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
- 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
- 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
- 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
- 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
- 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
- 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
- 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
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- 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
- 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
- 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
- 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
- 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
- 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
- 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
- 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
- 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
- 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
- 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
- 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
- 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
- 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
- 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
- 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
- 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
- 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
- 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
- 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
- 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
- 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
- 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
- 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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