Question to the Ministry of Defence:

To ask Her Majesty's Government how many people have (1) applied to join, and (2) joined, Her Majesty's Armed Forces in each of the last 12 months.

The application and inflow figures for the UK Regular Armed Forces between 1 July 2018 and 31 June 2019 can be found in the following tables. As with any organisation, there is a period of time between applying to join the Armed Forces and beginning training, and therefore the two tables are not directly comparable. Application figures may appear high compared to inflow, however it can take months to translate an application into an enlistment. In many cases this will be based on individual needs, for example due to finishing education or planning start dates around family commitments. High application figures demonstrate positive reaction to advertising campaigns, and the appeal of the Armed Forces. However, given the nature of the Armed Forces, stringent entry standards are required.

Notes/Caveats:

• Figures for inflow have been provided by Defence Statistics;
• Application figures are based on single Service estimates; official statistics have not been produced by Defence Statistics;
• If a candidate has made more than one application, each application will be counted separately;
• Intake comprises all personnel joining the Armed Forces either as new entrants or re-entrants.
• UK Regular Forces do not include Gurkhas, Full Time Reserve Service (FTRS) personnel and mobilised reservists;
• Figures have been rounded to the nearest 10, though numbers ending in a “5” have been rounded to the nearest multiple of 20 to prevent the systematic bias caused by always rounding numbers upwards;
• Figures exclude Commonwealth applicants to the Army.