U.S. Holds $773B in Gold and FX Reserves—More Than Germany, Italy, and France Combined

Gold and foreign exchange reserves mean more than just economic power. When push comes to shove, these are invaluable assets when building and funding a military. It’s better to have this dry powder ready should a conflict pop off because once a country is tied into a conflict it can be more difficult to raise funds to muster its troops and field its tanks. Here, 24/7 Wall St. is taking a closer look at the NATO alliance and how these countries measure up in terms of foreign exchange and gold reserves.

To determine the NATO countries with the most foreign exchange and gold reserves, 24/7 Wall St. reviewed 2025 Military Strength Ranking from Global Firepower, an annually updated defense-related statistics website with information on 145 countries. Global Firepower ranked 145 countries based on their PowerIndex, a composite of over 60 measures in categories such as military might, financials, logistical capability, and geography. The smaller the PowerIndex value the more powerful a nation’s theoretical conventional fighting capability is. We ranked these countries based on their foreign exchange and gold reserves. We also included supplemental information regarding purchasing power parity, defense budgets, external debt, a composition of military assets, as well as the overall military strength score.

Here is a look at the military powers with the most foreign exchange and gold reserves in NATO:

Why Are We Covering This?

Understanding NATO’s military dynamics is important when looking at the state of global security. Since its inception, NATO has played a pivotal role in shaping international relations through its collective defense and security framework. As geopolitical tensions continue to rise and new threats emerge, knowing and understanding NATO’s military capabilities is important for getting a clearer picture of the world stage. Not to mention, countries like the United States, the United Kingdom, and Germany, among others, contribute significantly to NATO’s military strength, influencing global power balances and regional stability.

32. Montenegro

• Foreign exchange and gold reserves: $1,574,000,000
• Purchasing power parity: $17,115,000,000
• Military defense budget: $148,100,000 – #136 out of 145
• External debt: $2,958,500,000
• Total military aircraft: 11
• Total military vehicles: 471
• Total naval vessels: 14
• Military strength score and world rank: 2.9216 – #127 out of 145

Montenegro also has 7,850 total military personnel, which is composed of 2,350 active personnel and 5,500 paramilitary forces. At the same time, it has a total population of 599,849, and of these 85,179 are fit for military service.

31. Slovenia

• Foreign exchange and gold reserves: $2,370,000,000
• Purchasing power parity: $102,036,000,000
• Military defense budget: $886,860,000 – #91 out of 145
• External debt: $55,000,000,000
• Total military aircraft: 39
• Total military vehicles: 1,428
• Total naval vessels: 2
• Military strength score and world rank: 2.1016 – #96 out of 145

Slovenia also has 38,300 total military personnel, which is composed of 7,300 active personnel, 26,000 reserves, and 5,000 paramilitary forces. At the same time, it has a total population of 2.098 million, and of these 826,570 are fit for military service.

30. Estonia

• Foreign exchange and gold reserves: $2,593,000,000
• Purchasing power parity: $57,377,000,000
• Military defense budget: $1,463,360,000 – #77 out of 145
• External debt: $26,400,000,000
• Total military aircraft: 5
• Total military vehicles: 1,685
• Total naval vessels: 8
• Military strength score and world rank: 2.2917 – #107 out of 145

Estonia also has 96,500 total military personnel, which is composed of 7,700 active personnel, 78,800 reserves, and 10,000 paramilitary forces. At the same time, it has a total population of 1.194 million, and of these 456,028 are fit for military service.

29. Luxembourg

• Foreign exchange and gold reserves: $2,977,000,000
• Purchasing power parity: $88,533,000,000
• Military defense budget: $726,092,925 – #98 out of 145
• External debt: $4,730,000,000,000
• Total military aircraft: 1
• Total military vehicles: 182
• Total naval vessels: 0
• Military strength score and world rank: 2.6415 – #117 out of 145

Luxembourg also has 1,000 total military personnel, which is composed entirely of its active-duty personnel. At the same time, it has a total population of 671,254, and of these 92,633 are fit for military service.

28. Croatia

• Foreign exchange and gold reserves: $3,176,000,000
• Purchasing power parity: $159,305,000,000
• Military defense budget: $1,176,000,000 – #83 out of 145
• External debt: $55,000,000,000
• Total military aircraft: 67
• Total military vehicles: 2,848
• Total naval vessels: 30
• Military strength score and world rank: 1.5074 – #75 out of 145

Croatia also has 36,425 total military personnel, which is composed of 14,325 active personnel, 20,100 reserves, and 2,000 paramilitary forces. At the same time, it has a total population of 4.150 million, and of these 1,564,594 are fit for military service.

27. Latvia

• Foreign exchange and gold reserves: $4,957,000,000
• Purchasing power parity: $71,154,000,000
• Military defense budget: $1,138,000,000 – #84 out of 145
• External debt: $44,180,400,000
• Total military aircraft: 7
• Total military vehicles: 1,848
• Total naval vessels: 18
• Military strength score and world rank: 2.1246 – #99 out of 145

Latvia also has 65,750 total military personnel, which is composed of 17,250 active personnel, 36,000 reserves, and 12,500 paramilitary forces. At the same time, it has a total population of 1.801 million, and of these 648,449 are fit for military service.

26. North Macedonia

• Foreign exchange and gold reserves: $5,015,000,000
• Purchasing power parity: $42,444,000,000
• Military defense budget: $388,421,700 – #114 out of 145
• External debt: $11,000,000,000
• Total military aircraft: 20
• Total military vehicles: 1,108
• Total naval vessels: 0
• Military strength score and world rank: 2.4042 – #112 out of 145

North Macedonia also has 7,250 total military personnel, which is composed of 9,000 active personnel, 60,000 reserves, and 3,500 paramilitary forces. At the same time, it has a total population of 2.136 million, and of these 783,773 are fit for military service.

25. Iceland

• Foreign exchange and gold reserves: $5,809,000,000
• Purchasing power parity: $26,155,000,000
• Military defense budget: $312,400,000 – #121 out of 145
• External debt: $22,000,000,000
• Total military aircraft: 0
• Total military vehicles: 150
• Total naval vessels: 0
• Military strength score and world rank: 3.5181 – #135 out of 145

Iceland has a total population of 364,036, and of these 50,237 are fit for military service.

24. Lithuania

• Foreign exchange and gold reserves: $6,168,000,000
• Purchasing power parity: $132,712,000,000
• Military defense budget: $2,388,900,000 – #66 out of 145
• External debt: $44,000,000,000
• Total military aircraft: 9
• Total military vehicles: 1,263
• Total naval vessels: 14
• Military strength score and world rank: 1.9075 – #88 out of 145

Lithuania also has 141,150 total military personnel, which is composed of 23,000 active personnel, 104,000 reserves, and 14,150 paramilitary forces. At the same time, it has a total population of 2.628 million, and of these 1,332,490 are fit for military service.

23. Albania

• Foreign exchange and gold reserves: $6,455,000,000
• Purchasing power parity: $49,592,000,000
• Military defense budget: $558,862,420 – #101 out of 145
• External debt: $7,312,000,000
• Total military aircraft: 19
• Total military vehicles: 1,796
• Total naval vessels: 19
• Military strength score and world rank: 1.6815 – #78 out of 145

Albania also has 9,100 total military personnel, which is composed of 6,600 active personnel, 2,000 reserves, and 500 paramilitary forces. At the same time, it has a total population of 3.107 million, and of these 1,292,554 are fit for military service.

22. Slovakia

• Foreign exchange and gold reserves: $11,288,000,000
• Purchasing power parity: $213,053,000,000
• Military defense budget: $2,656,000,000 – #64 out of 145
• External debt: $127,600,000,000
• Total military aircraft: 41
• Total military vehicles: 3,074
• Total naval vessels: 0
• Military strength score and world rank: 1.3978 – #71 out of 145

Slovakia also has 19,500 total military personnel, which is composed entirely of its active-duty personnel. At the same time, it has a total population of 5.564 million, and of these 2,353,424 are fit for military service.

21. Greece

• Foreign exchange and gold reserves: $13,608,000,000
• Purchasing power parity: $375,780,000,000
• Military defense budget: $6,500,000,000 – #44 out of 145
• External debt: $550,000,000,000
• Total military aircraft: 558
• Total military vehicles: 61,888
• Total naval vessels: 192
• Military strength score and world rank: 0.5337 – #30 out of 145

Greece also has 419,050 total military personnel, which is composed of 142,700 active personnel, 221,350 reserves, and 55,000 paramilitary forces. At the same time, it has a total population of 10.46 million, and of these 3,985,676 are fit for military service.

20. Finland

• Foreign exchange and gold reserves: $16,929,000,000
• Purchasing power parity: $321,126,000,000
• Military defense budget: $6,779,661,000 – #42 out of 145
• External debt: $660,000,000,000
• Total military aircraft: 163
• Total military vehicles: 11,704
• Total naval vessels: 264
• Military strength score and world rank: 0.8437 – #48 out of 145

Finland also has 947,800 total military personnel, which is composed of 24,000 active personnel, 870,000 reserves, and 53,800 paramilitary forces. At the same time, it has a total population of 5.626 million, and of these 1,912,981 are fit for military service.

19. Belgium

• Foreign exchange and gold reserves: $40,813,000,000
• Purchasing power parity: $751,592,000,000
• Military defense budget: $10,200,000,000 – #31 out of 145
• External debt: $1,449,264,300,000
• Total military aircraft: 108
• Total military vehicles: 4,606
• Total naval vessels: 9
• Military strength score and world rank: 1.2564 – #62 out of 145

Belgium also has 31,400 total military personnel, which is composed of 25,000 active personnel and 6,400 reserves. At the same time, it has a total population of 11.98 million, and of these 3,880,753 are fit for military service.

18. Hungary

• Foreign exchange and gold reserves: $45,719,000,000
• Purchasing power parity: $388,906,000,000
• Military defense budget: $4,576,000,000 – #53 out of 145
• External debt: $137,500,000,000
• Total military aircraft: 69
• Total military vehicles: 7,797
• Total naval vessels: 0
• Military strength score and world rank: 1.0259 – #55 out of 145

Hungary also has 76,600 total military personnel, which is composed of 41,600 active personnel, 20,000 reserves, and 15,000 paramilitary forces. At the same time, it has a total population of 9.856 million, and of these 3,794,462 are fit for military service.

17. Bulgaria

• Foreign exchange and gold reserves: $46,334,000,000
• Purchasing power parity: $214,061,000,000
• Military defense budget: $1,373,232,000 – #80 out of 145
• External debt: $27,138,500,000
• Total military aircraft: 65
• Total military vehicles: 4,914
• Total naval vessels: 36
• Military strength score and world rank: 1.2563 – #61 out of 145

Bulgaria also has 40,000 total military personnel, which is composed of 37,000 active personnel and 3,000 reserves. At the same time, it has a total population of 6.783 million, and of these 2,611,324 are fit for military service.

16. Portugal

• Foreign exchange and gold reserves: $53,710,000,000
• Purchasing power parity: $529,901,000,000
• Military defense budget: $4,627,000,000 – #52 out of 145
• External debt: $399,395,000,000
• Total military aircraft: 115
• Total military vehicles: 10,828
• Total naval vessels: 194
• Military strength score and world rank: 0.6856 – #39 out of 145

Portugal also has 260,400 total military personnel, which is composed of 24,000 active personnel, 211,700 reserves, and 24,700 paramilitary forces. At the same time, it has a total population of 10.64 million, and of these 4,096,295 are fit for military service.

15. Sweden

• Foreign exchange and gold reserves: $60,863,000,000
• Purchasing power parity: $676,353,000,000
• Military defense budget: $13,000,000,000 – #28 out of 145
• External debt: $1,002,448,700,000
• Total military aircraft: 169
• Total military vehicles: 6,795
• Total naval vessels: 308
• Military strength score and world rank: 0.4835 – #27 out of 145

Sweden also has 82,300 total military personnel, which is composed of 24,400 active personnel, 32,900 reserves, and 25,000 paramilitary forces. At the same time, it has a total population of 10.59 million, and of these 3,558,185 are fit for military service.

14. Netherlands

• Foreign exchange and gold reserves: $69,830,000,000
• Purchasing power parity: $1,240,000,000,000
• Military defense budget: $27,000,000,000 – #18 out of 145
• External debt: $4,779,954,300,000
• Total military aircraft: 120
• Total military vehicles: 2,755
• Total naval vessels: 64
• Military strength score and world rank: 0.6412 – #36 out of 145

The Netherlands also has 53,145 total military personnel, which is composed of 41,380 active personnel, 6,765 reserves, and 5,000 paramilitary forces. At the same time, it has a total population of 17.77 million, and of these 6,486,918 are fit for military service.

13. Romania

• Foreign exchange and gold reserves: $73,000,000,000
• Purchasing power parity: $772,107,000,000
• Military defense budget: $9,700,000,000 – #33 out of 145
• External debt: $132,000,000,000
• Total military aircraft: 140
• Total military vehicles: 10,774
• Total naval vessels: 20
• Military strength score and world rank: 0.8984 – #51 out of 145

Romania also has 151,300 total military personnel, which is composed of 81,300 active personnel, 55,000 reserves, and 15,000 paramilitary forces. At the same time, it has a total population of 18.15 million, and of these 7,731,114 are fit for military service.

12. Norway

• Foreign exchange and gold reserves: $80,459,000,000
• Purchasing power parity: $449,528,000,000
• Military defense budget: $9,710,000,000 – #32 out of 145
• External debt: $716,144,000,000
• Total military aircraft: 97
• Total military vehicles: 6,552
• Total naval vessels: 43
• Military strength score and world rank: 0.6811 – #38 out of 145

Norway also has 63,250 total military personnel, which is composed of 23,250 active personnel and 40,000 paramilitary forces. At the same time, it has a total population of 5.510 million, and of these 1,807,192 are fit for military service.

11. Spain

• Foreign exchange and gold reserves: $103,089,000,000
• Purchasing power parity: $2,242,000,000,000
• Military defense budget: $23,397,000,000 – #22 out of 145
• External debt: $2,572,738,300,000
• Total military aircraft: 461
• Total military vehicles: 17,626
• Total naval vessels: 152
• Military strength score and world rank: 0.3242 – #17 out of 145

Spain also has 226,902 total military personnel, which is composed of 133,282 active personnel, 15,150 reserves, and 78,470 paramilitary forces. At the same time, it has a total population of 47.28 million, and of these 17,635,602 are fit for military service.

10. Denmark

• Foreign exchange and gold reserves: $109,371,000,000
• Purchasing power parity: $428,385,000,000
• Military defense budget: $7,225,466,250 – #40 out of 145
• External debt: $555,500,000,000
• Total military aircraft: 117
• Total military vehicles: 3,856
• Total naval vessels: 50
• Military strength score and world rank: 0.8109 – #45 out of 145

Denmark also has 83,000 total military personnel, which is composed of 20,000 active personnel, 12,000 reserves, and 51,000 paramilitary forces. At the same time, it has a total population of 5.973 million, and of these 2,126,436 are fit for military service.

9. Canada

• Foreign exchange and gold reserves: $117,551,000,000
• Purchasing power parity: $2,238,000,000,000
• Military defense budget: $41,000,000,000 – #15 out of 145
• External debt: $2,337,375,700,000
• Total military aircraft: 351
• Total military vehicles: 21,704
• Total naval vessels: 73
• Military strength score and world rank: 0.5179 – #28 out of 145

Canada also has 100,500 total military personnel, which is composed of 68,000 active personnel, 27,000 reserves, and 5,500 paramilitary forces. At the same time, it has a total population of 38.79 million, and of these 13,500,595 are fit for military service.

8. Turkey

• Foreign exchange and gold reserves: $140,858,000,000
• Purchasing power parity: $2,936,000,000,000
• Military defense budget: $47,000,000,000 – #13 out of 145
• External debt: $294,441,000,000
• Total military aircraft: 1,083
• Total military vehicles: 61,173
• Total naval vessels: 182
• Military strength score and world rank: 0.1902 – #9 out of 145

Turkey also has 883,900 total military personnel, which is composed of 355,200 active personnel, 378,700 reserves, and 150,000 paramilitary forces. At the same time, it has a total population of 84.12 million, and of these 36,087,279 are fit for military service.

7. Czechia

• Foreign exchange and gold reserves: $148,379,000,000
• Purchasing power parity: $519,007,000,000
• Military defense budget: $6,750,000,000 – #43 out of 145
• External debt: $211,200,000,000
• Total military aircraft: 99
• Total military vehicles: 6,340
• Total naval vessels: 0
• Military strength score and world rank: 0.9994 – #53 out of 145

Czechia also has 32,200 total military personnel, which is composed of 28,000 active personnel and 4,200 reserves. At the same time, it has a total population of 10.84 million, and of these 4,129,236 are fit for military service.

6. United Kingdom

• Foreign exchange and gold reserves: $177,915,000,000
• Purchasing power parity: $3,700,000,000,000
• Military defense budget: $71,500,540,000 – #6 out of 145
• External debt: $9,593,749,000,000
• Total military aircraft: 631
• Total military vehicles: 38,200
• Total naval vessels: 109
• Military strength score and world rank: 0.1785 – #6 out of 145

The United Kingdom also has 1,108,860 total military personnel, which is composed of 184,860 active personnel and 924,000 reserves. At the same time, it has a total population of 68.46 million, and of these 25,192,932 are fit for military service.

5. Poland

• Foreign exchange and gold reserves: $193,783,000,000
• Purchasing power parity: $1,616,000,000,000
• Military defense budget: $48,700,000,000 – #12 out of 145
• External debt: $386,947,000,000
• Total military aircraft: 479
• Total military vehicles: 23,138
• Total naval vessels: 62
• Military strength score and world rank: 0.3776 – #22 out of 145

Poland also has 602,100 total military personnel, which is composed of 202,100 active personnel, 350,000 reserves, and 50,000 paramilitary forces. At the same time, it has a total population of 38.75 million, and of these 15,576,017 are fit for military service.

4. France

• Foreign exchange and gold reserves: $240,792,000,000
• Purchasing power parity: $3,764,000,000,000
• Military defense budget: $55,000,000,000 – #9 out of 145
• External debt: $6,992,104,900,000
• Total military aircraft: 976
• Total military vehicles: 110,932
• Total naval vessels: 129
• Military strength score and world rank: 0.1878 – #8 out of 145

France also has 376,000 total military personnel, which is composed of 200,000 active personnel, 26,000 reserves, and 150,000 paramilitary forces. At the same time, it has a total population of 68.37 million, and of these 23,794,358 are fit for military service.

3. Italy

• Foreign exchange and gold reserves: $247,396,000,000
• Purchasing power parity: $3,097,000,000,000
• Military defense budget: $30,890,000,000 – #16 out of 145
• External debt: $2,750,000,000,000
• Total military aircraft: 729
• Total military vehicles: 73,480
• Total naval vessels: 196
• Military strength score and world rank: 0.2164 – #10 out of 145

Italy also has 289,000 total military personnel, which is composed of 165,500 active personnel, 18,500 reserves, and 105,000 paramilitary forces. At the same time, it has a total population of 60.96 million, and of these 22,191,235 are fit for military service.

2. Germany

• Foreign exchange and gold reserves: $322,700,000,000
• Purchasing power parity: $5,230,000,000,000
• Military defense budget: $50,000,000,000 – #11 out of 145
• External debt: $6,238,609,300,000
• Total military aircraft: 584
• Total military vehicles: 83,260
• Total naval vessels: 61
• Military strength score and world rank: 0.2601 – #14 out of 145

Germany also has 215,600 total military personnel, which is composed of 181,600 active personnel and 34,000 reserves. At the same time, it has a total population of 84.12 million, and of these 30,955,829 are fit for military service.

1. United States

• Foreign exchange and gold reserves: $773,426,000,000
• Purchasing power parity: $24,662,000,000,000
• Military defense budget: $895,000,000,000 – #1 out of 145
• External debt: $22,303,546,100,000
• Total military aircraft: 13,043
• Total military vehicles: 391,963
• Total naval vessels: 440
• Military strength score and world rank: 0.0744 – #1 out of 145

The United States also has 2,127,500 total military personnel, which is composed of 1,328,000 active personnel and 799,500 reserves. At the same time, it has a total population of 341.96 million, and of these 124,816,644 are fit for military service.

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