Armored all-terrain fighting vehicles, known as tanks, first entered the battlefield in World War I. These tanks began the age of mechanized warfare where machines are now instrumental in determining the outcome of conflicts around the globe. Now much a countries military strength can be attributed to how many aircraft, navy vessels or tanks are in its arsenal for any given conflict. (This is the latest generation of modern era tanks.)
To identify the countries with the most tanks, 24/7 Wall St. reviewed 2024 Military Strength Ranking from Global Firepower, an annually updated defense-related statistics website with information on 145 countries. Countries were ranked on the total number of tanks in their arsenal. We included supplemental information regarding the total military vehicles, artillery and MLRS units, as well as each country’s overall military strength score.
While the United States may have the strongest military on the planet, it pales in comparison to only a handful of other nations when it comes to its tank arsenal, numerically speaking. The U.S. military primarily relies on its Navy and Air Force for projecting power around the world, but when there are troops on the ground tanks are there to back them up.
Surprisingly, North Korea has more tanks than the United States and practically every other nation. However, its arsenal is aging with many tanks from the 1950s and 1960s, many of Soviet origin or left over from the Korean War.
Although tanks may not be as important now as they once were, as military technology and tactics continue to evolve, they are still an integral part in any ground defense or invasion providing armored support to troops and holding the front line. (These are revolutionary vehicles that transformed warfare.)
Here is a look at the countries with the most tanks:
30. Belarus
Source: thomas_vogt / Flickr
- Total tanks: 517
- Total military vehicles: 6,700
- Total artillery: 539
- Total MLRS: 206
- Military strength score: 1.0901 — #64 out of 145
29. Japan
Source: 101561334@N08 / Flickr
- Total tanks: 518
- Total military vehicles: 37,662
- Total artillery: 653
- Total MLRS: 54
- Military strength score: 0.1601 — #7 out of 145
28. Poland
Source: Tramino / iStock Unreleased via Getty Images
- Total tanks: 612
- Total military vehicles: 13,956
- Total artillery: 525
- Total MLRS: 211
- Military strength score: 0.2917 — #21 out of 145
27. Thailand
Source: jfxberns / Flickr
- Total tanks: 648
- Total military vehicles: 14,040
- Total artillery: 639
- Total MLRS: 26
- Military strength score: 0.3389 — #25 out of 145
26. Turkmenistan
Source: Igor Nikushin / iStock via Getty Images
- Total tanks: 680
- Total military vehicles: 8,312
- Total artillery: 530
- Total MLRS: 160
- Military strength score: 1.4906 — #83 out of 145
25. Ethiopia
Source: abhisheklegit / iStock Editorial via Getty Images
- Total tanks: 680
- Total military vehicles: 10,028
- Total artillery: 713
- Total MLRS: 79
- Military strength score: 0.7938 — #49 out of 145
24. Myanmar
Source: usarmyeurope_images / Flickr
- Total tanks: 705
- Total military vehicles: 8,139
- Total artillery: 2,083
- Total MLRS: 586
- Military strength score: 0.5251 — #35 out of 145
23. Iraq
Source: nyalr / Flickr
- Total tanks: 848
- Total military vehicles: 39,872
- Total artillery: 1,727
- Total MLRS: 425
- Military strength score: 0.7441 — #45 out of 145
22. Azerbaijan
Source: usarmyeurope_images / Flickr
- Total tanks: 920
- Total military vehicles: 29,312
- Total artillery: 594
- Total MLRS: 218
- Military strength score: 0.9934 — #59 out of 145
21. Taiwan
Source: rutgervandermaar / Flickr
- Total tanks: 1,010
- Total military vehicles: 19,868
- Total artillery: 1,420
- Total MLRS: 223
- Military strength score: 0.3302 — #24 out of 145
20. Jordan
Source: marine_corps / Flickr
- Total tanks: 1,365
- Total military vehicles: 24,148
- Total artillery: 283
- Total MLRS: 88
- Military strength score: 1.4651 — #80 out of 145
19. Greece
Source: Konstantinos Stampoulis (el:User:Geraki) / Wikimedia Commons
- Total tanks: 1,365
- Total military vehicles: 57,030
- Total artillery: 1,318
- Total MLRS: 152
- Military strength score: 0.4349 — #32 out of 145
18. Israel
Source: svarshik / iStock Editorial via Getty Images
- Total tanks: 1,370
- Total military vehicles: 43,407
- Total artillery: 950
- Total MLRS: 150
- Military strength score: 0.2596 — #45 out of 145
17. Saudi Arabia
Source: edoug / Flickr
- Total tanks: 1,485
- Total military vehicles: 20,694
- Total artillery: 3,253
- Total MLRS: 490
- Military strength score: 0.3235 — #23 out of 145
16. Morocco
- Total tanks: 1,564
- Total military vehicles: 13,710
- Total artillery: 871
- Total MLRS: 208
- Military strength score: 1.0081 — #61 out of 145
15. Algeria
Source: Public Domain / Wikimedia Commons
- Total tanks: 1,632
- Total military vehicles: 35,990
- Total artillery: 707
- Total MLRS: 236
- Military strength score: 0.3589 — #26 out of 145
14. Eritrea
Source: davidstanleytravel / Flickr
- Total tanks: 1,756
- Total military vehicles: 3,512
- Total artillery: 210
- Total MLRS: 219
- Military strength score: 2.4152 — #117 out of 145
13. Ukraine
- Total tanks: 1,777
- Total military vehicles: 22,110
- Total artillery: 2,217
- Total MLRS: 491
- Military strength score: 0.2598 — #18 out of 145
12. Iran
Source: ajw1970 / Flickr
- Total tanks: 1,996
- Total military vehicles: 65,765
- Total artillery: 2,630
- Total MLRS: 775
- Military strength score: 0.2269 — #14 out of 145
11. Vietnam
Source: feserc / Flickr
- Total tanks: 2,029
- Total military vehicles: 18,578
- Total artillery: 880
- Total MLRS: 450
- Military strength score: 0.3158 — #22 out of 145
10. Turkey
Source: IC / iStock Editorial via Getty Images
- Total tanks: 2,231
- Total military vehicles: 55,104
- Total artillery: 2,785
- Total MLRS: 286
- Military strength score: 0.1697 — #8 out of 145
9. South Korea
Source: Thinkstock
- Total tanks: 2,501
- Total military vehicles: 66,492
- Total artillery: 8,052
- Total MLRS: 581
- Military strength score: 0.1416 — #5 out of 145
8. Syria
Source: ciagov / Flickr
- Total tanks: 2,720
- Total military vehicles: 14,550
- Total artillery: 2,695
- Total MLRS: 614
- Military strength score: 1.0026 — #60 out of 145
7. Pakistan
Source: ganeshdhamodkar / Flickr
- Total tanks: 3,742
- Total military vehicles: 50,523
- Total artillery: 3,990
- Total MLRS: 602
- Military strength score: 0.1711 — #9 out of 145
6. India
Source: mohit_s / Flickr
- Total tanks: 4,614
- Total military vehicles: 151,248
- Total artillery: 3,383
- Total MLRS: 702
- Military strength score: 0.1023 — #4 out of 145
5. United States
- Total tanks: 4,657
- Total military vehicles: 360,069
- Total artillery: 2,862
- Total MLRS: 694
- Military strength score: 0.0699 — #1 out of 145
4. China
Source: Kevin Frayer / Getty Images
- Total tanks: 5,000
- Total military vehicles: 174,300
- Total artillery: 5,284
- Total MLRS: 3,180
- Military strength score: 0.0706 — #3 out of 145
3. Egypt
Source: Chris Hondros / Getty Images
- Total tanks: 5,340
- Total military vehicles: 77,596
- Total artillery: 3,046
- Total MLRS: 1,119
- Military strength score: 0.2283 — #15 out of 145
2. North Korea
- Total tanks: 5,845
- Total military vehicles: 24,696
- Total artillery: 9,000
- Total MLRS: 2,920
- Military strength score: 0.5313 — #36 out of 145
1. Russia
- Total tanks: 14,777
- Total military vehicles: 161,382
- Total artillery: 14,564
- Total MLRS: 3,065
- Military strength score: 0.0702 — #2 out of 145
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