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

Ethiopia (ranked #71 globally) holds a stronger overall military position than Tanzania (#91) on the ATLAS Index. Ethiopia fields 503,000 active troops — 19:1 Tanzania's 27,000. Ethiopia allocates $1B to defense compared to $1B for Tanzania.

ATLAS (Aggregate Total of Land, Air and Sea strength) Index face-off Full ranking →
Flag of Ethiopia EthiopiaWorld #71 22.4
ATLAS Index / 100

Ethiopia leads on 4 of 6 pillars

Flag of Tanzania TanzaniaWorld #91 16.0
  • 61.0503K active troops Manpower10 % 37.427K active troops
  • 33.0410 battle tanks Ground forces20 % 24.152 battle tanks
  • 0.00 warships Naval power20 % 0.00 warships
  • 23.734 combat aircraft Air power25 % 18.017 combat aircraft
  • 0.00 warheads Nuclear deterrent10 % 0.00 warheads
  • 23.8$1B budget Defense budget15 % 18.3$1B budget
Ethiopia Tanzania Pillar scores 0–100 (weight under each label) over a headline figure from that domain · each conventional pillar read after its branch's availability proxy · Methodology
Key figures
Ethiopia Tanzania Ratio
Defense budget $1B $1B 🇪🇹 ≈
– share of GDP 0.7% 1.3% 🇹🇿 1.9×
Active personnel 503,000 27,000 🇪🇹 19×
Combat aircraft 34 17 🇪🇹 2.0×
Warships 0 0 —
– submarines 0 0 —
Main battle tanks 410 52 🇪🇹 7.9×
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) 110 39 🇪🇹 2.8×
– helicopters 31 15 🇪🇹 2.1×
Budget share of govt spending — — —
Budget per capita $8 $15 🇹🇿 1.9×
Population 135.5M 70.5M 🇪🇹 1.9×
GDP $126B $90B 🇪🇹 1.4×
GDP per capita $933 $1,278 🇹🇿 1.4×
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 ×22T-54 / T-55 / TM-800 ×240
🇹🇿 TanzaniaJ-7 Fishcan ×13T-54 / T-55 / TM-800 ×32
Defense budget history Ethiopia ×1.9 · Tanzania ×1.3 since 2020
Military personnel history
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Air forces Armies
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Ethiopia vsEritreaTunisiaSudanNigeriaKenya
Tanzania vsUgandaChadCongo Democratic RepublicSouth SudanLibya
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Frequently Asked Questions

Who has more military personnel, Ethiopia or Tanzania?
Ethiopia has approximately 503,000 active military personnel compared to Tanzania's 27,000, giving Ethiopia a 19:1 numerical advantage.
Which country has more combat aircraft, Ethiopia or Tanzania?
Ethiopia operates 34 combat aircraft compared to Tanzania's 17. This includes fighters, strike aircraft, and multirole combat jets.
Which country spends more on defense, Ethiopia or Tanzania?
Ethiopia and Tanzania both spend approximately $1 billion on defense 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 410 main battle tanks compared to Tanzania's 52. Tank numbers reflect both active inventory and reserves.