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==Operators==
===Current operators===
[[File:T-72 users.PNG|thumb|right|upright=1.35|Operators {{legend|#0b60d4|Current}}{{legend|#dc0023Formerdc0023|Former}}]]
* {{ALG}} – 325 T-72M1/M1M as of 2023.{{sfn|The Military Balance 2023|page=315}}
* {{ANG}}<ref name="NMAA">{{cite web|first1=Jeremy |last1=Binnie|first2=Erwan|last2=de Cherisey|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170622123315/http://www.janes.com/images/assets/520/71520/New-model_African_armies.pdf|title=New-model African armies|publisher=Jane's |date=2017|archive-date= 22 June 2017|url=http://www.janes.com/images/assets/520/71520/New-model_African_armies.pdf}}</ref> – 50 T-72M1 as of 2023.{{sfn|The Military Balance 2023|page=433}}
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* {{SRB}} – 30 T-72B1MS and 195 [[M-84]], which is an improved variant of the T-72M, as of 2025.<ref name=":2" /><ref>{{Cite web |url=http://www.b92.net/eng/news/politics.php?yyyy=2016&mm=12&dd=21&nav_id=100019 |title=Serbia to get Russian warplanes, tanks, armored vehicles |date=21 December 2016 |access-date=22 December 2016 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20161222173900/http://www.b92.net/eng/news/politics.php?yyyy=2016&mm=12&dd=21&nav_id=100019 |archive-date=22 December 2016 |url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|url=https://armstrade.org/includes/periodics/news/2020/1130/093560644/detail.shtml|title=ЦАМТО / Новости / Президент Сербии поблагодарил Россию за поставку военной техники|website=armstrade.org}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|url=https://armstrade.org/includes/periodics/news/2021/0524/083562858/detail.shtml|title=ЦАМТО / / Минобороны России передало военную технику российского производства вооруженным силам Сербии|website=armstrade.org}}</ref>
* {{SVK}} – 20 T-72M1, still in service at the end of 2018. Another 10 in storage.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.sme.sk/c/5976453/armada-posiela-vsetky-tanky-do-srotu.html|title=SME.sk – Armda posiela vetky tanky do rotu|author=SME – Petit Press, a.s.|work=sme.sk|access-date=13 November 2014|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150924131204/http://www.sme.sk/c/5976453/armada-posiela-vsetky-tanky-do-srotu.html|archive-date=24 September 2015|url-status=live}}</ref>
* {{SSD}} – 96-101 units delivered in two shipments from Ukraine: first, 32 T-72 on the [[MV Faina|MV ''Faina'']] in 2009, and second, 67 T-72 in 20??20XX.<ref>{{cite journal |title=Pirates' Catch Exposed Route of Arms in Sudan |author=Jeffrey Gettleman and Michael R. Gordon |date=8 December 2010 |journal=The New York Times |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2010/12/09/world/africa/09wikileaks-tank.html?pagewanted=all&_r=0 |access-date=25 February 2017 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170810171245/http://www.nytimes.com/2010/12/09/world/africa/09wikileaks-tank.html?pagewanted=all&_r=0 |archive-date=10 August 2017 |url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |title=T-72s Were Indeed Being Sent to Sudan Rebel Army |author=John Reed |date=9 December 2010 |work=Defensetech |url=http://defensetech.org/2010/12/09/t-72s-were-indeed-being-sent-to-sudan-rebel-army/ |access-date=5 January 2011 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110114030712/http://defensetech.org/2010/12/09/t-72s-were-indeed-being-sent-to-sudan-rebel-army/ |archive-date=14 January 2011 |url-status=usurped}}</ref> 2 T-72 tanks were destroyed during the [[Heglig Crisis]].<ref>{{Cite news|url=https://www.reuters.com/article/ozatp-sudan-fighting-20120415-idAFJOE83E00C20120415|title=Sudan bombs disputed oil town, South Sudan says|work=Reuters|date=15 April 2012}}</ref> 80 T-72AV in service as of 2023{{sfn|The Military Balance 2023|page=479}}
* {{SUD}} – 70 T-72AV as of 2023.{{sfn|The Military Balance 2023|pages=480-481}}
* {{Flag|South Ossetia}} — 10<ref>{{Cite web |title=Фоторепотраж с празднования 18-летия РЮО |url=http://osinform.org/8986-fotorepotrazh-s-prazdnovanija-18-letija-rjuo.html |access-date=2024-01-15 |website=АЛАНИЯинформ |language=ru}}</ref>
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| {{GER}} – 549 tanks taken from the GDR's army, all scrapped, sold to other countries or given to museums.}}
* {{FIN}} – Some 160–170 T-72M1s. About 70 T-72M1s (one armoured brigade) were bought from the Soviet Union and were delivered in 1984, 1985–1988 and 1990. A further 97 T-72M1s (including a small number of command versions T-72M1K and T-72M1K1) were bought from German surplus stocks in 1992–1994. All withdrawn from service in 2006. Scrapped in [[Jyväskylä]] or sold as spares to the Czech Republic. At least two Finnish T-72s are still in working order and have been used in showcases.<ref>Archived at [https://ghostarchive.org/varchive/youtube/20211205/nGN7NLL8e7M Ghostarchive]{{cbignore}} and the [https://web.archive.org/web/20210319074117/https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nGN7NLL8e7M Wayback Machine]{{cbignore}}: {{cite web |url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nGN7NLL8e7M |title=Leopard 2 vs T-72M1 – Combat Demonstration [4K] – Armoured Division 75th Anniversaryv |via=[[YouTube]]}}{{cbignore}}</ref>
* {{flag|Chechen Republic of Ichkeria}}<ref>{{Cite book |title=Battle for Grozny, Volume 1: Prelude and the way to the city, 1994 |last=Sandler |first=Efim |publisher=Helion & Company |year=2023 |isbn=978-1-804514-81-8 |___location=Warwick |pages=30-31}}</ref>
* {{flaglist|Islamic State in Iraq and the Levant}} – Several were captured from the [[Syrian Arab Army|Syrian army]].<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.oryxspioenkop.com/2017/08/armour-in-islamic-state-story-of.html?m=1|title=Armour in the Islamic State – The Story of 'The Workshop'|website=oryxspioenkop.com|date=31 August 2017|access-date=20 May 2021}}</ref>
* {{flagflagcountry|Socialist People's Libyan Arab Jamahiriya|1977}} – 150 in 2003.<ref name="Militarium.net">{{Cite web |title="Militarium.net" |url=http://www.militarium.net/wojska_ladowe/t72.php |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090203004559/http://www.militarium.net/wojska_ladowe/t72.php |archive-date=3 February 2009}}</ref>▼
* {{MKD}} – 30 T-72A and 1 T-72AK delivered from Ukraine in 1999.<ref>{{cite news |author=Taras Kuzio |date=2001-10-31 |title=UKRAINE FORGES MILITARY ALLIANCE WITH MACEDONIA |url=https://jamestown.org/program/ukraine-forges-military-alliance-with-macedonia/ |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20161220222447/https://jamestown.org/program/ukraine-forges-military-alliance-with-macedonia/ |archive-date=20 December 2016 |access-date=2017-04-17 |newspaper=Jamestown |publisher=The Jamestown Foundation}}</ref> 8 tanks were donated to Ukraine in June 2022.{{Citation needed|date=May 2025}}
* {{ROM}} – 31 T-72Ms were bought from the USSR, and received between 1978 and 1979.<ref>{{cite magazine|last1=Opriș|first1=Petre |title=Achiziționarea de tehnică militară și muniții sovietice pentru Armata Română 1976 1979|url=https://amnr.defense.ro/webroot/fileslib/upload/files/Revista_Document/Revista_090_2020.pdf|year=2020|magazine=Buletinul Arhivelor Militare Române|number=90/2020|issn=1454-0924|page=93}}</ref> Withdrawn from service (in long-term storage), 28 tanks are for sale (23 of them need repairs and five are operational).<ref>{{cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=kH6TAWUst5EC&q=romanian+army+t-72+quantity&pg=PA141|title=The Diffusion of Military Technology and Ideas|isbn =978-0-8047-4535-2|last1=Goldman|first1=Emily O.|last2=Eliason|first2 =Leslie C.|year =2003|publisher=Stanford University Press }}</ref> In 2022 it was reported that Romania transferred their fleet of T-72s to Ukraine in response to the [[2022 Russian invasion of Ukraine]].<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.armyrecognition.com/defense_news_april_2022_global_security_army_industry/romania_to_donate_t-72_main_batle_tanks_and_spare_parts_to_ukraine.html|title=Romania to donate T-72 main battle tanks and spare parts to Ukraine|website=armyrecognition.com|date=22 April 2022}}</ref>
[[File:Romanian T-72M tank.jpg|thumb|right|Ex-Romanian T-72M.]]
* {{flag|Sierra Leone}} – In 1994 Sierra Leone acquired two T-72s from Poland via Ukraine (the vehicles were previously in Polish service). Another unspecified number of ex-Polish tanks was delivered to Sierra Leone in 1997 also via Ukraine (these vehicles also previously served with Poland).<ref>{{cite web |last1=Holtom |first1=Paul |title=United Nations Arms Embargoes Their Impact on Arms Flows and Target Behaviour Case study: Sierra Leone, 1997–present |url=https://www.sipri.org/sites/default/files/files/misc/UNAE/SIPRI07UNAESLe.pdf |publisher=SIPRI |date=2007}}</ref>
* {{flagflagcountry|Ba'athist Syria}} – 1991 – 650<ref>{{Cite web |date=February 29, 2020 |title=The Idlib Turkey Shoot: The Destruction and Capture of Vehicles and Equipment by Turkish and Rebel Forces |url=https://www.oryxspioenkop.com/2020/02/the-idlib-turkey-shoot-destruction-and.html |website=Oryx}}</ref> T-72A, T-72AV, T-72AVS, T-72S, T-72M, T-72M1, T-72M1M, T-72M1S, T-72B obr. 1989, T-72B3, [[T-72 Adra]] (a domestically improved version of the T-72M1 featuring [[slat armor|slat]] and [[Spaced armour|spaced]] [[Vehicle armour|armor]], with later versions also including the [[Sarab Active Protection System|"Sarab" active protection system]].)<ref>{{cite web |date=28 January 2016 |title=Танки Т-72 с динамической защитой "Контакт-5" впервые заметили в Сирии |url=http://www.rg.ru/2016/01/28/tank-site-anons.html |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160130044759/http://rg.ru/2016/01/28/tank-site-anons.html |archive-date=30 January 2016 |access-date=30 January 2016 |work=Russian Weapons}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|url=https://defenceforumindia.com/threads/syrias-steel-beasts-the-t-72.65976/|title=Syria's Steel Beasts: The T-72}}</ref> and T-72 Shafrah{{sfn|The Military Balance 2023|page=355}}
* {{USSR}} – Passed on to successor states:
{{Ordered list |list_style_type=lower-alpha
| {{flagicon|Russian Federation|1991}} [[Russia]] / {{RUS}} – 10,284
| {{flag|Republic of Belarus|1991}} / {{BLR}} – 1,797
| {{UKR}} – 1,044<ref>{{cite web |url=https://yv-gontar.io.ua/s204760/voorujennye_sily_sssr_na_ukraine_v_1991_godu |title=Вооруженные Силы СССР на Украине в 1991 году (Russian) |work=Unknown |access-date=2018-05-03 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180728131330/https://yv-gontar.io.ua/s204760/voorujennye_sily_sssr_na_ukraine_v_1991_godu |archive-date=28 July 2018 |url-status=live}}</ref><ref name="Soviet Armed Forces">{{cite web |url=http://www.ww2.dk/new/newindex.htm |title=Soviet Armed Forces 1945–1991 |work=Michael Holm |access-date=2018-05-06 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180423043250/http://www.ww2.dk/new/newindex.htm |archive-date=23 April 2018 |url-status=live}}</ref>
| {{TKM}} – 702{{citation needed|date=August 2025}}
| {{KAZ}} – 700{{citation needed|date=August 2025}}
| {{AZE}} – 325<ref name="Soviet Armed Forces" />
| {{ARM}} – 246<ref name="Soviet Armed Forces" />
| {{flagicon|Georgia|1990}} [[Georgia (country)|Georgia]] / {{GEO}} – 219<ref name="Soviet Armed Forces" />
| {{KGZ}} – 150{{citation needed|date=August 2025}}
| {{TJK}} – 44{{citation needed|date=August 2025}}
| {{UZB}} – 70{{citation needed|date=August 2025}}
| {{LTU}} – 398,<ref name="Soviet Armed Forces" /> all units transferred to Russia in 1993{{citation needed|date=November 2020}}
| {{LVA}} – 114,<ref name="Soviet Armed Forces" /> all units transferred to Russia in 1994{{citation needed|date=November 2020}}
| {{MDA}} – 0,<ref name="Soviet Armed Forces" /> no Soviet divisions stationed in Moldova fielded T-72s{{citation needed|date=July 2025}}}}
▲* {{flag|Socialist People's Libyan Arab Jamahiriya|1977}} – 150 in 2003.<ref name="Militarium.net">{{Cite web |title="Militarium.net" |url=http://www.militarium.net/wojska_ladowe/t72.php |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090203004559/http://www.militarium.net/wojska_ladowe/t72.php |archive-date=3 February 2009}}</ref>
* [[Tigray Defense Forces]]<ref>{{Cite web|last=Oryx|title=The Tigray Defence Forces – Documenting Its Heavy Weaponry|url=https://www.oryxspioenkop.com/2021/09/the-tigray-defence-forces-documenting.html|access-date=2021-09-03|website=Oryx Blog}}</ref> − Surrendered to the Ethiopian forces in the aftermath of the [[Tigray War]].<ref>{{cite news |last1=Misikir |first1=Maya |title=Tigray Forces Start Handing Over Heavy Weapons as Part of Peace Deal |url=https://www.voanews.com/a/tigray-forces-start-handing-over-heavy-weapons-as-part-of-peace-deal-/6913979.html |access-date=11 January 2024 |work=Voice of America |date=11 January 2023 |language=en}}</ref>
* {{YUG}} – Bought approximately 18 T-72Ms from the USSR and 72 from Czechoslovakia, later developed the improved [[M-84]].<ref>{{cite magazine|first1=Iztok |last1=Kočevar|title=Micmac à tire-larigot chez Tito: L'arme blindée yougoslave durant la Guerre froide|trans-title=The Yugoslav armored arm during the Cold War|magazine=Batailles et Blindés|language=fr|date=August 2014|publisher=Caraktère|issn=1765-0828|issue=62|pages=66–79}}</ref>
 
==Variants==
{{more citations|section|date=August 2025}}
 
===Soviet Union and Russia===
 
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