List of countries with overseas military bases

Camp Humphreys in South Korea, the largest United States overseas military base by population, with a combined military and civilian population of 40,000.

Pituffik Space Base in Greenland, the largest United States overseas military base by area, at 66,000 hectares.^[1]

The establishment of military bases abroad enables a country to project power, e.g., to conduct expeditionary warfare, to influence events abroad. Depending on their size and infrastructure, they can be staging areas or for logistical, communications, and intelligence support. Many conflicts throughout modern history have resulted in overseas military bases being established in large numbers by world powers. These bases have helped them to achieve political and military goals.

At one time, the establishment of coaling stations for naval ships was important. The United Kingdom and other colonial powers established overseas military bases in many of their colonies during the First and Second World Wars. During the Cold War, the United States and the Soviet Union established military bases within their respective spheres of influence.

The war on terror has resulted in overseas military bases being established in the Middle East. While the overall number of overseas military bases has fallen since 1945, the United States, Turkey, the United Kingdom, Russia, India, and France still possess or utilize a substantial number of them. Smaller numbers of overseas military bases are operated by China, Iran, Italy, Japan, Saudi Arabia, Singapore and the United Arab Emirates.

The United States is the largest operator of military bases abroad, with 38 "named bases"^{[note 1]} with active duty, national guard, reserve, or civilian personnel as of September 2014. Its largest, in terms of personnel, was Ramstein AB in Germany, with almost 9,200 personnel.^{[2][note 2]}

The United Kingdom has thirteen overseas military bases.

More information Country, Location ...

Country	Location	Details
Belize	Price Barracks, Ladyville	British Army Training and Support Unit Belize[92]
Bahrain	Mina Salman	United Kingdom Naval Support Facility
Brunei	Seria	British Forces Brunei[93]
Canada	CFB Suffield	British Army Training Unit Suffield
Cyprus	Troodos Station	British Forces Cyprus
Germany	Westfalen Garrison	British Army Germany[94]
Kenya	Nanyuki	British Army Training Unit Kenya[95]
Nepal	Pokhara Camp, Dharan Station[96][97]	British Gurkhas Nepal
Norway	Bardufoss Air Station[98] and Camp Viking[99]	Camp Viking opened in 2023.
Oman	Duqm	Omani-British Joint Training Area and the UK Joint Logistics Support Base
Qatar	RAF Al Udeid[100]
Singapore	Sembawang Naval Base	British Defence Singapore Support Unit[21][101]
United Arab Emirates	Al Minhad Air Base	Donnelly Lines

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The U.S. military maintains hundreds of military installations, both inside the United States and overseas, with at least 128 military bases in 55 countries and territories, as of February 2025. Some American bases are also NATO-led with forces from multiple countries. Camp Humphreys in South Korea is the largest overseas base in terms of area.^[102] Most of these foreign military installations are located in NATO countries, Middle East countries, South Korea and Japan.

Countries with U.S. bases include:

Africa

More information Country, Location ...

Country	Location	Details
Cameroon	Cameroonian Air Force Base 301, Contingency Location Garoua	The base is used to support military operations against Boko Haram.[103] Approximately 200 personnel work at the site.
Djibouti	Camp Lemonnier, CSL Chabelley	Camp Lemonnier is the largest U.S. base in Africa with more than 4,000 military personnel.[104]
Kenya	Camp Simba	Second largest U.S. base in Africa. Over 600 U.S. military personnel work at Camp Simba.[105]
Seychelles	United States drone base in Seychelles	Surveillance of al-Shabaab over Somalia.
Somalia	Baledogle Airfield	Primarily used by the United States, AMISOM and the Somali National Army as a base for conducting counterinsurgency and drone operations in the country. Approximately 450 U.S. troops remain in Somalia as of July 2024.[106]

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Americas

More information Country, Location ...

Country	Location	Details
Aruba (Netherlands)	Queen Beatrix International Airport	Cooperative Security Location of U.S. Southern Command
Ascension Island (UK)	Ascension Island Auxiliary Airfield	The facility is home to a U.S. Space Force ground tracking station in support of the Eastern Range and rocket launches from Cape Canaveral Space Force Station in Florida.
Bahamas	Atlantic Undersea Test and Evaluation Center	AUTEC is a laboratory that performs integrated three-dimensional hydrospace/aerospace trajectory measurements covering the entire spectrum of undersea simulated warfare. Its mission is to assist in establishing and maintaining the naval ability of the United States through testing, evaluation, and underwater research.
Canada	CFB North Bay	North Bay's air force base is the centre for the air defence of all of Canada and works in concert with the United States via NORAD for the air defence of the Canada-U.S. portion of the North American continent.
Cuba	Guantanamo Bay Naval Base	The military facility has over 8,500 U.S. sailors and Marines stationed there.
Curaçao (Netherlands)	Curaçao International Airport	U.S. Air Force Forward Operating Base
El Salvador	El Salvador International Airport	Cooperative Security Location of U.S. Southern Command
Greenland (Denmark)	Pituffik Space Base	Around 150 people are stationed at Pituffik. The U.S. Space Force's northernmost base, and the northernmost installation of the U.S. Armed Forces. The base is home to a substantial portion of the global network of missile warning sensors of Space Delta 4, and space surveillance and space control sensors of Space Delta 2, providing space awareness and advanced missile detection capabilities to North American Aerospace Defense Command (NORAD), the United States Space Force, and joint partners.
Honduras	Soto Cano Air Base	Soto Cano Air Base houses 1,200–1,500 U.S. troops and is also used by the Honduran Air Force academy.

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Asia

More information Country, Location ...

Country	Location	Details
Bahrain	Naval Support Activity Bahrain; Isa Air Base	Naval Support Activity Bahrain is home to approximately 8,500 military personnel. The mission of NSA Bahrain is to provide Operational Support to U.S. and Coalition Forces operating throughout the United States Central Command area of responsibility.[107]
British Indian Ocean Territory (UK)	Naval Support Facility Diego Garcia, Camp Thunder Cove	United States forces have used Diego Garcia since at least the mid-1960s, under lease from the United Kingdom. The island has port facilities and an airstrip capable of handling large aircraft. Currently, 1,700 military personnel reside there.
Iraq	Harir Air Base	As of 2026, less than 2000 U.S. soldiers are positioned in Iraq, almost all in a security cooperation basis.
Israel	Dimona Radar Facility[108]	A radar facility near Dimona, owned and operated by the United States.
Japan	United States Forces Japan	There are 54,000 U.S. military personnel based in Japan – the highest number stationed anywhere overseas.[109]
Jordan	Muwaffaq Salti Air Base	Jordan hosts about 3,000 American troops.[110] Muwaffaq Salti Air Base is reported to host several MQ-9 Reaper drones, based on satellite imagery.[111] The base is partly operated by the 407th Air Expeditionary Group.[112][113]
Kuwait	Ali Al Salem Air Base; Camp Arifjan; Camp Buehring; Kuwait Naval Base	Approximately 13,500 U.S. forces are based in Kuwait, primarily at Camp Arifjan and Ali al-Salem Air Base.[114]
1992 (it was all closed)	Antonio Bautista Air Base; Basa Air Base; Benito Ebuen Air Base; Fort Magsaysay; Lumbia Airport;[115] Balabac Island; Camp Melchor Dela Cruz; Lal-lo Airport; Naval Base Camilo Osias[116]	no
Qatar	Al Udeid Air Base	Al Udeid Air Base is the biggest U.S. military installation in the Middle East and can house more than 10,000 U.S. troops.[117]
Saudi Arabia	Prince Sultan Air Base[118]	More than 2,700 U.S. forces are stationed at the Prince Sultan Air Base.[119][110]
Singapore	Paya Lebar Air Base, Changi Naval Base, Changi Air Base	Singapore hosts more than 800 U.S. military personnel, civilians, and family members.[120]
South Korea	United States Forces Korea	Approximately 28,500 U.S. troops are based in South Korea.
Thailand	U-Tapao Royal Thai Navy Airfield[121]	The extent of the US presence here is disputed, but according to Politico, the Pentagon rents space from a contractor at U-Tapao Royal Thai Navy Airfield, allowing officials to say there's no official "base."[121]
United Arab Emirates	Al Dhafra Air Base	The UAE hosts 5,000 US military personnel at Al Dhafra Air Base.[122]

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Europe

More information Country, Location ...

Country	Location	Details
Albania	SOCEUR base under construction in Tirana[123][124][125]
Belgium	Chièvres Air Base; Kleine Brogel Air Base
Bosnia and Herzegovina	NATO Headquarters Sarajevo[126]
Bulgaria	Aitos Logistics Center; Bezmer Air Base; Graf Ignatievo Air Base; Novo Selo Range
Akrotiri and Dhekelia (UK)	RAF Akrotiri
Estonia	Ämari Air Base
Germany	U.S. Military Installations in Germany; Panzer Kaserne; Ramstein Air Base; Spangdahlem Air Base; Baumholder Army Post; Landstuhl Regional Medical Center; Sembach Army Post;
Greece	Alexandroupoli Army Base, Larisa Air Base, Araxos Air Base, Souda Bay Naval Base
Iceland	Naval Air Station Keflavík
Italy	Caserma Ederle-Caserma Del Din; Darby Military Community; Naval Air Station Sigonella; Naval Support Activity Naples; Aviano Air Base
Kosovo	Camp Bondsteel
Lithuania	Camp Herkus, Pabradė[127]
Netherlands	Volkel Air Base; USCG Activities Europe
Norway	Marine Corps garrison at Værnes Air Station
Poland	Camp Kościuszko; Powidz Air Base; Łask Air Base; NSF Redzikowo
Portugal	Lajes Field
Romania	Mihail Kogălniceanu Air Base; Câmpia Turzii Air Base; Deveselu Military Base; Cincu Training Center
Spain	Morón Air Base; Naval Station Rota; Madrid Deep Space Communications Complex
Turkey	Incirlik Air Base, Izmir Air Station, Kürecik Radar Station, Ankara Support Facility
United Kingdom	RAF Alconbury; RAF Croughton; RAF Fairford; RAF Lakenheath; RAF Menwith Hill; RAF Mildenhall; RAF Welford

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Oceania

More information Country, Location ...

Country	Location	Details
Australia	Pine Gap; Marine Rotational Force – Darwin;[128]	Pine Gap is a massive computer complex with 38 radomes protecting radio dishes[129] and operates with over 800 employees.[130] The location is strategically significant because it controls United States spy satellites as they pass over one-third of the globe, including China, North Korea, the Asian parts of Russia, and the Middle East.[129] Central Australia was chosen because it was too remote for spy ships passing in international waters to intercept its signals.[131]: p 45–46 [132]: p xxi  One of its roles is to detect and geolocate the source of electronic signals, such as those emitted by mobile phones. This information is used by the US military to identify and geolocate targets of interest, which it can then attack using special forces or lethal unmanned drones, for example.[133]
Marshall Islands	Kwajalein Airfield, Kwajalein Atoll	United States Army airfield, the entirety of Kwajalein Atoll is a military base.

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• Power projection
• Mobile offshore base
• Military base
• Piardoba Airfield

Suspected/unconfirmed presence of Egyptian military bases in Eritrea, a Saudi island, and in Somalia.