Since 1949, the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) has acted as an intergovernmental military alliance of member states. Starting with an alliance of 12 countries, today 32 sovereign countries make up NATO. NATO was formed with the main goal of stopping the Soviet Union from expanding into Europe. (Also see the NATO countries with the most submarines.)
To identify the NATO countries with the most military personnel, 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. Countries were ranked on the total number of military personnel. We included supplemental information regarding active personnel, reserves, total population, fit-for-service, paramilitary forces, and overall military strength score.
Why Is This Important?
NATO members work together to manage crises, promote democracy, and resolve disputes peacefully. The group’s hallmark is its principle of collective defense, which speaks to the cooperation encouraged between countries.
Here is a look at the NATO members with the most military manpower.
32. Iceland
- Total military personnel: 0
- Active personnel: 0
- Reserves: 0
- Paramilitary forces: 0
- Total population: 360,872
- Fit-for-service: 49,800
- Military strength score: 3.5038 – #136 out of 145
31. Luxembourg
- Total military personnel: 1,000
- Active personnel: 1,000
- Reserves: 0
- Paramilitary forces: 0
- Total population: 660,924
- Fit-for-service: 91,208
- Military strength score: 2.1458 – #109 out of 145
30. Montenegro
- Total military personnel: 7,850
- Active personnel: 2,350
- Reserves: 0
- Paramilitary forces: 5,500
- Total population: 602,445
- Fit-for-service: 85,547
- Military strength score: 2.9109 – #129 out of 145
29. Albania
- Total military personnel: 9,100
- Active personnel: 6,600
- Reserves: 2,000
- Paramilitary forces: 500
- Total population: 3,101,621
- Fit-for-service: 1,290,274
- Military strength score: 1.8188 – #90 out of 145
28. Slovakia
- Total military personnel: 19,500
- Active personnel: 19,500
- Reserves: 0
- Paramilitary forces: 0
- Total population: 5,425,319
- Fit-for-service: 2,294,910
- Military strength score: 1.1891 – #69 out of 145
27. Belgium
- Total military personnel: 31,400
- Active personnel: 25,000
- Reserves: 6,400
- Paramilitary forces: 0
- Total population: 11,913,633
- Fit-for-service: 3,860,017
- Military strength score: 1.2064 – #70 out of 145
26. Czechia
- Total military personnel: 32,200
- Active personnel: 28,000
- Reserves: 4,200
- Paramilitary forces: 0
- Total population: 10,706,242
- Fit-for-service: 4,079,078
- Military strength score: 0.7706 – #46 out of 145
25. Croatia
- Total military personnel: 36,425
- Active personnel: 14,325
- Reserves: 20,100
- Paramilitary forces: 2,000
- Total population: 4,169,239
- Fit-for-service: 1,571,803
- Military strength score: 1.1333 – #66 out of 145
24. Slovenia
- Total military personnel: 38,300
- Active personnel: 7,300
- Reserves: 26,000
- Paramilitary forces: 5,000
- Total population: 2,099,790
- Fit-for-service: 827,317
- Military strength score: 1.8286 – #91 out of 145
23. Bulgaria
- Total military personnel: 40,000
- Active personnel: 37,000
- Reserves: 3,000
- Paramilitary forces: 0
- Total population: 6,827,736
- Fit-for-service: 2,628,678
- Military strength score: 1.0132 – #62 out of 145
22. Netherlands
- Total military personnel: 53,145
- Active personnel: 41,380
- Reserves: 6,765
- Paramilitary forces: 5,000
- Total population: 17,463,930
- Fit-for-service: 6,374,334
- Military strength score: 0.5644 – #40 out of 145
21. Norway
- Total military personnel: 63,250
- Active personnel: 23,250
- Reserves: 0
- Paramilitary forces: 40,000
- Total population: 5,597,924
- Fit-for-service: 1,836,119
- Military strength score: 0.5664 – #41 out of 145
20. Latvia
- Total military personnel: 65,750
- Active personnel: 17,250
- Reserves: 36,000
- Paramilitary forces: 12,500
- Total population: 1,821,750
- Fit-for-service: 655,830
- Military strength score: 1.9911 – #99 out of 145
19. North Macedonia
- Total military personnel: 72,500
- Active personnel: 9,000
- Reserves: 60,000
- Paramilitary forces: 3,500
- Total population: 2,133,410
- Fit-for-service: 782,961
- Military strength score: 2.1717 – #110 out of 145
18. Hungary
- Total military personnel: 76,600
- Active personnel: 41,600
- Reserves: 20,000
- Paramilitary forces: 15,000
- Total population: 9,670,009
- Fit-for-service: 3,722,953
- Military strength score: 0.8478 – #54 out of 145
17. Sweden
- Total military personnel: 82,300
- Active personnel: 24,400
- Reserves: 32,900
- Paramilitary forces: 25,000
- Total population: 10,536,338
- Fit-for-service: 3,540,210
- Military strength score: 0.4009 – #29 out of 145
16. Denmark
- Total military personnel: 83,000
- Active personnel: 20,000
- Reserves: 12,000
- Paramilitary forces: 51,000
- Total population: 5,946,984
- Fit-for-service: 2,117,126
- Military strength score: 0.7743 – #48 out of 145
15. Estonia
- Total military personnel: 96,500
- Active personnel: 7,700
- Reserves: 78,800
- Paramilitary forces: 10,000
- Total population: 1,202,762
- Fit-for-service: 459,455
- Military strength score: 1.7237 – #87 out of 145
14. Canada
- Total military personnel: 100,500
- Active personnel: 68,000
- Reserves: 27,000
- Paramilitary forces: 5,500
- Total population: 38,516,736
- Fit-for-service: 13,403,824
- Military strength score: 0.3813 – #27 out of 145
13. Lithuania
- Total military personnel: 141,150
- Active personnel: 23,000
- Reserves: 104,000
- Paramilitary forces: 14,150
- Total population: 2,655,755
- Fit-for-service: 1,346,468
- Military strength score: 1.7395 – #88 out of 145
12. Romania
- Total military personnel: 151,300
- Active personnel: 81,300
- Reserves: 55,000
- Paramilitary forces: 15,000
- Total population: 18,326,327
- Fit-for-service: 7,807,015
- Military strength score: 0.7712 – #47 out of 145
11. Germany
- Total military personnel: 215,600
- Active personnel: 181,600
- Reserves: 34,000
- Paramilitary forces: 0
- Total population: 84,220,184
- Fit-for-service: 30,993,028
- Military strength score: 0.2847 – #19 out of 145
10. Spain
- Total military personnel: 226,902
- Active personnel: 133,282
- Reserves: 15,150
- Paramilitary forces: 78,470
- Total population: 47,222,613
- Fit-for-service: 17,614,035
- Military strength score: 0.2882 – #20 out of 145
9. Portugal
- Total military personnel: 260,400
- Active personnel: 24,000
- Reserves: 211,700
- Paramilitary forces: 24,700
- Total population: 10,467,366
- Fit-for-service: 4,029,936
- Military strength score: 0.5609 – #38 out of 145
8. Italy
- Total military personnel: 289,000
- Active personnel: 165,500
- Reserves: 18,500
- Paramilitary forces: 105,000
- Total population: 61,021,855
- Fit-for-service: 22,211,955
- Military strength score: 0.1863 – #10 out of 145
7. France
- Total military personnel: 376,000
- Active personnel: 200,000
- Reserves: 26,000
- Paramilitary forces: 150,000
- Total population: 68,521,974
- Fit-for-service: 23,845,647
- Military strength score: 0.1878 – #11 out of 145
6. Greece
- Total military personnel: 419,050
- Active personnel: 142,700
- Reserves: 221,350
- Paramilitary forces: 55,000
- Total population: 10,497,595
- Fit-for-service: 3,999,584
- Military strength score: 0.4349 – #32 out of 145
5. Poland
- Total military personnel: 602,100
- Active personnel: 202,100
- Reserves: 350,000
- Paramilitary forces: 50,000
- Total population: 37,991,766
- Fit-for-service: 15,272,690
- Military strength score: 0.2917 – #21 out of 145
4. Turkey
- Total military personnel: 883,900
- Active personnel: 355,200
- Reserves: 378,700
- Paramilitary forces: 150,000
- Total population: 83,593,483
- Fit-for-service: 3,561,604
- Military strength score: 0.1697 – #8 out of 145
3. Finland
- Total military personnel: 947,800
- Active personnel: 24,000
- Reserves: 870,000
- Paramilitary forces: 53,800
- Total population: 5,614,571
- Fit-for-service: 1,908,954
- Military strength score: 0.7967 – #50 out of 145
2. United Kingdom
- Total military personnel: 1,108,860
- Active personnel: 184,860
- Reserves: 924,000
- Paramilitary forces: 0
- Total population: 68,138,484
- Fit-for-service: 25,074,962
- Military strength score: 0.1443 – #6 out of 145
1. United States
- Total military personnel: 2,127,500
- Active personnel: 1,328,000
- Reserves: 799,500
- Paramilitary forces: 0
- Total population: 339,665,118
- Fit-for-service: 123,977,768
- Military strength score: 0.0699 – #1 out of 145
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