21 Countries That Don’t Have an Army

Some countries maintain powerful armed forces, while others operate without a standing army at all.

Today, a small group of sovereign states function without traditional militaries, relying instead on police forces, coast guards, regional partnerships or formal defence agreements.

The CIA World Factbook lists over 30 nations and territories without regular armed forces.

However, many of these are not independent countries. They are territories whose defence is handled by the United States, France, the Netherlands or New Zealand.

When the focus is restricted to sovereign states, the list becomes much more defined.

Several countries, including Micronesia, Palau, Samoa and Tuvalu, never created a military after gaining independence. Their defence responsibilities remain covered by long-term agreements with larger powers.

Others once operated national armies but later abolished them, such as Costa Rica, Panama and Grenada at different points in their history.

Countries without an army

Even without traditional armed forces, these countries are not undefended. In most cases, national police forces, coast guards or treaty partners provide the capabilities that a conventional military would normally supply.

Below are concise profiles of countries that function without a standing army, beginning with one of the most notable examples: Iceland, the only NATO member without a military.

Iceland

Unique among NATO allies, Iceland does not have a military. Iceland has traditionally been a pacifist country, which predates its independence from Denmark in 1944. 

Iceland has no regular military forces and only maintains the Icelandic Coast Guard which includes both air and maritime elements and the Icelandic National Police.

External defence is supported through Iceland’s NATO membership and a long-standing bilateral defence agreement with the United States.

Costa Rica

Costa Rica abolished its military in 1948 after an internal civil conflict. The country then wrote the ban into its 1949 constitution, permanently prohibiting a standing army and redirected the former defence budget into policing, education, environmental protection, and cultural programs.

Today, national security is the responsibility of the Public Force, a national police body. The country is also the headquarters for the Inter-American Court of Human Rights and the UN’s University for Peace.

Marshall Islands

The Marshall Islands, once part of the U.S.-administered Trust Territory of the Pacific Islands, gained full independence in 1986. The country never established a military upon independence.

Under the Compact of Free Association, the United States is responsible for the Marshall Islands’ defence and provides financial assistance in exchange for strategic access.

The U.S. military operates the Kwajalein Atoll as a missile testing and tracking site. Domestic security is handled by national police and maritime units rather than a formal armed forces structure.

Vatican City

Vatican City does not maintain a military in the conventional sense. However, it operates two small security units: the Pontifical Swiss Guard, which serves as the Pope’s personal protection and ceremonial guard, and the Gendarmerie Corps of Vatican City, which acts as the state’s police force.

Because neither unit functions as a standing national army, Vatican City is often included in lists of states without armed forces, although its unique status means it is sometimes treated separately from standard country comparisons.

21 countries that don’t have an army

The list below recognises the 21 independent sovereign states of the world that do not have a standing army or regular military force.

1. Andorra
2. Costa Rica
3. Dominica
4. Grenada
5. Iceland
6. Kiribati
7. Liechtenstein
8. Marshall Islands
9. Mauritius
10. Micronesia
11. Monaco
12. Nauru
13. Palau
14. Panama
15. St. Lucia
16. St. Vincent and the Grenadines
17. Samoa
18. San Marino
19. Solomon Islands
20. Tuvalu
21. Vanuatu

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