NATO is a military alliance established by the North Atlantic Treaty (also called the Washington Treaty) of April 1949, and it has 32 member countries.

• It was set up to provide collective security against the Soviet Union.
• Headquarters is located in Brussels, Belgium.
• NATO’s essential and enduring purpose is to safeguard the freedom and security of all its members by political and military means and collective defence under Article 5 of the treaty.
• Founding members are  Belgium, Canada, Denmark, France, Iceland, Italy, Luxembourg, the Netherlands, Norway, Portugal, the United Kingdom, and the United States.
• Countries recently joined NATO, including Finland (31st member in 2023), Sweden (32nd member in 2024).

Source: The Indian Express