The US Has the Strongest Military in NATO, #2 Might Surprise You

The North Atlantic Treaty Organization, or NATO, was established in 1949 following the close of World War II. Its purpose is to provide security to European and North American countries through a collective nation organization working together to maintain democracy and share the load when faced with battle. One of NATO’s founding principles is collective defense, outlined in Article 5 of the treaty. This states that an armed attack against any of its members is considered an attack against all members. Any attack under Article 5 would trigger other nations in NATO to aid 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, such as the United States, the United Kingdom, and France. On the other hand, some member states are weaker, but each plays a role in the alliance. One country that has no military but is still part of NATO is Iceland. This nation has no established army despite being a founding member of NATO. Instead, Iceland relies on the collective defense guarantee should any need arise. It also allows other member countries to establish bases on its strategic location in the Atlantic Ocean.

To determine the countries with the strongest military might be in NATO, 24/7 Wall St. reviewed the 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.

Why Is This Important?

NATO members work together to tackle crisis management, promote democracy, and create peaceful resolutions to disputes. Its principle of collective defense is the group’s hallmark and speaks to the cooperation encouraged between countries.

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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