Armed Forces recruitment: More leaving than joining UK regulars in last year, data shows

More UK regulars left the Armed Forces than joined over a 12-month period, the latest Ministry of Defence data shows.

In the year leading up to 31 June 2025, 14,020 left the regular forces, exactly 500 more than those who joined in the same period.

The personnel statistics, released four times a year, show the British military has just over 136,000 regulars, bolstered by almost 45,000 volunteer reserves, Gurkhas and other personnel.

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The MOD says there has been a rise in the number of Gurkhas, but the number of volunteer reserves has fallen, as well as regular personnel.

Looking at the outflow from the UK regulars, more than 61% left voluntarily, rather than due to time expiry or other reasons.

In the 12 months to 30 June 2025, 6,890 personnel left voluntarily. As a percentage of the average trained strength during the outflow period, the Royal Navy/Royal Marines saw a voluntary outflow rate of 5.4%, while the rate was 6.1% in the Army and 4.6% in the RAF.

The department said there is no single reason why personnel leave voluntarily, but added that the personnel who completed the Armed Forces Continuous Attitude Survey indicated the reasons included the impact of service life on family and personal life and opportunities outside the Armed Forces.

Compared to the previous 12-month period, there was an 11% decrease in the number of those leaving the UK regulars, and the Government hopes a new recruitment scheme launching in 2027 will streamline recruitment, replacing service-specific recruitment processes.

The latest year on record also showed how the British Army's full-time force shrank by 1.1% to just under 73,490, while the Navy regulars grew by a small percentage (+230), and the number of RAF regulars stayed roughly the same (-10).

The category of 'Other Personnel,' which bolsters the overall military numbers, saw an increase of 3.4%. This cohort includes the serving regular reserve, sponsored reserve, Military Provost Guard Service, locally engaged personnel and elements of the Full-Time Reserve Service (FTRS).