What is NATO? 31 NATO Members List, NATO Countries List, Objectives of NATO Forces

There are 31 members of NATO in 2023 and the list is provided below.

NATO is one term that is widely used when we talk about geopolitics around the world. It stands for North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO). It is also known as North Atlantic Alliance. In simple words, we can say that it is an intergovernmental military alliance between 31 countries. In these 31 countries, 29 are European countries and 2 are North American countries.

If you are a student preparing for the civil services exam then you are expected to have good knowledge of this organization. It is so because questions like what is NATO, list of NATO countries, etc. are often asked in competitive exams. Go through this post to get the complete details about NATO forces and how do they work.

Formation of NATO

There were various reasons due to which North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) was created in the year 1949. Some of these reasons are as follows.

Its main purpose was to secure peace in Europe and promote mutual co-operation.
Another motive was to counter the threat posed by the Soviet Union which had become a superpower after World War II.
Initially, the treaty was signed by 12 European and 2 North American (Canada and USA) countries. The aim was to ensure the peaceful resolution of disputes.
Most importantly, the treaty has a clause of collective defence, meaning that an attack against one Ally is considered as an attack against all Allies. This clause provides a great sense of security amongst the member nations.

List of NATO Members

The member countries of NATO play the most important role in the functioning of the organization. The list of NATO members as of 2023 is given below along with the year in which they joined NATO.

Belgium – 1949
Canada – 1949
Denmark – 1949
France – 1949
Iceland – 1949
Italy – 1949
Luxembourg – 1949
Netherlands – 1949
Norway – 1949
Portugal – 1949
The United Kingdom – 1949
The United States – 1949
Greece – 1952
Turkey – 1952
Germany – 1955
Spain – 1982
Czech Republic – 1999
Hungary – 1999
Poland – 1999
Bulgaria – 2004
Estonia – 2004
Latvia – 2004
Lithuania – 2004
Romania – 2004
Slovakia – 2004
Slovenia – 2004
Albania – 2009
Croatia – 2009
Montenegro – 2017
North Macedonia – 2020
Finland- 2023

Note: As you can see in the above list 29 countries in NATO are European and only two countries are North American.

Objectives of NATO

The main objectives of NATO are discussed below.

Political And Military Alliance – NATO always promotes democratic values. The member countries can consult and co-operate in their defence and security related issues. One of NATO’s main aims is to protect the freedom of each of its members through political and military measures.
Collective Defence – This is the most important job of NATO. According to the principle of NATO, an attack on any member of NATO is considered as an attack against all. This principle is enshrined in Article 5 of the Washington Treaty. Article 5 is invoked only once so far when the USA was attacked in September 2001 by terrorists.
Boost Transatlantic Link – NATO also provides an amazing link between the continents of Europe and North America. This organization enable countries in Europe and North America to cooperate and consult in the field of defence and security.
The 2010 Strategic Concept – This concept defines the core motives/ tasks as collective defence, crisis management and cooperative security.

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List of Major Operations by NATO Forces so far

Here is the list of the major military operation conducted by NATO as of now.

Name of the operation	Dates	Details
Bosnia and Herzegovina	1992 to 2004	Bombing of Bosnian Serb military commands, Attacking the Army of the Republika Srpska, after the Srebrenica genocide.
Operation Allied Force	24 March 1999 to 10 June 1999	3 month long bombing campaign against Serbian forces in Kosovo
KFOR	12 June 1999 to Present	Peacekeeping force for the establishment of a peaceful environment in Kosovo to enforce UNSC resolution 1244.
Disarmament of the Macedonian UÇK fighters	27 August 2001 to 26 September 2001	To disarm the Macedonian UCK fighters.
Operation Eagle Assist	9 October 2001 to 16 May 2002	Aerial petrol over the USA to protect against an attack similar to that of 11 September 2001
International Security Assistance Force	20 December 2001 to 28 December 2014	Peacekeeping missions in Afghanistan
Pakistan earthquake relief	8 October 2005 to 9 February 2006	Providing Aid in the wake of the 2005 Kashmir Earthquake in Pakistan
Operation Ocean Shield	17 August 2009 to 15 December 2016	Counter the problem of piracy near the coasts of Africa
Operation Unified Protector	27 March 2011 to 31 October 2011	To enforce a no-fly zone in Libya to protect citizens from Muammar Gaddafi.
Operation Active Fence	December 2012 to present	Installing MIM-104 Patriot system air defence system in Turkey
Resolute Support Mission	1 January 2015 to 12 July 2021	Train and support Afghan Security Forces and Institutions