The Ally Scorecard: Every U.S. Ally Graded
Every NATO member, every U.S. treaty ally, every Major Non-NATO Ally and both Major Defense Partners, 55 countries in all, graded on the same five measures: what they spend on defense, how often they vote with the U.S. at the United Nations, how many U.S. troops they host, how much U.S. weaponry Washington has proposed selling them and the trade balance with the U.S.
An adjustable scorecard of five measurable relationships with the U.S. It does not measure an ally's total strategic value: fighting alongside U.S. forces, intelligence sharing, access agreements, its own defense industry and geography all count and are not here.
Jump to: The report card · One country · Spending · UN votes · Troops · Arms · Trade · How it is graded
01The Report Card
Five grades for each of the 55 countries the United States formally counts as allies or major partners, and an overall grade that averages them. Each measure is one that comes up whenever Washington argues about whether its allies pull their weight. Defense spending is graded against NATO's lines, trade against a balanced ledger, and the other three on a curve against the other allies (section 08 explains each). Click a heading to sort, or change what counts.
| # | Country | Status | Defense spending | UN votes | U.S. troops hosted | Proposed U.S. arms sales | Trade balance | Data available | Overall, default weights |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Poland | NATO | A 4.49% | A 19.8% | B 11 | A 17.2% | B +1% | 5 of 5 | A- |
| 2 | Greece | NATO | B 2.98% | C 17.7% | A 43 | A 21.0% | B +4% | 5 of 5 | B+ |
| 2 | Kuwait | Major non-NATO ally | A 4.68% | F 4.6% | A 106 | A 44.9% | A +27% | 5 of 5 | B+ |
| 4 | Qatar | Major non-NATO ally | A 6.50% | F 4.0% | A 56 | B 13.0% | A +36% | 5 of 5 | B |
| 4 | United Kingdom | NATO | B 2.35% | A 23.6% | A 145 | F 1.3% | A +20% | 5 of 5 | B |
| 6 | Australia | Treaty ally, Major non-NATO ally | C 1.91% | B 17.9% | B 11 | B 10.7% | B +8% | 5 of 5 | B- |
| 6 | Bahrain | Major non-NATO ally | B 3.10% | F 4.0% | A 1,927 | A 81.1% | B +1% | 5 of 5 | B- |
| 6 | Belgium | NATO | B 2.00% | C 17.6% | A 93 | C 6.1% | B +14% | 5 of 5 | B- |
| 6 | Bulgaria | NATO | B 2.00% | B 19.5% | C 4.1 | A 21.2% | C -14% | 5 of 5 | B- |
| 6 | Israel | Major non-NATO ally | A 7.80% | A 93.2% | B 11 | C 10.2% | D -20% | 5 of 5 | B- |
| 6 | Latvia | NATO | A 3.60% | A 19.8% | B 9.2 | D 3.0% | C -6% | 5 of 5 | B- |
| 12 | Netherlands | NATO | B 2.19% | C 16.0% | B 23 | D 4.3% | A +46% | 5 of 5 | B- |
| 12 | Romania | NATO | B 2.28% | A 19.9% | C 7.1 | A 17.0% | F -47% | 5 of 5 | B- |
| 12 | South Korea | Treaty ally, Major non-NATO ally | B 2.60% | B 17.9% | A 453 | C 5.4% | D -29% | 5 of 5 | B- |
| 15 | Germany | NATO | B 2.26% | B 19.3% | A 444 | D 4.2% | D -31% | 5 of 5 | C+ |
| 15 | Jordan | Major non-NATO ally | A 4.55% | F 4.5% | C 7.9 | A 17.8% | C -15% | 5 of 5 | C+ |
| 15 | Lithuania | NATO | B 3.08% | B 19.6% | C 6.6 | D 4.3% | B +15% | 5 of 5 | C+ |
| 15 | Morocco | Major non-NATO ally | A 3.54% | D 5.2% | F 0.89 | B 15.8% | A +50% | 5 of 5 | C+ |
| 15 | Saudi Arabia | Major non-NATO ally | A 6.48% | D 5.3% | C 7.2 | C 7.5% | B +15% | 5 of 5 | C+ |
| 15 | Spain | NATO | B 2.12% | C 16.9% | A 77 | F 2.1% | B +11% | 5 of 5 | C+ |
| 21 | United Arab Emirates | Major defense partner | - | F 4.0% | B 11 | - | A +61% | 3 of 5 | C+ |
| 22 | Albania | NATO | B 2.03% | B 19.4% | C 5.1 | F none | B +15% | 5 of 5 | C+ |
| 22 | Canada | NATO | C 1.62% | B 18.9% | C 3.8 | C 5.6% | C -7% | 5 of 5 | C+ |
| 22 | Croatia | NATO | B 2.01% | B 19.0% | D 3.6 | C 8.3% | C -12% | 5 of 5 | C+ |
| 22 | Finland | NATO | B 2.57% | B 18.0% | D 3.0 | A 38.5% | F -48% | 5 of 5 | C+ |
| 22 | Montenegro | NATO | C 1.89% | C 17.6% | B 13 | F none | A +58% | 5 of 5 | C+ |
| 22 | Norway | NATO | B 3.27% | D 15.8% | B 16 | C 7.6% | C -19% | 5 of 5 | C+ |
| 22 | Slovakia | NATO | B 2.03% | A 19.8% | D 3.3 | B 12.5% | F -73% | 5 of 5 | C+ |
| 22 | Turkiye | NATO | C 1.90% | D 14.8% | B 19 | C 8.9% | B +11% | 5 of 5 | C+ |
| 30 | Czechia | NATO | C 1.83% | A 21.2% | F 1.3 | B 11.6% | D -30% | 5 of 5 | C |
| 30 | Estonia | NATO | B 3.37% | B 18.6% | B 15 | D 5.0% | F -44% | 5 of 5 | C |
| 30 | Italy | NATO | C 1.88% | B 18.6% | A 217 | F 0.9% | D -27% | 5 of 5 | C |
| 30 | North Macedonia | NATO | C 1.96% | A 21.5% | C 7.2 | C 8.5% | F -60% | 5 of 5 | C |
| 34 | Denmark | NATO | B 3.25% | C 17.7% | D 3.1 | B 11.6% | F -45% | 5 of 5 | C- |
| 34 | Egypt | Major non-NATO ally | F 0.60% | F 3.5% | D 1.6 | A 102.7% | A +54% | 5 of 5 | C- |
| 34 | France | NATO | B 2.02% | A 21.3% | F 1.2 | F 0.6% | C -15% | 5 of 5 | C- |
| 34 | Hungary | NATO | B 2.03% | A 25.9% | C 8.4 | F 1.5% | F -55% | 5 of 5 | C- |
| 34 | Japan | Treaty ally, Major non-NATO ally | D 1.41% | D 13.9% | A 448 | C 8.0% | D -28% | 5 of 5 | C- |
| 39 | Taiwan | Major non-NATO ally | B 2.09% | - | D 1.9 | B 13.1% | F -57% | 4 of 5 | C- |
| 40 | Argentina | Major non-NATO ally | F 0.56% | A 78.0% | F 0.61 | D 3.1% | B +9% | 5 of 5 | C- |
| 40 | New Zealand | Major non-NATO ally | D 1.10% | D 14.5% | D 3.2 | B 15.3% | C -15% | 5 of 5 | C- |
| 40 | Peru | Major non-NATO ally | F 0.81% | D 5.6% | F 1.3 | A 20.1% | B +6% | 5 of 5 | C- |
| 40 | Portugal | NATO | C 1.71% | C 17.5% | B 23 | F none | D -39% | 5 of 5 | C- |
| 40 | Sweden | NATO | B 2.47% | C 17.6% | D 1.5 | D 3.4% | D -27% | 5 of 5 | C- |
| 45 | Colombia | Major non-NATO ally | B 3.20% | D 5.5% | F 1.1 | F none | B +4% | 5 of 5 | D+ |
| 45 | Luxembourg | NATO | F 0.85% | C 17.6% | C 8.6 | F none | B +19% | 5 of 5 | D+ |
| 47 | Iceland | NATO | F 0.00% | C 16.5% | D 2.5 | - | C -13% | 4 of 5 | D+ |
| 48 | Kenya | Major non-NATO ally | D 1.06% | D 4.8% | F 0.66 | D 4.6% | B +7% | 5 of 5 | D+ |
| 48 | Slovenia | NATO | C 1.54% | C 17.4% | C 5.2 | F none | F -73% | 5 of 5 | D+ |
| 48 | Tunisia | Major non-NATO ally | B 2.49% | F 3.4% | D 2.2 | D 3.7% | D -27% | 5 of 5 | D+ |
| 51 | India | Major defense partner | B 2.29% | D 4.8% | F 0.04 | F 1.6% | D -39% | 5 of 5 | D |
| 51 | Pakistan | Major non-NATO ally | B 2.91% | D 5.4% | F 0.27 | F 1.1% | D -27% | 5 of 5 | D |
| 51 | Philippines | Treaty ally, Major non-NATO ally | D 1.29% | F 4.5% | F 0.41 | B 16.7% | D -32% | 5 of 5 | D |
| 54 | Brazil | Major non-NATO ally | D 1.05% | F 4.4% | F 0.28 | F 0.6% | B +15% | 5 of 5 | D- |
| 55 | Thailand | Treaty ally, Major non-NATO ally | D 1.03% | F 3.9% | D 1.6 | F 1.1% | F -65% | 5 of 5 | F |
Spending: SIPRI, % of GDP, 2025 or the latest year shown in the country's report card; a SIPRI measure, not NATO's own compliance figure. UN: share of recorded General Assembly votes matching the U.S., session 2025-26. Troops: U.S. active-duty troops per million residents. Arms: proposed U.S. arms sales notified to Congress over the past 10 years, a yearly average set against the country's current defense budget (a ceiling on possible sales, not money spent, so it can exceed 100%). Trade: U.S. goods exports minus imports as a share of two-way trade, 2025; a plus means the U.S. sells more than it buys. Overall: grade-point average, A = 4, over the measures a country has figures for (the Data available column).
02One Country's Report Card
Pick a country to see each grade, where it ranks and what it would take to move up, with its history on each measure.
| D | Defense spending: 1.41% |
| D | UN votes with the U.S.: 13.9% |
| A | U.S. troops hosted: 448 |
| C | Proposed U.S. arms sales: 8.0% |
| D | Trade balance: -28% |
03Defense Spending Against NATO's Lines
In 2014, after Russia seized Crimea, NATO members agreed to move toward spending 2% of GDP on defense within a decade. By SIPRI's figures, 13 of the countries on this page were at or above 2% that year; in 2025 it was 34. In June 2025 NATO members raised the bar to 5% of GDP by 2035, at least 3.5% of it for core defense. The chart plays the years forward. The five biggest spenders relative to GDP were Israel (7.8%), Qatar (6.5%), Saudi Arabia (6.5%), Kuwait (4.7%), Jordan (4.6%); none of them in NATO.
Military expenditure as a share of GDP, Stockholm International Peace Research Institute. This is a SIPRI measure, not NATO's compliance assessment. NATO's own figures for its members count some items differently and can land on the other side of a line: NATO's June 2025 estimate put Canada at 2.01% of GDP for 2025, against SIPRI's figure shown here. SIPRI is used because it covers every country on this page on the same basis; applying NATO's lines to countries outside NATO is this page's own yardstick. NATO's figures are in its defence expenditure reports. Iceland has no armed forces.
04Voting With the U.S. at the United Nations
In the 2025-26 General Assembly session, Israel matched the U.S. on 93% of recorded votes where both voted yes or no, and Tunisia on 3%. The average across these allies was 17%. In the session before, 2024-25, the average was 48%, so the gap between the U.S. and its allies widened sharply from one session to the next. The U.S. is often in a small minority in the General Assembly, on resolutions about Israel and the Palestinians, Cuba and many economic and social questions, so even close allies vote against it often. Taiwan is not a UN member.
Recorded votes on General Assembly resolutions in the session (September to September), from the UN Digital Library's voting dataset, through September 17, 2026. Identical votes divided by identical plus opposite votes; abstentions and absences left out, as in the State Department's annual report to Congress.
05U.S. Troops Hosted
Japan hosts more U.S. troops than any other ally, 54,891. Measured against population, which is how this scorecard grades it, Bahrain leads with about 1,927 per million residents. Every one of the 55 countries has at least one U.S. service member assigned there, though in some it is a handful of embassy and liaison staff. The U.S. military bases page has the full history back to 1950.
Active-duty U.S. military personnel assigned to the country, Defense Manpower Data Center, as of March 31, 2026. Troops on temporary deployments, ships at sea and classified locations are not counted, so the Middle East figures understate the real presence.
06Proposed U.S. Arms Sales
Over the past 10 years the Pentagon notified Congress of $793.4 billion in proposed government-to-government arms sales to these 55 countries. The largest totals were proposed for Poland ($80.2 billion), Saudi Arabia ($61.9 billion) and Japan ($50.6 billion). A notification is a ceiling, not a purchase: some sales are signed for less, some never happen, and sometimes Congress is told of alternatives of which only one can go ahead. Finland's fighter competition is the clearest case: Washington notified both an F/A-18 Super Hornet package and an F-35 package, and Finland bought only the F-35. This measure counts proposals, so it shows how much U.S. equipment a country has been cleared to buy, not what it spent. The grade compares the yearly average with the country's current defense budget, so a small country counts as much as a big one; the ratio can exceed 100% and should not be read as a share of the budget actually spent.
The 15 largest notified sales to these countries
| Delivered to Congress | Buyer | Up to | Notice |
|---|---|---|---|
| Jul 9, 2020 | Japan | $23.1 billion | Transmittal 20-18 |
| Jan 26, 2024 | Turkiye | $23.0 billion | Transmittal 23-07 |
| Aug 13, 2024 | Israel | $18.8 billion | Transmittal 24-01 |
| Oct 11, 2024 | Poland | $15.0 billion | Transmittal 23-16 |
| Oct 6, 2017 | Saudi Arabia | $15.0 billion | Transmittal 17-28 |
| Oct 9, 2020 | Finland | $14.7 billion | Transmittal 20-67 |
| Oct 9, 2020 | Finland | $12.5 billion | Transmittal 20-66 |
| Aug 21, 2023 | Poland | $12.0 billion | Transmittal 23-48 |
| Apr 17, 2026 | Germany | $11.9 billion | Transmittal 26-31 |
| Nov 14, 2017 | Poland | $10.5 billion | Transmittal 17-67 |
| Nov 9, 2020 | United Arab Emirates | $10.4 billion | Transmittal 21-01 |
| Nov 9, 2020 | United Arab Emirates | $10.0 billion | Transmittal 21-03 |
| Jan 30, 2026 | Saudi Arabia | $9.0 billion | Transmittal 26-13 |
| Jan 26, 2024 | Greece | $8.6 billion | Transmittal 23-01 |
| Aug 29, 2025 | Denmark | $8.5 billion | Transmittal 25-51 |
Arms Export Control Act section 36(b)(1) notifications published by the Department of Defense in the Federal Register, by the date Congress was told; enhancements to earlier sales and commercial licenses are not included. Sales to NATO agencies on behalf of several members are not assigned to any one country.
07The Trade Balance
In 2025 the U.S. sold more goods than it bought with 24 of these 55 countries. The largest U.S. goods deficit among them was with Taiwan, -$146.6B. This is the measure the trade debate of recent years has turned on, so it is here, though most economists think a bilateral goods balance says little about whether a trade relationship helps the U.S. It leaves out services, where the U.S. usually runs a surplus.
U.S. goods exports minus general imports, Census Bureau, 2025. Bars to the right: the U.S. sells more than it buys.
08How the Grades Work
Defense spending is military expenditure as a share of GDP from the Stockholm International Peace Research Institute, for 2025 or the latest year available (each country's year is in its report card). It is not NATO's compliance figure, which can differ by enough to change a grade; the NATO lines are used as a yardstick for every country, including those outside NATO. A: 3.5% or more. B: 2.0% to 3.5%. C: 1.5% to 2.0%. D: 1.0% to 1.5%. F: under 1%.
UN votes is the share of recorded General Assembly votes in the 2025-26 session where the country voted the same way as the U.S., counting only votes where both voted yes or no. Graded on a curve: the top fifth of the allies get an A, the next fifth a B, down to F.
U.S. troops hosted is active-duty U.S. troops assigned to the country per million residents, from the Pentagon's Defense Manpower Data Center. Graded on a curve among the countries that host any; none at all is an F.
Proposed U.S. arms sales is the yearly average of the past 10 years of Arms Export Control Act sale notifications to Congress, set against the country's defense spending in 2025. Notifications are ceilings and sometimes alternatives (see section 06), so this measures what Washington has cleared a country to buy, not what it bought. Graded on a curve among the countries with notified proposals; a country with no notified proposals in the 10 years gets an F.
Trade balance is U.S. goods exports to the country minus U.S. imports from it, as a share of the two combined, for 2025. A: the U.S. sells at least 20% more of the two-way trade than it buys (+20% or better). B: 0 to +20%. C: 0 to -20%. D: -20% to -40%. F: worse than -40%.
Overall is the average of the measure grades a country has, with A = 4, B = 3, C = 2, D = 1 and F = 0, turned back into a letter with plus and minus (A from 3.85, A- from 3.5, B+ from 3.15 and so on). In section 01 any measure can be switched off or counted double. GDP and population are from the IMF's World Economic Outlook. None of these measures captures everything an ally does: fighting alongside U.S. forces, intelligence sharing, basing rights without troops, and aid to Ukraine all count for a great deal and are not here.
Page data last changed November 11, 2026. Arms notices read through Federal Register issues of October 19, 2026.
09Frequently Asked Questions
Which country is the best U.S. ally on this scorecard?
Poland, with an overall grade of A-. The overall grade is the average of the five measure grades, with A worth 4 points and F worth 0, and section 01 lets you change the weights. Thailand is last, at F.
How many U.S. allies spend 2% of GDP on defense?
Of the 54 allies on this page with a 2025 figure from the Stockholm International Peace Research Institute, 34 spent at least 2% of GDP on defense, the guideline NATO members agreed in 2014 to reach within a decade, and 8 spent at least 3.5%, the core level NATO members agreed at The Hague in June 2025 to reach by 2035 (5% counting up to 1.5% for wider security spending).
How often do U.S. allies vote with the U.S. at the UN?
In the General Assembly session of 2025-26, Israel voted with the U.S. most often among these allies (93% of recorded votes where both sides voted yes or no) and Tunisia least often (3%). The average across the allies was 17%. Abstentions and absences are left out, as in the State Department's annual report to Congress on UN voting.
Why are some countries graded on a curve and others against fixed lines?
Defense spending has an agreed yardstick, NATO's 2% and 3.5% of GDP, and the trade balance has a natural middle, zero. UN voting, troops hosted and arms bought have no agreed target, so those grades rank the allies against each other: the top fifth get an A, the next fifth a B, and so on. A country that hosts no U.S. troops, or had no notified arms sale proposals in the 10 years covered, gets an F on that measure.
Why is a country I think of as an ally missing?
The list is set by official U.S. designations, not by judgment: NATO, the five other treaty allies (Japan, South Korea, Australia, the Philippines and Thailand), the Major Non-NATO Allies named under U.S. law (with Taiwan, which the law treats as one, and Saudi Arabia and Peru, designated in January 2026) and the two Major Defense Partners, India and the United Arab Emirates. Ukraine, for example, has none of these designations.
How often is the scorecard updated?
The data is checked every week. Arms sale notices appear in the Federal Register a few weeks to a few months after Congress is told; trade figures are updated monthly by the Census Bureau and the full year is used; defense spending changes each April when SIPRI publishes; UN votes change when the UN Digital Library adds a new session to its voting dataset; troop counts follow the Pentagon's quarterly reports.
10Sources
- Stockholm International Peace Research Institute: Military Expenditure Database, via Our World in Data
- United Nations Digital Library: General Assembly voting data
- Defense Manpower Data Center: military personnel by country, through the U.S. military bases page
- Federal Register: Department of Defense arms sales notifications and the Defense Security Cooperation Agency
- U.S. Census Bureau: trade in goods by country
- International Monetary Fund: World Economic Outlook (GDP and population)
- U.S. Department of State: Major Non-NATO Ally status; designations of Saudi Arabia, January 13, 2026 and Peru, January 14, 2026
- NATO: defence expenditures and the 5% commitment
Related: U.S. military bases worldwide · U.S. tariff calculator · Sanctions tracker
Cite This Page
This page is free to cite and link. Its figures come from SIPRI Military Expenditure Database (via Our World in Data), UN Digital Library General Assembly voting data, Defense Manpower Data Center, Federal Register arms sales notifications, Census Bureau trade by country, IMF World Economic Outlook; grades by DaveManuel.com and are kept current, so please include the date you accessed it.
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Source data: SIPRI Military Expenditure Database (via Our World in Data), UN Digital Library General Assembly voting data, Defense Manpower Data Center, Federal Register arms sales notifications, Census Bureau trade by country, IMF World Economic Outlook; grades by DaveManuel.com. Updates: Weekly check; yearly data. Page last updated November 11, 2026. How we build our data pages.