The North Atlantic Treaty Organization, or NATO for short, was established in the wake of World War II to provide security to Western Europe from the expansion of the Soviet Union. The organization was founded in April 1949 and has ever since acted as a stabilizing factor throughout the region, relying on the military might of its collective nations. (Here is a comparison of Russia and NATOs military strength.)
One of the founding principles of NATO is collective defense outlined in Article 5 of the treaty. Basically, this states that an armed attack against any one of NATO’s members is considered an attack against all members. Any attack under Article 5 would trigger other nations in NATO to come to the aid of whichever country suffered the attack. Effectively, NATO acts as a political and military alliance.
Many of the nations that fill out NATO are fairly strong militarily like the United States, United Kingdom or France. On the other hand, some member states are weaker, but each plays a role in the alliance.
To determine the countries with the strongest military might in NATO, 24/7 Wall St. reviewed 2024 Military Strength Ranking from Global Firepower, an annually updated defense-related statistics website with information on 145 countries. Global Firepower ranked 145 countries based on their PowerIndex, a composite of over 60 measures in categories such as military might, financials, logistical capability, and geography. The smaller the PowerIndex value the more powerful a nation’s theoretical conventional fighting capability is. We included supplemental information regarding active military personnel, military aircraft, vehicles, and naval power as well.
One country that has no military but is still part of NATO is Iceland. This frozen nation never established a standing army after it received its independence, despite being a founding member of NATO. Instead, Iceland relies on the collective defense guarantee should any need arise. (These are the NATO members with the highest military spending.)
Here is a look at the NATO countries with the strongest militaries:
31. Iceland
Source: patpongs / iStock via Getty Images
- Military strength score: 3.5038
- Active military personnel: 0
- Total military aircraft: 0
- Total military vehicles: 175
- Total navy ships and submarines: 0
30. Montenegro
Source: CatEyePerspective / iStock Editorial via Getty Images
- Military strength score: 2.9109
- Active military personnel: 2,350
- Total military aircraft: 11
- Total military vehicles: 662
- Total navy ships and submarines: 13
29. North Macedonia
Source: Public Domain / Wikimedia Commons
- Military strength score: 2.1717
- Active military personnel: 9,000
- Total military aircraft: 20
- Total military vehicles: 2,156
- Total navy ships and submarines: 0
28. Luxembourg
Source: SvetlanaSF / iStock Editorial via Getty Images
- Military strength score: 2.1458
- Active military personnel: 1,000
- Total military aircraft: 1
- Total military vehicles: 180
- Total navy ships and submarines: 0
27. Latvia
Source: Uldis Zile / iStock Editorial via Getty Images
- Military strength score: 1.9911
- Active military personnel: 17,250
- Total military aircraft: 7
- Total military vehicles: 1,544
- Total navy ships and submarines: 18
26. Slovenia
Source: Public Domain / Wikimedia Commons
- Military strength score: 1.8286
- Active military personnel: 7,300
- Total military aircraft: 38
- Total military vehicles: 1,502
- Total navy ships and submarines: 2
25. Albania
Source: Public Domain / Wikimedia Commons
- Military strength score: 1.8188
- Active military personnel: 6,600
- Total military aircraft: 19
- Total military vehicles: 976
- Total navy ships and submarines: 19
24. Lithuania
Source: Upelon / Wikimedia Commons
- Military strength score: 1.7395
- Active military personnel: 23,000
- Total military aircraft: 9
- Total military vehicles: 1,356
- Total navy ships and submarines: 11
23. Estonia
Source: 2022 Getty Images / Getty Images News via Getty Images
- Military strength score: 1.7237
- Active military personnel: 7,700
- Total military aircraft: 7
- Total military vehicles: 1,409
- Total navy ships and submarines: 10
22. Belgium
Source: 2007 Getty Images / Getty Images Entertainment via Getty Images
- Military strength score: 1.2064
- Active military personnel: 25,000
- Total military aircraft: 110
- Total military vehicles: 4,606
- Total navy ships and submarines: 9
21. Slovakia
Source: Public Domain / Wikimedia Commons
- Military strength score: 1.1891
- Active military personnel: 19,500
- Total military aircraft: 37
- Total military vehicles: 2,048
- Total navy ships and submarines: 0
20. Croatia
Source: Goran Jakus Photography / iStock Editorial via Getty Images
- Military strength score: 1.1333
- Active military personnel: 14,325
- Total military aircraft: 81
- Total military vehicles: 3,076
- Total navy ships and submarines: 32
19. Bulgaria
Source: martin-dm / iStock via Getty Images
- Military strength score: 1.0132
- Active military personnel: 37,000
- Total military aircraft: 65
- Total military vehicles: 7,420
- Total navy ships and submarines: 40
18. Hungary
Source: Public Domain / Wikimedia Commons
- Military strength score: 0.8478
- Active military personnel: 41,600
- Total military aircraft: 62
- Total military vehicles: 7,797
- Total navy ships and submarines: 0
17. Finland
Source: wstryder / Flickr
- Military strength score: 0.7967
- Active military personnel: 24,000
- Total military aircraft: 164
- Total military vehicles: 11,716
- Total navy ships and submarines: 246
16. Denmark
Source: Plougmann / iStock Unreleased via Getty Images
- Military strength score: 0.7743
- Active military personnel: 20,000
- Total military aircraft: 119
- Total military vehicles: 4,056
- Total navy ships and submarines: 91
15. Romania
Source: 2022 Getty Images / Getty Images News via Getty Images
- Military strength score: 0.7712
- Active military personnel: 81,300
- Total military aircraft: 131
- Total military vehicles: 9,990
- Total navy ships and submarines: 20
14. Czechia
Source: Chalabala / iStock via Getty Images
- Military strength score: 0.7706
- Active military personnel: 28,000
- Total military aircraft: 88
- Total military vehicles: 6,757
- Total navy ships and submarines: 0
13. Norway
Source: ajw1970 / Flickr
- Military strength score: 0.5664
- Active military personnel: 23,250
- Total military aircraft: 102
- Total military vehicles: 7,048
- Total navy ships and submarines: 25
12. Netherlands
Source: VanderWolf-Images / iStock Editorial via Getty Images
- Military strength score: 0.5644
- Active military personnel: 41,380
- Total military aircraft: 143
- Total military vehicles: 3,176
- Total navy ships and submarines: 112
11. Portugal
Source: mtcurado / iStock Unreleased via Getty Images
- Military strength score: 0.5609
- Active military personnel: 24,000
- Total military aircraft: 117
- Total military vehicles: 11,173
- Total navy ships and submarines: 113
10. Greece
Source: BalkansCat / iStock Editorial via Getty Images
- Military strength score: 0.4349
- Active military personnel: 142,700
- Total military aircraft: 632
- Total military vehicles: 57,030
- Total navy ships and submarines: 187
9. Canada
Source: 2020 Getty Images / Getty Images News via Getty Images
- Military strength score: 0.3813
- Active military personnel: 68,000
- Total military aircraft: 375
- Total military vehicles: 18,054
- Total navy ships and submarines: 67
8. Poland
Source: usarmyeurope_images / Flickr
- Military strength score: 0.2917
- Active military personnel: 202,100
- Total military aircraft: 468
- Total military vehicles: 13,956
- Total navy ships and submarines: 45
7. Spain
Source: ManuelVelasco / iStock Unreleased via Getty Images
- Military strength score: 0.2882
- Active military personnel: 133,282
- Total military aircraft: 513
- Total military vehicles: 15,046
- Total navy ships and submarines: 168
6. Germany
Source: ewg3D / iStock via Getty Images
- Military strength score: 0.2847
- Active military personnel: 181,600
- Total military aircraft: 618
- Total military vehicles: 79,317
- Total navy ships and submarines: 64
5. France
Source: Gwengoat / iStock Editorial via Getty Images
- Military strength score: 0.1878
- Active military personnel: 200,000
- Total military aircraft: 972
- Total military vehicles: 85,023
- Total navy ships and submarines: 128
4. Italy
Source: Public Domain / Wikimedia Commons
- Military strength score: 0.1863
- Active military personnel: 165,500
- Total military aircraft: 800
- Total military vehicles: 61,892
- Total navy ships and submarines: 309
3. Turkey
Source: Public Domain / Wikimedia Commons
- Military strength score: 0.1697
- Active military personnel: 355,200
- Total military aircraft: 1,069
- Total military vehicles: 55,104
- Total navy ships and submarines: 186
2. United Kingdom
Source: ikholwadia / iStock via Getty Images
- Military strength score: 0.1443
- Active military personnel: 184,860
- Total military aircraft: 664
- Total military vehicles: 27,203
- Total navy ships and submarines: 117
1. United States
Source: DanielBendjy / E+ via Getty Images
- Military strength score: 0.0699
- Active military personnel: 1,328,000
- Total military aircraft: 13,209
- Total military vehicles: 360,069
- Total navy ships and submarines: 472
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