How Many NATO Countries?

NATO has 31 countries. When it was founded in 1949, there were 12 founding countries of the Alliance: Belgium, Canada, Denmark, France, Iceland, Italy, Luxembourg, the Netherlands, Norway, Portugal, the United Kingdom and the United States. Countries have since joined as members: Greece and Türkiye in 1952, Germany in 1955, Spain in 1982, Czechia, Hungary and Poland in 1999, Bulgaria, Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania, Romania, Slovakia and Slovenia in 2004, Albania and Croatia in 2009, Montenegro in 2017, North Macedonia in 2020 and Finland in 2023. Sweden also applied for NATO membership in 2023 and Ukraine is awaiting acceptance to apply.

How Many NATO Members?

There are 31 Independent NATO Members. NATO Members are Countries. See: How Many NATO Countries?

The Military Committee. The Military Committee has authority over the NATO Command Structure and is composed of the Chiefs of Defence of all thirty-one member countries.

NATO is an intergovernmental military alliance between 31 member states and therefore has no owner.

NATO was formed after World World II and has had a difficult and changing relationship with Russia. There have been periods where Russia has cooperated with NATO including implementing the NATO Stock Number system, but as of 2022, Russia is considered by NATO as its' most prominent security threat.

What NATO Stands For?

NATO stands for the North Atlantic Treaty Organization.

When NATO Was Formed?

NATO was formed on August 24th, 1949 after the treaty was signed on April 4th, 1949.

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NATO Explained

North Atlantic Treaty Organization

POLITICAL: NATO promotes democratic values and enables members to consult and cooperate on defence and security-related issues to solve problems, build trust and, in the long run, prevent conflict.
MILITARY: NATO is committed to the peaceful resolution of disputes. If diplomatic efforts fail, it has the military power to undertake crisis-management operations. These are carried out under the collective defence clause of NATO's founding treaty - Article 5 of the Washington Treaty or under a United Nations mandate, alone or in cooperation with other countries and international organisations.

NATO - North Atlantic Treaty Organization

NATO Stock Number Search

Search for NATO Stock Numbers in NMCRL

NSN Lookup is the Preferred Marketplace and Database Search for NATO Users

As the preferred marketplace for NATO Buyers and Sellers, NSN Lookup provides availability from more than 28,000 sellers covering over 3 million individual NATO Stock Numbers. Every month more than 350,000 Buyers use the marketplace to request quotes for or purchase more than 31,000 stock items per hour on average. The seller community spans more than 40 countries and the buyers are truly global.

With many direct agreements with organizations and agencies within NATO Countries, NSN Lookup provides rapid access to Government Users with central billing for their usage beyond the complimentary access provided. The buyer community of NSN Lookup is unique in that more than 54% of active buyers are Government Employees performing Direct Market Research and Direct Government Purchases. This strong global government purchasing community has been built through the agreements with participating countries enabling rapid entry for government buyers without the hassle of individual subscriptions.

The sellers on NSN Lookup enjoy the un-paralleled access to Direct Government Purchasing across the Global Landscape of NATO Countries and beyond. Listing their products and inventory in the NSN Lookup Marketplace allows Government Purchasing Officers to research, find and purchase products in the most economical way. Sellers can begin listing their products from as little as $1 a day while Government Buyers can view the products through their centrally managed complimentary access.

54.82%

Govt Users

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North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO or OTAN). What Is NATO And Why Was It Formed

The North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO or OTAN), also called the North Atlantic Alliance, is an intergovernmental military alliance based on the North Atlantic Treaty which was signed on 4 April 1949. The OTAN Definition is the French acronym for NATO, Organisation du Traité de l'Atlantique Nord. The organization constitutes a system of collective defense where its members agree to mutual defense in response to an attack by any external party. NATO's headquarters are in Brussels, Belgium, one of the 28 member states across North America and Europe, the newest of which, Albania and Croatia, joined in April 2009. An additional 22 countries participate in NATO's Partnership for Peace program, with 15 other countries involved in institutionalized dialogue programmes.

It is often said that NATO was founded in response to the threat posed by the Soviet Union (now Russia). This is only partially true. The Alliance’s creation was part of a broader effort to serve three purposes: deterring Soviet growth, preventing the revival of nationalist militarism in Europe through a strong USA presence on the continent and encouraging European political integration.

Each member state of NATO codifies the supplies that it uses with Stock Numbers often referred to as National Stock Numbers or NATO Stock Numbers (NSN). The USA's Defense Logistics Agency (DLA) and NATO maintain common databases of these NSNs, their characteristics, approved sources of supply and procurement requirements to ensure common compatiblity across the entire organization.

The committee in charge of the NATO Codification System is AC/135. The DLA provides a restricted search system online called FEDLOG and the NATO Support Agency provides a Public NSN Search (military nsn database) system for AC135 by Paid Subscription for the NMCRL.

Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ)

How Many NATO Countries?: NATO has 31 countries. When it was founded in 1949, there were 12 founding countries of the Alliance: Belgium, Canada, Denmark, France, Iceland, Italy, Luxembourg, the Netherlands, Norway, Portugal, the United Kingdom and the United States. Countries have since joined as members: Greece and Türkiye in 1952, Germany in 1955, Spain in 1982, Czechia, Hungary and Poland in 1999, Bulgaria, Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania, Romania, Slovakia and Slovenia in 2004, Albania and Croatia in 2009, Montenegro in 2017, North Macedonia in 2020 and Finland in 2023. Sweden also applied for NATO membership in 2023 and Ukraine is awaiting acceptance to apply.
How Many NATO Members?: There are 31 Independent NATO Members. NATO Members are Countries. See: How Many NATO Countries?
Who Controls NATO?: The Military Committee. The Military Committee has authority over the NATO Command Structure and is composed of the Chiefs of Defence of all thirty-one member countries.
Who Owns NATO?: NATO is an intergovernmental military alliance between 31 member states and therefore has no owner.
NATO with Russia?: NATO was formed after World World II and has had a difficult and changing relationship with Russia. There have been periods where Russia has cooperated with NATO including implementing the NATO Stock Number system, but as of 2022, Russia is considered by NATO as its' most prominent security threat.
What NATO Stands For?: NATO stands for the North Atlantic Treaty Organization.
When NATO Was Formed?: NATO was formed on August 24th, 1949 after the treaty was signed on April 4th, 1949.

NATO Members (OTAN Members) and NATO Military Statistics

Statistics for 2014 through 2021 taken from NATO Press Releases
"Financial and Economic Annual Spending by Country on NATO Defence"

Million $ (US Dollars)
(Current prices and exchange rates)

Country: 2014; 2015; 2016; 2017; 2018; 2019; 2020; 2021; 2022
Albania: 179; 133; 131; 145; 176; 201; 188; 239; 293
Belgium: 5,201; 4,205; 4,259; 4,441; 4,845; 4,762; 5,427; 6,503; 7,361
Bulgaria: 748; 633; 671; 725; 963; 2,160; 1,076; 1,254; 1,430
Canada: 18,173; 18,690; 17,709; 23,700; 22,399; 22,573; 23,595; 26,523; 28,106
Croatia: 1,064; 884; 837; 925; 967; 1,002; 1,032; 1,846; 1,403
Czech Republic: 1,976; 1,922; 1,866; 2,259; 2,750; 2,911; 3,202; 4,013; 4,040
Denmark: 4,057; 3,364; 3,594; 3,781; 4,559; 4,557; 4,979; 5,522; 5,716
Estonia: 514; 464; 498; 542; 616; 638; 720; 787; 869
Finland: 0; 0; 0; 0; 0; 0; 0; 0; 0
France: 52,023; 43,497; 44,210; 46,134; 50,507; 49,711; 52,728; 58,729; 55,939
Germany: 46,176; 39,834; 41,607; 45,471; 49,773; 52,550; 58,902; 64,785; 62,725
Greece: 5,234; 4,520; 4,637; 4,753; 5,389; 4,844; 5,020; 8,015; 8,393
Hungary: 1,210; 1,133; 1,289; 1,709; 1,616; 2,051; 2,771; 2,908; 3,045
Italy: 24,488; 19,577; 22,382; 23,903; 25,642; 23,559; 26,072; 29,763; 32,423
Latvia: 294; 282; 403; 486; 710; 693; 743; 852; 909
Lithuania: 428; 472; 636; 818; 1,057; 1,094; 1,176; 1,278; 1,690
Luxembourg: 253; 250; 237; 326; 356; 387; 407; 474; 523
Montenegro: 70; 57; 63; 66; 76; 74; 83; 97; 107
Netherlands: 10,349; 8,673; 9,112; 9,643; 11,173; 12,092; 13,125; 14,378; 16,696
N Macedonia: 124; 106; 104; 102; 120; 147; 154; 219; 247
Norway: 7,722; 6,142; 6,432; 6,851; 7,544; 7,537; 7,273; 8,292; 9,104
Poland: 10,107; 10,589; 9,398; 9,941; 11,858; 11,825; 13,591; 13,369; 17,806
Portugal: 3,008; 2,646; 2,616; 2,738; 3,249; 3,300; 3,306; 3,975; 3,753
Romania: 2,692; 2,581; 2,646; 3,644; 4,360; 4,608; 5,052; 5,786; 6,013
Slovak Republic: 999; 987; 1,004; 1,056; 1,298; 1,803; 2,050; 2,044; 2,416
Slovenia: 487; 401; 450; 477; 547; 573; 569; 760; 788
Spain: 12,635; 11,097; 9,975; 11,890; 13,200; 12,631; 12,829; 14,875; 14,810
Sweden: 0; 0; 0; 0; 0; 0; 0; 0; 0
Turkey: 13,577; 11,954; 12,644; 12,971; 14,168; 14,089; 13,396; 13,058; 9,272
Ukraine: 0; 0; 0; 0; 0; 0; 0; 0; 0
United Kingdom: 65,692; 59,506; 56,363; 55,719; 60,381; 59,400; 61,925; 72,766; 72,171
United States: 653,942; 641,253; 656,059; 642,933; 672,255; 730,149; 784,952; 811,140; 821,830
NATO Europe and Canada: 289,276; 254,423; 255,595; 275,101; 300,168; 301,608; 321,377; 363,100; 368,045
NATO Total: 943,218; 895,676; 911,654; 918,034; 972,423; 1,031,757; 1,106,329; 1,174,240; 1,189,875