 2024 (See Figure 4).

  • In the 12 months to 31 March 2024, 8,100 personnel left through VO; the VO rate was 6.4 per cent. The VO Rate for the RN/RM was 5.9 per cent, for the Army it was 6.7 per cent and for the RAF it was 6.1 per cent.

  • In the 12 months to 31 March 2024, the VO rate amongst Officers and Other Ranks was 5.2 per cent and 6.7 per cent, respectively.

There is no single reason why personnel leave on Voluntary Outflow, but the personnel who completed the Armed Forces Continuous Attitude Survey indicated reasons for leaving the Armed Forces included the impact of Service life on family and personal life and opportunities outside the Armed Forces.

Figure 4: Outflow of Trained (RN/RM & RAF) and Trade Trained (Army) UK Regulars by exit reason (12 months to 31 March 2024)

Gains to Trained Strength (GTS) figures comprise all Regular personnel who complete Phase 2 Training and those that enter directly into the Phase 2 Trained Strength. It excludes those returning to the Phase 2 Trained Strength from Long Term Absence (LTA).

Trained Outflow figures show Phase 2 Trained Outflow from UK Regular Forces, including personnel leaving the Services, deaths and recalled reservists on release. They do not include promotion from Ranks to Officers or flows between Services.

Gains to Trained Strength and Trained Outflow

In the 12 months to 31 March 2024, the number of personnel joining the Trained (RN/RM & RAF) and Trade Trained Strength (Army) UK Regular Forces was 3,650 lower than the number leaving. This represents a net loss to the Phase 2 Trained population of the Armed Forces. The overall Full-Time Trained/Trade Trained Strength as at 1 April 2024 (after accounting for other flows such as promotion from Ranks to Officers or flows between Services) was 3,800 lower than as at 1 April 2023.

  • The number of Trained and Trade Trained direct entrants in the 12 months to 31 March 2024 was 470. This is an increase of 220 from the 12 months to 31 March 2023.
  • There were 9,160 Personnel completing Phase 2 Training in the 12 months to 31 March 2024. This has decreased by 11.4 per cent when compared to the previous 12 month period (10,340).
  • The Gains to Trained Strength for the RN/RM and RAF decreased by 19.7 and 19.8 per cent, respectively, whereas the Army gains to the Trade Trained Strength increased by 1.8 per cent compared to the previous 12 month period.
  • Trained Outflow from the RN/RM decreased by 12 per cent, Army Trade Trained Outflow increased by 2.9 per cent and RAF Trained Outflow decreased by 1.2 per cent compared to the previous 12 month period.

Figure 5: GTS and Outflow from the UK Trained Regular Forces 12 month ending across the Armed Forces from 1 April 2016 - 31 March 2024

Future Reserves 2020 (FR20) Programme Monitoring

Future Reserves 2020 includes Volunteer Reserves who are mobilised, High Readiness Reserves and those Volunteer Reserves serving on Full-time Reserve Service (FTRS) and Additional Duties Commitment (ADC). Sponsored Reserves who provide a more cost-effective solution than Volunteer Reserves are also included in the Army Reserve FR20.

Following consultation on changes to the Army Trained Strength definition and the removal of the FR20 Intake targets, the MOD released Future Reserves 2020 Trained Strength growth profiles in a Written Ministerial Statement on 8 November 2016. Reporting of the growth of the Reserves were based on Trained Strength profiles only.

Following initial plans to freeze FR20 data as at 1 April 2022, extensive consultation with internal stakeholders within MOD has identified an ongoing need to publish FR20 statistics. As a result, we will continue to publish tables on the FR20 population in Service Personnel Statistics until further notice.

Future Reserves 2020 Strength

Progress against FR20 population Trained Strength targets was reported in Table 6a of the Excel tables. The total Trained and Untrained Strength of the Tri-Service Future Reserves 2020 at 1 April 2024 was 32,490, a decrease of 1,340 personnel or 4.0 per cent since 1 April 2023.

Maritime Reserve

Figure 6 shows that the Maritime Reserve Trained Strength was 2,680 at 1 April 2024. This is a decrease of 50 personnel (1.9 per cent) since 1 April 2023.

The Maritime Reserve total Strength at 1 April 2024 was 3,310. This is a decrease of 150 personnel (4.3 per cent) since 1 April 2023.

Figure 6: Maritime Reserve Trained Strength

Army Reserve

Figure 7 shows that the Army Reserve Trained Strength was 24,070 at 1 April 2024. This is a decrease of 740 (3.0 per cent) since 1 April 2023.

The Army Reserve total Strength at 1 April 2024 was 26,160. This is a decrease of 1,080 (4.0 per cent) since 1 April 2023.

Figure 7: Army Reserve Trained Strength

RAF Reserve

Figure 8 shows that, at 1 April 2024, the RAF Reserve Trained Strength was 2,820. This is an increase of 10 personnel (0.4 per cent) since 1 April 2023.

The RAF Reserve total Strength at 1 April 2024 was 3,030. This is a decrease of 110 personnel (3.5 per cent) since 1 April 2023.

Figure 8: RAF Reserve Trained Strength

FR20 Intake and Outflow statistics

Intake and Outflow statistics report how many people have left or joined the Trained or Untrained Strengths. As well as leavers and new recruits, this can include personnel transferring to or from the Regular Forces, other Reserve populations, or Reserve re-joiners.

The total proportion of Intake against 12 month average strength for each Service in the 12 months ending 31 March 2024 are as follows:

  • The Maritime Reserve total Intake was 16.2 per cent, an increase of 6.4 percentage points since the 12 months to 31 March 2023.
  • The Army Reserve total Intake was 10.7 per cent, an increase of 0.7 percentage points since the 12 months to 31 March 2023.
  • The RAF Reserves total Intake was 17.7 per cent, an increase of 4.3 percentage points since the 12 months to 31 March 2023.

Figure 9: Total Proportion of Intake to the FR20 Reserves over rolling 12-month periods ending from 1 April 2019 - 31 March 2024 by Service

Intake proportions for all services have shown an upward trend since October 2022. Maritime, Army and RAF Intake proportions have all increased since last quarter.

The total proportion of Outflow against 12 month average strength for each Service in the 12 months ending 31 March 2024 are as follows:

  • The Maritime Reserve total Outflow was 20.6 per cent; an increase of 1.0 percentage points since the 12 months to 31 March 2023.
  • The Army Reserve total Outflow was 14.8 per cent; a decrease of 0.8 percentage points since the 12 months to 31 March 2023.
  • The RAF Reserves total Outflow was 21.3 per cent; an increase of 4.4 percentage points since the 12 months to 31 March 2023.

Figure 10: Total Proportion of Outflow from the FR20 Reserves over rolling 12-month periods ending from 1 April 2019 - 31 March 2024 by Service

The Outflow proportions in general have shown an increase since March 2021. Maritime, Army and RAF Outflow proportions have all decreased since last quarter.

Figure 11: Intake to and Outflow from the FR20 Reserves over rolling 12-month periods ending from 1 April 2019 - 31 March 2024

For all three reserve services combined, outflow is currently higher than intake for the latest 12 month period.

Separated Service

Separated Service concerns personnel who are serving away from their usual place of duty or are unable to enjoy leisure at their normal place of duty or residence at place of duty.

Individual Harmony is the freedom to enjoy leisure at the normal place of duty or residence at place of duty; this includes leave and adventurous Training.

Separated service measures absence from normal place of duty. The time an individual experiences separated service is compared against each Service’s “Individual Harmony” guidelines to ensure a balance between duty and leisure for all Service personnel.

A breach of individual harmony guidelines occurs when Service personnel experience separated service for longer than the period outlined in individual harmony guidelines, which are based on the structures and organisation of that Service. The guidelines are measured over a 36 month period and the limits are:

  • 660 days away for the RN/RM
  • 498 days away for the Army
  • 498 days away for the RAF (was 468 days prior to 1 April 2021)

Using 1 January 2024 as an example, the formula for the breach rate is as follows:

  1. Count the number of Trained/Trade Trained UK Regular personnel breaching in the 36 months ending to 31 December. 2023
  2. Divide this by the Trained UK Regular Strength as at 1 January 2024.

The percentage breaching harmony has increased for the RN/RM (0.5 per cent) and the Army (1.5 per cent) and remained stable for the RAF (0.3 per cent) at 1 January 2024 compared to the previous quarter.

Separated service data can be found in Table 10 of the accompanying, Excel tables.

Figure 12: Percentage of UK Regular Forces breaching harmony (1 January 2014 - 31 December 2023)

Applications to the Armed Forces

The figures in this publication include applications to the UK Regular and Volunteer Reserve Forces. They are broken down by Service, and by Officers and Other Ranks.

Whilst application counts for each service are based on online applications submitted by an individual and accepted by the service’s applications system, work is ongoing to verify that application processes and definitions are consistent and we would recommend that numbers should not be aggregated to show Armed Forces totals (hence separate tables and graphs are provided).


The number of applications received does not directly relate to Intake figures, since:

  • Figures relate to the number of applications received and not the number of applicants, as one applicant may submit several applications;
  • For successful applicants who accept an offer to join the Services, there is a substantial processing time between their application being received and the applicant joining the Services. Therefore, the Intake figures for Dec 19 are not comparable with the number of applications received in Dec 19 as the numbers apply to different cohorts of people;
  • Applications will not result in Intake if, for example, they are withdrawn by the applicant during the recruitment process, rejected by the Services, or if an offer to join the Services is declined by the applicant. See below for further information.


There is a break in the time series between 30 September 2017 and 30 June 2019 due to the change in recruiting systems from the Training Administration and Financial Management Information System (TAFMIS) to DRS and due to the need to ensure consistency of the start date for reintroduced data between the single Services.

For Royal Navy and RAF, DRS closed in December 2021, the change over to the new application system (RITS) resulted in a loss of the system for 10-12 weeks. For Navy, the change over to the new application system may have resulted in some applications being double counted. For RAF only the applications being taken forward were migrated to the new system, and therefore there is a break in the time series where data is unavailable. Army continue to use DRS, however experienced a temporary loss of the application system from mid-March 2022 to late May 2022, which resulted in 10 weeks of applications lost (Army estimates are between 10,000-15,000 applications) which, when set against the backdrop of the national economic picture and challenging recruiting market for the public-sector, has had a real impact upon the recruiting pipeline.

There is a reporting lag of one quarter meaning 31 December 2023 application data has been provided in this SPS edition.

Applications that do not result in Intake

The main causes of applicant failure (i.e. no offer to join the Services given) include:

  • Failing security clearance;
  • Failing the medical scrutiny;
  • Not having the required residency;
  • Not achieving fitness entry standards;
  • Not achieving the required recruiting test score for the desired branch/Trade;
  • Applicants withdraw for their own reasons (e.g. change of mind) during the process

The main causes of application failure (i.e. the applicant declines an offer to join):

  • Applicants may have submitted other applications for employment (including multiple applications to join the Armed Forces) and accept another offer;
  • Applications may be submitted with no intention to join (e.g. to satisfy the requirements of job seeking).

NOTE: Application numbers cannot be added together across the Services to show total Armed Forces applications due to differences in definitions.

Figure 13: Applications to the RN/RM split by UK Regular Forces and Volunteer Reserves

Figures from 12 months ending 30 June 2019 onwards define an application as an online application submitted by an individual and accepted by Defence Recruitment System (DRS). The number of applications to the RN/RM Regular Forces in the 12 months to 31 Dec 2023 was 26,650, a decrease of 8.0 per cent compared to the 12 months to 31 Dec 2022 (28,960). Over the same period, applications to the Volunteer Reserves have increased from 2,460 to 2,660 (8.0 per cent).

Figure 14: Applications to the Army split by UK Regular Forces and Volunteer Reserves

Figures from 12 months ending 30 June 2019 onwards define an application as an online application submitted by an individual and accepted by Defence Recruitment System (DRS). The number of applications to the British Army Regular Forces in the 12 months to 31 Dec 2023 was 96,050, an increase of 58.2 per cent compared to the 12 months to 31 Dec 2022 (60,720). Over the same period, applications to the Volunteer Reserves have increased from 21,000 to 21,510 (2.4 per cent). Commonwealth Applicants are included in the number of applications. The Commonwealth entry numbers are closely controlled. Applications may be refused if no Commonwealth headroom is available. These applicants will then be withdrawn from the pipeline but the application number will still be counted in the overall volume of applications received.

Figure 15: Applications to the RAF split by UK Regular Forces and Volunteer Reserves

Note RAF application figures between 31 March 2022 to 31 December 2022 are unavailable. The RITS system was unavailable for online applications for the period 26 September to 4 October 2023, due to system updates.

The increase in RAF applications since the introduction of DRS is due to the previous recruitment system having a separate frontend, this was used to assist the initial application processing team in filtering out RAF ineligible applications and non-productive enquiries prior to an official application being recorded. The number of applications to the RAF Regular Forces in the 12 months to 31 Dec 2023 was 34,870, an increase of 30.8 per cent compared to the 12 months to 31 March 2023 (26,660). Over the same period, applications to the Volunteer Reserves have increased from 3,980 to 4,190 (5.2 per cent).

Further Information

Rounding

Apart from the Applications section, all figures in this publication have been rounded to the nearest 10, though numbers ending in a “5” have been rounded to the nearest multiple of 20 to prevent the systematic bias caused by always rounding numbers upwards. For example; a value of “25” would be rounded down to “20” and a value of “15” would be rounded up to “20”. Additionally, totals and sub-totals are rounded separately and so may not equal the sums of their rounded parts.

Percentages are calculated from unrounded data and presented to one decimal place.

Due to percentages being rounded to one decimal place, sub-totals don’t always add up to 100%.

The MOD Disclosure Control and Rounding policy is published on GOV.UK and we have applied this policy to the statistics in the accompanying Excel tables. The policy is available here: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/defence-statistics-policies.

Revisions

In table 8a and 8d, revisions to the RAF Regular Reserves figures have been made, due to a change in the data delivery for RAF Regular Reservists.

In Table 9c, Applications to the Royal Air Force, figures for applications in the 12 months ending 30 Sep 2023 have been revised, due to an input error. The previously published RAF applications figure was approximately 10% higher.

In Table 13, small revisions to the Civilian figures (of less than 3 personnel) have been made to April points in years 2019 and 2020 due to continuous historical reviews of Civilian data to improve the quality of outputs.

Symbols

Symbol Description
|| discontinuity in time series
* not applicable
.. not available
- zero
~ 5 or fewer
p Provisional
e Estimate
r Revised

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