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Military Strength: Flag of Ethiopia Ethiopia vs Flag of Tanzania Tanzania

Ethiopia (ranked #76 globally) holds a stronger overall military position than Tanzania (#84) on the ARMS Index. Ethiopia fields 138,000 active troops — 4.9:1 Tanzania's 28,000. Ethiopia allocates $1B to defense compared to $1B for Tanzania.

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Flag of Ethiopia EthiopiaWorld #76 28.3
ARMS Index / 100

Ethiopia leads on 4 of 6 pillars

Flag of Tanzania TanzaniaWorld #84 25.6
  • 81.3138K active troops Manpower15 % 62.328K active troops
  • 67.1338 battle tanks Ground forces20 % 44.062 battle tanks
  • 0.00 warships Naval power20 % 0.00 warships
  • 37.534 combat aircraft Air power25 % 30.920 combat aircraft
  • 0.00 warheads Nuclear deterrent10 % 0.00 warheads
  • 42.0$1B budget Defense budget10 % 33.5$1B budget
Ethiopia Tanzania Pillar scores 0–100 (weight under each label) over a headline figure from that domain · readiness modifier ×0.80 vs ×1.00 · Methodology
Key figures
Ethiopia Tanzania Ratio
Defense budget $1B $1B 🇪🇹 ≈
– share of GDP 0.7% 1.3% 🇹🇿 1.9×
Active personnel 138,000 28,000 🇪🇹 4.9×
Combat aircraft 34 20 🇪🇹 1.7×
Warships 0 0 —
– submarines 0 0 —
Main battle tanks 338 62 🇪🇹 5.5×
Nuclear warheads 0 0 —
Show full breakdown · 11 more rowsHide the 11 extra rows
Reserve troops 0 80,000 🇹🇿
Paramilitary forces 0 1,400 🇹🇿
Military aircraft (all types) 99 43 🇪🇹 2.3×
– helicopters 31 15 🇪🇹 2.1×
Budget share of govt spending — — —
Budget per capita $8 $15 🇹🇿 1.9×
Population 132.1M 68.6M 🇪🇹 1.9×
GDP $150B $79B 🇪🇹 1.9×
GDP per capita $1,134 $1,150 🇹🇿 ≈
Land area 1,096,630 km² 885,800 km² 🇪🇹 1.2×
Coastline 0 km 1,424 km 🇹🇿
Backbone systems most numerous in service
🇪🇹 EthiopiaSu-27 Flanker ×20T-54 / T-55 / TM-800 ×1,190
🇹🇿 TanzaniaJ-7 Fishcan ×11T-54 / T-55 / TM-800 ×32
Defense budget history Ethiopia ×1.9 · Tanzania ×1.3 since 2020
Military personnel history

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Frequently Asked Questions

Who has more military personnel, Ethiopia or Tanzania?
Ethiopia has approximately 138,000 active military personnel compared to Tanzania's 28,000, giving Ethiopia a 4.9:1 numerical advantage.
Which country has more combat aircraft, Ethiopia or Tanzania?
Ethiopia operates 34 combat aircraft compared to Tanzania's 20. This includes fighters, strike aircraft, and multirole combat jets.
Which country spends more on defense, Ethiopia or Tanzania?
Ethiopia has a larger defense budget at $1 billion compared to Tanzania's $1 billion annually.
Do Ethiopia and Tanzania have nuclear weapons?
Neither Ethiopia nor Tanzania currently possesses nuclear weapons.
How do the tank forces of Ethiopia and Tanzania compare?
Ethiopia operates 338 main battle tanks compared to Tanzania's 62. Tank numbers reflect both active inventory and reserves.