The modern battle tank, as recognized today, was first deployed in combat by the British military in 1916. Developed with the backing of Winston Churchill, who was then serving in the upper echelons of the Royal Navy, the tank earned its name because it was initially disguised to look like a water tank. With heavy armor and continuous track propulsion systems, tanks were conceived as a means of crossing no man’s land and barbed wire barriers between Allied and Axis trenches during the First World War. By the war’s end, both Britain and France had manufactured thousands of tanks — and even the United States had deployed tanks into battle under the leadership of Lieutenant Colonel George Patton.
Between the First and Second World Wars, tank development and manufacturing spread across multiple countries, including Czechoslovakia, Italy, Japan, Poland, and the Soviet Union. During World War II, tanks played a critical role, especially in regions such as North Africa and the Eastern Front. While many of the largest tank battles in history were fought in World War II, major confrontations involving tanks have occurred in the decades since, including wars in the Middle East involving the U.S. Army and, notably, the ongoing war between Russia and Ukraine.
Even as military technology and strategy have evolved considerably in the last 100 years, tanks have retained their battlefield utility and remain an indispensable element in the military arsenal of dozens of countries.
Using data from Global Firepower, 24/7 Wall St. identified the countries with the most battle tanks. We reviewed the estimated number of tanks in each country’s military as of 2025 and ranked those countries with a fleet of at least 350 tanks. Supplemental data on annual military spending and annual military spending as a share of gross domestic product are from the Stockholm International Peace Research Institute and are for the latest available year.
Among the 34 countries on this list, fleet sizes range from 350 tanks to 6,800. While several of the world’s strongest military powers — including China, Russia, and the United States — appear on this list, other major powers notably do not. For example, France and the United Kingdom have only 215 and 227 tanks, respectively.
The absence of these and other countries from this list is likely due, at least in part, to their membership in the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO), a condition of which stipulates that an attack on one member state is tantamount to an attack on all. Under the NATO security umbrella, member countries have a combined tank fleet numbering in the thousands that could be readily deployed, should the need arise.
These are the countries with the largest fleets of military tanks.
Why It Matters
Since their introduction over a century ago, tanks have played an indispensable and multifaceted role on the battlefield. While initially designed as a solution to the problems posed by trench warfare in World War I, tanks remain a critical component of major military operations — offering advantages in mobility, firepower, infantry support, battlefield advancement, and breaching defensive structures. Even as new technologies proliferate in military arsenals around the world, many military powers — both global and regional — still have hundreds or even thousands of tanks at their disposal.
1. China
- Estimated number of tanks as of 2025: 6,800
- Total defense spending in 2024: $313.7 billion (current USD)
- Defense spending as a share of GDP in 2024: 1.7%
2. Russia
- Estimated number of tanks as of 2025: 5,750
- Total defense spending in 2024: $149.0 billion (current USD)
- Defense spending as a share of GDP in 2024: 7.1%
3. United States
- Estimated number of tanks as of 2025: 4,640
- Total defense spending in 2024: $997.3 billion (current USD)
- Defense spending as a share of GDP in 2024: 3.4%
4. North Korea
- Estimated number of tanks as of 2025: 4,344
- Total defense spending in 2018: $1.6 billion (current USD)
- Defense spending as a share of GDP in 2024: N/A
5. India
- Estimated number of tanks as of 2025: 4,201
- Total defense spending in 2024: $86.1 billion (current USD)
- Defense spending as a share of GDP in 2024: 2.3%
6. Egypt
- Estimated number of tanks as of 2025: 3,620
- Total defense spending in 2024: $2.4 billion (current USD)
- Defense spending as a share of GDP in 2024: 0.7%
7. Pakistan
- Estimated number of tanks as of 2025: 2,627
- Total defense spending in 2024: $10.2 billion (current USD)
- Defense spending as a share of GDP in 2024: 2.7%
8. Turkey
- Estimated number of tanks as of 2025: 2,238
- Total defense spending in 2024: $25.0 billion (current USD)
- Defense spending as a share of GDP in 2024: 1.9%
9. South Korea
- Estimated number of tanks as of 2025: 2,236
- Total defense spending in 2024: $47.6 billion (current USD)
- Defense spending as a share of GDP in 2024: 2.6%
10. Iran
- Estimated number of tanks as of 2025: 1,713
- Total defense spending in 2024: $7.9 billion (current USD)
- Defense spending as a share of GDP in 2024: 2.0%
11. Algeria
- Estimated number of tanks as of 2025: 1,485
- Total defense spending in 2024: $21.8 billion (current USD)
- Defense spending as a share of GDP in 2024: 8.0%
12. Jordan
- Estimated number of tanks as of 2025: 1,458
- Total defense spending in 2024: $2.6 billion (current USD)
- Defense spending as a share of GDP in 2024: 4.8%
13. Vietnam
- Estimated number of tanks as of 2025: 1,374
- Total defense spending in 2018: $5.5 billion (current USD)
- Defense spending as a share of GDP in 2017: 1.8%
14. Greece
- Estimated number of tanks as of 2025: 1,344
- Total defense spending in 2024: $8.0 billion (current USD)
- Defense spending as a share of GDP in 2024: 3.1%
15. Israel
- Estimated number of tanks as of 2025: 1,300
- Total defense spending in 2024: $46.5 billion (current USD)
- Defense spending as a share of GDP in 2024: 8.8%
16. Ukraine
- Estimated number of tanks as of 2025: 1,114
- Total defense spending in 2024: $64.7 billion (current USD)
- Defense spending as a share of GDP in 2024: 34.5%
17. Iraq
- Estimated number of tanks as of 2025: 1,025
- Total defense spending in 2024: $6.2 billion (current USD)
- Defense spending as a share of GDP in 2024: 2.4%
18. Morocco
- Estimated number of tanks as of 2025: 903
- Total defense spending in 2024: $5.5 billion (current USD)
- Defense spending as a share of GDP in 2024: 3.5%
19. Taiwan
- Estimated number of tanks as of 2025: 888
- Total defense spending in 2024: $16.5 billion (current USD)
- Defense spending as a share of GDP in 2024: 2.1%
20. Saudi Arabia
- Estimated number of tanks as of 2025: 840
- Total defense spending in 2024: $80.3 billion (current USD)
- Defense spending as a share of GDP in 2024: 7.3%
21. Turkmenistan
- Estimated number of tanks as of 2025: 654
- Total defense spending in 2023: $19.6 billion (current USD)
- Defense spending as a share of GDP in 2024: N/A
22. Cambodia
- Estimated number of tanks as of 2025: 644
- Total defense spending in 2024: $720.5 million (current USD)
- Defense spending as a share of GDP in 2024: 1.5%
23. Thailand
- Estimated number of tanks as of 2025: 635
- Total defense spending in 2024: $5.5 billion (current USD)
- Defense spending as a share of GDP in 2024: 1.1%
24. Poland
- Estimated number of tanks as of 2025: 614
- Total defense spending in 2024: $38.0 billion (current USD)
- Defense spending as a share of GDP in 2024: 4.2%
25. Japan
- Estimated number of tanks as of 2025: 521
- Total defense spending in 2024: $55.3 billion (current USD)
- Defense spending as a share of GDP in 2024: 1.4%
26. Belarus
- Estimated number of tanks as of 2025: 507
- Total defense spending in 2024: $1.5 billion (current USD)
- Defense spending as a share of GDP in 2024: 2.1%
27. Azerbaijan
- Estimated number of tanks as of 2025: 497
- Total defense spending in 2024: $3.8 billion (current USD)
- Defense spending as a share of GDP in 2024: 5.0%
28. Myanmar
- Estimated number of tanks as of 2025: 445
- Total defense spending in 2024: $5.0 billion (current USD)
- Defense spending as a share of GDP in 2024: 6.8%
29. Mongolia
- Estimated number of tanks as of 2025: 420
- Total defense spending in 2024: $180.8 million (current USD)
- Defense spending as a share of GDP in 2024: 0.7%
30. Chile
- Estimated number of tanks as of 2025: 386
- Total defense spending in 2024: $5.1 billion (current USD)
- Defense spending as a share of GDP in 2024: 1.6%
31. Kuwait
- Estimated number of tanks as of 2025: 367
- Total defense spending in 2024: $7.8 billion (current USD)
- Defense spending as a share of GDP in 2024: 4.8%
32. Syria
- Estimated number of tanks as of 2025: 365
- Total defense spending in 2024: N/A
- Defense spending as a share of GDP in 2024: N/A
33. United Arab Emirates
- Estimated number of tanks as of 2025: 354
- Total defense spending in 2024: N/A
- Defense spending as a share of GDP in 2024: N/A
34. Kazakhstan
- Estimated number of tanks as of 2025: 350
- Total defense spending in 2024: $1.2 billion (current USD)
- Defense spending as a share of GDP in 2024: 0.4%
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