On Wednesday, the Biden Administration announced it would be sending a batch of M1 Abrams tanks to Ukraine, an announcement accompanying Germany’s plan to send two battalions of similarly high-tech Leopard 2 tanks to the war-torn nation. These two tank types are widely considered to be among the most advanced of their kind in the world. While the Abrams and Leopards were developed for the American and German armed forces, respectfully, they each can be found in arsenals of other nations as well.
Tanks, and the ability to attack them, have been a major part of the Russian invasion of Ukraine. Russia has been famous for its tank tactics. So far, these have not been on display successfully in Ukraine. Using weapons provided by the U.S. and other NATO nations, the Ukrainian military has destroyed as many as 200 Russian tanks and other armored vehicles. Most of the Russian tanks are T-72s, which were first developed in the 1970s.
The ease with which Ukraine’s armed forces have destroyed Russian tanks has brought into question how effective the thousands of tanks operated by well over a dozen countries would do in similar wars. (Still, the U.S. spent $1.4 billion upgrading and modifying its M-1 Abrams tanks. But this is the weapon the U.S. military spends the most money on.)
According to Global Firepower, there are 63 countries have over 200 tanks each. To find the country with the most tanks, 24/7 Wall St. reviewed Global Firepower’s Tank Strength by Country (2022).
Interestingly, the country with the largest military is not among those with the most tanks. 24/7 Wall St. research shows that India has the largest army with 3,045,000 personnel and a budget of $72.9 billion. (These are the countries with the largest militaries.)
Click here to see the country with the most tanks
50. Kazakhstan
> Number of tanks: 310
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49. Indonesia
> Number of tanks: 314
48. Bosnia and Herzegovina
> Number of tanks: 320
47. Bangladesh
> Number of tanks: 320
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46. Angola
> Number of tanks: 320
45. Serbia
> Number of tanks: 323
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44. Spain
> Number of tanks: 327
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43. Ethiopia
> Number of tanks: 340
42. Argentina
> Number of tanks: 349
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41. United Arab Emirates
> Number of tanks: 354
40. Sudan
> Number of tanks: 360
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39. Lebanon
> Number of tanks: 361
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38. Kuwait
> Number of tanks: 367
37. Nigeria
> Number of tanks: 376
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36. France
> Number of tanks: 406
35. Bulgaria
> Number of tanks: 410
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34. Uzbekistan
> Number of tanks: 420
33. Brazil
> Number of tanks: 439
32. Romania
> Number of tanks: 451
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31. Mongolia
> Number of tanks: 470
30. Azerbaijan
> Number of tanks: 510
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29. Cambodia
> Number of tanks: 539
28. Belarus
> Number of tanks: 601
27. Thailand
> Number of tanks: 637
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26. Myanmar
> Number of tanks: 664
25. Turkmenistan
> Number of tanks: 680
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24. Iraq
> Number of tanks: 826
23. Poland
> Number of tanks: 863
22. Japan
> Number of tanks: 1,004
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21. Saudi Arabia
> Number of tanks: 1,062
20. Taiwan
> Number of tanks: 1,110
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19. Cuba
> Number of tanks: 1,230
18. Greece
> Number of tanks: 1,243
17. Jordan
> Number of tanks: 1,401
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16. Israel
> Number of tanks: 1,900
15. Vietnam
> Number of tanks: 2,044
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14. Algeria
> Number of tanks: 2,196
13. Ukraine
> Number of tanks: 2,596
12. South Korea
> Number of tanks: 2,624
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11. Pakistan
> Number of tanks: 2,824
10. Iran
> Number of tanks: 2,831
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9. Turkey
> Number of tanks: 3,022
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8. Morocco
> Number of tanks: 3,335
7. Syria
> Number of tanks: 3,540
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6. Egypt
> Number of tanks: 4,394
5. India
> Number of tanks: 4,614
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4. China
> Number of tanks: 5,250
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3. North Korea
> Number of tanks: 5,895
2. United States
> Number of tanks: 6,612
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