Which Countries Have No Standing Armies?
A strong military is imperative to ensure the security of a nation and the safety of its citizens. Surprisingly, not all countries in the world have active standing armies. There may be numerous reasons behind this ranging from limited resources to entering into agreements with other nations that help protect their sovereignty. There are 22 nations in the world without standing armies. These are:
Andorra
Andorra is a small nation, covering an area of 181 square miles and comprising a population of 77,281 people as of 2016. As a part of an agreement, Spain and France are protecting the sovereignty of the nation. But Andorra does have a police force and a fire brigade. The Grup d’Intervenció Policia d’Andorra (GIPA) is a special forces unit well versed in hostage recovery and counter-terrorism, but it is a part of the police force.
Dominica
Covering an area of 290 square miles, Dominica comprises a population of 73,543 people. Since 1981, the small nation has not had a standing army. The Regional Security System, which is an international agreement for eastern Caribbean region’s defense and security, takes care of the defense requirements of the county.
Grenada
The Regional Security System takes care of the country’s defense needs. The small nation, which covers an area of 134.6 square miles has not had a standing army since 1983. Internal security is the responsibility of the Royal Grenada Police Force.
Kiribati
Located in Micronesia, Kiribati covers an area of 313 square miles and has a population of 110,136 as of 2015. It does not have an army and defense is the responsibility of New Zealand and Australia. The internal security is managed by a police force, which includes a Maritime Surveillance Unit.
Liechtenstein
Liechtenstein is the fourth smallest country in Europe with an area of 62 square miles. Austria and Switzerland provide defense assistance. The army was abolished in 1868 on grounds that it was too costly; nevertheless, the country has a police force.
Marshall Islands
Since Marshall Islands is a United States associate, it is the responsibility of the US to provide defense assistance to the country. The police is well-equipped to take care of internal security and maintains the Maritime Surveillance Unit. Apart from small arms, it also has one Pacific-class patrol boat.
Federated States of Micronesia
The united States provides defense assistance to the country. The country has never had an armed force. Internal security is the responsibility of the police, which also has a Maritime Surveillance Unit.
Nauru
Nauru has no standing army and it is the responsibility of Australia to protect the sovereignty of the nation. But internal security is the responsibility of the police force of the country.
Palau
Though the country has no standing army, but invading it would be largely impossible as it is the responsibility of the United States to provide defense assistance. The police is the only force permitted in the country and it is well-equipped to handle internal security.
Samoa
New Zealand is responsible for the defense of the country. However, the country, which comprises an area of 1,097 square miles and a population of 195,843 people, does maintain a police force.
Some other countries which do not have a standing army are the Vatican City, Tuvalu, Solomon Islands, Saint Vincent and the Grenadines, Saint Lucia, Costa Rica, Mauritius, Monaco, Panama, Vanuatu, and San Marino. Iceland had an agreement with the United States until 2006; however, the US has announced that it would continue to take care of the country’s defense needs. Haiti did not have a standing army, but in 2017, the government stated that the Haitian Armed Forces would be restored.
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