Archive briefing · Event date: 7 March 2024. This retrospective summary was prepared on 4 November 2026.
Sweden joined NATO after depositing its accession document with the United States government in Washington, DC. NATO’s membership rose to 32 countries at that point.
A Nordic milestone
For Finland, the announcement was an important neighbouring-country development. Finland had joined the alliance in April 2023; Sweden’s accession followed in March 2024.
The membership date and the flag ceremony were separate events. NATO said Sweden’s flag would be raised at its headquarters in Brussels on 11 March 2024.
Read the original announcement
NATO published its accession announcement on 7 March 2024. The photograph accompanying this briefing is an illustrative Stockholm street scene taken later, not a photograph of the accession ceremony.
