Special Report
These Are the NATO Countries with the Most Military Ships and Submarines
Published:
Sweden is the newest country to join the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO). With this addition, NATO greatly adds to its military might, especially in terms of its navy. While Sweden might not have the biggest or the most advanced military, it has a prominent coastline in Northern Europe that is patrolled by one of the largest navies on the planet.
Although Sweden does not have any aircraft carriers, it has one of the largest fleets of patrol vessels in the world. Also unlike many countries, Sweden owns a handful of submarines and corvette-class warships.
There are a number of formidable navies within NATO, not just Sweden. The United States is by far considered the strongest naval power in the world, boasting 11 aircraft carriers. Italy ranks high as well, with over 300 warships and submarines in its navy, along with two aircraft carriers. (These are all seven world powers with aircraft carriers, ranked.)
To identify the NATO countries with the most military ships and submarines, 24/7 Wall St. reviewed 2024 Military Strength Ranking from Global Firepower, an annually updated defense-related statistics website with information on 145 countries. Countries were ranked on the total number of military ships and submarines in their fleet. We included supplemental information regarding submarines, aircraft carriers, destroyers, corvettes, patrol vessels, and frigates, as well as each country’s overall military strength score.
There is one country in NATO that has no military and thus no navy, and that country is Iceland. This frozen nation never established a naval force, despite being a founding member of NATO. Instead, Iceland relies on the collective defense guarantee should any need arise. A few other countries in NATO are completely landlocked and have no need for a navy as well. (These are the NATO countries with the highest military spending.)
Here is a look at the NATO countries with the most military ships and submarines:
32. Iceland
- Total ships and submarines: 0
- Total submarines: 0
- Aircraft carriers: 0
- Corvettes: 0
- Frigates: 0
- Destroyers: 0
- Patrol vessels:: 0
- Military strength score: 3.5038 – #136 out of 145
31. North Macedonia
- Total ships and submarines: 0
- Total submarines: 0
- Aircraft carriers: 0
- Corvettes: 0
- Frigates: 0
- Destroyers: 0
- Patrol vessels:: 0
- Military strength score: 2.1717 – #110 out of 145
30. Luxembourg
- Total ships and submarines: 0
- Total submarines: 0
- Aircraft carriers: 0
- Corvettes: 0
- Frigates: 0
- Destroyers: 0
- Patrol vessels:: 0
- Military strength score: 2.1458 – #109 out of 145
29. Slovakia
- Total ships and submarines: 0
- Total submarines: 0
- Aircraft carriers: 0
- Corvettes: 0
- Frigates: 0
- Destroyers: 0
- Patrol vessels:: 0
- Military strength score: 1.1891 – #69 out of 145
28. Hungary
- Total ships and submarines: 0
- Total submarines: 0
- Aircraft carriers: 0
- Corvettes: 0
- Frigates: 0
- Destroyers: 0
- Patrol vessels:: 0
- Military strength score: 0.8478 – #54 out of 145
27. Czechia
- Total ships and submarines: 0
- Total submarines: 0
- Aircraft carriers: 0
- Corvettes: 0
- Frigates: 0
- Destroyers: 0
- Patrol vessels:: 0
- Military strength score: 0.7706 – #46 out of 145
26. Slovenia
- Total ships and submarines: 2
- Total submarines: 0
- Aircraft carriers: 0
- Corvettes: 0
- Frigates: 0
- Destroyers: 0
- Patrol vessels:: 2
- Military strength score: 1.8286 – #91 out of 145
25. Belgium
- Total ships and submarines: 9
- Total submarines: 0
- Aircraft carriers: 0
- Corvettes: 0
- Frigates: 2
- Destroyers: 0
- Patrol vessels:: 2
- Military strength score: 1.2064 – #70 out of 145
24. Estonia
- Total ships and submarines: 10
- Total submarines: 0
- Aircraft carriers: 0
- Corvettes: 0
- Frigates: 0
- Destroyers: 0
- Patrol vessels:: 6
- Military strength score: 1.7237 – #87 out of 145
23. Lithuania
- Total ships and submarines: 11
- Total submarines: 0
- Aircraft carriers: 0
- Corvettes: 0
- Frigates: 0
- Destroyers: 0
- Patrol vessels:: 4
- Military strength score: 1.7395 – #88 out of 145
22. Montenegro
- Total ships and submarines: 13
- Total submarines: 0
- Aircraft carriers: 0
- Corvettes: 0
- Frigates: 0
- Destroyers: 0
- Patrol vessels:: 5
- Military strength score: 2.9109 – #129 out of 145
21. Latvia
- Total ships and submarines: 18
- Total submarines: 0
- Aircraft carriers: 0
- Corvettes: 0
- Frigates: 0
- Destroyers: 0
- Patrol vessels:: 11
- Military strength score: 1.9911 – #99 out of 145
20. Albania
- Total ships and submarines: 19
- Total submarines: 0
- Aircraft carriers: 0
- Corvettes: 0
- Frigates: 0
- Destroyers: 0
- Patrol vessels:: 19
- Military strength score: 1.8188 – #90 out of 145
19. Romania
- Total ships and submarines: 20
- Total submarines: 0
- Aircraft carriers: 0
- Corvettes: 7
- Frigates: 3
- Destroyers: 0
- Patrol vessels:: 3
- Military strength score: 0.7712 – #47 out of 145
18. Norway
- Total ships and submarines: 25
- Total submarines: 6
- Aircraft carriers: 0
- Corvettes: 6
- Frigates: 4
- Destroyers: 0
- Patrol vessels:: 17
- Military strength score: 0.5664 – #41 out of 145
17. Croatia
- Total ships and submarines: 32
- Total submarines: 0
- Aircraft carriers: 0
- Corvettes: 0
- Frigates: 0
- Destroyers: 0
- Patrol vessels:: 10
- Military strength score: 1.1333 – #66 out of 145
16. Bulgaria
- Total ships and submarines: 40
- Total submarines: 0
- Aircraft carriers: 0
- Corvettes: 3
- Frigates: 4
- Destroyers: 0
- Patrol vessels:: 2
- Military strength score: 1.0132 – #62 out of 145
15. Poland
- Total ships and submarines: 45
- Total submarines: 1
- Aircraft carriers: 0
- Corvettes: 2
- Frigates: 2
- Destroyers: 0
- Patrol vessels:: 3
- Military strength score: 0.2917 – #21 out of 145
14. Germany
- Total ships and submarines: 64
- Total submarines: 6
- Aircraft carriers: 0
- Corvettes: 5
- Frigates: 12
- Destroyers: 0
- Patrol vessels:: 0
- Military strength score: 0.2847 – #19 out of 145
13. Canada
- Total ships and submarines: 67
- Total submarines: 4
- Aircraft carriers: 0
- Corvettes: 0
- Frigates: 12
- Destroyers: 0
- Patrol vessels:: 14
- Military strength score: 0.3813 – #27 out of 145
12. Denmark
- Total ships and submarines: 91
- Total submarines: 0
- Aircraft carriers: 0
- Corvettes: 0
- Frigates: 9
- Destroyers: 0
- Patrol vessels:: 45
- Military strength score: 0.7743 – #48 out of 145
11. Netherlands
- Total ships and submarines: 112
- Total submarines: 3
- Aircraft carriers: 0
- Corvettes: 0
- Frigates: 6
- Destroyers: 0
- Patrol vessels:: 4
- Military strength score: 0.5644 – #40 out of 145
10. Portugal
- Total ships and submarines: 113
- Total submarines: 2
- Aircraft carriers: 0
- Corvettes: 2
- Frigates: 5
- Destroyers: 0
- Patrol vessels:: 20
- Military strength score: 0.5609 – #38 out of 145
9. United Kingdom
- Total ships and submarines: 117
- Total submarines: 10
- Aircraft carriers: 2
- Corvettes: 0
- Frigates: 11
- Destroyers: 6
- Patrol vessels:: 26
- Military strength score: 0.1443 – #6 out of 145
8. France
- Total ships and submarines: 128
- Total submarines: 9
- Aircraft carriers: 1
- Corvettes: 0
- Frigates: 11
- Destroyers: 10
- Patrol vessels:: 15
- Military strength score: 0.1878 – #11 out of 145
7. Spain
- Total ships and submarines: 168
- Total submarines: 3
- Aircraft carriers: 0
- Corvettes: 0
- Frigates: 11
- Destroyers: 0
- Patrol vessels:: 23
- Military strength score: 0.2882 – #20 out of 145
6. Turkey
- Total ships and submarines: 186
- Total submarines: 12
- Aircraft carriers: 0
- Corvettes: 9
- Frigates: 16
- Destroyers: 0
- Patrol vessels:: 34
- Military strength score: 0.1697 – #8 out of 145
5. Greece
- Total ships and submarines: 187
- Total submarines: 11
- Aircraft carriers: 0
- Corvettes: 0
- Frigates: 13
- Destroyers: 0
- Patrol vessels:: 35
- Military strength score: 0.4349 – #32 out of 145
4. Finland
- Total ships and submarines: 246
- Total submarines: 0
- Aircraft carriers: 0
- Corvettes: 0
- Frigates: 0
- Destroyers: 0
- Patrol vessels:: 8
- Military strength score: 0.7967 – #50 out of 145
3. Italy
- Total ships and submarines: 309
- Total submarines: 8
- Aircraft carriers: 2
- Corvettes: 0
- Frigates: 13
- Destroyers: 4
- Patrol vessels:: 18
- Military strength score: 0.1863 – #10 out of 145
2. Sweden
- Total ships and submarines: 353
- Total submarines: 5
- Aircraft carriers: 0
- Corvettes: 7
- Frigates: 0
- Destroyers: 0
- Patrol vessels:: 298
- Military strength score: 0.4009 – #29 out of 145
1. United States
- Total ships and submarines: 472
- Total submarines: 64
- Aircraft carriers: 11
- Corvettes: 23
- Frigates: 0
- Destroyers: 75
- Patrol vessels:: 5
- Military strength score: 0.0699 – #1 out of 145
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