Member states of NATO

NATO (North Atlantic Treaty Organization) is an international military alliance that consists of 30 member states from Europe, North America, and Asia. It was established at the signing of the North Atlantic Treaty on 4 April 1949. Article Five of the treaty states that if an armed attack occurs against one of the member states, it shall be considered an attack against all members, and other members shall assist the attacked member, with armed forces if necessary.[1]

Current NATO members highlighted in blue
Timeline of countries becoming NATO members as of 2020. Dark blue marks countries that were already NATO members at the given time. Light blue marks new members.

Of the 30 member countries, 27 are mainly located in Europe, two in North America, and one in Asia. Between 1994 and 1997, wider forums for regional cooperation between NATO and its neighbours were set up, including the Partnership for Peace, the Mediterranean Dialogue initiative and the Euro-Atlantic Partnership Council.

All members have militaries, except for Iceland, which does not have a typical army (but it does have a coast guard and a small unit of civilian specialists for NATO operations). Three of NATO's members are nuclear weapons states: France, the United Kingdom, and the United States. NATO has 12 original founding member states. Three more members joined between 1952 and 1955, and a fourth new member joined in 1982. After the end of the Cold War, NATO added 14 more members from 1999 to 2020.

NATO currently recognizes Bosnia and Herzegovina, Georgia, and Ukraine as aspiring members as part of their Open Doors enlargement policy.[2]

Founding and changes in membership
Main article: Enlargement of NATO

Eighteen countries have joined NATO since its founding in 1949 by 12 countries (Belgium, Canada, Denmark, France, Iceland, Italy, Luxembourg, the Netherlands, Norway, Portugal, the United Kingdom, and the United States). No countries have left. The largest membership increase occurred in 2004 when seven countries joined.

Twentieth-century additions included Greece and Turkey in 1952, West Germany in 1955, and Spain in 1982. Three former Warsaw Pact countries, Hungary, the Czech Republic, and Poland joined in 1999 (invited 1997). The 1990 reunification of Germany brought in the territory of the former country of East Germany. In May 2000, ten countries of the Baltics and Eastern Europe formed the Vilnius group to cooperate and lobby for NATO membership.

Twenty-first century additions began in 2004 when seven countries within the Vilnius group (Bulgaria, Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania, Romania, Slovakia, Slovenia) joined. The remaining three joined subsequently, Albania and Croatia in 2009 and North Macedonia in 2020. Montenegro joined in 2017.

Member countries
Flag Map Member state Capital Accession[3] Population[lower-alpha 1] Area[5]
Albania Tirana 1 April 2009 3,088,385 28,748 km2 (11,100 sq mi)
Belgium Brussels 24 August 1949[lower-alpha 2] 11,778,842 30,528 km2 (11,787 sq mi)
Bulgaria Sofia 29 March 2004 6,919,180 110,879 km2 (42,811 sq mi)
Canada Ottawa 24 August 1949[lower-alpha 2] 37,943,231 9,984,670 km2 (3,855,103 sq mi)
Croatia Zagreb 1 April 2009 4,208,973 56,594 km2 (21,851 sq mi)
Czech Republic Prague 12 March 1999 10,702,596 78,867 km2 (30,451 sq mi)
Denmark Copenhagen 24 August 1949[lower-alpha 2] 5,894,687 42,943 km2 (16,580 sq mi)[6]
2,210,573 km2 (853,507 sq mi)[lower-alpha 3]
Estonia Tallinn 29 March 2004 1,220,042 45,228 km2 (17,463 sq mi)
France Paris 24 August 1949[lower-alpha 2] 68,084,217 643,427 km2 (248,429 sq mi)
Germany[lower-alpha 4] Berlin 6 May 1955
(West Germany)
3 October 1990
(Germany)		 79,903,481 357,022 km2 (137,847 sq mi)
Greece Athens 18 February 1952 10,569,703 131,957 km2 (50,949 sq mi)
Hungary Budapest 12 March 1999 9,728,337 93,028 km2 (35,918 sq mi)
Iceland Reykjavík 24 August 1949[lower-alpha 2] 354,234 103,000 km2 (39,769 sq mi)
Italy Rome 24 August 1949[lower-alpha 2] 62,390,364 301,340 km2 (116,348 sq mi)
Latvia Riga 29 March 2004 1,862,687 64,589 km2 (24,938 sq mi)
Lithuania Vilnius 29 March 2004 2,711,566 65,300 km2 (25,212 sq mi)
Luxembourg Luxembourg 24 August 1949[lower-alpha 2] 639,589 2,586 km2 (998 sq mi)
Montenegro Podgorica 5 June 2017 607,414 13,812 km2 (5,333 sq mi)
Netherlands Amsterdam 24 August 1949[lower-alpha 2] 17,337,403 41,543 km2 (16,040 sq mi)
North Macedonia Skopje 27 March 2020 2,128,262[lower-alpha 5] 25,713 km2 (9,928 sq mi)
Norway Oslo 24 August 1949[lower-alpha 2] 5,509,591 323,802 km2 (125,021 sq mi)
Poland Warsaw 12 March 1999 38,185,913 312,685 km2 (120,728 sq mi)
Portugal Lisbon 24 August 1949[lower-alpha 2] 10,263,850 92,090 km2 (35,556 sq mi)
Romania Bucharest 29 March 2004 21,230,362 238,391 km2 (92,043 sq mi)
Slovakia Bratislava 29 March 2004 5,436,066 49,035 km2 (18,933 sq mi)
Slovenia Ljubljana 29 March 2004 2,102,106 20,273 km2 (7,827 sq mi)
Spain Madrid 30 May 1982 47,260,584 505,370 km2 (195,124 sq mi)
Turkey Ankara 18 February 1952 82,482,383 783,562 km2 (302,535 sq mi)
United Kingdom London 24 August 1949[lower-alpha 2] 67,081,000 243,610 km2 (94,058 sq mi)
United States Washington, D.C. 24 August 1949[lower-alpha 2] 334,998,398 9,833,520 km2 (3,796,743 sq mi)

Special arrangements

The three Scandinavian members Denmark, Iceland and Norway which joined NATO as founding members chose to limit their participation in three areas: there would be no permanent peacetime bases, no nuclear warheads and no Allied military activity (unless invited) permitted on their territory. However, Denmark allowed the U.S. Air Force to maintain an existing base, Thule Air Base, in Greenland.[8]

From the mid-1960s to the mid-1990s, France pursued a military strategy of independence from NATO under a policy dubbed "Gaullo-Mitterrandism".[9] Nicolas Sarkozy negotiated the return of France to the integrated military command and the Defence Planning Committee in 2009, the latter being disbanded the following year. France remains the only NATO member outside the Nuclear Planning Group and unlike the United States and the United Kingdom, will not commit its nuclear-armed submarines to the alliance.[10][11]

Military personnel
Comparison of military personnel per 1,000 capita.
10
20
30
40
Countries (see legend)
  •   Greece
  •   Estonia
  •   Portugal
  •   Montenegro
  •   Lithuania
  •   Norway
  •   Turkey
  •   Latvia
  •   Denmark
  •   Croatia
  •   North Macedonia
  •   Romania
  •   Hungary
  •   United States
  •   Bulgaria
  •   Italy
  •   France
  •   Poland
  •   Spain
  •   Slovenia
  •   United Kingdom
  •   Slovakia
  •   Canada
  •   Germany
  •   Netherlands
  •   Albania
  •   Belgium
  •   Czech Republic
  •   Luxembourg
  •   Iceland

The following list is constructed from The Military Balance, published annually by the International Institute for Strategic Studies.

Country Active military Reserve military Paramilitary Total Per 1,000 capita
(total)		 Per 1,000 capita
(active)
Albania[12] 7,500 0 500 8,000 2.6 2.4
Belgium[12] 24,450 5,900 0 30,350 2.6 2.1
Bulgaria[12] 36,950 3,000 0 39,950 5.8 5.3
Canada[12] 66,500 34,400 4,500 105,400 2.8 1.8
Croatia[12] 16,700 21,000 3,000 40,700 9.7 4
Czech Republic[12] 26,600 0 0 26,600 2.5 2.5
Denmark[12] 15,400 44,200 0 59,600 10.1 2.6
Estonia[12] 7,200 17,500 15,800 40,500 33.2 5.9
France[12] 203,250 41,050 100,500 344,800 5.1 3
Germany[12] 183,400 30,050 0 213,450 2.7 2.3
Greece[12] 143,300 221,350 4,000 368,650 34.8 13.5
Hungary[12] 34,200 20,000 12,000 66,200 6.8 3.5
Iceland[12] 0 250 250 500 1.4 0
Italy[12][lower-alpha 6] 161,550 17,900 176,350 355,800 5.7 2.6
Latvia[12] 8,750 11,200 0 19,950 10.7 4.7
Lithuania[12] 23,000 7,100 14,150 44,250 16.3 8.5
Luxembourg[12] 410 0 600 1,010 1.6 0.6
Montenegro[12] 2,350 2,800 10,100 15,250 25.1 3.9
Netherlands 41,543 6,643 6,500 54,686 3.2 2.4
North Macedonia[12] 8,000 4,850 7,600 20,450 9.6 3.8
Norway[12] 25,400 40,000 0 65,400 11.9 4.6
Poland[12] 114,050 0 75,400 189,450 5 3
Portugal[12] 27,250 211,700 24,700 263,650 25.7 2.7
Romania[12] 71,500 55,000 57,000 183,500 8.6 3.4
Slovakia[12] 17,950 0 0 17,950 3.3 3.3
Slovenia[12] 6,950 1,200 0 8,150 3.9 3.3
Spain[12] 122,850 14,900 75,800 213,550 4.5 2.6
Turkey[12] 355,200 378,700 156,800 890,700 10.8 4.3
United Kingdom[12] 194,200 37,450 0 231,650 3.5 2.9
United States[12] 1,395,350 843,450 0 2,238,800 6.7 4.2
NATO 3,292,810 2,108,950 745,550 6,147,310 6.5 3.5

Military expenditures
Military spending of USA compared to total of all 29 other NATO member countries (US$ millions).[lower-alpha 7]
  •   United States: 730,149 (70.5%)
  •   All other NATO countries total: 306,037 (29.5%)
Total military spending of NATO member countries except the United States (US$ millions).[lower-alpha 7][lower-alpha 8]
  •   Greece: 4,844 (1.6%)
  •   Estonia: 669 (0.2%)
  •   Portugal: 3,358 (1.1%)
  •   Montenegro: 92 (0.0%)
  •   Lithuania: 1,084 (0.4%)
  •   Norway: 7,179 (2.3%)
  •   Turkey: 13,919 (4.5%)
  •   Latvia: 724 (0.2%)
  •   Denmark: 4,760 (1.6%)
  •   Croatia: 1,072 (0.4%)
  •   North Macedonia: 108 (0.0%)
  •   Romania: 5,043 (1.6%)
  •   Hungary: 2,080 (0.7%)
  •   United States omitted - see above: 0 (0.0%)
  •   Bulgaria: 1,079 (0.4%)
  •   Italy: 24,482 (8.0%)
  •   France: 50,659 (16.6%)
  •   Poland: 11,971 (3.9%)
  •   Spain: 13,156 (4.3%)
  •   Slovenia: 581 (0.2%)
  •   United Kingdom: 60,376 (19.7%)
  •   Slovakia: 1,905 (0.6%)
  •   Canada: 21,885 (7.2%)
  •   Germany: 54,113 (17.7%)
  •   Netherlands: 12,419 (4.1%)
  •   All other NATO countries total: 8,479 (2.8%)

The defence spending of the United States is more than double the defence spending of all other NATO members combined.[13] Criticism of the fact that many member states were not contributing their fair share in accordance with the international agreement by then US president Donald Trump caused various reactions from American and European political figures, ranging from ridicule to panic.[14][15][16]

Total Military budget of European NATO countries (excluding Turkey) as a percentage of US military budget. Chinese and Russian military spending included for comparison[17]

Pew Research Center's 2016 survey among its member states showed that while most countries viewed NATO positively, most NATO members preferred keeping their military spending the same. The response to whether their country should militarily aid another NATO country if it were to get into a serious military conflict with Russia was also mixed. Roughly half or fewer in six of the eight countries surveyed say their country should use military force if Russia attacks a neighboring country that is a NATO ally. And at least half in three of the eight NATO countries say that their government should not use military force in such circumstances. The strongest opposition to responding with armed force is in Germany (58%), followed by France (53%) and Italy (51%). More than half of Americans (56%) and Canadians (53%) are willing to respond to Russian military aggression against a fellow NATO country. A plurality of the British (49%) and Poles (48%) would also live up to their Article 5 commitment. And the Spanish are divided on the issue: 48% support it, 47% oppose.[18][19]

Member state Population[lower-alpha 1] GDP (nominal)[lower-alpha 9] Defence expenditure (US$)[lower-alpha 10] Personnel[lower-alpha 10]
In millions  % real GDP Per capita Per 1000 Personnel ($millions)
 Albania3,074,57916.751981.2658296,800
 Belgium11,720,716529.554,9210.9339218926,000
 Bulgaria6,966,89970.131,0791.611324325,000
 Canada38,436,4472,016.0021,8851.2756930472,000
 Croatia4,227,74663.171,0721.752387115,000
 Czech Republic10,702,498261.732,9691.1923611426,000
 Denmark5,869,410360.514,7601.3576028017,000
 Estonia1,228,62432.746692.134291066,300
 France67,413,0002,938.0050,6591.84709244208,000
 Germany83,190,5564,319.0054,1131.36591294184,000
 Greece10,718,565211.644,8442.2443146105,000
 Hungary9,771,827180.502,0801.2117810420,000
 Iceland350,73424.24N/AN/AN/AN/AN/A
 Italy60,317,1162,106.0024,4821.22385137179,000
 Latvia1,881,23236.777242.013251136,400
 Lithuania2,731,46456.231,0842.133365321,000
 Luxembourg628,38172.993910.55552434900
 Montenegro609,8595.69921.65126581,600
 Netherlands17,674,0001,012.9912,4191.3565530341,000
 North Macedonia2,125,97113.331081.0951157,200
 Norway5,467,439422.067,1791.701,30835920,000
 Poland38,282,325606.7311,9712.0129697123,000
 Portugal10,344,802251.703,3581.4129911230,000
 Romania21,302,893261.875,0432.042257369,000
 Slovakia5,440,602111.871,9051.7432214713,000
 Slovenia2,102,67856.855811.04253856,800
 Spain47,450,7951,450.0013,1560.92264109121,000
 Turkey83,614,362794.5313,9191.8922532435,000
 United Kingdom67,081,0003,108.0060,3762.13979419144,000
 United States332,639,10222,320.00730,1493.422,0725461,338,000
 NATO953,365,62243,711.571,036,1862.511,0453173,268,000

Notes
  1. Population data is based on a July 2021 estimate by the Central Intelligence Agency in The World Factbook.[4]
  2. Founding member of NATO.
  3. including Faroe Islands and Greenland.
  4. Germany initially joined NATO as West Germany. The former country of East Germany became part of NATO after German reunification.
  5. North Macedonia's population estimate was missing from Central Intelligence Agency's Country Comparison list in The World Factbook but available in the country's entry.[7]
  6. The paramilitary forces of Italy consist of the Carabinieri and the Guardia di Finanza.
  7. Country order is the same as the preceding chart (military personnel per 1,000 capita) to maintain the same country colours between charts.
  8. The pie chart format does not allow as many slices as there are countries in NATO, so the countries with the fewest military personnel per capita (Albania, Belgium, Czech Republic, Iceland and Luxembourg) have been combined into a single slice.
  9. Gross domestic product (nominal) data (in billions of US dollars) is based on an October 2019 issue of the World Economic Outlook, which is published by the International Monetary Fund.[20]
  10. Defence expenditure and personnel data are based on a June 2019 press release from NATO.[21]

    References

    Citations

    1. "The North Atlantic Treaty". North Atlantic Treaty Organization. 4 April 1949. Retrieved 16 June 2008.
    2. "What is NATO?". NATO - Homepage. n.d. Archived from the original on 28 February 2022. Retrieved 3 March 2022.
    3. "Member countries". NATO. 24 March 2020. Archived from the original on 29 March 2020. Retrieved 29 March 2020.
    4. "Country Comparisons — Population". Central Intelligence Agency. Retrieved 1 January 2022.
    5. "Field Listing :: Area". Central Intelligence Agency. Archived from the original on 31 January 2014. Retrieved 3 March 2011.
    6. "AREA". Statistics Denmark. Archived from the original on 14 April 2019. Retrieved 29 January 2022.
    7. "North Macedonia — People and Society". Central Intelligence Agency. Retrieved 1 January 2022.
    8. "Denmark and NATO - 1949".
    9. "Why the concept of Gaullo-Mitterrandism is still relevant". IRIS. 29 April 2019. Archived from the original on 7 March 2022. Retrieved 7 March 2022.
    10. Cody, Edward (12 March 2009). "After 43 Years, France to Rejoin NATO as Full Member". The Washington Post. Archived from the original on 26 October 2017. Retrieved 19 December 2011.
    11. Stratton, Allegra (17 June 2008). "Sarkozy military plan unveiled". The Guardian. UK. Archived from the original on 7 March 2016. Retrieved 17 December 2016.
    12. The International Institute for Strategic Studies (February 2022). The Military Balance 2022. London: Routledge. ISBN 978-1-032-27900-8. ISSN 0459-7222.
    13. Where Does The Relationship Between NATO And The U.S. Go From Here?, Huffington Post
    14. NATO allies boost defense spending in the wake of Trump criticism, The Washington Post
    15. Former US ambassador to Nato in withering criticism of Donald Trump, The Independent
    16. Shaken by Trump's Criticism of NATO, Europe Mulls Building Own Military Force, Voice Of America
    17. "SIPRI Military Expenditure Database". SIPRI The independent resource on global security. STOCKHOLM INTERNATIONAL PEACE RESEARCH INSTITUTE.
    18. Support for NATO is widespread among member nations, Pew Research
    19. U.S. would defend NATO despite Trump's criticism, Europeans believe: study, Reuters
    20. "GDP, current prices". International Monetary Fund. Retrieved 29 March 2020.
    21. "Defence Expenditure of NATO Countries (2012-2019)" (PDF). NATO. 25 June 2019. Retrieved 30 March 2020.

    Bibliography

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