The number of recruits in the British army is constantly decreasing. Statistics show that Britain now has the smallest army in two centuries. Due to budget cuts and youth aversion to the military, the number of active British soldiers is now only around 73,000. This number is much less than the 2000,000 of the Chinese army, 1300,000 of Russia or 460,000 of the American army.

Britain's army is now smaller than that of Romania and Bangladesh and slightly larger than that of Canada and Armenia. Defense Minister John Haley has said that the number of troops will be less than 70,000 next year. That will be the lowest since 1793.                     

Two centuries ago in 1823, there were a total of 72 thousand British soldiers . Britain's population was over 20 million in 1823, today it is around 67 million . Adjusting for population, there should be about 225,000 soldiers now. In 1989, the British Army had 156,000 soldiers, which is more than double its current size.

Since the end of the Cold War, numbers are believed to have continued to decline due to difficulty recruiting soldiers, lack of budgets and the availability of sophisticated precision-guided weapons. Although the government has increased the salary for some time, many soldiers are leaving the service .

According to a report in the Telegraph, about 15,000 British troops have left their jobs by October 2024. More than half of these are classed as 'voluntary resignations'. Last July the UK government announced a 6 per cent pay rise for military personnel, the highest in two decades.

The increase was aimed at addressing recruitment and growing security challenges. 'Our new government's first duty is to keep the British public safe. And the strength of our defense lies in the men and women who serve in the military," Defense Secretary Haley said.

Earlier last year, UK Ministry of Defense (MoD) figures revealed that more men had left the army than joined in 2023, citing miserable lifestyles and declining military morale as the main reasons. Defense expert Michael Peck writes in Business Insider, 'The size of this calls into question Britain's ability to support NATO, confront Russia or fight a war.'

In 2010, the coalition government led by David Cameron on behalf of the Conservative Party reduced the size of the army to 80,000 and abolished the historical regiments. Decades of troop cuts have left the UK 'vastly vulnerable' to Russian aggression, a former chief of the British armed forces has claimed.

As Prime Minister Keir Starmer comes under increasing pressure to increase the UK's defense budget, General Sir Nick Carter has commented that the military has suffered too much neglect over the past 30 years . Nick was Chief of Defense Staff from 2018 to 2021.

Prime Minister is traveling to Washington to meet US President Donald Trump this Thursday. Britain is under pressure to meet a defense budget of 2.5 percent of Britain's GDP by 2030. After pressure from US President Trump, Prime Minister Keir Starmer said that Europe should increase defense spending. 

British Finance Minister Rachel Reeves has indicated that she should reconsider her plan. "The world is clearly changing," Reeves was quoted by his aide as saying, "Governments must keep up with the changing world." Reeves takes national security seriously. He believes that a secure economy requires a secure defense.'

Britain now spends 2.3 percent of its GDP on defense . Prime Minister Starmer has promised to set a 'pathway' to increase it to 2.5 per cent, which would be between £5 billion and £6 billion a year.

Brigade of Gorkhaz has about 4 thousand 

Every year young people from Nepal are recruited and come to the British Army . This process has been going on for the past 209 years. It is said that there are currently about 4,000 Nepalese members in the Brigade of Gorkhas.