ex-Soviet republics. In particular, three countries in northern Europe, known as the

Baltic States, have asked for NATO protection. Their insistence on support made us want to

know, how powerful are the Baltic states?

Well, the Baltics are comprised of Latvia, Estonia and Lithuania. They are all situated

along the Baltic sea and are the only ex-Soviet states to be members of both NATO and the

EU.

Together, they have a land size of roughly 70,000 square miles, and are a little larger

than the state of Florida. However, their population is fairly small at about 6 million

residents, or roughly 2 million fewer people than in New York City. This ranks them relatively

low amongst most individual countries.

Economically they’re not especially well off either. Their combined GDP is about 100

billion dollars, which puts them on par with Ecuador. Per capita they match many nearby

countries, like the Czech Republic and Slovakia. That’s about 18,000 dollars per person,

or a third of the US’s per capita GDP.

However, the Baltic states notably went through a period of intense economic growth, leading

to their label as “The Baltic Tigers.” From a series of economic reforms in 2000

until the global financial crash in 2007, the Baltics saw faster growth than any other

European country. In less than a decade, their GDPs grew by about ten percent, compared to

an average rate of 2-3 percent in the EU. Additionally, following the 2007 crash, they

saw the fastest recovery in the EU. Since 2011, all three countries have adopted the

Euro. They are industrialized economies, bolstered by liberal policy and membership in the World

Trade Organization. This has led to their very high human development index rankings.

So how prepared are they to take on Russia? Well, individually they rank near the bottom

in military might. Combined, they spend about a billion dollars on defense, or roughly 1.5%

of Russia’s military expenditure.

Furthermore, the Baltic states are unable to police their own airspace. Instead, NATO

provides defensive air policing of the area, through a rotation of different NATO countries.

However, since an encroachment on the Baltic States would threaten the rest of Europe,

the three countries have the active support of not only NATO, but the Nordic countries

as well. This is another example of mutual defense agreements making it easier for smaller

countries to relax their military power.

The Baltic states have great economic growth, high development, and serve as strong examples

of country cooperation. However, in view of other individual countries and intergovernmental

organizations, the Baltic states have little power. Unfortunately, their fear of Russia

is well founded, and it will ultimately be up to the rest of the world to protect the

region.

Stay tuned for our next video, on whether Russia has a chance of taking over the Baltics!

If you’re interested in the strengths of other countries, check out our full playlist

now, including this one on Nordic Power. As always, thanks for watching, and make sure

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