Army / Ground Forces
- Tanks
- 338
- Armored vehicles
- 8,586
- Self-propelled artillery
- 142
- Towed artillery
- 469
- MLRS
- 79
2026 military profile
Ethiopia Military Power
Africa · Rank #38 of 145
5.5Strength Scoreout of 100 — #38 globally
How this score is calculatedEthiopia military overview
In the MilitaryDex 2026 data edition, Ethiopia ranks #38 of 145 countries with an MSS score of 5.5/100. The profile reports 503,000 active personnel, 104 total aircraft, 338 tanks and 0 naval assets, supported by an estimated annual defense budget of $3.7B.
Its highest normalized MSS category is Manpower (13/100); its lowest is Navy (0/100). These are relative inventory scores, not assessments of readiness or combat effectiveness.
Profile scope
- Data edition
- 2026
- Indicators
- 29 fields
- Country set
- 145
- Regional rank
- #6 of 38
- Missing data
- Shown as N/A
KEY MILITARY STATISTICS
Active troops
503,000
↑210% vs avg
Reserve troops
138,000
Total aircraft
104
↓71% vs avg
Naval assets
0
↓100% vs avg
Defense budget
$3.7B
Nuclear warheads
0
Regional and population context
Rank in Africa
#6
of 38 profiles
Population
135,472,051
World Bank 2025
Nominal GDP
$126.4B
World Bank 2025
Land area
1,128,498.8 km²
World Bank 2023
Budget per resident
$27.467
derived from reported budget and population
Active troops per 1,000
3.71
population-normalized
Regional medians
30,770 troops
38.5 aircraft
Army, air force and navy inventory
Air Force
- Total aircraft
- 104
- Fighters
- 25
- Attack aircraft
- 0
- Transport aircraft
- 46
- Helicopters
- 33
- Attack helicopters
- 7
Navy
- Total vessels
- 0
- Aircraft carriers
- N/A
- Destroyers
- N/A
- Submarines
- N/A
- Frigates
- N/A
- Patrol vessels
- N/A
MSS category profile
Normalized against the largest value in the 2026 country set. The listed weight is each category's contribution to the overall score.
Manpower (25% weight)13/100
Air Force (20% weight)1/100
Navy (15% weight)0/100
Army (15% weight)4/100
Financial (15% weight)1/100
Nuclear (10% weight)0/100
Compare Ethiopia
Ethiopia military power FAQ
What is Ethiopia's military rank in 2026?
MilitaryDex ranks Ethiopia #38 of 145 countries using its inventory-based MSS formula. This is a MilitaryDex calculation, not an official government ranking.
How large are Ethiopia's armed forces?
The current profile reports 503,000 active personnel, 138,000 reserve personnel and 0 paramilitary personnel.
Does a higher score mean Ethiopia would win a war?
No. MSS summarizes selected inventory and spending figures. It does not model readiness, training, geography, alliances, logistics, doctrine, technology quality or political objectives.