Chapter 2 - Personnel
                     
Table 2.8 Strength of UK Regular Forces by Service, sex and rank1, at 1 April 2010
At 1 April 2010 there were 173,330 (90.4%) male and 18,320 (9.6%) female UK Regular Forces personnel.

12.2% of Officers were female. This figure rises to 13.9% for Officers at Major1 and below and falls to 4.6% for Officers at Lieutenant Colonel1 and above. 9.0% of Other Ranks were female. This figure rises to 9.8% for Other Ranks at Corporal1 and below and falls to 7.0% for Other Ranks at Sergeant1 and above.

Due to ongoing validation of data from the Joint Personnel Administration System, Service strength statistics for 1 April 2010 are provisional and subject to review.

  Number     Percentage  
All Personnel   Male   Female     Female  
                     
All Services 191 660   173 330   18 320     9.6  
                     
    Officers 31 930   28 040   3 890     12.2  
        Lieutenant Colonel1 and above 5 840   5 580   270     4.6  
        Major1 and below 26 090   22 460   3 630     13.9  
                     
    Other Ranks 159 730   145 300   14 430     9.0  
        Sergeant1 and above 43 490   40 430   3 060     7.0  
        Corporal1 and below 116 240   104 870   11 370     9.8  
                     
38 730   35 020   3 710     9.6  
                     
    Officers 7 460   6 740   720     9.7  
        Commander / Lieutenant Colonel and above 1 560   1 520   30     2.1  
        Lieutenant Commander / Major and below 5 910   5 220   690     11.7  
                     
    Other Ranks 31 270   28 280   2 990     9.6  
        Petty Officer / Sergeant and above 10 100   9 540   560     5.5  
        Leading Rate / Corporal and below 21 170   18 740   2 430     11.5  
                     
Army 108 870   100 300   8 570     7.9  
                     
    Officers 14 640   12 980   1 660     11.3  
        Lieutenant Colonel and above 2 610   2 490   120     4.8  
        Major and below 12 030   10 500   1 530     12.8  
                     
    Other Ranks 94 230   87 320   6 910     7.3  
        Sergeant and above 22 690   21 090   1 600     7.1  
        Corporal and below 71 540   66 230   5 310     7.4  
                     
Royal Air Force 44 050   38 010   6 040     13.7  
                     
    Officers 9 820   8 310   1 510     15.4  
        Wing Commander and above 1 670   1 560   110     6.5  
        Squadron Leader and below 8 150   6 750   1 400     17.2  
                     
    Other Ranks 34 230   29 700   4 540     13.2  
        Sergeant and above 10 700   9 800   910     8.5  
        Corporal and below 23 530   19 900   3 630     15.4  
Source: DASA(Quad-Service)
1. Figures are for paid rank. Includes equivalent ranks for the Naval Service and RAF. See Table 2.24.