Acting Costa Rican President José “Don Pepe”Figueres Ferrer takes a sledgehammer to the Cuartel Bellavista military barracks, 1948 The 22 countries which have abolished their militaries or were founded without one are uniformly tiny, isolated, and often island nations. In many cases,…

Incredibly, in the 21st-century, roughly half of the world’s nation-states practice military conscription. According to Wikipedia, the countries on this list may still be enforcing military conscription. In all cases, registration is required but military service may not be; this practice would…