NATO is an intergovernmental army alliance and countries in NATO are 30 including two from the North American region. It is also referred to as the Washington Treaty. It was initially founded by the USA, Canada, and a few European Union countries making these founding members of this army alliance.

What is NATO

The North Atlantic Treaty Organization is an organization that deals with the military alliance that comprises 30 states from Europe and North America.

This body was founded on April 4th, 1949. According to article 5 of this pact, if there is an armed attack on any of the members of NATO, it will be considered an attack against all of the member states. Therefore, all the members will have to assist the member under stack with armed forces if needed.

Article 6 talks about the boundaries and limitations to the islands north of the Tropics of cancer, north American and European mainland with turkey and French Algeria.

This further implies that an armed attack on Hawaii, Puerto Rico, French Guiana, Ceuta, or Melilla among other countries would not be falling applicable for the article 5 response.

European Countries

The members of NATO are more European countries. These are 30.

North America

There are two countries which are from North America.

  1. Canada
  2. United States of America

Almost all of the members of NATO have military forces except for Iceland. Iceland does not have any regular army, however, there is a coast guard and civilian specialists who offer their services to NATO whenever needed.

There are three members of NATO who are nuclear weapons states. These are

  1. France
  2. United Kingdom
  3. The United States.

NATO has around 12 member states which are founding members. These are

  1. Belgium
  2. Canada
  3. Denmark
  4. France
  5. Iceland
  6. Italy
  7. Luxembourg
  8. Netherlands
  9. Norway
  10. Portugal
  11. United Kingdom
  12. United States

Total Countries of NATO

Sr. No. Country Name Population Area NATO Member since
1 Albania 3,088,385 28,748 km2 1st April 2009
2 Belgium 11,584,008 30,689 km2 24th August 1949
3 Bulgaria 6,919,180 110,879 km2 29th March 2004
4 Canada 38,654,738 9,984,670 km2 24th August 1949
5 Croatia 4,208,973 56,594 km2 1st April 2009
6 Czech Republic 10,702,596 78,867 km2 12th March 1999
7 Denmark 5,873,420 42,933 km2 24th August 1949
8 Estonia 1,220,042 45,228 km2 29th March 2004
9 France 67,874,000 643,801 km2 24th August 1949
10 Germany 79,903,481 357,022 km2 6th May 1955
11 Greece 10,569,703 131,957 km2 18th February 1952
12 Hungary 9,728,337 93,028 km2 12th March 1999
13 Iceland 371,580 102,775 km2 24th August 1949
14 Italy 60,317,116 301,230 km2 24th August 1949
15 Latvia 1,862,687 64,589 km2 29th March 2004
16 Lithuania 2,711,566 65,300 km2 29th March 2004
17 Luxembourg 645,397 2,586.4 km2 24th August 1949
18 Montenegro 607,414 13,812 km2 5th June 2017
19 Netherlands 17,718,100 41,865 km2 24th August 1949
20 North Macedonia 2,128,262 25,713 km2 27th March 2020
21 Norway 5,425,270 385,207 km2 24th August 1949
22 Poland 38,185,913 312,685 km2 12th March 1999
23 Portugal 10,352,042 92,212 km2 24th August 1949
24 Romania 21,230,362 238,391 km2 29th March 2004
25 Slovakia 5,436,066 49,035 km2 29th March 2004
26 Slovenia 2,102,106 20,273 km2 29th March 2004
27 Spain 47,260,584 505,370 km2 30th May 1982
28 Turkey 82,482,383 783,562 km2 18th Feb 1952
29 United Kingdom 67,326,569 242,495 km2 24th August 1949
30 USA 331,893,745 9,833,520 km2 25th July 1949

1. Albania

Officially the Republic of Albania is a southeastern country in Europe. Tirana is the capital city of Albania and also the largest city in the country. The other largest countries are Durres, Vlore, and Shkoder. Albania is a country with an area of 28,748 km2.

Albania became a member of NATO on 1st April 2009. Albania is a member of the World Bank, United Nations, UNESCO, NATO, WTO, COE, and OIC.

Languages

The country’s official language is Albanian and it is spoken by the majority of the country’s population. This language is a revied and merged form of two variants of dialects which are Gheg and Tosk.

However, the dialect which is more dominant is Tosk. Moreover, a dialect of Greek is spoken by the people of the Greek minority. Other languages which are spoken in the country are Aromanian, Serbian, Macedonian, Bosnian, Bulgarian, and Gorani.

2. Belgium

Belgium or the kingdom of Belgium is one beautiful country in northwestern Europe. It has the Netherlands to its north, Germany to easy, Luxembourg to the southeast, France to the southwest and the north sea is there to its northwest.

The area covered by the country is 30,689 km2. The population of Belgium is more than 11.5 million which makes it the 6th most densely populated country in Europe and the 22nd most populated country in the world. Brussels is one of the largest cities in Belgium and is the capital city of the country.

Belgium is a founding member of NATO and became part of the organization in 1949.

Languages

It is interesting to that that there are two main linguistic communities in the country

The Dutch-speaking Flemish community makes up 60% of the population and the French-speaking country which is about 40 % of the whole population. Brussels, the capital of the country is officially bilingual in French and Dutch.

The three main languages of the country are

  1. Dutch
  2. French
  3. German

There are a few more languages that are also spoken by minorities.

3. Bulgaria

Bulgaria, situated on the flank of the Balkans is a country in Southeast Europe. It has Romania to its north and North Macedonia and Serbia to the west. The south part of the county borders Greece and Turkey with the Black sea to the east.

Bulgaria is a country in the territory of 110,994 square kilometers and is the sixteenth largest country in Europe. Sofia is the largest city and also the capital city of the country. Other major cities are Plovdiv, Varna, and Burgas. Bulgaria joined NATO on 29th March 2004.

Language

The national language of the country is Bulgarian. It is the sole official language and the native language of more than 85% population. This language has its roots in the Slavic group of languages, however, with distinct grammatical peculiarities.

The closest relative of Bulgarian is Macedonian and it makes it different from the other Slavic languages. These languages have a complex morphology in terms of webs, there are no noun cases and infinitives. Also, the use of suffixed definite articles is also limited.

A few other languages that are common in Bulgaria are Turkish and Romani which are languages of 9.1% and 4.2% of the population respectively, according to a census.

4. Canada

Canada is a country that is in North America. There are ten provinces and three territories of the country which extend from, the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean.

It is covering more than 9.98 million square kilometers which makes it the world’s second-largest country in terms of area. Also, its border with the United States stretches around 8891 kilometers and is the world’s longest binational land border. Its capital is Ottawa. Canada is another founding member of NATO on 24th August 1949.

Languages

Canada is a multi-diverse country. Its population comes from different cultures. English and French are the official languages of the country and the mother tongue of more than 56 % and 21% percent of Canadians respectively.

According to the census of 2016, only around 7.3 million people listed a language as their mother tongue which is not official.

Other languages are Chinese, Punjabi, Spanish, Tagalog, Arabic, German, Italian, and Croatia.

5. Croatia

This country is situated at the crossroads of central and southeast Europe. It shares its coastline with the Adriatic Sea. It has square kilometers of 56594 with a population of 4 million. Croatia became part of NATO on 1st April 2009.

Languages

Croatian the official language of the country has become the 24th official language of the European Union since its accession which happened back in 2013. There are a lot of minority languages that are in use.

These are Czech, Hungarian, Italian, Serbian, and Slovak.

6. Czech Republic

The Czech Republic and also known as Czechia is a landlocked country in the central Europe region. It has a hilly landscape and covers an area of 78,871 square kilometers. Its capital city is Prague and it is also the largest city.

Languages

The Czech language is also known as Bohemian historically. It is a West Slavic language of the Czech-Slovak group that is written in Latin script. This language is spoken by more than 10 million people.

It is quite close to Slovak. They have great similarities in mutual intelligibility. The polish language is also quite similar to it. Czech is considered a fusional language as it has a rich system of morphology and flexible word order.

7. Denmark

It is a Nordic country in Northern Europe. It is one of the most populous countries in the Kingdom of Denmark. It is a unitary state that includes a few autonomous territories such as the Faroe Islands and Greenland. This country spans an area of 42,943 km2.

Languages

Danish is the national language of Denmark. Additionally, Faroese and Greenlandic are also official languages of the Faroe Islands and Greenland respectively. Moreover, German is a well-recognized minority language and is spoken in a few regions. Further languages include English. Danes speak English as their second language.

8. Estonia

This country is in Northern Europe and has a border with the Gulf of Finland to its north and the Baltic sea across Sweden to its west. The territory of Estonia comprises the mainland, Saaremaa’s larger islands, and more than 2200 islands and islets on the eastern coast of the Baltic sea.

This country covers an area of 45,339 square kilometers.

Languages

The first and official language of Estonia is Estonian. It is an autochthonous language. The majority of the population speaks this language. Moreover, Estonian is the world’s most spoken Finnic language.

It is also interesting to note that Estonian is one of the few languages that do not belong to the Indo-European languages and rather is of Finnic origin of Uralic languages.

9. France

France is one transcontinental country having its territories over western Europe and overseas regions and territories in the Americas, Atlantic, Pacific, and Indian oceans.

France has the largest and exclusive economic zone. Its combined area goes around 643,801 km2. Paris is the country’s capital as well as the largest city.

France is the world’s leading tourist destination with Paris being the main city of tourists. It received 89 million foreign visitors only in 2018.

Languages

The official language of France is none other than French which is one of the world’s most popular languages. It is a romance language that has its roots derived in Latin.

A few other regional languages which are commonly practiced in France are Occitan, Breton, Catalan, and Flemish with a Dutch dialect.

10. Germany

Germany is in the central region of Europe. It is the second most populous country in Europe after Russia. Also, it is the most populous member state of the European Union.

It has Baltic and north seas to its north and alps to the south. The land covered by Germany is 357,022 square kilometers and it has a population of more than 83 million. Berlin is the capital of Germany and also the largest city in the nation.

Languages

German is the official language of Germany. It is also included in the 24 working languages of the European Union and one of the procedural languages of the European Commission. It is one of the world’s most spoken languages have more than 100 million native speakers.

Other minority languages spoken in Germany are Danish, Low German, Low Rhenish, Romany, Sorbian, Turkish, Arabic, Kurdish, Polish, and Greek.

11. Greece

Greek being a country in southeast Europe is situated on the Balkans’ southern tip. It is there at the crossroads of Europe, Asia, and Africa. It has Albania to its northwest and Bulgaria and North Macedonia to the north with turkey to its northeast. It has a population of around 10.7 million. Athens is the capital city of Greece and also the largest city

Languages

The official language in Greece is one of the ancient languages. It was lingua franca in the Mediterranean world during classical antiquity. Other languages which are common in Greece are Turkish, Bulgarian, Romani, Roma, and Albanian.

12. Hungary

Hungary is another landlocked country which is in central Europe. It has an area spanning over 93,030 square kilometers of the Carpathian Basin. It is home to a population of around 10 million people. Budapest is the capital of Hungary and also the largest city.

Languages

Hungarian is the official language of the nation. It also happens to the be most spoken language of the Uralic language family and also one of the few languages that are not Indo-European yet popularly spoken across Europe.

It is also one of the 24 official and working languages of the European Union. Other languages which are commonly spoken in Hungary are English, German, Armenian, Bulgarian, Greek, Romanian, Serbian, and Slovak.

13. Iceland

Iceland is a Nordic island country that is the most sparsely populated in Europe. Iceland’s largest and capital city is Reykjavik and it is home to around 65% of the population.

It is the only part of the Mid-Atlantic Ridge that goes above sea level. Its population is around 371,580 and its land spanned over 102,775 km2.

Languages

The official language of the Island is Icelandic. It is also used in for written purposes as well. It is a North Germanic language and has been descended from Old Norse.

It is interesting to note that this language is the only one that has retained the use of the runic letter Þ in Latin script. Faroese is the closest relative to the Icelandic language.

English and Danish languages are compulsory in schools in Iceland. English is widely spoken and understood in the country with moderate knowledge of Danish. Polish is also quite common there and is spoken by the Polish community.

14. Italy

The Republic of Italy is a country that consists of a peninsula with multiple islands surrounding it with the alps too. Italy is right there in the middle of the Mediterranean Sea in southern Europe.

However, it is also taken as part of western Europe. Rome is the largest city in the country and also happens to be the capital city.

This country covers a total area of 301,230 km2 and shares its borders with France, Austria, Switzerland, and Campione. Italy is home to the people more than 60 million. It is the third most populous state in the European Union.

Languages

Italian is the official language of Italy. There are more than 64 million estimated native speakers all over the globe. Moreover, 21 million people use Italian as their second language.

This language is also quite popular among new language learners. Other minority languages are Albanian, German, Greek, French, Slovene, and Croatian.

15. Latvia

The Republic of Latvia is a country that is in the Baltic region of northern Europe. It is among the Baltic states. It covers an area of 64,589 km2. Riga is the largest capital city in the country. It has a population of around 2 million.

Languages

Latvian is the official language of the ethnolinguistic group of Balts. Latvian is one of the two surviving Baltic languages. The second extinct language of the country is the Livonian language of the Finnic branch of the Uralic language family. Other languages include Russian, German, French, and English.

16. Lithuania

Lithuania also known as the official Republic of Lithuania is a country of Europe in the Baltic region. It is one of the three states of the Baltic region and it lies on the eastern shore of the Baltic sea.

It has Latvia in its north and Belarus to its east and south. The population of the country is merely 2.8 million. It covers an area of 65,300 km2 the largest and capital city of the country is Vilnius.

Languages

The official language of Lithuania is Lithuanian. It is the official state language and is also one of the official languages of the European Union. More than 3 million population in Lithuania are native Lithuanian speakers and around 0.2 people speak it abroad.

Lithuanian is a Baltic language and is quite close to the Latvian language. However, it is interesting to note that these two are not mutually intelligible.

17. Luxembourg

It is a country in western Europe that is landlocked. It is bordered by Germany, Belgium, and France. The capital and largest city are Luxembourg which also happens to be one of the four official capitals of the European Union.

Luxembourg with an area of merely 2586 square kilometers is the smallest one in Europe. The population of the country was around 647,397 as per a recent survey and making it the least populous country in Europe.

Languages

Luxembourgish is the only national language of the country. This is the language that country’s population considers its mother tongue and often calls the language of the heart.

Other than Luxembourgish, French and German are also quite popularly spoken in the country.

18. Montenegro

This country is located on the Adriatic Sea and is part of the Balkans. It shares borders with Serbia, Bosnia, and Albania. It is a country which is in the Southeastern region of Europe.

The largest and capital city of Montenegro is Podgorica and it covers 10.4% territory of the whole country. The population is 621,000 and the territory expands to 13,812 square kilometers.

Languages

Montenegrin is the official language of the country. Other languages which are spoken include Serbian, Bosnian, Albanian, and Croatian.

It is also an interesting fact that Montenegrin, Serbian and Croatian are mutually intelligible.

19. Netherlands

Informally called Holland, the Netherlands is a popular country in Northwestern Europe. It has its overseas territories in the Caribbean. It is the largest one among four constituent countries of the Kingdom of Netherlands.

It consists of 12 provinces in total. Amsterdam is the nominal capital of the country and also the largest city. The population exceeds 17.6 million and the area it covers is roughly 41,800 km2

Languages

The official language of the Netherlands is Dutch and is quite popular among inhabitants. West Frisian is the second official language of the country after Dutch.

Other than these two Low Saxon and Limburgish are spoken there. English is also a widely spoken language in the Netherlands. Moreover, French and German are also quite common among the masses.

20. North Macedonia

North Macedonia is officially the Republic of North Macedonia. It is a country in Southeast Europe. It is another landlocked country. It’s largest and the capital city is Skopje. This city is home to a quarter population of 1.83 million population. South Slavic people who are ethnic Macedonians are the majority who reside in northern Macedonia.

Languages

The Macedonian language is used for written and official purposes in the country. It is also used internationally to represent the country. Albanian is the co-official language of the state, however, at least 20% of people speak it in local units.

Other languages include Bulgarian, Serbian, Turkish, and Romani.

21. Norway

The kingdom of Norway is a Nordic country and it is in northern Europe. It is the mainland territory and comprises the western and northernmost portion of the Scandinavian Peninsula. Oslo is the largest capital city in the country.

It has an area spanning over 385,207 square kilometers and it has a population of 5,425,270 according to Jan 22 census.

Languages

Norwegian is the official language of Norway. It has two forms which are Bokmal and Nynorsk.

Other languages in Norway include English, German, French, and Spanish.

22. Poland

A country that is divided into 16 administrative provinces called voivodeships in central Europe is called the Republic of Poland. The country covers an area of 312,696 km2.

It has a population of over 38 million and it is the fifth most populous member of the European Union. The capital city is Warsaw and also the largest one.

Languages

Polish is the predominant and official language of Poland. Polish is also one of the official languages of the European Union. It is the second language in neighboring countries such as Lithuania where polish is taught in the schools. Nearly fifteen more minority languages are spoken in Poland including Kashubian and English.

23. Portugal

Portugal is one country that has its mainland on the Iberian Peninsula in Southwestern Europe. Also, it has the westernmost point in continental Europe. The population of the country is more than 10 million and the area it is covering is 92,212 km2 .

Languages

Portuguese is the official language of Portugal. It is a Romance language and has its derivation from Galician Portuguese. Other than Portuguese the people of Portugal are also quite proficient in the English language.

24. Romania

Romania is located at the crossroads of central, eastern, and southeastern Europe. It covers an area of 238,397 km2. It has a population of 19 million and it is the twelfth largest country in Europe. Its capital and largest city are Bucharest.

Languages

Romanian is the official language of the state. Romanian is quite similar to Italian, French, Spanish, and Portuguese. Other than Romanian English is also quite common and spoken by 31% of Romanians. French is spoken by 17% and 7 % each, Italian and German.

25. Slovakia

It is a landlocked country in central Europe. It has a population of 5.4 million and the capital and largest city are Bratislava. The country is covering an area of49,000km2.

Languages

Slovak is the official language of Slovakia. It is a member of the Slavic language family. Hungarian is also widely spoken in the southern region of Slovakia. Other minority languages include Czech sign language.

26. Slovenia

Slovenia is there in central Europe. It has Italy to its west and Austria to the north. Most of Slovenia has mountains and forests. It covers the land of 20,271 square kilometers and has a mere population of 2.1 million. The capital city is Ljubljana which is also the largest one.

Languages

The official language is Slovene. It is also a member of the South Slavic language group. This is the language of more than 88% of people in the country. The language is highly diverse in terms of dialects. Other languages include Hungarian, Italian and Romanian.

27. Spain

Spain is located on the Iberian Peninsula. It has its parts in the Atlantic ocean and across the Mediterranean sea. Spain is the second largest city in the European Union with an area of 505,990 square kilometers.

Its population exceeds 47.4 million making it the fourth most populous European Union state. Madrid is the capital city of Spain and other urban areas include Valencia and Barcelona Murcia.

Languages

Spanish is the official language of Spain. It is a widely spoken language. Spain, being a multilingual state, is home to a lot of languages. Other languages include Aroganese, Aranese, Astur-Leonese, and Basque. Other languages are Moroccan Arabic, Romanian and English.

28. Turkey

Turkey is a transcontinental country that is located on the Anatolian Peninsula in Western Asia with a small portion on the Balkan peninsula in southeast Europe. It shares its border with the black sea. Ankara is turkey’s capital city, however, the largest one in Istanbul and also the financial center.

Languages

Turkey’s official language is Turkish and it is widely spoken among the people of the Turkish region all over the world. This is the first language of 85.54 percent of the population.

Around 12 percent of the population speaks the Kurmanji dialect of Kurdish. Moreover, Arabic and Zaza are also the mother languages of a lot of the population.

29. United Kingdom

Commonly known as the United Kingdom and Britain is a sovereign country in Europe. It consists of England, Wales, Scotland, and Northern Ireland. It also includes the island of Great Britain.

London is the largest city and capital of the United Kingdom. UK’s total area is 93,628 square kilometers. It has an estimated population of around 67 million people.

Languages

English is the official language of the UK. UK’s most of the population is monolingual English speakers. More than 5.5 percent of the population is held responsible as a result of immigrants.

The UK is home to people of multiple communities and groups and therefore the languages like Punjabi, Urdu, Bengali, Sylheti, Hindi, and Gujarati are there which are popular among the masses.

30. United States

United States of America or U.S.A is another transcontinental country that is located in North America. It has 50 states and one federal state. Washington D.C is the national capital city.

New York is the most populous city as well as the financial center. The USA is the third most populous country in the world with a population of 331 million.

Languages

English is the de facto national language of the United States of America. It is interesting to note there is no official language at the federal level. Spanish is the second most spoken language in the states and more or less 37 million people speak Spanish at home. Other languages include Tagalog, Vietnamese, French, Korean, and German.

Final words

NATO is North Atlantic Treaty organization. It has 30 members and 2 of which are North American. There are 12 founding members of the organization. According to the organization, if any country is under attack by some armed forces, it will be considered an attack on all of the members, and the organization will retaliate accordingly. The brief details of the countries with regional languages spoken have been shared with the readers.

Learn More

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