During the Russian invasion of Ukraine, the defending forces have used artillery fire, notably long-range missile systems such as the HIMARS platform, to great effect. Many of the artillery systems used by Ukrainian forces have been American-made. According to CNBC, the United States has provided Ukraine with dozens of howitzers, as well as various other types of longer-range artillery, substantially upgrading Ukraine’s capabilities.
Russian troops, meanwhile, also use artillery such as howitzers to great effect, firing thousands of shells at Ukrainian targets daily, as Russia has reintroduced its essential military doctrine: the use of massed heavy and rocket artillery. But how much artillery does each nation have?
To determine the countries with the most artillery, 24/7 Wall St. reviewed 2023 data on artillery from GlobalFirepower, an annually updated defense-related statistics website with information on 145 countries. We ranked countries according to the number of self-propelled and towed artillery they have and listed all countries with at least 700 artillery units.
Russia has more artillery than any other country. While U.S. doctrine emphasizes more accurate use of high explosives, Russian doctrine stresses massed firepower. This has been an aspect of Russian military doctrine for at least 300 years. Russia has invested heavily in artillery in recent years and holds a more than fivefold advantage in total artillery over Ukraine. According to a CNN report from January, however, Russian artillery fire is down dramatically from its high. (See also, America’s future weapons.)
The war between North and South Korea has not officially been declared over, and their artillery inventory reflects that status. The two Koreas face each other with a combined 18,766 artillery pieces. (This is the deadliest weapon in history.)
America, which spends more on the military than any other country, ranks 11th in artillery pieces. Two of the mainstays in the U.S. artillery arsenal are the M109 howitzer and the M777 howitzer.
Here are the 20 countries with the largest artillery arsenals.
20. Belarus
> Total artillery: 818
> Self-propelled artillery: 488 — #16 most of 145
> Towed artillery: 330 — #33 most of 145
> Example self-propelled artillery: 2S19 Msta
> Example wheeled artillery: 2A65 Msta B
> Active-duty military personnel: 45,000 — #70 most of 145
> Military spending, 2021: $762.8 million — #77 highest of 145
> Military spending as pct. of GDP: 1.2% — #101 most of 145
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19. Israel
> Total artillery: 950
> Self-propelled artillery: 650 — #11 most of 145
> Towed artillery: 300 — #38 most of 145
> Example self-propelled artillery: ATMOS 2000
> Example wheeled artillery: Soltam M-71
> Active-duty military personnel: 173,000 — #29 most of 145
> Military spending, 2021: $24.3 billion — #15 highest of 145
> Military spending as pct. of GDP: 5.2% — #6 most of 145
18. Romania
> Total artillery: 957
> Self-propelled artillery: 47 — #60 most of 145
> Towed artillery: 910 — #15 most of 145
> Example self-propelled artillery: ATROM
> Example wheeled artillery: M82
> Active-duty military personnel: 67,000 — #57 most of 145
> Military spending, 2021: $5.6 billion — #40 highest of 145
> Military spending as pct. of GDP: 2.0% — #51 most of 145
17. Greece
> Total artillery: 1,319
> Self-propelled artillery: 590 — #12 most of 145
> Towed artillery: 729 — #17 most of 145
> Example self-propelled artillery: Zuzana
> Example wheeled artillery: OTO Melara Mod 56
> Active-duty military personnel: 130,000 — #37 most of 145
> Military spending, 2021: $8.1 billion — #31 highest of 145
> Military spending as pct. of GDP: 3.9% — #12 most of 145
16. Iraq
> Total artillery: 1,707
> Self-propelled artillery: 281 — #21 most of 145
> Towed artillery: 1,426 — #13 most of 145
> Example self-propelled artillery: Al-Fao
> Example wheeled artillery: M198 howitzer
> Active-duty military personnel: 200,000 — #22 most of 145
> Military spending, 2021: $4.7 billion — #46 highest of 145
> Military spending as pct. of GDP: 2.3% — #37 most of 145
15. Ukraine
> Total artillery: 1,842
> Self-propelled artillery: 953 — #10 most of 145
> Towed artillery: 889 — #16 most of 145
> Example self-propelled artillery: 2S22 Bohdana
> Example wheeled artillery: M777 howitzer
> Active-duty military personnel: 200,000 — #23 most of 145
> Military spending, 2021: $5.9 billion — #36 highest of 145
> Military spending as pct. of GDP: 3.2% — #19 most of 145
14. Vietnam
> Total artillery: 1,999
> Self-propelled artillery: 1,349 — #6 most of 145
> Towed artillery: 650 — #19 most of 145
> Example self-propelled artillery: M107 self-propelled gun
> Example wheeled artillery: M102 howitzer
> Active-duty military personnel: 470,000 — #9 most of 145
> Military spending, 2021: N/A
> Military spending as pct. of GDP: N/A
13. Taiwan
> Total artillery: 2,032
> Self-propelled artillery: 272 — #22 most of 145
> Towed artillery: 1,760 — #11 most of 145
> Example self-propelled artillery: M109A6
> Example wheeled artillery: M114 howitzer
> Active-duty military personnel: 170,000 — #31 most of 145
> Military spending, 2021: $13.0 billion — #21 highest of 145
> Military spending as pct. of GDP: 1.7% — #62 most of 145
12. Myanmar
> Total artillery: 2,099
> Self-propelled artillery: 230 — #25 most of 145
> Towed artillery: 1,869 — #10 most of 145
> Example self-propelled artillery: SH-1
> Example wheeled artillery: Soltam M-71
> Active-duty military personnel: 400,000 — #13 most of 145
> Military spending, 2021: $2.1 billion — #60 highest of 145
> Military spending as pct. of GDP: 3.3% — #17 most of 145
11. United States
> Total artillery: 2,339
> Self-propelled artillery: 1,000 — #9 most of 145
> Towed artillery: 1,339 — #14 most of 145
> Example self-propelled artillery: M109 howitzer
> Example wheeled artillery: M777 howitzer
> Active-duty military personnel: 1,390,000 — #3 most of 145
> Military spending, 2021: $800.7 billion — #1 highest of 145
> Military spending as pct. of GDP: 3.5% — #15 most of 145
10. Iran
> Total artillery: 2,630
> Self-propelled artillery: 580 — #13 most of 145
> Towed artillery: 2,050 — #9 most of 145
> Example self-propelled artillery: Raad-2
> Example wheeled artillery: HM-41
> Active-duty military personnel: 575,000 — #7 most of 145
> Military spending, 2021: $24.6 billion — #14 highest of 145
> Military spending as pct. of GDP: 2.3% — #36 most of 145
9. Turkey
> Total artillery: 3,145
> Self-propelled artillery: 1,038 — #8 most of 145
> Towed artillery: 2,107 — #8 most of 145
> Example self-propelled artillery: T-155 Firtina
> Example wheeled artillery: Panter howitzer
> Active-duty military personnel: 425,000 — #11 most of 145
> Military spending, 2021: $15.5 billion — #18 highest of 145
> Military spending as pct. of GDP: 2.1% — #45 most of 145
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8. India
> Total artillery: 3,411
> Self-propelled artillery: 100 — #37 most of 145
> Towed artillery: 3,311 — #5 most of 145
> Example self-propelled artillery: Bhim self-propelled howitzer
> Example wheeled artillery: Advanced Towed Artillery Gun System (ATAGS)
> Active-duty military personnel: 1,450,000 — #2 most of 145
> Military spending, 2021: $76.6 billion — #3 highest of 145
> Military spending as pct. of GDP: 2.7% — #30 most of 145
7. Syria
> Total artillery: 3,544
> Self-propelled artillery: 319 — #20 most of 145
> Towed artillery: 3,225 — #6 most of 145
> Example self-propelled artillery: M-46
> Example wheeled artillery: AZP S-60
> Active-duty military personnel: 100,000 — #43 most of 145
> Military spending, 2021: N/A
> Military spending as pct. of GDP: N/A
6. Egypt
> Total artillery: 3,678
> Self-propelled artillery: 1,489 — #5 most of 145
> Towed artillery: 2,189 — #7 most of 145
> Example self-propelled artillery: K9 Thunder
> Example wheeled artillery: BS-3 (Model 1944)
> Active-duty military personnel: 440,000 — #10 most of 145
> Military spending, 2021: $5.2 billion — #43 highest of 145
> Military spending as pct. of GDP: 1.3% — #93 most of 145
5. China
> Total artillery: 4,229
> Self-propelled artillery: 2,795 — #4 most of 145
> Towed artillery: 1,434 — #12 most of 145
> Example self-propelled artillery: PLZ-05
> Example wheeled artillery: AH4 howitzer
> Active-duty military personnel: 2,000,000 — #1 most of 145
> Military spending, 2021: $293.4 billion — #2 highest of 145
> Military spending as pct. of GDP: 1.7% — #63 most of 145
4. Pakistan
> Total artillery: 4,570
> Self-propelled artillery: 1,225 — #7 most of 145
> Towed artillery: 3,345 — #4 most of 145
> Example self-propelled artillery: SH-15
> Example wheeled artillery: M198 howitzer
> Active-duty military personnel: 654,000 — #6 most of 145
> Military spending, 2021: $11.3 billion — #23 highest of 145
> Military spending as pct. of GDP: 3.8% — #13 most of 145
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3. South Korea
> Total artillery: 8,766
> Self-propelled artillery: 3,090 — #3 most of 145
> Towed artillery: 5,676 — #1 most of 145
> Example self-propelled artillery: K-9 Thunder
> Example wheeled artillery: KH179 howitzer
> Active-duty military personnel: 555,000 — #8 most of 145
> Military spending, 2021: $50.2 billion — #10 highest of 145
> Military spending as pct. of GDP: 2.8% — #28 most of 145
2. North Korea
> Total artillery: 10,000
> Self-propelled artillery: 5,000 — #2 most of 145
> Towed artillery: 5,000 — #2 most of 145
> Example self-propelled artillery: M-1978 Koksan
> Example wheeled artillery: M-1985
> Active-duty military personnel: 1,200,000 — #4 most of 145
> Military spending, 2021: N/A
> Military spending as pct. of GDP: N/
1. Russia
> Total artillery: 10,911
> Self-propelled artillery: 6,575 — #1 most of 145
> Towed artillery: 4,336 — #3 most of 145
> Example self-propelled artillery: 2S19 Msta
> Example wheeled artillery: 2A65 Msta B
> Active-duty military personnel: 830,900 — #5 most of 145
> Military spending, 2021: $65.9 billion — #5 highest of 145
> Military spending as pct. of GDP: 4.1% — #11 most of 145
Methodology
To determine the countries with the most artillery, 24/7 Wall St. reviewed 2023 data on artillery from GlobalFirepower, an annually updated defense-related statistics website with information on 145 countries. We ranked countries according to the number of self-propelled and towed artillery they have and listed all countries with at least 700 artillery units.
From GlobalFirepower we added data on active-duty military personnel. From Military Factory and other military information websites we added examples of these artillery in each country’s arsenal. From Stockholm International Peace Research Institute’s Military Expenditure Database, we included total military spending by country in 2021 and military spending as a percentage of gross domestic product.
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