According to Molecular Orbital Theory (MOT), the electronic configuration of $N_2$ (14 electrons) is: $\sigma 1s^2{\sigma }^{\ast }1s^2\sigma 2s^2{\sigma }^{\ast }2s^2(\pi 2p_x^2=\pi 2p_y^2)\sigma 2p_z^2$

• Number of bonding electrons ($N_b$) = 10
• Number of anti-bonding electrons ($N_a$) = 4 $BondOrder=\frac{N_b-N_a}{2}=\frac{10-4}{2}=\frac{6}{2}=3$
• A bond order of 3 indicates a very strong triple bond ($N\equiv N$), which explains its high dissociation energy.