List of sovereign states by date of formation
Below is a list of sovereign states and with the dates of their formation (date of their independence or of their constitution), sorted by continent. This list includes the 195 states which currently are undisputedly sovereign; it does not include former sovereign states or states with limited recognition. For proposed states or various indigenous nations which consider themselves still under occupation, see list of active autonomist and secessionist movements. Micronations are not included in this list.
Nation-building is a long evolutionary process, and in most cases the date of a country's "formation" cannot be objectively determined; e.g., the fact that England and France were sovereign kingdoms on equal footing in the medieval period does not prejudice the fact that England is not now a sovereign state (having passed sovereignty to the UK in 1707), while France is a Republic founded in 1789 (technically, France currently refers to the French Fifth Republic, formed in 1958).
An unambiguous measure is the date of national constitutions; but as constitutions are an entirely modern concept, all formation dates by that criterion are modern or early modern (the oldest constitution being that of San Marino, dating to 1600).
Independence dates for widely recognised states earlier than 1919, should be treated with caution, since prior to the founding of the League of Nations, there was no international body to recognise nationhood, and independence had no meaning beyond mutual recognition of de facto sovereigns (the role of the League of Nations was effectively taken over by the United Nations after the Second World War). See also: disputed territories.
Many countries have some remote (or fantastically remote) symbolic foundation date as part of their national mythology, sometimes artificially inflating a country's "age" for reasons of nationalism, sometimes merely gesturing at a long and gradual process of the formation of an ethnic identity. Such dates reflect not the formation of a state (an independent political entity), but of a nation (an ethnic or cultural grouping), terms that are often conflated in the context of nation states.
The following list contains the formation dates of countries with a short description of those events. For a more detailed description of a country's formation and history please see the main article for each country.
|Country||Date||Birth of current form of government||Date||Acquisition of sovereignty||Date||Most recent significant territorial modification|
|Algeria||1963||Adoption of the present constitution.||July 3, 1962||French recognition of Algerian referendum on independence held two days earlier||July 5, 1962||Algeria gains sovereignty over the entire Algerian territory upon independence from France.|
|Angola||1975||November 11, 1975||Independence from Portugal|
|Benin||August 1, 1960||Independence from France||January 15, 1894||Borders of French Protectorate of Dahomey set at conclusion of Second Franco-Dahomean War|
|Botswana||March 31, 1885||Establishment of the Bechuanaland Protectorate by the United Kingdom||1894||Extended north into Ngamiland|
|September 30, 1966||Independence from the United Kingdom|
|Burkina Faso||December 11, 1958||Self-government achieved and republic within Franco-African Community||September 4, 1947||Restoration of colonial boundaries used from 1919–1932|
|August 5, 1960||Independence from France|
|Burundi||November 28, 1966||Monarchy replaced by republic||July 1, 1962||Independence from Belgium|
|Cabo Verde||July 5, 1975||Independence from Portugal|
|Cameroon||January 1, 1960||Independence from France||October 1, 1961||Merger of part of British Cameroons with Cameroon|
|Central African Republic||September 21, 1979||Monarchy replaced by republic||August 13, 1960||Independence from France|
|Chad||August 11, 1960||Independence from France||February 3, 1994||Aouzou Strip awarded to Chad|
|Comoros||July 6, 1975||Independence from France declared|
|Congo, Democratic Republic of the||June 30, 1960||April 22, 1884||Congo Free State recognized as an independent state|
|June 30, 1960||Independence from Belgium|
|Congo, Republic of the||August 15, 1960||Independence from France|
|Ivory Coast||December 4, 1958||Autonomous republic within French Community|
|August 7, 1960||Independence from France|
|Djibouti||June 27, 1977||Independence from France|
|Equatorial Guinea||October 12, 1968||Independence from Spain|
|Eritrea||May 24, 1993||Independence from Ethiopia declared||April 1, 2002||Badme ruled to be Eritrean by the Eritrea–Ethiopia Boundary Commission (EEBC after the Eritrean–Ethiopian War). Contested by Ethiopia|
|Ethiopia||March 21, 1975||Monarchy abolished and replaced by republic||980 BC||Formation of the state of D'mt||April 1, 2002||Badme ruled to be Eritrean by the Eritrea–Ethiopia Boundary Commission (EEBC after the Eritrean–Ethiopian War). Contested by Ethiopia|
|Gabon||August 17, 1960||Independence from France|
|Gambia||February 18, 1965||Independence from the United Kingdom|
|Ghana||March 6, 1957||Independence from the United Kingdom||December 13, 1956||Union of British Togoland with Gold Coast|
|Guinea||October 2, 1958||Independence from France|
|Guinea-Bissau||September 24, 1973||Independence from Portugal declared|
|September 10, 1974||Independence from Portugal recognized|
|Kenya||December 12, 1963||Independence from the United Kingdom|
|Lesotho||October 4, 1966||Independence from the United Kingdom||March 12, 1868||Area that is now present-day Lesotho placed under British rule|
|Liberia||July 26, 1847||Independence from the United States||January 6, 1986||Current constitution came into effect|
|Libya||August 4, 2014||Council of Deputies takes power.||December 24, 1951||Independence from UN Trusteeship (British and French administration after Italian governance ends in 1947)||February 13, 1984||Aouzou Strip awarded to Chad.|
|Madagascar||October 14, 1958||The Malagasy Republic was created as autonomous state within French Community|
|June 26, 1960||France recognizes Madagascar's independence|
|Malawi||July 6, 1964||Independence from the United Kingdom|
|Mali||November 25, 1958||French Sudan gains autonomy||August 20, 1960||Senegal secedes from Mali Federation|
|September 22, 1960||Independence from France|
|Mauritania||November 28, 1960||Independence from France||August 11, 1979||Mauritania withdraws from Tiris al-Gharbiyya (part of Western Sahara)|
|Mauritius||March 12, 1968||Independence from the United Kingdom||1965||Separation of Chagos Archipelago|
|Morocco||February 5, 789||Enthronement of Idris I in Volubilis||November 18, 1955||Protectorate abolished||January 4, 1969||Internationally recognized :
Return of Ifni to Morocco
|1666||Enthronement of Al-Rashid ibn Sharif in Fez||April 7, 1956||Return of Spanish Morocco to Morocco||April 1987||Disputed, de facto under Moroccan control :
Completion of the Moroccan Wall in Western Sahara
|Mozambique||June 25, 1975||Independence from Portugal|
|Namibia||March 21, 1990||Independence from South African rule||March 1, 1994||Walvis Bay integrated into Namibia|
|Niger||December 4, 1958||Autonomy within French Community|
|August 3, 1960||Independence from France|
|Nigeria||October 1, 1960||Independence from the United Kingdom||January 15, 1970||Biafra re-integrated into Nigeria|
|June 1, 1961||Northern Cameroons integrated in Nigeria|
|Rwanda||July 1, 1962||Independence from Belgium|
|São Tomé and Príncipe||July 12, 1975||Independence from Portugal|
|Senegal||August 20, 1960||Independence from France|
|Seychelles||June 29, 1976||Independence from the United Kingdom|
|Sierra Leone||April 27, 1961||Independence from the United Kingdom|
|Somalia||August 20, 2012||Federal Government of Somalia established.||July 1, 1960||Union of Trust Territory of Somalia (former Italian Somaliland) and State of Somaliland (formerly British Somaliland)||May 18, 1991 (disputed)||Somaliland declares independence, but is not recognized by any UN state.|
|South Africa||May 31, 1961||Republic declared||December 11, 1931||Statute of Westminster, which establishes a status of legislative equality between the self-governing dominion of the Union of South Africa and the UK||April 27, 1994||Reincorporation of the nominally independent bantustans into post-apartheid South Africa|
|May 31, 1910||Creation of the autonomous Union of South Africa from the previously separate colonies of the Cape, Natal, Transvaal and Orange River|
|South Sudan||July 9, 2011||Independence and Republic declared on July 9, 2011||July 9, 2011||Separation of Southern Sudan from Sudan|
|Sudan||April 15, 2010||First democratic election since the Second Sudanese Civil War||January 1, 1956||Independence from Egyptian and British joint rule||July 9, 2011||South Sudan secedes from Sudan|
|Swaziland||February 8, 2006||Constitution of Swaziland||September 6, 1968||Independence from the United Kingdom|
|Tanzania||July 1, 1991||Amendment to Constitution of Tanzania ends status as one-party state||December 9, 1961||Independence of Tanganyika from the United Kingdom||April 26, 1964||Merger of Zanzibar with Tanganyika to form Tanzania|
|Togo||August 30, 1958||Autonomy within French Union|
|April 27, 1960||Independence from France|
|Tunisia||January 26, 2014||Constitution of Tunisia following the Tunisian Revolution||March 20, 1956||Independence from France|
|Uganda||March 1, 1962||Self-government granted|
|October 9, 1962||Independence from the United Kingdom|
|Zambia||October 24, 1964||Independence from the United Kingdom|
|Zimbabwe||December 22, 1987||Robert Mugabe revises the Constitution of Zimbabwe to create an executive presidency.||November 11, 1965||Unilateral declaration of independence by Southern Rhodesia||1901||BSAC separates North-Eastern Rhodesia from Southern Rhodesia|
|April 18, 1980||Recognized independence from the United Kingdom as Zimbabwe|
|Country||Date||Birth of current form of government||Date||Date of acquisition of sovereignty||Date||Date of most recent significant territorial modification|
|Antigua and Barbuda||November 1, 1981||Independence from the United Kingdom|
|Argentina||May 1, 1853||The current Constitution of Argentina enters in force||May 25, 1810||May Revolution installs first local government||October 18, 1884||Conquest of the Desert|
|July 9, 1816||Argentine Declaration of Independence from Spain.|
|Bahamas||January 7, 1964||Internal self-governance granted|
|July 10, 1973||Independence from the United Kingdom|
|Barbados||November 30, 1966||Independence from the United Kingdom|
|Belize||September 21, 1981||Independence from the United Kingdom||1859||Treaty establishes border between British Honduras and Guatemala|
|January 1, 1964||Self-governing colony|
|Bolivia||May 25, 1809||August 6, 1825||Bolivian War of Independence from Spain.||November 11, 1903||Signing of the Treaty of Petrópolis with Brazil whereby Bolivia gained lands in Mato Grosso in exchange for the territory of Acre|
|Brazil||November 15, 1889||Proclamation of the Republic||September 7, 1822||Independence from Portugal declared||November 11, 1903||Signing of the Treaty of Petrópolis with Bolivia whereby Brazil was given the territory of Acre in exchange for lands in Mato Grosso|
|August 29, 1825||Independence recognized by Portugal|
|Canada||July 1, 1867||Dominion of Canada established as a federation||July 1, 1867||Granted nominal independence (Dominion status)||March 31, 1949||Dominion of Newfoundland joins as the province of Newfoundland|
|December 11, 1931||Statute of Westminster|
|Chile||August 17, 1989||Amendment to the Constitution of Chile ends the military dictatorship||February 12, 1818||Independence declared from Spain||July 3, 1929||Chile awarded Arica district in Treaty of Lima|
|April 25, 1844||Independence recognized by Spain|
|Colombia||August 4, 1886||Creation of the Republic of Colombia||July 20, 1810||Independence declared from Spain||November 3, 1903||Separation of Panama from Colombia|
|August 7, 1819||Independence recognized by Spain|
|1830||Dissolution of Gran Colombia|
|Costa Rica||November 7, 1949||Constitution of Costa Rica||September 15, 1821||Costa Rica declared independence from Spain||July 25, 1824||Partido de Nicoya|
|November 15, 1838||Independence from Federal Republic of Central America|
|Cuba||January 1, 1959||Cuban Revolution||October 10, 1898||Several wars were declared against Spain from 1868 to 1898, ending with the military support of USA to the Cuban Revolution.|
|December 10, 1898||Spain loses the war against United States and the military occupation of Cuba by USA begins.|
|May 20, 1902||United States military occupation ends|
|Dominica||November 3, 1978||Constitution of Dominica||February 27, 1967||Became an associated state of the United Kingdom|
|November 3, 1978||Independence from the United Kingdom|
|Dominican Republic||November 28, 1966||Civilian constitution of the Dominican Republic following the Dominican Civil War.||March 3, 1865||Independence from Spain following the Dominican Restoration War||February 27, 1844||The Dominican Republic gains independence from Haiti|
|May 9, 1936||Haiti and the Dominican Republic sign a treaty setting a definitive border.|
|Ecuador||August 10, 1809||May 24, 1822||Independence from Spain of Gran Colombia, of which Ecuador is a part||February 26, 1942||Rio Protocol ends border dispute with Peru|
|May 13, 1830||Dissolution of Gran Colombia|
|El Salvador||September 15, 1821||El Salvador becomes province in First Mexican Empire, which declared independence from Spain|
|July 1, 1823||El Salvador becomes a state of Federal Republic of Central America|
|February 18, 1841||Dissolution of the Federal Republic of Central America, El Salvador becomes independent|
|Grenada||February 27, 1967||Associated state of the United Kingdom|
|February 7, 1974||Full independence from the United Kingdom|
|Guatemala||September 15, 1821||Guatemala becomes state in Federal Republic of Central America, which declared independence from Spain|
|April 17, 1839||Independence from Federal Republic of Central America declared|
|Guyana||May 26, 1966||Independence from the United Kingdom|
|Haiti||March 1987||Constitution of 1987 (superseded)||January 1, 1804||The French colony Saint-Domingue gains independence as Haiti||February 27, 1844||The Dominican Republic gains independence from Haiti|
|May 9, 1936||Haiti and the Dominican Republic sign a treaty setting a definitive border.|
|Honduras||September 15, 1821||Honduras becomes state in Federal Republic of Central America, which declared independence from Spain||September 1, 1972||Swan Islands returned to Honduras from United States occupation|
|October 26, 1838||Independence from Federal Republic of Central America|
|Jamaica||August 6, 1962||Independence from the United Kingdom|
|Mexico||1917||Constitution of Mexico||September 16, 1810||Independence from Spain declared||December 30, 1853||Gadsden Purchase|
|August 24, 1821||Independence recognized by Spain in Treaty of Córdoba|
|Nicaragua||September 15, 1821||Nicaragua becomes state in Federal Republic of Central America, which declared independence from Spain|
|November 5, 1838||Independence from Federal Republic of Central America|
|Panama||November 3, 1903||Separation of Panama from Colombia, independence from Spain||October 1, 1979||Panama Canal Zone|
|Paraguay||June 1992||Democratic Constitution of Paraguay||May 14, 1811||Independence from Spain declared||1938||Paraguay awarded a large portion of the Gran Chaco as a result of the Chaco War|
|Peru||July 28, 1821||Independence from Spain declared||February 26, 1942||Rio Protocol ends border dispute with Ecuador|
|1879||Independence from Spain recognized|
|Saint Kitts and Nevis||February 27, 1967||Associated state of the United Kingdom||December 19, 1980||Anguilla separated from Saint Christopher-Nevis-Anguilla|
|September 19, 1983||Independence from the United Kingdom|
|Saint Lucia||February 27, 1967||Associated statehood|
|February 22, 1979||Independence from the United Kingdom|
|Saint Vincent and the Grenadines||October 27, 1969||Associated statehood|
|October 27, 1979||Independence from the United Kingdom|
|Suriname||December 15, 1954||Self-government granted|
|November 25, 1975||Independence from Netherlands|
|Trinidad and Tobago||August 31, 1962||Independence from the United Kingdom|
|United States||September 17, 1787||Ratification of the United States Constitution replaced the previous Articles of Confederation creating a new system of government||July 4, 1776||Independence from Great Britain declared||August 21, 1959||United States territory:
Territory of Hawaii joins as the state of Hawaii
|September 3, 1783||Independence from Great Britain recognized||September 7, 1981||Insular area:
The United States cedes Serrana Bank and Roncador Bank to the Republic of Colombia as a result of a treaty signed in 1972
|Uruguay||December 8, 1996||Uruguayan constitutional referendum, 1996||August 25, 1825||Independence from Empire of Brazil declared, joined in union with United Provinces of the River Plate (current Argentina).|
|August 27, 1828||Treaty of Montevideo signed, recognizing Uruguay's independence by Brazil|
|Venezuela||April 19, 1810 ||Independence from Spain declared|
|January 13, 1830||Dissolution of Gran Colombia|
|Country||Date||Birth of current form of government||Date||Date of acquisition of sovereignty||Date||Date of most recent significant territorial modification|
|Afghanistan||January 26, 2004||Constitution of Afghanistan establishes Islamic Republic||1500 BC||Founding of the Gandhara, which equates to what is now Kandahar. One of the earliest Afghan kingdoms.|
|Bahrain||August 15, 1971||End of treaties with the United Kingdom||July 1, 1521||Portuguese conquest of current territory|
|Bangladesh||November 4, 1972||De jure: Constitution of Bangladesh||March 26, 1971||Independence from Pakistan declared||July 31, 2015||India and Bangladesh exchange exclaves|
|February 27, 1991||De facto: First general election since restoration of parliamentary democracy.|
|Bhutan||March 24, 2008||First elections to the National Assembly||1885||Ugyen Wangchuck ends period of civil war and unites Bhutan||November 11, 1865||Treaty of Sinchula|
|Brunei||September 29, 1959||De jure: Constitution of Brunei||January 1, 1984||Brunei regains its independence after an agreement with the British on 4 January 1979||August 18, 1841||Kingdom of Sarawak founded|
|December 12, 1962||De facto: Martial law declared during the Brunei Revolt, suspending democratic elections indefinitely.|
|Cambodia||September 21, 1993||Constitution of Cambodia||September 9, 1953||France grants Cambodia independence|
|September 26, 1989||Becomes free from Vietnamese occupation; it gets back its name instead of the People's Republic of Kampuchea|
|China||October 1, 1949||Establishment of the People's Republic of China (PRC) as the Chinese Civil War nears its end||1800 BC||Beginning of the Shang dynasty||December 20, 1999||Transfer of the sovereignty of Macau from Portugal to the PRC|
|India||January 26, 1950||De jure: Constitution of India||August 15, 1947||Independence from British Empire||July 31, 2015||India and Bangladesh exchange exclaves|
|March 21, 1977||De facto: The end of The Emergency restores democratic elections|
|Indonesia||August 18, 1945||Ratification of the Constitution of Indonesia by the Preparatory Committee for Indonesian Independence||August 17, 1945||Indonesian Declaration of Independence from Netherlands||May 20, 2002||Independence of East Timor, formerly administered as a province of Indonesia|
|December 27, 1949||Independence from the Netherlands recognized|
|Iran||February 11, 1979||Iranian Revolution ends monarchism and establishes an Islamic Republic||3200 BC||3200–2700 BCE: Part of Proto-Elamite||April 4, 1857||Anglo-Persian War leads to loss of Herat to the Emirate of Afghanistan|
|Iraq||October 15, 2005||Constitution of Iraq following the Iraq War||October 3, 1932||Kingdom of Iraq||February 28, 1991||Kuwait liberated.|
|Israel||May 14, 1948||Democratic state of Israel. Reading of the Declaration of Independence of Israel||May 14, 1948||Independence from the Mandate of Palestine||September 12, 2005||Completion of Israel's unilateral disengagement from the Gaza Strip|
|Japan||May 3, 1947||Coming into force of the current Constitution of Japan, whereby the emperor was deprived of his powers and a liberal democracy was established||660 BC (Traditional)||Victory of Emperor Jimmu, and the capital established in Yamato.||May 15, 1972||Return of the Ryukyu Islands to Japan and abolition of the United States Civil Administration of the Ryukyu Islands|
|Jordan||January 1, 1952||Constitution of Jordan||May 25, 1946||End of the British Mandate for Palestine||October 26, 1994||Signing of the Israel–Jordan Treaty of Peace, whereby most of the disputed 400 square-kilometer area in the Arabah was handed back to Jordan|
|June 12, 2011||The Cabinet of Jordan is made an elected body|
|North Korea||September 9, 1948||Kim Il-sung declared Premier of North Korea, establishing the still-ruling Kim dynasty.||September 9, 1948||Declaration of creation of North Korea||July 27, 1953||Cease-fire in the Korean War creates the southern border along the Military Demarcation Line|
|December 25, 1972||Constitution of North Korea replaces Communism with Juche as North Korea's governing philosophy.|
|South Korea||August 15, 1948||First Republic of Korea established||676||Korean monarch establishes kingdom over north Korean peninsula and southern Manchuria (Silla)||July 27, 1953||Cease-fire in the Korean War creates the northern border along the Military Demarcation Line|
|October 29, 1987||Current Sixth Republic of South Korea founded, ending military rule|
|Kuwait||November 11, 1962||Constitution of Kuwait||February 28, 1991||End of Iraqi occupation (Gulf War)||December 18, 1969||Formal division of Saudi-Kuwaiti neutral zone|
|Kyrgyzstan||June 10, 2010||Constitution of Kyrgyzstan introduces parliamentary system.||August 31, 1991||Independence from the Soviet Union||December 5, 1936||Establishment of the Kirghiz SSR|
|Laos||December 2, 1975||Lao PDR formed||October 22, 1953||Independence from France|
|Lebanon||May 23, 1926||Lebanese Republic formed||November 26, 1941||Independence from France declared||September 1, 1920||France establishes State of Greater Lebanon with current boundaries|
|November 22, 1943||Independence from France recognized|
|Malaysia||September 16, 1963||Formation of Malaysia||August 31, 1957||Malayan Independence from the United Kingdom was declared in Dataran Merdeka (Independence Square)||August 9, 1965||Singapore expelled from the Federation of Malaysia|
|September 16, 1963||Malaysia was formed by the federation of North Borneo, Sarawak and Singapore with the existing States of the Federation of Malaya.|
|Maldives||November 11, 1968||Declaration of Republic||July 26, 1965||Independence from the United Kingdom|
|Mongolia||February 12, 1992||Constitution of Mongolia declares the country a parliamentary democracy.||209 BC||Xiongnu Empire formed|
|December 29, 1911||Proclamation of Mongolian independence from Manchu's Qing Dynasty|
|Myanmar||March 30, 2011||The military junta is replaced by an elected government||January 4, 1948||Myanmar (Burma) declares independence from the British Empire||1956||Signing of border treaty with the People's Republic of China|
|Nepal||May 28, 2008||Formation of Republic||December 21, 1768||Nepali unification||December 2, 1815||Sugauli Treaty ends the Gurkha War|
|Oman||June 10, 1749||Beginning of the Al Said dynasty, current absolute monarchical line of Oman.||January 26, 1650||Expulsion of the Portuguese||December 8, 1958||Gwadar sold to Pakistan|
|1996||Basic Law of Oman|
|Pakistan||August 14, 1973||Constitution of Pakistan||August 14, 1947||Independence from British India in the Partition||December 16, 1971||De facto: Province of East Pakistan dissolved following the surrender of the Pakistani Army at the end of the Bangladesh Liberation War|
|February 22, 1974||De jure: Recognition by Pakistan of Bangladesh as an independent country, whereby Pakistan definitely surrenders claims over the former province of East Pakistan|
|Philippines||November 30, 1935||The Commonwealth of the Philippines was established through provisions of the Tydings–McDuffie Act.||June 12, 1898||The evolving revolutionary movement in the Philippines declares itself independent from the Spanish Empire.||1930||Seven of the Turtle Islands were returned by the United Kingdom to the United States as the successor of the Sultanate of Sulu, becoming part of the Philippine Archipelago. The remaining three islands became the Turtle Islands National Park (Malaysia).|
|July 4, 1946||The United States recognises independence under the provisions of the Treaty of Manila (1946). The 1935 Constitution remained in effect until 1973, when the Marcos regime promulgated a new a newer one, in turn replaced by the present 1987 Constitution.|
|Qatar||September 3, 1971||Independence from the United Kingdom|
|Saudi Arabia||September 23, 1932||Regions of Al-Hasa, Qatif, Nejd and Hejaz unified to become Saudi Arabia||May 20, 1927||Kingdom of Nejd and Hejaz recognized as independent in Treaty of Jeddah (1927)||June 12, 2000||Border with Yemen finalized by Treaty of Jeddah (2000)|
|Singapore||August 9, 1965||Singapore ceased to be a state of Malaysia||June 3, 1959||Self-government under the United Kingdom||August 9, 1965||Establishment of Singapore as an independent sovereign state|
|August 9, 1965||separate from and independent of Malaysia|
|Sri Lanka||May 22, 1972||Constitution of Sri Lanka||February 4, 1948||Independence from United Kingdom||1817||De jure: The Kandyan Kingdom is annexed by British Ceylon|
|May 18, 2009||De facto: The Sri Lankan government regains control of the whole island following the end of the Sri Lankan Civil War.|
|Syria||February 27, 2012||Constitution of Syria||September 28, 1961||End of the United Arab Republic||November 8, 1941||Lebanon declares independence from the French Mandate for Syria and the Lebanon|
|Taiwan (Republic of China)||October 10, 1911||After the Xinhai Revolution the Republic of China formally replaced the Qing Dynasty||December 7, 1949||Republic of China government moved to Taiwan after the Chinese Civil War||February 25, 1955||Withdrawal of the Republic of China from the Dachen Archipelago|
|Tajikistan||September 9, 1991||Independence from the Soviet Union||December 5, 1929||Establishment of the Tajik SSR|
|Thailand||May 22, 2014||2014 interim constitution of Thailand following 2014 Thai coup d'état||November 6, 1767||Expulsion of Burmese and reunification of Thailand||March 10, 1909||Anglo-Siamese Treaty of 1909|
|Timor-Leste||May 20, 2002||Constitution of East Timor||November 28, 1975||East Timor declares its independence but was suppressed by the Indonesian invasion||1914||The borders of Portuguese Timor are agreed.|
|May 20, 2002||Independence was recognized by the international community following the UN-sponsored act of self-determination of 1999|
|Turkmenistan||September 28, 2008||Constitution of Turkmenistan||October 27, 1991||Independence from the Soviet Union||August 7, 1921||Establishment of the Turkmen SSR|
|United Arab Emirates||December 2, 1971||End of treaty relationship with the United Kingdom||February 11, 1972||Ras al-Khaimah joins the UAE|
|Uzbekistan||August 31, 1991||Independence from the Soviet Union declared||October 24, 1924||Establishment of the Uzbek SSR|
|Vietnam||December 31, 1959||North Vietnam declared a socialist republic||1945||withdrawal of the Japanese after WWII||July 2, 1976||Reunification of North Vietnam and South Vietnam as Socialist Republic of Vietnam|
|January 1, 2014||Current Constitution of the Socialist Republic of Vietnam|
|Yemen||May 22, 1990||Unification of North Yemen and South Yemen||May 22, 1990||Unification of North Yemen and South Yemen|
|Country||Date||Birth of current form of government||Date||Date of acquisition of sovereignty||Date||Date of most recent significant territorial modification|
|Albania||April 29, 1991||Socialist People's Republic of Albania was replaced by the Republic of Albania.||1190 c.||Principality of Arbër was established by archon Progon.||1945||Kosovo returned to Yugoslavia|
|November 28, 1912||Declaration of independence from Ottoman Empire|
|November 28, 1944||Albanian state re-established after Italian/German occupation|
|Andorra||April 28, 1993||Current Constitution of Andorra entered force||1813||Reversal of annexation of Andorra by the Napoleonic Empire, through the Peninsular war||August 28, 2001||The Andorra–France border is adjusted to allow Andorra to construct the Envalira Tunnel access bridge|
|Austria||November 12, 1918||Declaration of the Republic of German-Austria||May 15, 1955||Austrian Independence Treaty re-established Austria as a sovereign state||December 14, 1921||City of Sopron,and 8 other towns moved to Hungary after plebiscite|
|September 17, 1156||Privilegium Minus: Sovereignty from Duchy of Bavaria as a Duchy of the Holy Roman Empire|
|August 11, 1804||Proclamation of the Austrian Empire|
|Belarus||November 28, 1996||Constitutional amendment abolishes the Supreme Soviet and establishes the National Assembly||July 27, 1990||Declaration of State Sovereignty of the Belarusian Soviet Socialist Republic||1945||Curzon Line|
|August 25, 1991||Independence recognized by Soviet Union|
|Belgium||July 21, 1831||King Leopold I of Belgium swears allegiance to the constitution making the country a constitutional monarchy||October 4, 1830||Independence was proclaimed by the provisonial government||June 28, 1919||Belgian proper:
Treaty of Versailles and annexation of the East Cantons
|July 1, 1962||Belgian colonial empire:
Ruanda-Urundi declares independence and split within two countries: Rwanda and Burundi.
|Bosnia and Herzegovina||March 3, 1992||Independence declared from the SFRY||1154||Formation of the Banate of Bosnia||November 25, 1943||Establishment of SR Bosnia in Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia|
|Bulgaria||November 10, 1989||People's Republic of Bulgaria was replaced by the Republic of Bulgaria||632||Formation of Old Great Bulgaria||September 7, 1940||Under the Vienna Awards, Southern Dobruja was returned to Kingdom of Bulgaria|
|681||First Bulgarian Empire formed|
|1185||Second Bulgarian Empire formed|
|July 13, 1878||Autonomy within Ottoman Empire recognized internationally by the Treaty of Berlin|
|September 22, 1908||Independence from Ottoman Empire|
|Croatia||October 8, 1991||Independence from SFR Yugoslavia||925||Formation of Kingdom of Croatia by King Tomislav||February 10, 1947||Annexation of most of Istria to SR Croatia as a result of signing the 1947 Paris Peace Treaties||October 8, 1991|
|Cyprus||August 16, 1960||Constitution of Cyprus establishes consocial government. Consociationalism de facto suspended in 1963.||August 16, 1960||Independence from United Kingdom||July 23, 1974||Establishment of the United Nations Buffer Zone in Cyprus|
|November 15, 1983 (disputed)||Northern Cyprus declares independence. The government has de facto control of the northern part of the island, but is only recognised by Turkey|
|Czech Republic||January 1, 1993||Dissolution of Czechoslovakia, creating Czech Republic and Slovakia||895||Independence from Great Moravia|
|Denmark||June 5, 1953||Constitutional Act of Denmark||935 (Or prior)||The Jelling stones, a pair of rune stones considered to be the "birth certificate" of Denmark reads: "King Haraldr ordered this monument made ... who won for himself all of Denmark and Norway and made the Danes Christian."||June 15, 1920||Denmark proper:
Sønderjylland was recovered from Germany.
|June 17, 1944||Danish Realm:
Kingdom of Iceland secedes from the union.
|Estonia||February 24, 1918||Estonian Declaration of Independence, whereby a republic was declared||February 24, 1918||Independence declared from the Russian Empire||July 1, 1920||De jure: Signing of the Estonia–Latvia Border Treaty whereby Valga proper was ceded to Estonia|
|August 20, 1991||Independence (from the Soviet Union) reasserted, end of occupation||January 1, 1945||De facto: Eastern coast of Narva river and most of Petseri County were transferred to Russian SFSR|
|Finland||March 29, 1809||Diet of Porvoo, birth of Finland as an autonomous state entity within Russian Empire||December 6, 1917||Independence from Russian Empire declared||January 26, 1956||Porkkala returned from Soviet control|
|January 3, 1918||Independence from Russia recognized by the highest Soviet executive body, VTsIK|
|France||September 4, 1870||Establishment of a lasting republican form of government, considered uninterrupted in French law||481||Kingdom of the Franks becomes the first Christian State after the fall of the Western Roman Empire||February 10, 1947||Metropolitan France:
Annexation of Tende, La Brigue and other villages formerly in Italy.
|October 5, 1958||Establishment of the current semi-presidential system known as the Fifth Republic||843||Creation of the Kingdom of France (West Francia), Treaty of Verdun||July 5, 1962||Overseas France:
Loss of the French departments in Algeria following the latter's independence.
|Germany||May 23, 1949||The Basic Law of Germany comes into effect.||January 18, 1871||German Realm (Empire) founded||October 3, 1990||Reunification of West Germany and East Germany|
|1954||Democratic Republic of Germany (commonly referred to at the time as East Germany) declared fully sovereign|
|May 5, 1955||Federal Republic of Germany (commonly referred to at the time as West Germany) declared fully sovereign|
|May 15, 1991||Treaty on the Final Settlement with Respect to Germany ends the Four Power occupation.|
|Greece||June 11, 1975||Third Hellenic Republic||March 25, 1821 (Traditional)
February 23, 1821 (Actual)
|Greek Revolution starts, various regional administrations established during 1821||February 10, 1947||Peace treaty with Italy awards the Dodecanese to Greece|
|January 1, 1822||First Hellenic Republic proclaimed|
|March 4, 1832||Independence recognized (as Kingdom of Greece)|
|Hungary||October 23, 1989||People's Republic of Hungary was replaced by the Republic of Hungary||895||Principality of Hungary formed||February 10, 1947||With the Paris Peace Treaty, Hungary loses all territories that were regained with the Vienna Awards and during World War II, thus it returns to the 1920 borders (except for three villages in the northwest given to Czechoslovakia).|
|1000||Formation of the Kingdom of Hungary by Stephen I of Hungary.|
|Iceland||930||The Icelandic Commonwealth established.||June 17, 1944||Secedes from a Union with Denmark formally as an independent republic.||September 1, 1972||No territorial changes on land have taken place, however the expansion of the Exclusive Economic Zone was such an important change in territory for Iceland that it merits a special inclusion here.|
|July 1, 1845||First meeting of the modern Althing.|
|Ireland||January 21, 1919||Elected Irish Parliament Dáil Éireann unilaterally declares Ireland's independence from the United Kingdom||December 6, 1922||Irish Free State secedes from United Kingdom by agreement in accordance with the terms of the Anglo-Irish Treaty but remains a dominion of the British Empire||December 8, 1922||De facto: Northern Ireland secedes from the Irish Free State and rejoins the United Kingdom in accordance with the Irish Free State Constitution Act 1922|
|December 11, 1931||Statute of Westminster confers legislative independence from the United Kingdom|
|December 29, 1937||Constitution of Ireland establishes the roles of Taoiseach and President, and replaces the Irish Free State with a new state named Ireland or Éire.||April 18, 1949||Republic of Ireland Act 1948 declares the state to be a republic and thus no longer subject in any way to the British Crown||December 2, 1999||De jure: Amendment to the Irish constitution removes irredentist claims to Northern Ireland.|
|Italy||January 1, 1948||Constitution of Italy creating the Italian Republic||March 17, 1861||Italian unification|
|April 25, 1945||Disestablishment of the German-backed Italian Social Republic, whereby the unity and independence of the Italian state was restored||January 1, 1948||The Peace treaty with Italy officially determines the boundaries of the Republic of Italy. The Italian Constitution of 1948 implements it at articles 10 and 117.|
|Latvia||November 7, 1922||Constitution of Latvia enforced||November 18, 1918||Independence declared from Russia||1944||Abrene district ceded to Russian SFSR (modern Russia)|
|May 4, 1990||Independence (from Soviet Union) reasserted|
|Liechtenstein||March 16, 2003||The Liechtenstein constitutional referendum, 2003 increases the Prince's powers and makes the country an absolute monarchy||October 19, 1813||Dissolution of the Confederation of the Rhine||January 23, 1719||Purchase of Vaduz|
|Lithuania||March 11, 1990||Act of the Re-Establishment of the State of Lithuania independence (from the Soviet Union) reasserted, end of occupation||1253||Coronation of King Mindaugas (state established some time earlier, perhaps in the 1230s)||October 27, 1939 and
August 3, 1940
|Western part (approximately half) of Vilnius Region ceded to Lithuania|
|February 16, 1918||Independence declared from Germany and Russia|
|Luxembourg||November 23, 1890||Separates from union with the Kingdom of the Netherlands, becomes Grand Duchy in its own right||1945||End of German occupation during World War II||April 19, 1839||Partition of Luxembourg under the Treaty of London|
|Macedonia||November 17, 1991||Constitution of the Republic of Macedonia||September 8, 1991||After a referendum, the Socialist Republic of Macedonia declared independence from Yugoslavia||August 2, 1944||Establishment of SR Macedonia|
|Malta||December 13, 1974||The State of Malta became a republic||September 21, 1964||Independence from United Kingdom||August 20, 1801||Gozo rejoined Malta|
|Moldova||August 27, 1994||Constitution of Moldova (1994)||August 27, 1991||Independence from Soviet Union||August 2, 1940||De jure: Moldavian SSR formed|
|September 2, 1990||De facto: Pridnestrovian Moldavian Republic declares independence. The government is not recognized by any UN member, but has de facto control over the Transnistria region.|
|Monaco||December 17, 1962||Amendment to Constitution of Monaco curtails the power of the prince and establishes the modern National Council||1861||Franco-Monegasque Treaty confirms Monaco's sovereignty (formerly a protectorate of the Kingdom of Sardinia)||1848||Secession of Menton and Roquebrune-Cap-Martin.|
|Montenegro||October 22, 2007||Constitution of Montenegro||1077||Formation of Kingdom of Duklja/Zeta by King Mihajlo I||November 25, 1943||Establishment of SR Montenegro|
|July 13, 1878||Independence officially confirmed by Ottoman Empire internationally by the Treaty of Berlin other countries recognized earlier.|
|June 3, 2006||Declaration of independence from Serbia and Montenegro.|
|Netherlands||August 24, 1815||Adoption of the constitution of the United Kingdom of the Netherlands.||May 15, 1648||Treaty of Münster signed, independence from Spain||March 16, 1839||European Netherlands:
The United Kingdom of the Netherlands divided under the Treaty of London (1839).
|December 15, 1954||Charter for the Kingdom of the Netherlands signed||May 5, 1945||Surrender of Nazi forces occupying the Netherlands||November 25, 1975||Kingdom of the Netherlands:
Suriname declares independence.
|Norway||1814||Constitution of Norway||872||King Harald I of Norway unifies the Petty kingdoms of Norway.||February 27, 1930||Jan Mayen was made part of the Kingdom of Norway.|
|1814||Dissolution of the union between Norway and Denmark|
|June 7, 1905||Dissolution of the union between Norway and Sweden|
|May 8, 1945||German occupying forces surrender.|
|Poland||June 4, 1989||The first partially free Parliament's vote after 45-year-long Soviet domination||966||adoption of Christianity by the first historically documented Polish ruler Mieszko I.||February 15, 1951||Polish-Soviet border adjustment treaty|
|1025||formation of the Kingdom of Poland by Mieszko's son Bolesław I Chrobry.|
|Portugal||April 2, 1976||Constitution of Portugal||July 26, 1139||County of Portugal becomes independent from the Kingdom of León after the Battle of Ourique as part of the Reconquista. Recognized by León in 1143 and by the Pope in 1179.||June 6, 1801||Continental Portugal:
Spain occupies the present day border town of Olivença since the War of the Oranges.
|December 20, 1999||Portuguese Overseas:
De facto: Portuguese Macau transferred to the People's Republic of China
|May 20, 2002||Portuguese Overseas:
De jure: Portuguese Timor, occupied by Indonesia since 1975, officially dissolved to form the independent state of East Timor.
|Romania||December 22, 1989||Romanian Revolution of 1989||May 21, 1877||Independence declared from the Ottoman Empire||February 10, 1947||Soviet occupation of Bessarabia and Northern Bukovina|
|July 13, 1878||International recognition by the Treaty of Berlin.|
|San Marino||1600||Constitution of San Marino||September 3, 301||Traditional founding||1463||Added Fiorentino, Montegiardino, Serravalle, and Faetano|
|1243||Formation of republican government|
|Serbia||June 8, 2006||Republic of Serbia declared legal successor to Serbia and Montenegro, ending the process of the dissolution of Yugoslavia.||768||Independence of Serbian Principality from the Byzantine Empire.||February 17, 2008 (disputed)||The region of Kosovo declared independence unilaterally on 17 February 2008, and is recognized by 108 UN states. Serbia recognizes the government of Kosovo but claims its territory as an Autonomous Province.|
|Slovakia||January 1, 1993||Dissolution of Czechoslovakia||January 1, 1993||Dissolution of Czechoslovakia, creating Slovakia and Czech Republic|
|Slovenia||December 13, 1991||Constitution of Slovenia||June 25, 1991||Declaration of independence from Yugoslavia|
|June 25, 1991|
|Spain||December 6, 1978||Spanish Constitution||718||Kingdom of Asturias(718-925), Kingdom of Navarra (810-1789), Kingdom of León (910-1230), Kingdom of Castile (1035-1230), Kingdom of Aragón (1035-1707), Kingdom of Granada (1238-1492)||February 26, 1976||Spanish Sahara is lost following the Madrid Accords|
|1479||1479: Territorial and religious unification of the Crown of Castile and the Crown of Aragon by the Catholic Monarchs, and under the House of Austria (1516). The governments, institutions, and legal traditions of each kingdom remained independent of each other. Alien laws (Leyes de extranjeria) determined that the national of one kingdom was a foreigner in the other Crowns/States. Spain, in the 16th and 17th centuries, was the name of the Iberian Peninsula.|
|1831||Dissolution of crowns and kingdoms and creation de jure, of the unified Kingdom of Spain.|
|Sweden||January 1, 1974||Instrument of Government||970 (Or prior)||Eric the Victorious, the first king of Sweden about whom anything definite is known, becomes king.||March 29, 1809||Loss of Finland to Imperial Russia.|
|June 6, 1523||Gustav Vasa elected King of Sweden and marking a definite secession from the Kalmar Union.|
|Switzerland||November 12, 1848||Foundation of the federal state after Sonderbund war||1291||Traditional founding||1815||The cantons of Valais, Neuchâtel and Geneva join the Swiss Confederation.|
|August 7, 1815||Restoration of the Ancien Régime (federalism), reverting the changes imposed by Napoleon Bonaparte.|
|Ukraine||August 24, 1991||Independence from Soviet Union||March 18, 2014||Annexation of Crimea by Russia|
|January 25, 1918||Independence of Ukrainian People's Republic from Russian Republic declared.|
|August 24, 1991||Independence of former Ukrainian Soviet Socialist Republic from Soviet Union declared.|
|United Kingdom||May 1, 1707||The Acts of Union united the two kingdoms of England (including Wales) and Scotland to create the Kingdom of Great Britain||519 then
|Kingdom of Wessex
Kingdom of England
|December 6, 1922
then December 8, 1922
|Irish Free State secedes from the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland by agreement in accordance with the terms of the Anglo-Irish Treaty and the Irish Free State Constitution Act 1922, and Northern Ireland rejoins the UK two days later.|
|843||Kingdom of Scotland|
|Lordship of Ireland
Kingdom of Ireland
|July 1, 1997||British Overseas Territories:
Hong Kong was transferred to the People's Republic of China
|1216||Principality of Wales|
|Vatican City||1274||Birth of current form of government the Papal conclave in 1274||June 7, 1929||Ratification of the Lateran Treaty, making the Vatican City a sovereign State||February 11, 1929||Signing of the Lateran Treaty|
|Country||Date||Birth of current form of government||Date||Date of acquisition of sovereignty||Date||Date of most recent significant territorial modification|
|Australia||January 1, 1901||Commonwealth of Australia established as federation.||January 1, 1901||Independence from United Kingdom.||September 16, 1975||Papua New Guinea becomes formally independent of Australia|
|Fiji||October 10, 1970||Independence from United Kingdom|
|Kiribati||July 12, 1979||Independence from United Kingdom||October 1, 1975||Separation of Gilbert Islands (later Kiribati) and Ellice Islands (later Tuvalu)|
|Marshall Islands||May 1, 1979||Constitution and local government established||October 21, 1986||Compact of Free Association with the United States|
|Federated States of Micronesia||May 10, 1979||Constitution ratified||November 3, 1986||Compact of Free Association with the United States||May 10, 1979||Yap, Chuuk, Pohnpei, and Kosrae unite to form the Federated States of Micronesia|
|Nauru||January 31, 1968||Independence from UN Trusteeship (Australian, British and New Zealand administration ends)|
|New Zealand||February 6, 1840||Treaty of Waitangi between the British Crown and the indigenous Māori tribes cedes kawanatanga of New Zealand to Queen Victoria.||January 17, 1853||Self-Government||June 1, 1962||Samoa becomes fully independent from New Zealand. It is also the first small-island country in the Pacific to become independent.|
|April 18, 1856||Responsible Government|
|September 26, 1907||Granted nominal independence (Dominion status).|
|October 25, 1926||Balfour Declaration of 1926 — Great Britain and the Dominions are “autonomous Communities within the British Empire, equal in status, in no way subordinate one to another in any aspect of their domestic or external affairs”|
|July 27, 1938||Governor-General ceases to represent the British Government and becomes the personal representative of the King.|
|November 25, 1947||Statute of Westminster adopted — Britain loses the power to legislate for New Zealand except by request|
|December 10, 1947||Full power to amend own constitution|
|December 1, 1967||Governor-General becomes a New Zealand appointment|
|Palau||January 1, 1981||Republic of Palau created upon adoption of constitution||October 1, 1994||Emerged from United Nations trusteeship (administered by the United States).|
|Papua New Guinea||December 1, 1973||Self-governing territory|
|September 16, 1975||Independence from Australia|
|Samoa||June 1, 1962||Independence from New Zealand|
|Solomon Islands||January 2, 1976||Self-government granted by United Kingdom|
|July 7, 1978||Independence from United Kingdom|
|Tonga||July 4, 1970||Independence from United Kingdom||December 4, 1845||Unification of what is now the islands of Tonga by George Tupou I of Tonga|
|Tuvalu||October 1, 1975||Separation of Gilbert Islands (later Kiribati) and Ellice Islands (later Tuvalu)||October 1, 1978||Independence from United Kingdom||February 7, 1979||Treaty with United States recognizing Tuvaluan control over Funafuti, Nukufetau, Nukulaelae, and Niulakita atolls|
|Vanuatu||July 30, 1980||Independence from joint British-French condominium|
|Country||Date||Birth of current form of government||Date||Date of acquisition of sovereignty||Date||Date of most recent significant territorial modification|
|Armenia||December 6, 2015||Armenian constitutional referendum, 2015 creates a parliamentary republic||May 28, 1918||Establishment of the Republic of Armenia.||December 5, 1936||Establishment of the Armenian SSR|
|September 21, 1991||Independence recognized by the Soviet Union|
|Azerbaijan||October 18, 1991||Declaration of independence from the Soviet Union||May 28, 1918||Establishment of the Azerbaijan Democratic Republic.||April 28, 1920||Establishment of the Azerbaijan SSR|
|Egypt||July 23, 1952||Egyptian Revolution of 1952||February 28, 1922||Unilateral recognition of independence by the United Kingdom but continued British military occupation||April 25, 1982||Withdrawal of last Israeli troops and settlers from Sinai as agreed upon in the peace treaty with Israel|
|January 18, 2014||New Egyptian constitution enters force following the 2013 Egyptian coup d'état||June 18, 1956||Withdrawal of last British troops from the Suez Canal Zone|
|September 28, 1961||De facto disestablishment of the United Arab Republic following a military coup in Damascus|
|Georgia||April 9, 1991||Independence from the Soviet Union declared||May 26, 1918||Establishment of the Democratic Republic of Georgia||July 23, 1992||Abkhazia asserted its declared independence from the Soviet Union|
|November 28, 1991||South Ossetia declared independence from Georgia|
|Kazakhstan||August 30, 1995||Constitution of Kazakhstan||December 16, 1991||Independence declared from the Soviet Union||December 5, 1936||Establishment of the Kazakh SSR|
|March 30, 1993 (disputed)||Baikonur Cosmodrome and surrounding areas leased to Russia.|
|Russia||December 25, 1993||Russian constitutional referendum, 1993 replaces the Supreme Soviet with the Federal Assembly and increases presidential power.||1480||Grand Duchy of Muscovy secures its independence from the Golden Horde||March 18, 2014 (disputed)||Annexation of Crimea by Russia|
|June 12, 1990||Russian SFSR declares sovereignty over its own territory|
|Turkey||October 29, 1923||Turkey was declared as a republic.||June 24, 1923||Treaty of Lausanne recognizes the new Turkish state as the successor state of the Ottoman Empire||June 29, 1939||Syrian province of Iskanderun transferred by French Mandatory Government to Turkey. Annexed by Turkey as Hatay State|
In this list, "date of last subordination" refers to the last date of control by an external government. In some cases this is the same as the date of independence marking decolonization or dissolution of a political union. In other cases, a sovereign state submitted to foreign military occupation or political subjugation for a period of time and later regained its independence.
Dates refer to de facto rule or occupation of the major territory, whether or not legitimized by international recognition.
In a union such as Czechoslovakia, the Soviet Union, or the Kalmar Union, one of the constituents can be considered the dominant power – generally where the seat of government was located. The United Kingdom is a particularly complicated case. If England is viewed as the dominant member, then history can be traced from Roman conquest, Saxon invasions, 10th century unification, and the 1066 Norman Conquest before the union of England and Scotland in 1707. However, if viewed from a Scottish perspective, an unbroken history of sovereignty can be traced from unification in 843 through the 1707 union with England (with a brief annexation by England from 1657 to 1660). Some Scots view the 1707 union as a ceding of sovereignty to England.
|Date of last
|Previous governing power||Notes|
|Afghanistan||Apr 1709||1823||Durrani Empire||2001–present: Islamic Republic of Afghanistan
1992-2001: Islamic State of Afghanistan (UN-supported occupation by United States in 2001)
1978-92: Democratic Republic of Afghanistan (occupied by Soviet Union 1979-89)
1973-78: Republic of Afghanistan
1926-29; 1929-73: Kingdom of Afghanistan
1823-1926; 1929: Emirate of Afghanistan (Treaty of Rawalpindi granted sovereignty from United Kingdom in 1919)
1747-1826: Durrani Empire
1736-1796: Part of Afsharid Empire.
1709-1736: Hotaki Empire
1526-1709: Part of Mughal Empire.
1370-1526: Part of Timurid Kingdom.
1256-1335: Part of Ilkhanate.
1294-1370: Part of Chagatai Khanate.
1219-1294 Part of Mongol Empire.
1077-1219: Part of Khwarazemid Empire
1037-1077: Part of the Great Seljuq Empire.
963-1187: Part of Ghaznavid Empire.
861-963: Part of Saffarid Emirate.
821-861: Part of various territories governed by the Tahirids.
750-821: Part of the Abbasid Caliphate.
708-750: Part of the Umayyad Caliphate.
632-708: Yagbu of Tukhara.
224-632; Part of the Sassanid Empire.
227 BCE-224: Part of the Parthian Empire.
312 BCE-227 BCE: Part of the Seleucid Empire.
336 BCE-312 BCE: Part of the Macedonian Empire.
549 BCE-336 BCE: Part of the Achaemenid Empire.
678 BCE-545 BCE: Part of the Median Empire.
Before 678 BCE various Indo-Iranian tribes and early Iranian city-states.
|Albania||Nov 28, 1912||Nov 1944||Germany||1992–present: Republic of Albania
1944-92: People's Socialist Republic of Albania
1928-44: Albanian Kingdom (de facto protectorate of Italy 1928-1939; occupied by Italy 1939-43; occupied by Germany 1943-44)
1925-28: Albanian Republic (de facto protectorate of Italy)
1914-25: Principality of Albania (via Albanian Declaration of Independence)
1912-14: Provisional Government of Albania
1479-1912: Part of Ottoman Empire
1444-79: League of Lezhë
1190-1444: Various Albanian principalities
Before 1190: Part of Byzantine Empire
|Algeria||Jul 3, 1962||Jul 3, 1962||France||1962–present: People's Democratic Republic of Algeria (via Évian Accords)
1830-1962: integral part of France (as French Algeria)
1556-1830: part of the Ottoman Empire (as the Eyalet of Algiers)
|Andorra||Sep 7, 1278||Nov 1944||France||1278–present: Principality of Andorra (via Paréage of Andorra; occupied by France 1812-13, 1870, 1914, 1936, 1939, 1944)|
|Angola||Nov 11, 1975||Nov 11, 1975||Portugal||1992–present: Republic of Angola
1975-1992: People's Republic of Angola (via the Alvor Agreement)
1575-1975: Portuguese Angola (colony of Portugal)
|Antigua and Barbuda||Nov 1, 1981||Nov 1, 1981||United Kingdom||1981–present: Antigua and Barbuda
1632-1981: Colony of England/Great Britain/United Kingdom (ruled by France in 1666)
Before 1632: Inhabited by indigenous peoples of the Americas
|Argentina||May 25, 1810||July 9, 1816||Spain||1861–present: Argentine Republic
1831-1861: Argentine Confederation
1810-1831: Part of the United Provinces of the River Plate (via the May Revolution; on 9 July 1816, the Congress of Tucumán issued formal Declaration of Independence)
1776-1810: Viceroyalty of the Río de la Plata (colony of Spain)
1542–1824: Part of Viceroyalty of Peru (colony of Spain)
1528-1542: Part of Spanish colony
Before 1528: Inhabited by indigenous peoples of the Americas, including the Inca Empire
|Armenia||190 BC||Sep 23, 1991||Soviet Union||1991–present: Republic of Armenia
1920-1991: Armenian Soviet Socialist Republic
1918-1920: Democratic Republic of Armenia
1829-1918: Part of Russian empire
Before 1829: Part of Ottoman Empire
321 BC-AD 428: First independent as Kingdom of Armenia
549 BC-331 BC: Part of Achaemenid Empire
860 BC-590 BC: Kingdom of Ararat
2492 BC: Traditional foundation
|Australia||Jan 1, 1901||Oct 9, 1942||United Kingdom||1901–present: Commonwealth of Australia (via Constitution of Australia)
1788-1901: Part of British empire
Before 1788: Inhabited by Indigenous Australians
|Austria||Nov 12, 1918||May 15, 1955||World War II Allies (Allied-occupied Austria)||1955–present: Republic of Austria (via Austrian State Treaty)
1945-55: Allied-occupied Austria
1938-45: Occupied by Nazi Germany
1934-38: Federal State of Austria (client state of Italy)
1919-34: First Republic of Austria (via Treaty of Saint Germain)
1918-19: Republic of German-Austria (via Proclamation of Charles I)
1867-1918: Austria-Hungary (via Austro-Hungarian Compromise of 1867)
1804-67: Austrian Empire
1457-1804: Archduchy of Austria (state of the Holy Roman Empire)
1156-1457: Duchy of Austria (state of the Holy Roman Empire)
|Azerbaijan||May 28, 1918||Aug 30, 1991||Soviet Union||1995–present: Republic of Azerbaijan (independence from Soviet Union declared 1991; constitution adopted 1995)
1920-1995: Azerbaijan Soviet Socialist Republic
|Bahamas||July 10, 1973||July 10, 1973||United Kingdom||1973–present: Commonwealth of the Bahamas(Self-government gained from the United Kingdom in 1964; independence gained on 10 July 1973)
1718-1973:Part of the British West Indies
1492-1718: Part of the Spanish Empire
500to 800-1492: Inhabited by the Lucayans
|Bahrain||Dec 16, 1971||Dec 16, 1971||United Kingdom||1971–present Kingdom of Bahrain
1861-1971:Protectorate of the British Empire by way of the Perpetual Truce of Peace and Friendship
1783-1861:Ruled by the Bani Utbah
1717-1783:Ruled by Oman after a successful invasion
1602-1717:Part of Persia under the Safavid dynasty
1521-1602: Part of the Portuguese Empire
Mid-1400s-1521: Ruled by the Jabrid dynasty
1253-mid-1400s:Ruled by the usfurid dynasty
1076-1235:Ruled by the Uyunid dynasty
976-1076: Ruled as part of the Abbasid Caliphate
899-976: Ruled by the Qarmatians
3rd Century CE-899:Ruled by the Sassanids of Persia
130 BCE-3rd Century BCE: Ruled by the Parthians
6th Century BCE-3rd Century BCE- Part of the Persian Empire under the Achaemenids
4th millennium BCE-6th century BCE: Dilmun civilization
|Bangladesh||Mar 26, 1971||Dec 16, 1971||Pakistan||1972–present: People's Republic of Bangladesh
1971-1972:Provisional Government of the People's Republic of Bangladesh
1955-1971:East Pakistan (Part of Pakistan)
1947-1955:East Bengal (Part of Pakistan)
1858-1947: Part of the British Raj
1717-1880:Ruled by the Nawabs (Lost ruling power after the Battle of Plassey)
1576-1717:Part of the Mughal Empire
1556-1576:Ruled by the Karrani Dynasty
1540-1556:Ruled by the Sur dynasty
1538-1540:Part of the Mughal Empire
1494-1538:Ruled by the Hussain Shahi Dynasty
1414-1494: Ruled by the Ganesha Dynasty
1342-1487:Shamsuddin lliyas Shah ruled an independent city-state within modern Bangladesh
|Barbados||Nov 30, 1966||Nov 30, 1966||United Kingdom|
|Belarus||Jul 27, 1990||Aug 25, 1991||Soviet Union|
|Belgium||Oct 4, 1830||1945||Germany||1813-1830: Part of the Netherlands
1795-1813: Ruled by France
1713-1795: Austrian Netherlands
1581-1714: Spanish Netherlands
|Belize||Sep 21, 1981||Sep 21, 1981||United Kingdom|
|Benin||Aug 1, 1960||Aug 1, 1960||France|
|Bhutan||1634||1634||(none)||Autonomous since at least the 10th century. Unified 1634, after the Battle of Five Lamas. Early history is sketchy, but may have been part of Kamarupa kingdom, and may have been occupied by Tibetan-Mongol forces ca. 10th century.|
|Bolivia||Aug 6, 1825||Aug 6, 1825||Spain||1836–39 as dominant partner in Peru–Bolivian Confederation, governed from Tacna, Peru.|
|Bosnia and Herzegovina||1377||Mar 3, 1992||Yugoslavia||Subject to Kingdom of Hungary 1154-1377 as a Banate of Bosnia, then independent as Kingdom of Bosnia 1377–1463. Later under Ottoman Empire until 1908, Austria-Hungary until 1918, and Yugoslavia until 1992.|
|Botswana||Sep 30, 1966||Sep 30, 1966||United Kingdom|
|Brazil||Sep 7, 1822||Sep 7, 1822||United Kingdom of Portugal, Brazil and the Algarves|
|Brunei||Jan 1, 1984||Jan 1, 1984||United Kingdom||Previously occupied by Japan|
|Bulgaria||681||Oct 5, 1908||Ottoman Empire||Occupied by Byzantine Empire 1018–1185 and Ottoman Empire 1393–1908.|
|Burkina Faso||Aug 5, 1960||Aug 5, 1960||France|
|Burundi||July 1, 1962||July 1, 1962||Belgium|
|Cambodia||802||Nov 9, 1953||France||Khmer Empire founded 802 according to Sdok Kok Thom Inscription|
|Cameroon||Jan 1, 1960||Oct 1, 1961||United Kingdom||French Cameroons gained independence in 1960; added British Southern Cameroons in 1961.|
|Canada||July 1, 1867||Dec 11, 1931||United Kingdom||Dominion status 1867, Statute of Westminster 1931.|
|Cape Verde||July 5, 1975||July 5, 1975||Portugal|
|Central African Republic||Aug 13, 1960||Aug 13, 1960||France|
|Chad||Aug 11, 1960||Aug 11, 1960||France|
|Chile||Sep 18, 1810||Feb 12, 1818||Spain|
|China, People's Republic of||Feb 12, 1912||Oct 1, 1949||China||Previously part of the Qing Dynasty. Partial occupation by Japan, 1937–1945.
Note: Although the Mongol's Yuan Dynasty and the Manchu's Qing Dynasty were considered foreign by the Han Chinese in their times, current Chinese official position considers these two dynasties as Chinese, as they were established by Chinese ethnic minorities and had their capitals in present-day Beijing. The PRC government considers itself the successor of the Qing Dynasty and the Republic of China.
|Colombia||Jul 20, 1810||Aug 7, 1819||Spain||1886–present: Republic of Colombia
1863-1886: United States of Colombia
|Comoros||Jul 6, 1975||Jul 6, 1975||France|
|Congo, Democratic Republic of the||1885||Jun 30, 1960||Belgium||1885 Berlin Conference established Congo Free State as sovereign entity (private domain of King Leopold of Belgium); annexed to Belgium 1908–1960.|
|Congo, Republic of the||Aug 15, 1960||Aug 15, 1960||France|
|Costa Rica||Sep 15, 1821||1838||Federal Republic of Central America||Previously part of Mexico 1822–23 and a colony of Spain before 1821.|
|Côte d'Ivoire||Aug 7, 1960||Aug 7, 1960||France|
|Croatia||May 21, 879||Oct 8, 1991||Yugoslavia||Croats came to Roman Dalmatia as free people from White Croatia in the early 7th century.|
|Cuba||May 20, 1902||May 20, 1902||United States||A colony of Spain until 1898, then occupied but not annexed by United States 1899–1902.|
|Cyprus||Aug 16, 1960||Aug 16, 1960||United Kingdom|
|Czech Republic||870||Jan 1, 1993||Czechoslovakia||Duchy of Bohemia first independent from Great Moravia ca. 870; unified with Moravia and Silesia under Boleslaus I, Duke of Bohemia, who acceded to the throne in 935. Later part of Austria-Hungary until 1918 independence as Czechoslovakia. Occupied by Germany in 1938, by WWII Allies in 1945, and by Warsaw Pact armies in 1968.|
|Denmark||980||May 5, 1945||Germany||Unified ca 980 by Harald Bluetooth.|
|Djibouti||Jun 27, 1977||Jun 27, 1977||France|
|Dominica||Nov 3, 1978||Nov 3, 1978||United Kingdom|
|Dominican Republic||1821 ( Republic of Spanish Haiti)||Feb 27, 1844||Haiti||Previously occupied by Spain, France, and Haiti|
|Ecuador||May 24, 1822||May 13, 1830||Gran Colombia||Previously a colony of Spain|
|Egypt||3100 BC||Feb 28, 1922||United Kingdom||Unified in 3100 BC by Pharaoh Menes or probably Narmer, founder of the First Dynasty. Conquered at various times by Achaemenid, Macedonian, Roman, Arab/Islamic, Ottoman, and Napoleonic Empires.|
|El Salvador||Sep 15, 1821||Nov 21, 1898||Greater Republic of Central America||Previously a part of the Federal Republic of Central America 1823–38, Mexico 1822–23, and a colony of Spain before 1821.|
|Equatorial Guinea||Oct 12, 1968||Oct 12, 1968||Spain|
|Eritrea||1137||May 24, 1993||Ethiopia||Independent 1137-1889 as Medri Bahri kingdom. Occupied 1889 by Italy, 1941 by Britain. Ruled 1952-1993 by Ethiopia.|
|Estonia||Feb 24, 1918||Aug 20, 1991||Soviet Union||Previously ruled by Sweden and occupied by Denmark, Poland, Russia, and Germany.|
|Ethiopia||50||May 5, 1941||Italy||Aksumite Empire founded ca 50. Occupied 1936–1941 by Italy. on 5 May 1941 the ousted Emperor of Ethiopia restored its power.|
|Fiji||Oct 10, 1970||Oct 10, 1970||United Kingdom|
|Finland||Dec 6, 1917||Jan 4, 1918||Russia||Previously ruled by Sweden.|
|France||843||1944||Germany||843 Treaty of Verdun established West Francia. Occupied by Germany in WWII.|
|Gabon||Aug 17, 1960||Aug 17, 1960||France|
|Gambia||Feb 18, 1965||Feb 18, 1965||United Kingdom|
|Georgia||1300 BC||Apr 8, 1991||Soviet Union||1991–Present: Republic of Georgia
1921-1991: Georgian Soviet Socialist Republic
1918-1921 : Democratic Republic of Georgia
1801-1918: Part Of Russian Empire
1490-1801 Fragmentized into three independent kingdoms – Kartli, Kakheti, and Imereti and five semi-independent principalities – Odishi, (Mingrelia), Guria, Abkhazia, Svaneti, and Samtskhe
978 -1490: Kingdom of Georgia
|Germany||Jan 18, 1871||March 15, 1991|| West Germany
|Unified in 1871. Occupied 1945–1955 until ratification of Bonn–Paris conventions. Become fully sovereign on 15 March 1991 after the Treaty on the Final Settlement with Respect to Germany came into effect.|
|Ghana||Mar 6, 1957||Mar 6, 1957||United Kingdom|
|Greece||800 BC||1822||Ottoman Empire||Previously occupied jointly by Italy, Germany and Bulgaria; before 1821 by Ottoman Empire.|
|Grenada||Feb 7, 1974||Feb 7, 1974||United Kingdom|
|Guatemala||Sep 15, 1821||1838||Federal Republic of Central America|| Republic of Guatemala: 1838–present
Federal Republic of Central America: 1823–1838
First Mexican Empire: 1821–1823
Spanish Empire: 1519–1821
|Guinea||Oct 2, 1958||Oct 2, 1958||France|
|Guinea-Bissau||Sep 24, 1973||Sep 10, 1974||Portugal|
|Guyana||May 26, 1966||May 26, 1966||United Kingdom||Previously colonized by Dutch|
|Haiti||Jan 1, 1804||Jan 1, 1804||France||Previously a colony of France.|
|Honduras||Sep 15, 1821||1838||Greater Republic of Central America||Occupied several times by United States. Previously a part of the Greater Republic of Central America 1896–98, the Federal Republic of Central America 1823–38, Mexico 1822–23 and a colony of Spain before 1821.|
|Hungary||895||1918||Austria-Hungary||Principality of Hungary founded 895. Ruled by Austria 1526/1699-1867, part of Austria-Hungary 1867-1918.|
|Iceland||930||Dec 1, 1918||Denmark||Icelandic Commonwealth formed 930. Ceded to Norway 1262; Kingdom of Iceland (1918–1944) with a Personal union with Denmark, Republic of Iceland founded 1944.|
|India||2000 BC||Aug 15, 1947||United Kingdom||India's local name Bhārat derives from the scriptural Bharata, held by tradition as the first emperor to unite India in 2000 BC. Modern Indian subcontinent was united by Mahajanapadas in 600 BC. Political unity in verified historiography was first achieved by Chandragupta Maurya's founding of the Mauryan Empire in 322 BC, followed by the Gupta Empire of 320 AD and Maratha Empire in 1674 before era of the Mughals and then British Raj from 1857 to Independence in 1947.|
|Indonesia||Aug 17, 1945||Dec 27, 1949||Netherlands||1949–present: Unitary State of the Republic of Indonesia (NKRI)
1945-1949: Indonesian Struggle for Independence
|Iran||3200 BC||1789||Qajar dynasty||1980–present: Part of Islamic Republic
1979–1980: Part of Interim Government
|Iraq||Apr 26, 1926||Apr 26, 1926||Ottoman Empire||founded in 4000 BC by Sumer Civilization (the first Civilization on the world), and then unified under Sargon of Akkad the founder of Akkadian Empire, but Iraq was part of Persian Empire (Iran), and Ottoman Empire (until 1922). see History of Iraq. Occupied by United States 2003–2004|
|Ireland||Oct 18, 1171||Dec 11, 1931||United Kingdom||Independence declared 1919, Dominion status 1922, Statute of Westminster 1931, declared a republic 1948.|
|Israel||May 14, 1948||May 14, 1948||United Kingdom||Kingdom of Israel unified under King Saul, c. 1020 BC, divided into separate kingdoms of Israel and Judea, which fall to Neo-Assyrian and Neo-Babylonian empires in 722 and 586 BC, respectively. In 2nd century BC, Judea re-gains independence as Hasmonean kingdom after revolt against the Hellenist Seleucid Empire. Conquered by Pompey of the Roman Empire in 63 BC, and subsequently falls to Byzantine, Umayyad, Abbasid, Crusader, Mamluk, Ottoman Turkish, and British rule, before regaining independence as the State of Israel in 1948.|
|Italy||Mar 17, 1861||Mar 17, 1861|| Sardinia
|Unified in 1861.|
|Jamaica||Aug 6, 1962||Aug 6, 1962||United Kingdom||Previously a Spanish colony|
|Japan||400||April 28, 1952||Allied occupation of Japan||Founded 660 BC by Emperor Jimmu according to legend. Unified state emerged during the Kofun period c. 400 AD. 1952 Treaty of San Francisco ended postwar occupation.|
|Jordan||May 25, 1946||Aug 2, 1958||Arab Federation||Part of Arab Federation Feb–Aug 1958 governed from Baghdad, Iraq. Previously ruled by Persian, Roman, Islamic, and Ottoman Empires; UK, etc.|
|Kazakhstan||Dec 16, 1991||Dec 16, 1991||Soviet Union||Russian Empire
Various Turkic tribes.
|Kenya||Dec 12, 1963||Dec 12, 1963||United Kingdom||Various nomadic tribes.|
|Kiribati||Jul 12, 1979||Jul 12, 1979||United Kingdom|
|Kuwait||Jun 19, 1961||Feb 1991||Iraq||Previously ruled by Ottoman Empire and United Kingdom.|
|Kyrgyzstan||Aug 31, 1991||Aug 31, 1991||Soviet Union|
|Laos||1354||Oct 22, 1953||France||Occupied by Japan during World War II|
|Latvia||Nov 18, 1918||May 4, 1990||Soviet Union||Previously ruled by Lithuania, Sweden, and Russia|
|Lebanon||Nov 8, 1943||Dec 31, 1946||France||Previously ruled by Ottoman Empire|
|Lesotho||1822||Oct 4, 1966||United Kingdom|
|Liberia||Jul 26, 1847||Jul 26, 1847||American Colonization Society||Settled but not claimed by United States|
|Libya||Dec 24, 1951||Dec 24, 1951|| Cyrenaica Emirate
|Previously occupied by Italy and by Ottoman Empire|
|Liechtenstein||Jan 23, 1719||Jan 23, 1719||(Lordship of) Schellenberg
(Principality of) Vaduz
|Previously subject to the Confederation of the Rhine. Formed 1719 from Vaduz and Schellenberg, but under the Holy Roman Empire.|
|Lithuania||1253||Mar 11, 1990||Soviet Union||Kingdom of Lithuania; Act of the Re-Establishment of the State of Lithuania|
|Luxembourg||1815||1945||Germany||Independent from France 1815 but in personal union with Netherlands until 1890|
|Macedonia||Sep 8, 1991||Sep 8, 1991||Yugoslavia|
|Madagascar||1787||Jun 26, 1960||France|
|Malawi||Jul 6, 1964||Jul 6, 1964||United Kingdom|
|Malaysia||Aug 31, 1957||Aug 31, 1957||United Kingdom||The Federation of Malaya gained independence in 1957; in 1963 it added territories of Sabah, Sarawak and Singapore, and changed its name to Malaysia. Singapore became independent in 1965.|
|Maldives||1140||Jul 26, 1965||United Kingdom||Unified according to legend by King Koimala (1117–1141). Independent sultanate until 1887, when it became a British protectorate.|
|Mali||1230||Sep 22, 1960||France||Mali Empire ca. 1230. A colony of France 1890–1960, then part of Mali Federation governed from Dakar, Senegal.|
|Malta||Sep 21, 1964||Sep 21, 1964||United Kingdom||1974–present: Republic of Malta
1964-1974: State of Malta
|Marshall Islands||Oct 21, 1986||Oct 21, 1986||United States||Compact of Free Association|
|Mauritania||Nov 28, 1960||Nov 28, 1960||France|
|Mauritius||Mar 12, 1968||Mar 12, 1968||United Kingdom||Previously controlled by the Netherlands and France.
Various Taureg and Berber tribes.
|Mexico||Sep 16, 1810||1864||Spain|| Mexico: 1867–present
Second Mexican Empire: 1864–1867
Second Federal Republic of Mexico: 1846–1863
Centralist Republic of Mexico: 1835–1846
First Mexican Republic: 1824–1835
Provisional Government of Mexico: 1823–1824
First Mexican Empire: 1821–1823
Spanish Empire: 1519–1821
Aztec Empire: 1421-1521
Teotihuacan: 100-700 AD
Zapotec Empire: 1300 BCE-1521 AD
Olmec: 1300-1100 BCE
|Micronesia, Federated States of||Nov 3, 1986||Nov 3, 1986||United States||Compact of Free Association|
|Moldova||Aug 27, 1991||Aug 27, 1991||Soviet Union|
|Monaco||1297||1945||Germany||Previously occupied by Italy and France. Subject to Sardinia 1815–1861.|
|Mongolia||209 BC||Mar 13, 1921||Republic of China||Qing dynasty
Varius nomadic Mongol tribesmen.
Xiongnu Empire formed 209 BC; occupied by the Qing Dynasty (1699–1911) and the Republic of China (1919–1921)
|Montenegro||1042||May 21, 2006||Serbia and Montenegro||2006–present: Montenegro
1918-2006 : Union with Serbia/Yugoslavia
1696-1916 : Petrović's dynasty.
1435-1496 : Crnojević's dynasty.
1356-1421 : Balšić's dynasty.
(1018)1042-1186 : Vojislavljević's dynasty.
Duklja established statehood 823-830 by archont Petar but gained its full independence from the Byzantine Empire in 1042.
Independent from Ottoman Empire in 1799, formally 1878. Occupied by Ottoman Empire 1496-1799(1878),Austria-Hungary 1916-1918, Italy 1941-1943, and Germany 1943-1945.
|Morocco||February 5, 789||Apr 7, 1956||France/ Spain||February 5, 789 : Induction of Idris I
789-974 : Idrisid dynasty
974-1060 : Disputed between the Fatimid Caliphate and the Caliphate of Córdoba, divided into several Zenata principalities
1061-1147 : Almoravid dynasty
1147-1244 : Almohad dynasty
1244-1465 : Marinid dynasty
1465-1472 : Idrisid dynasty, Joutey branch
1472-1554 : Wattasid dynasty
1554-1659 : Saadi dynasty
1664–present : Alaouite dynasty
Under French and Spanish protectorate (1912–1956).
|Mozambique||Jun 25, 1975||Jun 25, 1975||Portugal||Portuguese colony from 1498|
|Myanmar||849||Jan 4, 1948||United Kingdom||Pagan Kingdom founded 849. Occupied by Japan 1942–1945|
|Namibia||Mar 21, 1990||Mar 21, 1990||South Africa||German colony from 1884; governed by South Africa 1915-1990|
|Nauru||Jan 31, 1968||Jan 31, 1968||Australia/ New Zealand/ United Kingdom Trust Territory of Nauru||Previously occupied by Germany 1888, Australia 1914, Japan 1942-45|
|Nepal||1768||1768||(none)||Autonomous throughout its recorded history, and certainly since its 1768 unification. The ancient Maurya Empire occupied southern Nepal, but not the core Kathmandu valley.|
|Netherlands||Jul 26, 1581||1945||Spain||Independent from Spain in 1581; occupied by France under Napoleon.|
|New Zealand||Sep 25, 1907||Sep 25, 1907||United Kingdom||Dominion status 1907, Statute of Westminster Adoption Act 1947.
Maori tribesmen (iwi)
|Nicaragua||Sep 15, 1821||Sep 15, 1821||Federal Republic of Central America||Previously a part of the Greater Republic of Central America 1896–98, the Federal Republic of Central America 1823–38, Mexico 1822–23, and a colony of Spain before 1821.|
|Niger||Aug 3, 1960||Aug 3, 1960||France|
|Nigeria||Oct 1, 1960||Oct 1, 1960||United Kingdom|
|North Korea||2333 BC||Sep 9, 1948||Soviet Union||Jin state established in 3rd century BC. Modern state established 1946 after Soviet Civil Administration since 1945. Previously occupied by Japan (1910–1945)..|
|Norway||872||1814||Denmark–Norway||Unified ca 872 at Battle of Hafrsfjord. For a long time in unions with Denmark and with Sweden (until 1905). Occupied by Germany 1940–45.|
|Oman||751||1743||Persia||Previously occupied by Great Seljuq Empire, Ottoman Empire, Portugal (1508–1650), etc.|
|Pakistan||Aug 14, 1947||Mar 23, 1956||United Kingdom||Previously a colony of the British Empire.
|Palau||Oct 1, 1994||Oct 1, 1994||United States||Previously ruled by Spain, Germany, Japan.|
|Panama||Nov 28, 1821||Nov 28, 1821||Spain||A colony of Spain until 1821, then a dependency of Colombia until 1903. Occupied by United States 1989–90.|
|Papua New Guinea||Sep 16, 1975||Sep 16, 1975||Australia||Papuan, Polynesians, and Melanesians before then.|
|Paraguay||May 14, 1811||1876||Brazil||Occupied 1870–1876 by Brazil, in Triple Alliance with Argentina and Uruguay. Colony of Spain before 1811.|
|Peru||July 28, 1821||Aug 25, 1839|| North Peru
|Independent from Spain 1821; part of Peru–Bolivian Confederation 1836-39.
|Philippines||1402||July 4, 1946||United States||1986–present: Fifth Philippine Republic
1981 - 1986: Fourth Philippine Republic
1973 - 1981: Philippines in the Martial Law
1946 - 1972: Third Philippine Republic
1942 - 1943: A puppet state of the Japanese Empire ( Second Philippine Republic ) .
1898 - 1942, 1943 - 1946: Part of the United States
1535 - 1898: A colony of Spain
Pre-1535: The Philippine Islands had a numerous sinified states, Indianized kingdoms and Muslim states. In Luzon , there were the Ivatan people, the Society of Cordillera, the Kingdoms of Pangasinan and Ma-i, Kota Selurong and the Tondo Dynasty. The Confederation of the Madyas and the Rajahnate of Cebu were in Visayas. Lastly, in Mindanao , there were the Sultanate of Maguindanao , Butuan Rajahnate and the Sultanate of Sulu. The Bruneian Empire occupied Palawan_(island) and parts of Mindanao too.
|Poland||960||960||Polish tribes||Unified ca 960 by Mieszko I. Rise of power in 16th century. Occupied by Germany and the USSR during WWII.|
|Portugal||July 25, 1139||July 25, 1139||County of Portugal||Between 1580 and 1640 Portugal and Spain had the same King, Filipe I in Portugal and Filipe II in Spain.|
|Qatar||Sep 3, 1971||Sep 3, 1971||United Kingdom||Ottoman Empire
Various nomadic Arab tribesmen before that.
|Romania||Jul 13, 1878||Jul 13, 1878||United Principalities||1944–1958.
|Russia||860||Dec 26, 1992||Soviet Union||Rurik Dynasty founded ca 860. Great stand on the Ugra river in 1480 marked end of Mongol/Tatar rule.
|Rwanda||July 1, 1962||July 1, 1962||Belgium|
|Saint Kitts and Nevis||Sep 19, 1983||Sep 19, 1983||United Kingdom|
|Saint Lucia||Feb 22, 1979||Feb 22, 1979||United Kingdom|
|Saint Vincent and the Grenadines||Oct 27, 1979||Oct 27, 1979||United Kingdom|
|Samoa||Jan 1, 1962||Jan 1, 1962||Samoa||German colony 1900 to 1914; occupied by New Zealand 1914; Trust Territory first of the League of Nations, then of the United Nations and administered by New Zealand, 1920 to 1962.|
|San Marino||Sep 3, 301||Sep 3, 301||Roman Empire||Previously part of the Roman Empire, and briefly by Rimini (1503), and Papal States (1739).|
|São Tomé and Príncipe||Jul 12, 1975||Jul 12, 1975||Portugal|
|Saudi Arabia||1744||Jan 1919||Ottoman Empire||First Saudi State independent 1744–1818; last Ottoman troops evicted from Medina by Kingdom of Hejaz 1919; Hejaz incorporated 1926 into Kingdom of Hejaz and Nejd, precursor to Saudi Arabia|
|Senegal||Jun 20, 1960||Jun 20, 1960||France||Independent first as Mali Federation with capital in Dakar. Previously part of Ghana, Mali and Songhai Empires.|
|Serbia||768||June 3, 2006||Serbia and Montenegro||Serbian Sklavinia(520s-768)
Principality of Serbia (768-1217)
Kingdom of Serbia (1217–1346)
Serbian Empire (1346–1371)
Moravian Serbia (1371–1402)
Serbian Despotate (1402–1540)
Kingdom of Serbia (1718–1739) 1718–1739 and 1788-1791
Principality of Serbia (1817–1882)
Kingdom of Serbia (1882–1918)
Kingdom of Serbs, Croats and Slovenes (1918–1929)
Kingdom of Yugoslavia (1929–1943)
Democratic Federal Yugoslavia (1943–1946)
Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia (1946–1992)
Federal Republic of Yugoslavia (1992–2003)
State Union of Serbia and Montenegro (2003–2006)
Republic of Serbia (2006–present)
|Seychelles||Jun 29, 1976||Jun 29, 1976||United Kingdom||Perhaps sovereign 1790–1794|
|Sierra Leone||Apr 27, 1961||Apr 27, 1961||United Kingdom|
|Singapore||Aug 31, 1963||Aug 9, 1965||Malaysia||British colony 1824–1963; occupied by Japan 1942–1945; declared independence, then merged with Malaysia from 1963 until 1965.|
|Slovakia||Mar 14, 1939||Jan 1, 1993||Czechoslovakia|
|Slovenia||Jun 25, 1991||Jun 25, 1991||Yugoslavia|
|Solomon Islands||Jul 7, 1978||Jul 7, 1978||United Kingdom|
|Somalia||200 BC||Jul 1, 1960||United Kingdom and Italy||1 July 1960: Union of Trust Territory of Somalia (former Italian Somaliland) and State of Somaliland (former British Somaliland)
19th century: Part of Sultanate of Hobyo
18th century: Part of Majeerteen Sultanate
15th century: Part of Adal Sultanate
13th century: Part of Ajuran Sultanate
13th century: Part of Warsangali Sultanate
13th century: Part of Ifat Sultanate
10th century: Part of Sultanate of Mogadishu
200 BCE: Somali city-states
|South Africa||May 31, 1910||May 31, 1910||United Kingdom||Dominion status 1910, Statute of Westminster 1931.
Orange Free State 1881-1902
Various Bantu (Zulu, Xhosa and Swazi) and Khoikhoi tribesmen (San Bushmen)
|South Korea||Aug 15, 1948||Aug 15, 1948||United States||Jin state established in 3rd century BC. Modern state established 1948 after US Army Military Government since 1945. Previously occupied by Japan (1910–1945).|
|South Sudan||Jul 9, 2011||Jul 9, 2011||Sudan|
|Spain||1516||1516|| Crown of Castile
Crown of Aragon
|Founding of the Spanish Monarchy by Charles I of Spain in 1476 when he united the Catholic Monarchy (Crown of Castile and Crown of Aragon) among other territories. Occupied by France 1808-1813. Between 1580 and 1640 Portugal and all its colonies were integrated into Spain under the king Felipe II.|
|Sri Lanka||377 BC||Feb 4, 1948||United Kingdom||Unified as Anuradhapura Kingdom 377 BC – 1017. Conquered by Indian kingdoms, Portuguese, Dutch, and British.|
|Sudan||1070 BC||Jan 1, 1956|| United Kingdom
|Kingdom of Kush 1070 BC – 350 AD. Later ruled by the Ottoman Empire, Egypt, and then as Anglo-Egyptian Sudan 1899–1956.|
|Suriname||Nov 25, 1975||Nov 25, 1975||Kingdom of the Netherlands|
|Swaziland||Sep 6, 1968||Sep 6, 1968||United Kingdom|
|Sweden||unknown||Jun 6, 1523||Denmark||No exact date for consolidation of Sweden. In Kalmar Union 1397–1523.|
|Switzerland||1291||1815||Austria||Old Swiss Confederacy formed 1291. Occupied by France 1798, then Austria 1813. 1815 Congress of Vienna restored independence.|
|Syria||Apr 17, 1946||Sep 28, 1961||United Arab Republic||Ottoman Empire
|Tajikistan||Sep 9, 1991||Sep 9, 1991||Soviet Union|
|Tanzania||Dec 9, 1961||Dec 9, 1961||United Kingdom||Independent in 1961 as Tanganyika, added Zanzibar in 1963.|
|Thailand||1238||1945||Japan||Independent from Khmer Empire in 1238. Briefly conquered by Burma in 1767. Occupied by Japan 1941–1945.|
|Timor-Leste||Nov 28, 1975||May 20, 2002||United Nations Transitional Administration in East Timor||Ruled by Portugal 1515–1975, occupied by Indonesia 1975–1999, administered by U.N. 1999–2002.|
|Togo||Apr 27, 1960||Apr 27, 1960||France|
|Tonga||1845||Jun 4, 1970||United Kingdom||United 1845 by George Tupou I. British protectorate 1900–1970.|
|Trinidad and Tobago||Aug 31, 1962||Aug 31, 1962||United Kingdom|
|Tunisia||Mar 20, 1956||Mar 20, 1956||France||Occupations by Rome, Ottoman Empire and France|
|Turkey||1037||April 23, 1920||Ottoman Empire||Seljuq Empire founded 1037; conquered at 1243 Battle of Köse Dağ After WWI, the victorious Allies occupied large parts of the Ottoman Empire, including Constantinople but not Ankara.|
|Turkmenistan||Oct 27, 1991||Oct 27, 1991||Soviet Union|
|Tuvalu||Oct 1, 1978||Oct 1, 1978||United Kingdom|
|Uganda||Oct 9, 1962||Oct 9, 1962||United Kingdom|
|Ukraine||860||Aug 24, 1991||Soviet Union||860-1240 - Kievan Rus'
1199-1340 - Kingdom of Rus
1648-1764 - Cossack Hetmanate
1917-20 - Ukrainian People's Republic
1918 - Ukrainian State
|United Arab Emirates||Dec 2, 1971||Dec 2, 1971||United Kingdom|
|United Kingdom||1800||1800||Great Britain||Kingdom of England (10th century- 1707), Kingdom of Scotland (9th century- 1707), Great Britain (1707–1800)|
|United States||Jul 4, 1776||Oct 19, 1781||Great Britain||Independence declared 1776; British surrender 1781; U.S. recognized by Treaty of Paris 1783.
New France, New Spain, Indian tribes, chiefdoms and confederations.
|Uruguay||1815||Aug 27, 1828||Brazil||Independent 1815–1820 as Liga Federal; occupied 1820 by Portugal/Brazil until 1828 Treaty of Montevideo.|
|Uzbekistan||Sep 1, 1991||Sep 1, 1991||Soviet Union|
|Vanuatu||July 30, 1980||July 30, 1980||United Kingdom, France||Governed 1906–1980 as the New Hebrides condominium.|
|Vatican City||756||Feb 11, 1929||Italy||Independent as Papal States 756–1870; part of Italy until 1929 Lateran Treaty|
|Venezuela||Jul 5, 1811||Jan 13, 1830||Gran Colombia||Previously a colony of Spain|
|Vietnam||2879 BC||July 2, 1976|| North Vietnam
|Văn Lang confederacy arose 2879 BC under Kinh Dương Vương, founder of the Hồng Bàng Dynasty. Several periods of Chinese domination. French occupation from 1887 until Geneva Conference (1954), interrupted by Japanese occupation (1940–1945).|
|Yemen||Nov 1, 1918||Nov 30, 1967||United Kingdom||North Yemen independent from Ottoman Empire 1918; South Yemen from UK in 1967; unified 1990|
|Zambia||Oct 24, 1964||Oct 24, 1964||United Kingdom|
|Zimbabwe||Nov 11, 1965||Apr 18, 1980||United Kingdom||The British colony of Southern Rhodesia unilaterally declared Independence as Rhodesia 1965; known as Zimbabwe Rhodesia in 1979; unrecognised until 1980.|
|Country||First acquisition of sovereignty||Date of last subordination||Previous governing power||Notes|
- Declaration of independence
- List of active autonomist and secessionist movements
- List of national independence days
- List of wars of independence (national liberation)
- List of former European colonies
- List of former national capitals
- List of sovereign states
- Timeline of country and capital changes
- List of national constitutions
- Succession of states
- List of world map changes
- listed are the five UN member states with limited recognition: Israel (not recognized by 32 members), North and South Korea (no mutual recognition), Armenia (not recognized by Pakistan) and Cyprus (not recognized by Turkey); "China" has universal recognition, but the UN is unclear on which of the Chinas (People's Republic or Republic) this refers to.
- Since the beginning of the Second Libyan Civil War in 2014, various areas of Libya are under the control of competing groups. These include domestic groups such as New General National Congress and local Taureg groups, and foreign groups such as ISIL.
- With the ongoing Somali Civil War, significant areas remain outside federal control.
- A new constitution was approved in 2013, but most changes will not enter effect for another decade.
- Country Profile: Cuba, September 2006, U.S. Library of Congress – Federal Research Division.
- In the Dominican Republic, every constitutional amendment is considered a new constitution. The most recent amendment was the 2010 constitution.
- "19 de abril de 1810". Venezuela Tuya.
- Following the Northern Iraq offensive in June 2014, large areas of Iraq are de facto under the control of Iraqi Kurds or the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant.
- "Jordan's King Abdullah vows to allow elected cabinets". BBC News. 12 June 2011. Archived from the original on 13 June 2011. Retrieved 27 October 2015.
- This constitution cut North Korean ties with the Soviet Union. Several new constitutions and amendments have followed (most recently in 2013), creating new titles for the national leader such as Eternal President and Chairman of the National Defence Commission. However, power has remained with the Kim dynasty since 1948.
- The Republics of the Soviet Union were officially sovereign entities in a federation, according to Article 76 of the Constitution of the Soviet Union. However, the Soviet Union was heavily centralized and was de facto a single federal state.
- Malaysia Act 1963
- United Nations Member States
- Federation of Malaya Independence Act 1957
- Agreement relating to the separation of Singapore from Malaysia as an independent and sovereign state
- Agreement relating to the separation of Singapore from Malaysia as an independent and sovereign state/proclamation of singapore
- Singapore Act 1966
- Agreement relating to Malaysia between United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, Federation of Malaya, North Borneo, Sarawak and Singapore
- "The World Factbook".
- "Country Profile: Philippines" (PDF). U.S. Library of Congress – Federal Research Division. March 2006. says, "The Philippines attained independence from Spain on June 12, 1898, and from the United States on July 4, 1946.", implying that the cession of the Philippines to the U.S. by Spain on December 10, 1898 via the Treaty of Paris was invalid. Other sources (e.g. The CIA Factbook) say that the Philippine Islands were ceded to the US by Spain in 1898 following the Spanish–American War.
- Republic of the Philippines, Philippine Government website.
- "Convention regarding the boundary between the Philippine Archipelago and the State of North Borneo" (PDF). United Nations Treaty Collection. January 2, 1930 and July 6, 1932. Archived from the original (PDF) on July 28, 2011. Check date values in:
- Bautista, Lowell B. (3 September 2009). "The Historical Context and Legal Basis of the Philippine Treaty Limits" (PDF). Aegean Review of the Law of the Sea and Maritime Law 1: 21. doi:10.1007/s12180-009-0003-5. ISSN 1864-9610. Archived from the original (PDF) on October 11, 2010.
The Boundaries Treaty of 1930 clarifies those islands in the region belonging to U.S. and those to the State of North Borneo and delimits the boundary between the Philippine Archipelago (under U.S. sovereignty) and the State of North Borneo (under British protection). [...] When the Boundaries Treaty of 1930 was finalized, an exchange of notes supplemented the Treaty. Pursuant to the notes, sovereignty over these islands was transferred to the U.S., and it was agreed that Great Britain should continue to administer these islands until the U.S. gave notice to the contrary.
- United States. Dept. of State; Charles Irving Bevans (1968). Treaties and other international agreements of the United States of America, 1776-1949. Dept. of State; for sale by the Supt. of Docs., U.S. Govt. Print. Off. pp. 473–476.
- Due to the ongoing Syrian Civil War, large areas of Syria are de facto under the control of other parties such as the Syrian opposition and the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant.
- The government of the Republic of China, which currently administers Taiwan, was the generally recognized sovereign power over Mainland China beginning on 1 January 1912 (also the first year of the Taiwanese calendar "民國"). Sovereign control of Taiwan by this government began on 25 October 1945 (Retrocession Day).
- The PRC acquired de facto control in Mainland China on 1 October 1949. The Republic of China continued to be generally recognized as the legitimate government of China until 25 October 1971, when the PRC was admitted to the United Nations. Currently, due to the PRC's One-China policy, only 25 states recognize the Republic of China, although many more retain unofficial relations.
- Deeley, Furness, and Schofield (2001) The International Boundaries of East Timor p. 8
- Wolff, Stefan (2004). Disputed Territories: The Transnational Dynamics of Ethnic Conflict Settlement. Berghahn Books. pp. 30–31.
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- Bahcheli, Tozun; Noel, Sid (2005). "Power Sharing for Cyprus (Again)? European Union Accession and the Prospects for Reunification". In Noel, Sid. Relations of Ruling: Class and Gender in Postindustrial Societies. McGill-Queen's University Press. p. 215.
- The Faroe Islands and Greenland were administered by Denmark until 24 March 1948 and 1 May 1979 respectively. They are now autonomous constituent countries with home rule, but remain part of the Kingdom of Denmark.
- The annexation of the Baltic republics in 1940 is considered an illegal occupation by the current Baltic governments and by a number of Western countries, including the United States and the European Union, who assert that the states were independent countries occupied by the Soviet Union. The Baltic republics were officially sovereign entities in a federation, according to Article 76 of the Constitution of the Soviet Union. However, the Soviet Union was heavily centralized and was de facto a single federal state.
- The breaking-through of the Channel Tunnel on October 31, 1990 created a new land border between the UK and France (May 01, 1994, Under the Channel, traffic soon to roll, Baltimore Sun) However, the Channel Tunnel runs underwater and did not change the above-ground territory of either nation.
- France swapped a small area of land with Andorra in 2001 to allow Andorra to construct the Envalira Tunnel access bridge.
- Prior to 1999, the Constitution of Ireland claimed that "The national territory consists of the whole island of Ireland", but that its laws were only valid in the counties of the Republic.
- "Liechtenstein prince wins powers". BBC News. 2003-03-16. Retrieved 2015-10-26.
- East Timor had been under Indonesian occupation since 1975, but this occupation was not recognized by the wider global community.
- Đerdapski ribolovi u prošlosti i u sadašnjosti, Volume 41 Mihailo Petrović Izd. Zadužbine Mikh. R. Radivojeviča, 1941
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- Baikonur is treated as a federal subject of Russia, but its exact status is a topic of dispute between the two countries. Katya Kumkova (29 January 2013). "Russia and Kazakhstan: What’s Behind the Baikonur Spat?". EurasiaNet.org. Retrieved 2015-10-28.
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- Rose, Leo E. (1977). The Politics of Bhutan. Ithaca: Cornell University Press. p. 24. ISBN 0-8014-0909-8.
[T]here can be no doubt that since at least the tenth century no external power has controlled Bhutan, although there have been periods when various of its neighbors have been able to exert a strong cultural and/or political influence there.
- Bisht, Ramesh Chandra (2008). International Encyclopaedia of Himalayas 2. New Delhi: Mittal Publications. p. 12. ISBN 81-8324-265-0.
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Liberia … was neither a sovereign power nor a bona fide colony of any sovereign nation. … the United States refused to claim sovereignty over Liberia.
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Nepal is of special interest, partly because it is an Asian country that was never reduced to colonial status.
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- Independence recognized via the Treaty of Manila (1946).
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It can be said that this war had a decisive effect on the fate of the Seljuq Empire. Afterwards Anatolia fell, in effect, under Mongol rule; although the peace which was made – on condition that a heavy annual tax be paid to the Mongols – left a theoretical semi-independence to the Seljuq sultan.