Where U.S. Troops Are Based Around The World

U.S. Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth is embarking on his first trip to Asia this week. While the visit was expected due to the large number of U.S. troops stationed in the region, picking the Philippines as a stop in addition to Japan has been deemed unusal. This could be seen as a hardline signal to China, which the island nation has been at loggerheads with in the South China Sea. Skipping South Korea is also out of the ordinary. The snub might bring up memories of Trump's first term, when discussions around higher contributions for U.S. troops stationed in the country were running hot. However, experts do not see Korean troop levels impacted for now.

The U.S. has a heavy military presence in South Korea, including both personnel and weapons. The country is considered tactically important, both from the U.S. side, as it gives the country influence in the region, as well as for South Korea, in terms of having a strong deterrence to nuclear-armed North Korea.

According to data from the Defense Manpower Data Center, South Korea has the third highest number of active U.S. troops deployed of any country outside of the contiguous U.S., at over 23,000 personnel. It follows only after Japan (52,852) and Germany (34,894). As of June 2024, there are 165,830 active personnel overseas, rising to 1,294,191 active personnel when including those in the U.S. 

This latter figure includes the Army, Navy, Marine Corps, Air Force, Space Force and Coast Guard. It also includes personnel who are assigned to the State Department and embassies overseas, while it excludes personnel on temporary duty and those deployed in support of contingency operations. 

As this infographic shows, when every single country with some kind of U.S military presence is taken into account, nearly every nation on the map needs to be highlighted. In 140 of the 170 countries marked here though, there are between one and 100 active personnel listed.