Indonesia leads Southeast Asia in number of police officers

According to the latest data, Indonesia leads Southeast Asia with 436,432 police officers—reflecting both its population size and institutional scale.As nations in Southeast Asia continue to evolve their approache

The current landscape of police force sizes across Southeast Asia showcases striking differences in law enforcement staffing among the region's nations.

Indonesia tops the list with a formidable 436,432 police officers, significantly outpacing all other countries in the region. This figure reflects both Indonesia’s large population and the scale of its institutional infrastructure.

Thailand and the Philippines follow, with 230,000 and 221,419 police officers, respectively. These countries maintain robust law enforcement bodies to address a wide array of internal security needs across their diverse regions.

Malaysia holds the fourth position with 134,978 officers, while Myanmar fields a force of 93,000. Cambodia reports 62,617 officers, continuing to develop its security framework.

On the lower end of the spectrum, smaller nations and city-states have more compact forces:

Singapore – 15,000 officers
Brunei – 4,400 officers
Timor-Leste – 4,165 officers
Laos – 2,900 officers

These disparities underline the varying population sizes, governance structures, and security strategies across Southeast Asia.

Abigail Johnson Boakye