Defenseless: countries that do not have armed forces

The growing geopolitical disputes at a global level have caused many countries to begin to increase their defense spending to rearm their armies. However, this practice is not a constant throughout the world; There are exceptions.

Throughout the planet there are a good number of countries and territories that do not have an army. In their case, for their defense, they require the support of other nations.

In total there are 30 countries or territories that are in this situation. These should be divided, in turn, into three groups: those who do not have an army or armed forces of any kind (15 in total), those who do not have a permanent army but do have a limited military force (6 in total) and the overseas territories that depend on their countries (a total of 9).

Within the first group we find Andorra, a micro state of just 468 square kilometers and about 80,000 inhabitants located in the Pyrenees, between Spain and France. These two neighboring countries, by the way, have treaties with Andorra to support them militarily if necessary.

The small Caribbean island that is part of the Lesser Antilles is a republic with a territory of 751 square kilometers and just over 69,000 inhabitants. Since 1981 it has not had a standing army and relies for its defense on the Regional Security System (SRS), an international agreement for the eastern region of the Caribbean.

Like Dominica, it is an island within the Lesser Antilles with a territory that occupies 344 square kilometers where 112,000 people live. In its case, it stopped having an army in 1983 and, although it has a Royal Police Force, it also depends on the SRS in case of conflict.

The Republic of Kiribati is an archipelago located in the Pacific, northeast of Australia, with 33 coral atolls and the volcanic island of Banaba, all spread over an area of 3 million square kilometers. To defend its more than 110,000 inhabitants, in addition to its Police, they have the support of the Australian Army.

The result of the union of Vaduzy Schellenberg and located between Austria and Switzerland, it is one of the smallest countries in Europe with an area of 160 square kilometers and nearly 40,000 inhabitants. It has not had an army since 1868 and has agreements for its defense with its two neighboring countries, although, in times of war, it allows military training.

The Republic of the Marshall Islands, located in the Pacific, in the region of Micronesia, has about 50,000 inhabitants and a Pact of Free Association with the United States, so the American country is in charge of its defense in the event of conflict.

Also located in the same region as the Marshall Islands and with a similar agreement as that of its neighbors, it depends on the United States for its defense and also has the Police as its only security body.

And very close to the previous ones, also in the Pacific and just above the Equator is Nauru, a republic that includes a single island of just 21.3 square kilometers and 11,500 inhabitants, but which, in its case, has an agreement for its defense with Australia, which would be supported by a small police force under civilian control that they have.

Another country - also an island - in the Micronesia area that does not have an Army is Palau, belonging to Oceania and with about 18,000 inhabitants. Like the Marshall Islands and the Federated States of Micronesia, they have their Compact of Free Association with the United States, which is responsible for their defense.

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More islands in Oceania without an army. In this case, the Solomons, with more than 500,000 inhabitants, have had an agreement for their defense with China since 2022, which has increased tension in the area with countries such as the United States, New Zealand and Australia.

Samoa, located in Polynesia, in Oceania, has been an independent state since it separated from New Zealand in 1962. It has about 187,000 inhabitants and is another of the countries in the area that has the United States in charge of its territorial defense.

Located in the Caribbean, Saint Lucia is one of the Windward Islands, with an area of 616 square kilometers of territory and just over 180,000 inhabitants. The country has a special service unit, but no army. Its defense is the responsibility of the Regional Security System, an international agreement that includes six other countries for the defense of the Eastern Caribbean.

Another of those countries in the Caribbean area that depends on the Regional Security System is Saint Vincent and the Grenadines. With almost 100,000 inhabitants, it does have the Royal Police Force of Saint Vincent and the Grenadines, on which the paramilitary Special Services Unit and the Coast Guard depend.

And back in Oceania, in Polynesia, is Tuvalu, another island country without an army. It has about 12,000 inhabitants and has never had any military force since its creation. It is the Tuvalu Police Force, in charge of security, with maritime surveillance, customs, prisons and immigration units.

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With just 0.49 square kilometers, in the middle of the city of Rome, and with just over 600 inhabitants, it is the smallest country in the world and its defense depends on the well-known Swiss Guard, those in charge of the defense of the Pope and the rest of the inhabitants of the state. At a general level its defense depends on Italy.

With Costa Rica we enter the second group to which we referred. It does not have a standing army, but it does have a limited military force. It abolished its army in December 1948, although its Constitution provides for its formation in case of need subordinated to civil power, something it has done twice.

Iceland also has not had a standing army since 1869, but it has other defense forces that have participated in international conflicts, in addition to being part of NATO. Members of its Coast Guard, for example, deployed to Iraq in 2003 and were later replaced by the Defense Forces.

The Republic of Mauritius, an island country in the Indian Ocean near Madagascar, with 1.2 million inhabitants, also does not have a standing army, but all military, police and security functions are carried out by 10,000 people in active service under the direction of the Commissioner of Police.

The Principality of Monaco, for its part, with some 38,000 inhabitants living in its barely two square kilometers of territory, does not have its own army, but it does have a small group of coast guards, approximately 500 police officers and a royal guard, called the Company of Prince's Carabiniers (Compagnie des Carabiniers du Prince), with about 80 members.

Panama, located in Central America, between Colombia and Costa Rica, with an area of 75,517 square kilometers and just over four million inhabitants, abolished its army after the US invasion of 1989, at which time it launched the Public Forces, whose The objective is to maintain security, public order and the protection of Panama's borders.

In the south of the Pacific is the Republic of Vanuatu, an archipelago made up of 83 islands that has about 266,000 inhabitants. It also does not have any standing army and its defense depends on its Mobile Force.

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Finally, within these territories without an Army, we cannot forget the overseas territories, such as the Cayman Islands, located in the Antilles, in the Caribbean Sea and dependent on the United Kingdom, which is the country in charge of defense. of its territory and its 69,000 inhabitants together with the Royal Cayman Islands Police Force.

Free state associated with New Zealand located in the South Pacific that has 15 small islands and around 10,000 inhabitants. Its defense, of course, depends on the New Zealanders, although only in case the island authorities require it.

Officially known as the Country of Curaçao, it is a constituent country of the Kingdom of the Netherlands, located in the Caribbean and with a population of about 162,000 inhabitants. The European country is in charge of its defense and foreign policy, while the maritime security of its borders depends on the Dutch Caribbean Coast Guard.

Located north of the European continent, they are a constituent nation of the Kingdom of Denmark that consists of 18 islands and almost 50,000 inhabitants. The Arctic Command, a division of the Danish army, is responsible for its defense.

Located in Oceania, in the middle of the South Pacific, it is an overseas community dependent on France with some 274,000 inhabitants and whose defense, logically, is the responsibility of the French army.

The gigantic and strategic island of more than 2 million square kilometers in area and nearly 60,000 inhabitants, is, like the Faroe Islands, another constituent nation of the Kingdom of Denmark. Its defense, as well as foreign policy, is the responsibility of the Danes, but, since June 2009, the Coast Guard has been in the hands of the Greenlandic government.

The Caribbean island is an overseas territory of the United Kingdom, with a territory of about 102 square kilometers and nearly 6,000 inhabitants. It does not have an army and the country's security depends on the British, along with their own police force.

Free state associated with New Zealand, which is the country on which its defense depends on the hand of its army, although it does have a police force. Known as the 'Rock of Polynesia', it is located in the South Pacific and has only about 1,700 inhabitants.

The island of Saint Martin, located in the Caribbean and with just over 72,000 inhabitants, is politically divided between France and the Netherlands. It is part of the Dutch kingdom, but its northern part is a French overseas enclave. The defense falls to the army of the Netherlands.

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