<p>The Databook shows ninja registration numbers, Jiraiya's number is in the 2300 range while Naruto's is actually 102k range as shown in episode 2 just after his picture is taken and he is told to retake it. It's not 12K range as shown in the databook. Considering there is roughly 38 years difference in age that means 100000 other ninja joined the roles of Konoha, roughly 2500/yr. So it's not hard to imagine Konoha putting up a large number of ninja for the fight.  Remember, their true strength of numbers is spread across the Land of Fire. That was one reason the attack on Konoha by Orochimaru was difficult to counter. </p>

<p>Also, its interesting that people think the Academy is the only way ninja join a village. Whole clans join villages for various reasons, and a village would not require each of them attend the Academy, they would likely be given tests to prove their skill and then placed in the hierarchy accordingly. </p>

<p>For anyone questioning the number of combatants I suggest looking at the numbers of forces Japan and China used from the 13th century onward in struggles with one another.</p>

<blockquote>
  <p>In 1592, and again in 1597, Toyotomi Hideyoshi decided to invade China (唐入り) through Korea and mobilized an army of 160,000 peasants and samurai.(<a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Samurai#Azuchi.E2.80.93Momoyama_period" rel="noreferrer">Source</a>)  </p>
</blockquote>

<p>The numbers are staggering, but consider this... The Cowboys NFL team averages 80K attendance for a single game.  So getting the number together isn't impossible. </p>

CC BY-SA 3.0
2014-08-22T01:58:02.150Z
2014-08-22T05:05:20.437Z
2014-08-22T05:05:20.437Z
Sagemodeman
<p>The number of the shinobi is too damn high. If you look at the ninja registration numbers in the databook you can see that since Konoha's founding there were some 13,000 shinobi total who graduated the academy- Naruto was no. 12607. That's 13,000 over more than 60 years. And if you figure in old age and battle casualties of four world wars and constant minor conflicts there's no way Konoha could have anywhere near 12,000 shinobi. I doubt Konoha should have even 2,000. The only rational explanation is that there are a number of shinobi villages in the fire country other than Konoha we have never heard about and that they make up the rest of their forces.</p>

CC BY-SA 3.0
2014-01-19T10:10:47.037Z
2014-01-19T10:10:47.037Z
bearzerger
<p>Well the data book state the leaf population to be ranked 5 , rock 4, mist &amp;cloud 3 and sand 2 , assuming the samurai are feared for their number they might be ranked 5 as well ( but they also might ranked 1)
The number of  shinobi behind each star range from minimum of 80K/23 to 80K/18 = 3.5K to 4.5 K.
Than the leaf as around 17.5K to 22.5K of active shinobi.
While the sand the weakest one as between 7-9K active ninja..</p>

CC BY-SA 3.0
2017-06-05T00:44:55.297Z
BlackG is right. Even the root gathered ninja from regular orphans with no clan. Every hidden village probably had underground organizations for recruting talent for the academy and for danzo's root.
BlackStar
CC BY-SA 3.0
2016-06-26T20:34:15.287Z
2016-06-26T20:34:15.287Z
BlackG
<p>I think a good theory is that not all Ninja come from that one village in each Nation? What dumb leader would recruit from a single village, however large? I see the Hidden Villages as the center of Ninja administration and leadership, and the place where a larger portion of active-duty Ninja are stationed. Certainly there are Ninja recruited and Trained in other regions of the nation. Other Clans, and academies? Just, as I said, the Hidden Village acts as the central hub. In this case, it is quite easy to imagine 12-20K Ninja a piece.</p>

<p>What about the small classes? 9 Students a class? Well, I imagine several answers to this. Firstly, let's ask how Naruto, the dunce who failed three times, is the same age and graduating class as Sasuke? My Thoughts? The graduating classes happen more then once a year. Likely several times a year. If there is one every two months (assuming Naruto merely has to retake the final semester or quarter after failing. It's the only idea that explains him being in the same class as people his age, despite failing 3 times), is would be 54 graduates a year. That is assuming Iruka's is the only class set. If there are 4 separate "graduating class'", and each one goes every two months, that is over 200 new Genin a year. That is much closer to replacement and growth numbers. And that is for one City.</p>

<p>And who is to say that is the only way to become a Genin? Perhaps there are some clan based methods? Or perhaps you can take a sort of Ninja-GED, if your old enough, skilled enough, and capable of competing on a Genin/Chunin level? Remember, Naruto is told he can be a Chunin merely by asking. Someone who didn't attend the academy, but can fight on a Jonin level, could perhaps be admitted as such without going through the Academy. The Academy / Genin system may be more of a Youth program to foster stronger members. It may not be the primary source of Ninja (although, considering that each Academy member outshines the pathetic "Shuriken-Throwers", it may be the source of the better quality ones. After all, training from Youth usually has that effect). Think about how most Military men didn't go to a Military Academy. But those who did tend to become Officers.</p>

<p>Also, to the person who lists the 5-point rankings, it may not be that each star represents an absolute amount (I.E 1 Star is a fifth of 5 Star). So, as an example, there may only be a 20 or 30K Population different (population, not Ninja Count) between 1 Star and 5 Star. So the Smallest City may still be 80K while Konoha is (I presume) around 100K. I question the size of the Land of Iron. It seems to be a small location, and how many Samurai do you see on the 4th War battlefield. It seems it's feared for it's skill, quality, and fortress.</p>

<p>But yes. That's my idea. Ninja are recruited and trained throughout the Nation, with the Hidden Village being the Central Hub of Ninja Leadership and Administration. As well as the City of Residence for the Most powerful Shinobi Clans.</p>

CC BY-SA 3.0
2016-08-29T06:19:47.853Z
Hello, welcome to Anime StackExchange. We are different than other sites in that we are not your everyday forum. We are a question and answer site. People ask questions about anime/manga and we give answer based on evidence shown in the media.

You answer is OK except that it lacks supportive evidence and that at the end of it you are asking another question, which is not okay. You can put it as a question on its own, but don't put it inside an answer for another question.
絢瀬絵里
CC BY-SA 3.0
2016-08-29T05:40:13.600Z
2016-08-29T17:39:03.787Z
2016-08-29T17:39:03.787Z
Unitomic
<p>Let's approximate the size of the Hidden Leaf based on the size of the Nine-tails in his attack:</p>

<p><img src="https://i.sstatic.net/2zVMU.png" alt="Kyuubi attacks Konoha"></p>

<p>As you can see, the village is quite large. I can estimate a population of over 100,000 easily. Since many of them are shinobi, I don't think it's exaggerated to think that there are at least 12,000 shinobi there (probably more).</p>

<p>So that's where all of them came from. Don't forget that we are focusing on only one (two) set of academy students as they progress, in reality there are new (and old) classes every year that graduate, get their own Jonin sensei, and take on missions etc. Those unimportant characters are often seen as what I like to call "shuriken throwers" (they only know how to throw shuriken, nothing else). You usually see them die when a strong opponent arrives.</p>

CC BY-SA 3.0
2016-06-30T05:30:42.573Z
How do you explain the **genin exams**? For shinobi who live such a dangerous lifestyle, there must be many young ones to replenish the ranks of the older ones. Generously, there are 100 genin in the exams, and only a few that pass. Less than 10 chunins per year, from *all the villages...!* For there to be 10000 shinobi per hidden village, >99% must be genin, <1% must be chunin, and <0.1% must be jounin.
Mateen Ulhaq
CC BY-SA 3.0
2016-06-30T05:30:54.043Z
Furthermore, the Hokage oversees all missions. Even managing missions for 100s of shinobi must be time consuming, let alone 1000s.
Mateen Ulhaq
CC BY-SA 4.0
2021-06-23T11:46:31.117Z
I had the same question. If there are 12,000 ninjas in Konoha , why was Tsunade short of ninjas for all the missions? Isnt more likely that the ninjas are in the other villages of the land of fire?
Pablo
CC BY-SA 3.0
2013-06-12T14:46:31.500Z
2013-06-12T14:46:31.500Z
Madara's Ghost
<p>I have been watching Naruto anime for a few months and just started to watch Shinobi World War arc. I was shocked to see 80,000 ninjas assembled. Where did they come from? If we take into account that 5 countries and samurais make 6 countries total, each country would contribute around 12,000 ninjas. But only around 100 ninjas were seen in Konoha in the previous episodes. How did this number come from? Were they living in other villages under the orders of their respective Kage? </p>

CC BY-SA 3.0
2013-06-12T13:44:37.620Z
The rest are shuriken throwsers (i.e. those how die easily). A.K.A. unimportant unnamed characters.
Madara's Ghost
CC BY-SA 3.0
2013-06-12T13:52:12.787Z
Yes. But the number 80,000 is too high.
Ero Sennin
CC BY-SA 3.0
2013-06-12T13:57:39.487Z
Really tempted to throw a "The number of shinobis here is too damn high!" meme, but I won't. So yeah. Don't forget that hidden villages are large, really large. Approximating the size judging by the kyuubi attack, I'd say there are at least 100k people there, easy. Seeing that many of them are shinobi, I'd say it's not too exaggerated to expect such a high number of ninjas from each village.
Madara's Ghost
CC BY-SA 3.0
2013-06-12T14:40:49.257Z
@MadaraUchiha your comment seems good enough to be an answer...
DarkAjax
CC BY-SA 3.0
2013-06-28T16:20:36.247Z
Just about 4 years ago, Orochimaru invaded Konoha with about 500 Sand + Sound ninjas, and Konoha had quite some trouble dealing with them. To me it sounds more like Kishimoto-san overlooked the minute detail. No big deal though, he is human.
Masked Man
CC BY-SA 3.0
2016-06-27T13:34:09.877Z
remember though, the function of a Shinobi village within Naruto is to send teams of shinobi out to do contracts, so it is conceivable that a fairly large proportion of the population of each village is away on missions almost constantly. Following this logic, it would make sense that the villages would recall all these ninja to form their part of the Shinobi Alliance and we would see many more than we have previously. It's also possible that Orochimaru timed his attack when he knew the Leaf village was dramatically under-defended due to this.
sequoiad
CC BY-SA 3.0
2018-03-20T17:48:13.233Z
Many of you make seriously good points, however you have to take a small step back and forgive Kishimoto, the poor man worked himself near to death and postponed his own honeymoon by 10 yrs. There's bound to be some plot holes. Yes there were multipule graduating classes resulting in near 200 genin a year, and in regards to the amount of chunin you have to remember that the only villages that made a major appearance at the chunin exams were the sand and leaf its likely that the other villages dident send hardly any of their genin to that particular chunin exams, besides the villages were allow
Lain
<naruto>
How were there 80,000 ninjas in the Shinobi World War in Naruto?
# How were there 80,000 ninjas in the Shinobi World War in Naruto?
Posted by: username_0 on 2013-06-12
I have been watching Naruto anime for a few months and just started to watch Shinobi World War arc. I was shocked to see 80,000 ninjas assembled. Where did they come from? If we take into account that 5 countries and samurais make 6 countries total, each country would contribute around 12,000 ninjas. But only around 100 ninjas were seen in Konoha in the previous episodes. How did this number come from? Were they living in other villages under the orders of their respective Kage?
**Tags:** naruto
> **Comments:**
> **username_1**: The rest are shuriken throwsers (i.e. those how die easily). A.K.A. unimportant unnamed characters.  
> **username_0**: Yes. But the number 80,000 is too high.  
> **username_1**: Really tempted to throw a "The number of shinobis here is too damn high!" meme, but I won't. So yeah. Don't forget that hidden villages are large, really large. Approximating the size judging by the kyuubi attack, I'd say there are at least 100k people there, easy. Seeing that many of them are shinobi, I'd say it's not too exaggerated to expect such a high number of ninjas from each village.  
> **username_2**: @MadaraUchiha your comment seems good enough to be an answer...  
> **username_3**: Just about 4 years ago, Orochimaru invaded Konoha with about 500 Sand + Sound ninjas, and Konoha had quite some trouble dealing with them. To me it sounds more like Kishimoto-san overlooked the minute detail. No big deal though, he is human.  
> **username_4**: remember though, the function of a Shinobi village within Naruto is to send teams of shinobi out to do contracts, so it is conceivable that a fairly large proportion of the population of each village is away on missions almost constantly. Following this logic, it would make sense that the villages would recall all these ninja to form their part of the Shinobi Alliance and we would see many more than we have previously. It's also possible that Orochimaru timed his attack when he knew the Leaf village was dramatically under-defended due to this.  
> **username_5**: Many of you make seriously good points, however you have to take a small step back and forgive Kishimoto, the poor man worked himself near to death and postponed his own honeymoon by 10 yrs. There's bound to be some plot holes. Yes there were multipule graduating classes resulting in near 200 genin a year, and in regards to the amount of chunin you have to remember that the only villages that made a major appearance at the chunin exams were the sand and leaf its likely that the other villages dident send hardly any of their genin to that particular chunin exams, besides the villages were allow  
---
## 5 answers
### Answer by username_1 on 2013-06-12. Score: 14 | Accepted answer
Let's approximate the size of the Hidden Leaf based on the size of the Nine-tails in his attack:

![Kyuubi attacks Konoha](https://i.sstatic.net/2zVMU.png)

As you can see, the village is quite large. I can estimate a population of over 100,000 easily. Since many of them are shinobi, I don't think it's exaggerated to think that there are at least 12,000 shinobi there (probably more).

So that's where all of them came from. Don't forget that we are focusing on only one (two) set of academy students as they progress, in reality there are new (and old) classes every year that graduate, get their own Jonin sensei, and take on missions etc. Those unimportant characters are often seen as what I like to call "shuriken throwers" (they only know how to throw shuriken, nothing else). You usually see them die when a strong opponent arrives.
> **Comments:**
> **username_12** (2016-06-30): How do you explain the **genin exams**? For shinobi who live such a dangerous lifestyle, there must be many young ones to replenish the ranks of the older ones. Generously, there are 100 genin in the exams, and only a few that pass. Less than 10 chunins per year, from *all the villages...!* For there to be 10000 shinobi per hidden village, >99% must be genin, <1% must be chunin, and <0.1% must be jounin.  
> **username_12** (2016-06-30): Furthermore, the Hokage oversees all missions. Even managing missions for 100s of shinobi must be time consuming, let alone 1000s.  
> **username_13** (2021-06-23): I had the same question. If there are 12,000 ninjas in Konoha , why was Tsunade short of ninjas for all the missions? Isnt more likely that the ninjas are in the other villages of the land of fire?  
---
### Answer by username_6 on 2014-08-22. Score: 6
The Databook shows ninja registration numbers, Jiraiya's number is in the 2300 range while Naruto's is actually 102k range as shown in episode 2 just after his picture is taken and he is told to retake it. It's not 12K range as shown in the databook. Considering there is roughly 38 years difference in age that means 100000 other ninja joined the roles of Konoha, roughly 2500/yr. So it's not hard to imagine Konoha putting up a large number of ninja for the fight. Remember, their true strength of numbers is spread across the Land of Fire. That was one reason the attack on Konoha by Orochimaru was difficult to counter.

Also, its interesting that people think the Academy is the only way ninja join a village. Whole clans join villages for various reasons, and a village would not require each of them attend the Academy, they would likely be given tests to prove their skill and then placed in the hierarchy accordingly.

For anyone questioning the number of combatants I suggest looking at the numbers of forces Japan and China used from the 13th century onward in struggles with one another.

> In 1592, and again in 1597, Toyotomi Hideyoshi decided to invade China (唐入り) through Korea and mobilized an army of 160,000 peasants and samurai.([Source](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Samurai#Azuchi.E2.80.93Momoyama_period))

The numbers are staggering, but consider this... The Cowboys NFL team averages 80K attendance for a single game. So getting the number together isn't impossible.
---
### Answer by username_7 on 2014-01-19. Score: 5
The number of the shinobi is too damn high. If you look at the ninja registration numbers in the databook you can see that since Konoha's founding there were some 13,000 shinobi total who graduated the academy- Naruto was no. 12607. That's 13,000 over more than 60 years. And if you figure in old age and battle casualties of four world wars and constant minor conflicts there's no way Konoha could have anywhere near 12,000 shinobi. I doubt Konoha should have even 2,000. The only rational explanation is that there are a number of shinobi villages in the fire country other than Konoha we have never heard about and that they make up the rest of their forces.
---
### Answer by username_8 on 2016-06-26. Score: 2
Well the data book state the leaf population to be ranked 5 , rock 4, mist &cloud 3 and sand 2 , assuming the samurai are feared for their number they might be ranked 5 as well ( but they also might ranked 1)
The number of shinobi behind each star range from minimum of 80K/23 to 80K/18 = 3.5K to 4.5 K.
Than the leaf as around 17.5K to 22.5K of active shinobi.
While the sand the weakest one as between 7-9K active ninja..
> **Comments:**
> **username_9** (2017-06-05): BlackG is right. Even the root gathered ninja from regular orphans with no clan. Every hidden village probably had underground organizations for recruting talent for the academy and for danzo's root.  
---
### Answer by username_10 on 2016-08-29. Score: 1
I think a good theory is that not all Ninja come from that one village in each Nation? What dumb leader would recruit from a single village, however large? I see the Hidden Villages as the center of Ninja administration and leadership, and the place where a larger portion of active-duty Ninja are stationed. Certainly there are Ninja recruited and Trained in other regions of the nation. Other Clans, and academies? Just, as I said, the Hidden Village acts as the central hub. In this case, it is quite easy to imagine 12-20K Ninja a piece.

What about the small classes? 9 Students a class? Well, I imagine several answers to this. Firstly, let's ask how Naruto, the dunce who failed three times, is the same age and graduating class as Sasuke? My Thoughts? The graduating classes happen more then once a year. Likely several times a year. If there is one every two months (assuming Naruto merely has to retake the final semester or quarter after failing. It's the only idea that explains him being in the same class as people his age, despite failing 3 times), is would be 54 graduates a year. That is assuming Iruka's is the only class set. If there are 4 separate "graduating class'", and each one goes every two months, that is over 200 new Genin a year. That is much closer to replacement and growth numbers. And that is for one City.

And who is to say that is the only way to become a Genin? Perhaps there are some clan based methods? Or perhaps you can take a sort of Ninja-GED, if your old enough, skilled enough, and capable of competing on a Genin/Chunin level? Remember, Naruto is told he can be a Chunin merely by asking. Someone who didn't attend the academy, but can fight on a Jonin level, could perhaps be admitted as such without going through the Academy. The Academy / Genin system may be more of a Youth program to foster stronger members. It may not be the primary source of Ninja (although, considering that each Academy member outshines the pathetic "Shuriken-Throwers", it may be the source of the better quality ones. After all, training from Youth usually has that effect). Think about how most Military men didn't go to a Military Academy. But those who did tend to become Officers.

Also, to the person who lists the 5-point rankings, it may not be that each star represents an absolute amount (I.E 1 Star is a fifth of 5 Star). So, as an example, there may only be a 20 or 30K Population different (population, not Ninja Count) between 1 Star and 5 Star. So the Smallest City may still be 80K while Konoha is (I presume) around 100K. I question the size of the Land of Iron. It seems to be a small location, and how many Samurai do you see on the 4th War battlefield. It seems it's feared for it's skill, quality, and fortress.

But yes. That's my idea. Ninja are recruited and trained throughout the Nation, with the Hidden Village being the Central Hub of Ninja Leadership and Administration. As well as the City of Residence for the Most powerful Shinobi Clans.
> **Comments:**
> **username_11** (2016-08-29): Hello, welcome to Anime StackExchange. We are different than other sites in that we are not your everyday forum. We are a question and answer site. People ask questions about anime/manga and we give answer based on evidence shown in the media.

You answer is OK except that it lacks supportive evidence and that at the end of it you are asking another question, which is not okay. You can put it as a question on its own, but don't put it inside an answer for another question.  
---
