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Military Strength: Flag of Tanzania Tanzania vs Flag of Zimbabwe Zimbabwe

Tanzania (ranked #91 globally) holds a stronger overall military position than Zimbabwe (#110) on the ATLAS Index. Tanzania fields 27,000 active troops vs 29,000 for Zimbabwe, backed by 21,800 paramilitary. Tanzania's $1B defense budget is 6.2:1 that of Zimbabwe ($0.2B).

ATLAS (Aggregate Total of Land, Air and Sea strength) Index face-off Full ranking →
Flag of Tanzania TanzaniaWorld #91 16.0
ATLAS Index / 100

Tanzania leads on 3 of 6 pillars

Flag of Zimbabwe ZimbabweWorld #110 13.1
  • 37.427K active troops Manpower10 % 30.929K active troops
  • 24.152 battle tanks Ground forces20 % 17.715 battle tanks
  • 0.00 warships Naval power20 % 0.00 warships
  • 18.017 combat aircraft Air power25 % 18.421 combat aircraft
  • 0.00 warheads Nuclear deterrent10 % 0.00 warheads
  • 18.3$1B budget Defense budget15 % 11.6$166M budget
Tanzania Zimbabwe 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
Tanzania Zimbabwe Ratio
Defense budget $1B $166M 🇹🇿 6.2×
– share of GDP 1.3% 0.4% 🇹🇿 3.2×
Active personnel 27,000 29,000 🇿🇼 1.1×
Combat aircraft 17 21 🇿🇼 1.2×
Warships 0 0 —
– submarines 0 0 —
Main battle tanks 52 15 🇹🇿 3.5×
Nuclear warheads 0 0 —
Show full breakdown · 11 more rowsHide the 11 extra rows
Reserve troops 80,000 0 🇹🇿
Paramilitary forces 1,400 21,800 🇿🇼 16×
Military aircraft (all types) 39 95 🇿🇼 2.4×
– helicopters 15 29 🇿🇼 1.9×
Budget share of govt spending — — —
Budget per capita $15 $10 🇹🇿 1.5×
Population 70.5M 17M 🇹🇿 4.2×
GDP $90B $51B 🇹🇿 1.8×
GDP per capita $1,278 $3,021 🇿🇼 2.4×
Land area 885,800 km² 386,847 km² 🇹🇿 2.3×
Coastline 1,424 km 0 km 🇹🇿
Backbone systems most numerous in service
🇹🇿 TanzaniaJ-7 Fishcan ×13T-54 / T-55 / TM-800 ×32
🇿🇼 ZimbabweJ-7 Fishcan ×11
Defense budget history Tanzania ×1.3 · Zimbabwe ×0.6 since 2020
Military personnel history
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Air forces
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Tanzania vsUgandaChadCongo Democratic RepublicSouth SudanLibya
Zimbabwe vsMaliMozambiqueAngolaMauritaniaZambia
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Frequently Asked Questions

Who has more military personnel, Tanzania or Zimbabwe?
Zimbabwe has approximately 29,000 active military personnel compared to Tanzania's 27,000.
Which country has more combat aircraft, Tanzania or Zimbabwe?
Zimbabwe operates 21 combat aircraft compared to Tanzania's 17. This includes fighters, strike aircraft, and multirole combat jets.
Which country spends more on defense, Tanzania or Zimbabwe?
Tanzania has a larger defense budget at $1 billion (6.2:1 more) compared to Zimbabwe's $166 million annually.
Do Tanzania and Zimbabwe have nuclear weapons?
Neither Tanzania nor Zimbabwe currently possesses nuclear weapons.
How do the tank forces of Tanzania and Zimbabwe compare?
Tanzania operates 52 main battle tanks compared to Zimbabwe's 15. Tank numbers reflect both active inventory and reserves.