NATO member countries
As of the time of writing, NATO has 32 member countries, known as NATO Allies, which are independent nations that collaborate through NATO to consider political and security matters and decide together by consensus.
- NATO was created by 12 countries from Europe and North America on 4 April 1949.
- Since NATO’s creation, another 20 countries have been added to the Alliance through 10 rounds of enlargement (1952, 1955, 1982, 1999, 2004, 2009, 2017, 2020, 2023 and 2024).
- Article 10 of the North Atlantic Treaty explains how countries can join the Alliance, stating that membership is open to any “European state in a position to further the principles of this Treaty and to contribute to the security of the North Atlantic area”.
- The North Atlantic Council, the main decision-making body at NATO, makes the decision to invite a country to join the Alliance based on consensus of all Allies.
NATO member countries
- Albania
- Belgium
- Bulgaria
- Canada
- Croatia
- Czech Republic
- Denmark
- Estonia
- Finland
- France
- Germany
- Greece
- Hungary
- Iceland
- Italy
- Latvia
- Lithuania
- Luxembourg
- Montenegro
- Netherlands
- North Macedonia
- Norway
- Poland
- Portugal
- Romania
- Slovakia
- Slovenia
- Spain
- Sweden
- Turkey
- United Kingdom
- United States
The most recent additions to NATO were:
- Finland: April 4, 2023
Sweden: March 7, 2024