NATO: which countries make up the alliance?
The North Atlantic Treaty Organization, known as NATO, is an alliance of 30 member countries.
The Republic of North Macedonia was the latest addition in 2020 but Finland and Sweden are also now close to joining the alliance after the NATO allies signed off on accession protocols, sending the membership bids of the two nations to the alliance capitals for legislative approvals.
Each member country contributes a percentage of its national defence budget to NATO to pay for running costs, including the integrated military command structure across NATO territory.
There is no NATO military but when called upon, allied nations volunteer their troops, equipment or other capabilities to NATO-led operations and exercises.
The treaty sets out the idea of 'collective defence', meaning an attack against one ally is considered an attack against all.
It aims to ensure the security of its European member countries is linked to that of its North American member countries.
All member nations are represented at the North Atlantic Council at the political and operational headquarters in Brussels, Belgium.
To be eligible for membership, a country must be from the Euro-Atlantic area, follow democratic principles and contribute to the security of the Euro-Atlantic area.
New members can be invited to join NATO with the unanimous agreement of the existing allies.
Recently, NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg said the alliance's spending increased in 2020 for the sixth consecutive year.
The US remains the alliance's biggest contributor, spending an estimated 3.73% of its gross domestic product (GDP) on defence, with the UK in fourth.
Below is the list of NATO's 30 members, their estimated defence spending of GDP and an estimated population from 2019.
Albania
Albania spends 1.29% of its GDP on defence.
It has a population of 2.8 million.
Belgium
Belgium spends 1.07% of its GDP on defence, making it second from bottom in contributions.
It has a population of 11.46 million.
It is home to the Supreme Headquarters Allied Powers Europe (SHAPE) and the Communications and Information Services Group (CIS GP).
Bulgaria
Bulgaria spends 1.6% of its GDP on defence.
It has a population of 7 million.
Canada
Canada spends 1.42% of its GDP on defence.
It has a population of 37.58 million.
Croatia
Croatia spends 1.83% of its GDP on defence.
It has a population of 4.07 million.
Czech Republic
Czech Republic spends 1.34% of its GDP on defence.
It has a population of 10.6 million.
Denmark
Denmark spends 1.43% of its GDP on defence.
It has a population of 5.8 million.
Estonia
Estonia spends 2.33% of its GDP on defence, making it the alliance's third-highest contributor in terms of share of GDP.
It has a population of 1.32 million.
France
France spends 2.04% of its GDP on defence.
It has a population of 67 million.
Germany
Germany spends 1.56% of its GDP on defence.
It has a population of 83 million.
It is home to the Allied Air Command (AIRCOM).
Greece
Greece spends 2.68% of its GDP on defence, making it the second-highest contributor in terms of share of GDP.
It has a population of 10.7 million.
Hungary
Hungary spends 1.85% of its GDP on defence.
It has a population of 9.77 million.
Iceland
Iceland does not have any armed forces and has not been featured on NATO’s latest list of GDP defence spending.
It has a population of 356,991.
Italy
Italy spends 1.39% of its GDP on defence.
It has a population of 60.3 million.
It is home to one of the Joint Force Commands in Naples.
Latvia
Latvia spends 2.27% of its GDP on defence.
It has a population of 1.9 million.
Lithuania
Lithuania spends 2.13% of its GDP on defence.
It has a population of 2.79 million.
Luxembourg
Luxembourg spends 0.57% of its GDP on defence, putting it at the bottom of the list as the only nation with an estimated GDP spend below 1%.
It has a population of 613,894.
Montenegro
Montenegro spends 1.72% of its GDP on defence.
It has a population of 622,182.
Netherlands
Netherlands spends 1.49% of its GDP on defence.
It has a population of 17.2 million.
It is home to one of the Joint Force Commands in Brunssum.
North Macedonia
North Macedonia spends 1.27% of its GDP on defence.
It has a population of 2.07 million.
Norway
Norway spends 2% of its GDP on defence.
It has a population of 5.3 million.
It is home to the Joint Warfare Centre (JWC).
Poland
Poland spends 2.31% of its GDP on defence.
It has a population of 37.9 million.
It is home to the Joint Force Training Centre (JFTC).
Portugal
Portugal spends 1.59% of its GDP on defence.
It has a population of 10.2 million.
It is home to the Joint Analysis and Lessons Learned Centre (JALLC).
Romania
Romania spends 2.07% of its GDP on defence.
It has a population of 19.4 million.
Slovakia
Slovakia spends 2% of its GDP on defence.
It has a population of 5.4 million.
Slovenia
Slovenia spends 1.1% of its GDP on defence.
It has a population of 2.08 million.
Spain
Spain spends 1.17% of its GDP on defence.
It has a population of 46.9 million.
Turkey
Turkey spends 1.86% of its GDP on defence.
It has a population of 82 million.
It is home to the Allied Land Command (LANDCOM).
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom spends 2.32% of its GDP on defence, making it fourth in the list of proportional spending.
It has a population of 66.6 million.
It is home to the Allied Maritime Command (MARCOM).
United States
The United States tops the list spending 3.73% of its GDP on defence.
It has a population of 328.2 million.
It is home to the Supreme Allied Commander Transformation Headquarters (HQ SACT).
Cover image: NATO's Dynamic Mongoose exercise in 2020 (Picture: Royal Navy).
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