In recent years, Russia’s actions in Ukraine have created severe tension in the surrounding
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 to like and subscribe for new videos every
day.