World Map of Peace
Countries without an army
Around twenty states in the world have no army of their own. Some abolished it, others never founded one, and each arranges its security in its own way
Key points at a glance
- 21 states manage without an army of their own, among them Costa Rica, Panama, Iceland, Liechtenstein and many island states in the Caribbean and the Pacific.
- Twenty of them are members of the United Nations, roughly one in ten of the 193 member states.
- Costa Rica has banned the army in its constitution since 1949, and Liechtenstein abolished its military as early as 1868.
- Police and coast guards provide security. Some states have handed their defence to a partner by treaty.
In numbers
21
states without an army of their own
each documented on this page
1868
Liechtenstein
abolishes its military
1949
Costa Rica
bans the army in its constitution
- Without an army of their own20 states
- Other member states173 states
No armed forces
- States
- 14
- Examples
- Costa Rica, Panama, Liechtenstein, Samoa
- Internal security
- civilian police, often with a coast guard
- External protection
- relations with neighbours and regional cooperation
With a special police unit
- States
- 2
- Examples
- Vanuatu, Mauritius
- Internal security
- police with a paramilitary unit
- External protection
- the unit answers to the police command, not to a defence ministry
Defence by agreement
- States
- 5
- Examples
- Iceland, Monaco, Palau
- Internal security
- police and coast guard
- External protection
- a partner state or an alliance, set out by treaty
- Best-known example
- Costa Rica, army banned by the constitution since 1949
- Longest without a military
- Liechtenstein, since 1868
- Key study
- Christophe Barbey, Åland Islands Peace Institute, 2020
- As of
- October 2026
Which countries have no army?
Today 21 sovereign states manage without an army of their own. The best known are Costa Rica, Panama, Iceland, Liechtenstein, Andorra, Monaco and Vatican City. They are joined by several island states in the Caribbean and the Pacific, such as Grenada, Dominica, Saint Lucia, Samoa, Tuvalu, Kiribati, Nauru and the Solomon Islands.
The only systematic study of the subject comes from the Swiss lawyer Christophe Barbey, published by the Åland Islands Peace Institute. He distinguishes two criteria: whether an army is legally excluded and whether a state actually maintains none. The list on this page follows this approach and includes only states whose status can be documented with a source.
Exactly how many states belong on it depends on where you draw the line. A police force with an armed special unit is not yet an army, but a military corps of a few dozen people is not clearly no army either. States with a disputed status are therefore not listed in the table.
What counts as a country without a military?
Most of the 21 states have no armed forces at all. Order and security are provided by a civilian police force, often with a coast guard and a special unit. In Costa Rica, Panama and Kiribati this is even written into the constitution; for the others it is a lasting state of affairs without an explicit ban.
A second group has no army but a paramilitary unit within the police. This applies to Vanuatu with the Vanuatu Mobile Force and to Mauritius with the Special Mobile Force, which according to the government is an integral part of the police. Both report to the police leadership, not to a ministry of defence.
In the third group, another state takes over defence by agreement. France has guaranteed by treaty since 2002 the defence of the independence of Monaco, and under the Compacts of Free Association the USA bears responsibility for the security of Palau, the Marshall Islands and Micronesia. Iceland is a founding member of NATO and has had a defence agreement with the USA since 1951.
Does Costa Rica have an army?
No. Costa Rica abolished its army in 1948 after a civil war lasting 44 days and wrote the ban into its constitution in 1949. Article 12 reads: The army as a permanent institution is prohibited. For vigilance and the preservation of public order there shall be the necessary police forces.
The article allows one exception: military forces may be organised through a continental agreement of the American states or for national defence. They then always remain subordinate to civilian power and may neither deliberate nor make public statements. In everyday life, a police force with border and coastal protection provides security.
Costa Rica later went a step further and in 1983, by proclamation of its president, declared a permanent, active and unarmed neutrality. This makes the country one of the few that are both without an army and neutral.
Which countries in Europe have no army?
In Europe, five states manage without an army: Iceland, Liechtenstein, Andorra, Monaco and Vatican City. Liechtenstein abolished its military as early as 1868. Since then, the constitution of 1921 permits armed units only insofar as they are needed for the police and internal order, with an exception for the emergency of national defence.
Iceland, by its own account, has no armed forces. The government describes the country as a state without a military that contributes to NATO with money and civilian personnel. Security at home and at sea is provided by the police and the coast guard. At the same time, Iceland has topped the Global Peace Index as the most peaceful country in the world since 2008.
Vatican City is a borderline case. Its security is provided by the Gendarmerie and the Pontifical Swiss Guard, which describes itself as a military corps. The Guard, however, is the bodyguard of the Pope and not an army for national defence.
When did Panama abolish its army?
Panama disbanded its armed forces after 1989 and enshrined the decision in its constitution in 1994. Today this is Article 310, one of the shortest of its kind: The Republic of Panama shall have no army.
For public order, the constitution provides for police services organised by law. In the event of an attack from outside, special police services to protect the borders may be formed temporarily, likewise only on the basis of a law. At the same time, the same article obliges all people of Panamanian nationality to defend the independence and territorial integrity of the state.
Panama and its neighbour Costa Rica are thus among the few states that explicitly exclude an army in their constitution. Both show that such a step is not only an option for very small states.
How do states without an army protect themselves?
Most states without an army rely on three things: a well-organised police force for internal security, a coast guard for the borders at sea, and relations with neighbours and partners for protection from outside. The role these relations play is arranged very differently from case to case.
Four Caribbean states without an army, namely Grenada, Dominica, Saint Lucia and Saint Vincent and the Grenadines, belong to the Regional Security System, an association of Eastern Caribbean states for shared security tasks. In 2024 Tuvalu concluded the Falepili Union with Australia, in which Australia commits, among other things, to assistance in the event of a military attack.
Not every common assumption holds true. It is often said that New Zealand defends Samoa. The treaty of friendship between the two countries of 1962, however, contains no defence clause. Anyone looking into the subject should therefore always check the text of the treaty.
Constitution of Costa Rica, Article 12, 1949, translated
The army as a permanent institution is prohibited.
Sources
- Christophe Barbey: Non-Militarisation, Countries without Armies (Åland Islands Peace Institute, 2020, PDF)
- Constitute Project: Constitution of Costa Rica
- Constitute Project: Constitution of Panama
- Government of Iceland: National Security
- Historical Lexicon of the Principality of Liechtenstein: Military
- Treaty between France and Monaco of 2002 (Légimonaco)
- US Department of the Interior: Freely Associated States
- Regional Security System: About
- United Nations: Member States
- Constitute Project: Federal Constitution of Switzerland
States without an army of their own
| State | Model | Basis |
|---|---|---|
| Costa Rica | no armed forces, police | Constitution of 1949, Art. 12 |
| Panama | no armed forces, police | Constitution, Art. 310, since 1994 |
| Kiribati | no armed forces, police | Constitution of 1979, Art. 126 |
| Liechtenstein | no armed forces, national police | Military abolished in 1868; Constitution Art. 44 |
| Andorra | no armed forces, police | Treaty with France and Spain of 1993 |
| Vatican City | Gendarmerie and Swiss Guard | Fundamental Law of 2023, Art. 20 |
| Grenada | no armed forces, police | Army not re-established after 1983 |
| Dominica | no armed forces, police | Army disbanded in 1981 |
| Saint Lucia | no armed forces, police | since independence in 1979 |
| Saint Vincent and the Grenadines | no armed forces, police | without an army since independence |
| Samoa | no armed forces, police | since independence in 1962 |
| Tuvalu | no armed forces, police | Australian assistance commitment since 2024 |
| Nauru | no armed forces, police | Constitution regulates only the police |
| Solomon Islands | no armed forces, police | without an army according to Barbey 2020 |
| Vanuatu | paramilitary unit of the police | Vanuatu Mobile Force under police command |
| Mauritius | paramilitary unit of the police | Special Mobile Force, founded in 1960 |
| Iceland | defence by agreement | NATO since 1949, agreement with the USA of 1951 |
| Monaco | defence by agreement | Treaty with France of 2002, Art. 1 |
| Palau | defence by agreement | Compact of Free Association with the USA, 1994 |
| Marshall Islands | defence by agreement | Compact of Free Association with the USA, 1986 |
| Micronesia | defence by agreement | Compact of Free Association with the USA, 1986 |
Sources: constitutional texts via the Constitute Project, government websites and Christophe Barbey, Non-Militarisation: Countries without Armies, 2020. Not listed are states with a disputed status such as San Marino or Saint Kitts and Nevis, and territories that are not members of the United Nations.
More in this series
- Neutral countriesTreaties, constitutions and UN resolutionsNeutral is not always neutral. Some states have been so by treaty for over two hundred years, others by constitution, by law or simply as policy
- The safest countries in the worldGlobal Peace Index 2026Iceland has led the ranking of the most peaceful countries for nineteen years. Who follows behind it and why is shown by the Global Peace Index 2026
More questions about countries without an army
Does Iceland have a military?
No. According to its government, Iceland has no armed forces of its own. The police and the coast guard provide security at home and at sea. Externally, Iceland relies on alliances: it is a founding member of NATO and has had a defence agreement with the United States since 1951.
Iceland contributes to NATO with funding and civilian personnel. The country shows that a state without an army can still be part of an alliance. In the Global Peace Index 2026, Iceland has the best score of all 163 states in the Militarisation domain, at 1.027.
Does Switzerland have an army?
Yes. Article 58 of the Swiss Federal Constitution states that Switzerland shall have armed forces. In principle they are organised as a militia, they serve to prevent war and to maintain peace, and they defend the country and its population.
Switzerland is often lumped together with countries without an army because it is neutral. But neutrality and renouncing an army are two different things: a neutral state keeps out of other states’ wars and, under international law, may also defend its neutrality. Which states are neutral is shown on the page on neutral countries.
Which countries in the Caribbean have no army?
In the Caribbean, four island states manage without an army: Grenada, Dominica, Saint Lucia, and Saint Vincent and the Grenadines. Dominica disbanded its army in 1981, Grenada did not re-establish its army after 1983, and Saint Lucia as well as Saint Vincent and the Grenadines have been without an army since independence.
All four belong to the Regional Security System, an association of Eastern Caribbean states for shared security tasks. In Central America, Costa Rica and Panama come in addition, both of which explicitly rule out an army in their constitutions.
Which states in the Pacific have no army?
The Pacific is home to the largest group of states without an army. Kiribati, Samoa, Tuvalu, Nauru and the Solomon Islands have no armed forces, only a police force. Kiribati even sets this down in its 1979 constitution. Vanuatu has a paramilitary unit, the Vanuatu Mobile Force, which answers to the police command.
Palau, the Marshall Islands and Micronesia have settled their defence by treaty: under the Compacts of Free Association, the United States is responsible for their security. In 2024 Tuvalu concluded the Falepili Union with Australia, in which Australia commits, among other things, to assist in the event of a military attack.
Are countries without an army more peaceful?
A simple link cannot be proven, but some figures stand out. Iceland, the most peaceful country in the Global Peace Index 2026, has no army. Mauritius, the country with the best score in sub-Saharan Africa, has none either, and Costa Rica ranks second in North and Central America behind Canada.
This does not mean that renouncing an army creates peace on its own. Many states without an army are small, lie on islands and have partners who share responsibility for their security. Conversely, Switzerland, which has an army under its constitution, ranks third. The index treats militarisation as one of three domains, not as the only yardstick.
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