24/7 Wall St. Insights:
- Egypt is home to one of the most powerful militaries in Africa and the Middle East
- In terms of tank arsenals, Egypt owns more tanks than any single NATO nation
- One of the main components of Egypt’s military is the M1 Abrams
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Egypt is known as having one of the most powerful military forces on the African continent. It is home to an impressive air force and standing army, but it outranks even global superpowers in terms of its tank army.
While the United States may have the strongest military on the planet, it doesn’t quite measure up in comparison to only a handful of other nations when it comes to certain aspects of its military arsenal. In terms of its tank arsenal, Egypt has the United States beat numerically speaking. Outside of this, Egypt owns more tanks than any NATO nation. (These are the NATO countries with the biggest tank armies.)
The one of the main components of Egypt’s tank fleet is the American-made M1 Abrams. This tank makes up at least 1,000 units within Egypt’s fleet. Considering the M1 Abrams is one of the most advanced modern battle tanks in existence, Egypt is home to one of the most formidable, armored forces within the region.
Apart from the M1 Abrams, Egypt also uses the older Soviet-era T-62 and T-55 tanks as part of its fleet. Although, many of these older tanks have been upgraded or improved with more advanced systems. (These are the 30 most mass-produced tanks since World War 2.)
Egypt is easily one of the largest and most well-equipped militaries in the Middle East and Africa, especially regarding its armored forces. 24/7 Wall St. is taking a closer look at Egypt and the rest of Africa in terms of their tank forces.
To identify the African 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. Nations that do not have any tanks in their arsenal were excluded.
Here is a look at the African countries with the biggest tank armies:
Why Are We Covering This?
Understanding the military dynamics of Africa is important due to the continent’s strategic geopolitical significance. The continent is known for some instability, and military power is one way of ensuring stability both political and economical. Many of these African nations are growing rapidly and the continued stability of this region is crucial.
26. Namibia
- Total tanks: 7
- Total artillery: 50
- Total MLRS: 7
- Total military vehicles: 2,674
- World military strength score and rank: 2.7652 – #124 out of 145
25. Ivory Coast
- Total tanks: 10
- Total artillery: 4
- Total MLRS: 6
- Total military vehicles: 476
- World military strength score and rank: 1.9869 – #98 out of 145
24. Madagascar
- Total tanks: 12
- Total artillery: 0
- Total MLRS: 0
- Total military vehicles: 232
- World military strength score and rank: 3.0655 – #133 out of 145
23. Botswana
- Total tanks: 20
- Total artillery: 48
- Total MLRS: 20
- Total military vehicles: 587
- World military strength score and rank: 2.8353 – #126 out of 145
22. Mali
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- Total tanks: 20
- Total artillery: 10
- Total MLRS: 25
- Total military vehicles: 647
- World military strength score and rank: 2.1115 – #106 out of 145
21. Zimbabwe
- Total tanks: 20
- Total artillery: 0
- Total MLRS: 0
- Total military vehicles: 2,412
- World military strength score and rank: 2.0352 – #101 out of 145
20. Tanzania
- Total tanks: 21
- Total artillery: 0
- Total MLRS: 0
- Total military vehicles: 712
- World military strength score and rank: 2.0587 – #103 out of 145
19. Republic of the Congo
- Total tanks: 32
- Total artillery: 37
- Total MLRS: 72
- Total military vehicles: 519
- World military strength score and rank: 2.7282 – #122 out of 145
18. Zambia
- Total tanks: 38
- Total artillery: 46
- Total MLRS: 35
- Total military vehicles: 506
- World military strength score and rank: 1.9851 – #97 out of 145
17. South Sudan
- Total tanks: 55
- Total artillery: 20
- Total MLRS: 10
- Total military vehicles: 1,920
- World military strength score and rank: 2.4376 – #119 out of 145
16. Mozambique
- Total tanks: 60
- Total artillery: 104
- Total MLRS: 12
- Total military vehicles: 872
- World military strength score and rank: 1.8377 – #92 out of 145
15. Chad
- Total tanks: 90
- Total artillery: 25
- Total MLRS: 21
- Total military vehicles: 1,568
- World military strength score and rank: 1.8607 – #93 out of 145
14. Uganda
- Total tanks: 130
- Total artillery: 32
- Total MLRS: 12
- Total military vehicles: 3,162
- World military strength score and rank: 2.2405 – #114 out of 145
13. Tunisia
- Total tanks: 140
- Total artillery: 108
- Total MLRS: 0
- Total military vehicles: 6,400
- World military strength score and rank: 1.2881 – #74 out of 145
12. Kenya
- Total tanks: 188
- Total artillery: 71
- Total MLRS: 0
- Total military vehicles: 4,856
- World military strength score and rank: 1.7629 – #89 out of 145
11. South Africa
- Total tanks: 195
- Total artillery: 153
- Total MLRS: 101
- Total military vehicles: 12,140
- World military strength score and rank: 0.4632 – #33 out of 145
10. Democratic Republic of Congo
- Total tanks: 210
- Total artillery: 135
- Total MLRS: 50
- Total military vehicles: 458
- World military strength score and rank: 1.2491 – #73 out of 145
9. Sudan
- Total tanks: 233
- Total artillery: 200
- Total MLRS: 343
- Total military vehicles: 3,648
- World military strength score and rank: 1.4119 – #76 out of 145
8. Libya
- Total tanks: 300
- Total artillery: 75
- Total MLRS: 55
- Total military vehicles: 2,890
- World military strength score and rank: 1.4449 – #79 out of 145
7. Angola
- Total tanks: 310
- Total artillery: 580
- Total MLRS: 123
- Total military vehicles: 5,500
- World military strength score and rank: 0.8702 – #55 out of 145
6. Nigeria
- Total tanks: 343
- Total artillery: 371
- Total MLRS: 37
- Total military vehicles: 6,404
- World military strength score and rank: 0.5619 – #39 out of 145
5. Ethiopia
- Total tanks: 680
- Total artillery: 713
- Total MLRS: 79
- Total military vehicles: 10,028
- World military strength score and rank: 0.7938 – #49 out of 145
4. Morocco
- Total tanks: 1,564
- Total artillery: 871
- Total MLRS: 208
- Total military vehicles: 13,710
- World military strength score and rank: 1.0081 – #61 out of 145
3. Algeria
- Total tanks: 1,632
- Total artillery: 707
- Total MLRS: 236
- Total military vehicles: 35,990
- World military strength score and rank: 0.3589 – #26 out of 145
2. Eritrea
- Total tanks: 1,756
- Total artillery: 210
- Total MLRS: 219
- Total military vehicles: 3,512
- World military strength score and rank: 2.4152 – #117 out of 145
1. Egypt
- Total tanks: 5,340
- Total artillery: 3,046
- Total MLRS: 1,119
- Total military vehicles: 77,596
- World military strength score and rank: 0.2283 – #15 out of 145
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