How many men are actually ready to fight for their country? With the ongoing military conflict in Ukraine and growing tensions between NATO and Russia, I wanted to see what the numbers really look like. I grabbed Eurostat population data and World Values Survey responses to make maps that show total mobilization reserves, estimated willing defenders, and then calculated the percentage willing to serve.
The first map shows theoretical mobilization reserves—every male citizen aged 18 to 59 living in their country. This is the demographic pool governments could theoretically draw from during a major conflict.
Russia: 38.2 million men. Turkey: 24.8 million. Germany: 18.1 million. The UK has 16.3 million, France 15.7 million. Poland registers 10 million, which is substantial for Central Europe. Ukraine has 8 million.
Rank
Country
Mobilization reserve (millions)
1
Russia
38.2
2
Turkey
24.8
3
Germany
18.1
4
United Kingdom
16.3
5
France
15.7
6
Italy
14.0
7
Spain
11.4
8
Poland
10.0
9
Ukraine
8.0
10
Kazakhstan
5.2
Smaller countries naturally have smaller numbers. Estonia: 0.3 million. Latvia: 0.4 million. Lithuania: 0.7 million. Cyprus and Macedonia: 0.2 million each. Slovenia, Kosovo, Moldova, and Albania fall between 0.5-0.6 million.
Raw population numbers don’t tell you if people would actually serve.
An animated version of this map can be found here.
The second map applies World Values Survey responses to these age groups. The survey asks people directly: “Would you be willing to fight for your country?”
Russia still leads, but now at 32 million. Turkey has 20 million willing. The UK drops to 11.7 million, France to 10.8 million, and Germany to 10.3 million.
Rank
Country
Men ready to fight (millions)
1
Russia
32.0
2
Turkey
20.0
3
United Kingdom
11.7
4
France
10.8
5
Germany
10.3
6
Poland
8.2
7
Ukraine
5.7
8
Spain
4.8
9
Netherlands
2.2
10
Azerbaijan
2.4
Some countries bordering Russia have willing defender numbers between 0.2-0.4 million—Estonia at 0.2 million, Latvia at 0.3 million.
Absolute numbers tell one story. Percentages tell another.
This map shows the percentage of men aged 18-59 in each country’s mobilization reserve who say they are willing to fight for their country.
Georgia and Cyprus both hit 100%. Both countries have lived through territorial conflicts—South Ossetia and Abkhazia for Georgia, and the division of Cyprus. That leaves a mark.
Norway leads larger countries at 92.3%. Azerbaijan follows at 88.9%, Armenia at 87.5%, Finland at 84.6%. Greece and Sweden both register 84%. Look at the geography—many of these countries either border Russia, have recent conflicts, or both. Finland and Sweden just joined NATO. Armenia and Azerbaijan fought over Nagorno-Karabakh until Azerbaijan won in 2023.
Rank
Country
Share (%)
1
Georgia
100
2
Cyprus
100
3
Norway
92.3
4
Armenia
87.5
5
Turkey
80.6
6
Finland
84.6
7
Greece
84
8
Russia
83.8
9
Albania
83.3
10
Slovenia
80
Western Europe looks different. Belgium: 19.2%—the lowest percentage with measurable reserves. Ireland: 33.3%. Macedonia: 40%. Spain: 42.1%. Italy: 44.3%. These countries haven’t worried about invasion for decades. Their defense gets handled through NATO.
Poland stands out among larger Western-aligned nations at 82% – matching Russia’s rate. Denmark: 78.6%. UK: 71.8%. Bulgaria hits 70.6%, Belarus 73.9%, Hungary 73.1%.
Rank
Country
Share (%)
1
Belgium
19.2
2
Spain
42.1
3
Italy
44.3
4
Moldova
50
5
Macedonia
40
6
Ireland
33.3
7
Slovakia
53.3
8
Portugal
56.5
9
Czech Republic
55.6
10
Austria
57.9
It should be noted that Ukraine’s willingness figures were collected partly before the full-scale invasion in 2022.
Finland’s 84.6% makes sense—they remember the Winter War, never dropped conscription, and kept civil defense alive. Norway’s 92.3% comes from a country that experienced Nazi occupation. Belgium and Ireland, protected by NATO and distance from conflict zones, show the lowest percentages. Estonia (67%), Latvia (75%), and Lithuania (57%) all show higher commitment than Western European averages.
Which countries surprised you? Let me know in the comments.
