As national and international military forces dwindle in size, private individuals and corporate security contractors are an essential part of the the world's increasingly privatized wars.
Over 60 mercenary troops from Sri Lanka attacked the Maldives on November 3, 1988 in an attempt to overthrow the government. The South African government is known to use mercenaries against Angola, the South West Africa People's Organization and the African National Congress. Mercenaries have helped to train teams of assassins for Columbian cocaine traffickers and their allies. Thirty French and Belgian mercenaries had a virtual control of the Comoro Islands for 11 years and killing 2 presidents. The Gurkha troops engaged in Nepal by the British Government for service in British colonies and territories may be considered as mercenaries of one form.
At points during the 21st century’s war on terror, the U.S. used more civilian contractors in its ongoing wars than uniformed military personnel. As of 2019, according to Brown University’s Costs of War Project, there were 50% more contractors than troops in the U.S. Central Command region that includes Afghanistan, Iraq and 18 other countries in the Middle East, as well as Central and South Asia. The Defense Department keeps quarterly records of how many civilian contractors it employs and where, but exclude employees contracted with the Central Intelligence Agency or the State Department. In December 2022, the Pentagon had about 22,000 contractors deployed throughout that region, with nearly 8,000 concentrated in Iraq and Syria. Most of those workers were unarmed and providing food service, communications aid and the like to the military. Roughly two thirds of them were citizens of other countries, particularly lower-income ones.
Foreign forces used in the Gulf War, including those of the UK, were effectively mercenaries in that their assistance was paid for by Saudi Arabia and other governments.