| Country | INDEPENDENCE |
|---|
| Afghanistan |
19 August 1919 (from UK control over Afghan foreign affairs)
|
| Albania |
28 November 1912 (from the Ottoman Empire)
|
| Algeria |
5 July 1962 (from France)
|
| American Samoa |
none (territory of the US)
|
| Andorra |
1278 (formed under the joint sovereignty of the French Count of Foix and the Spanish Bishop of Urgell)
|
| Angola |
11 November 1975 (from Portugal)
|
| Anguilla |
none (overseas territory of the UK)
|
| Antigua and Barbuda |
1 November 1981 (from the UK)
|
| Argentina |
9 July 1816 (from Spain)
|
| Armenia |
21 September 1991 (from the Soviet Union)
|
| Aruba |
none (part of the Kingdom of the Netherlands)
|
| Australia |
1 January 1901 (from the federation of UK colonies)
|
| Austria |
12 November 1918 (republic proclaimed); notable earlier dates: 976 (Margravate of Austria established); 17 September 1156 (Duchy of Austria founded); 11 August 1804 (Austrian Empire proclaimed)
|
| Azerbaijan |
30 August 1991 (declared from the Soviet Union); 18 October 1991 (adopted by the Supreme Council of Azerbaijan)
|
| Bahamas, The |
10 July 1973 (from the UK)
|
| Bahrain |
15 August 1971 (from the UK)
|
| Bangladesh |
16 December 1971 (from West Pakistan)
|
| Barbados |
30 November 1966 (from the UK)
|
| Belarus |
25 August 1991 (from the Soviet Union)
|
| Belgium |
4 October 1830 (a provisional government declared independence from the Netherlands); 21 July 1831 (King LEOPOLD I ascended to the throne)
|
| Belize |
21 September 1981 (from the UK)
|
| Benin |
1 August 1960 (from France)
|
| Bermuda |
none (overseas territory of the UK)
|
| Bhutan |
17 December 1907 (became a unified kingdom under its first hereditary king)
|
| Bolivia |
6 August 1825 (from Spain)
|
| Bosnia and Herzegovina |
1 March 1992 (from Yugoslavia); note - referendum for independence completed on 1 March 1992; independence declared on 3 March 1992
|
| Botswana |
30 September 1966 (from the UK)
|
| Brazil |
7 September 1822 (from Portugal)
|
| British Virgin Islands |
none (overseas territory of the UK)
|
| Brunei |
1 January 1984 (from the UK)
|
| Bulgaria |
3 March 1878 (as an autonomous principality within the Ottoman Empire); 22 September 1908 (complete independence from the Ottoman Empire)
|
| Burkina Faso |
5 August 1960 (from France)
|
| Burma |
4 January 1948 (from the UK)
|
| Burundi |
1 July 1962 (from UN trusteeship under Belgian administration)
|
| Cabo Verde |
5 July 1975 (from Portugal)
|
| Cambodia |
9 November 1953 (from France)
|
| Cameroon |
1 January 1960 (from French-administered UN trusteeship)
|
| Canada |
1 July 1867 (union of British North American colonies); 11 December 1931 (recognized by UK per Statute of Westminster)
|
| Cayman Islands |
none (overseas territory of the UK)
|
| Central African Republic |
13 August 1960 (from France)
|
| Chad |
11 August 1960 (from France)
|
| Chile |
18 September 1810 (from Spain)
|
| China |
1 October 1949 (People's Republic of China established); notable earlier dates: 221 B.C. (unification under the Qin Dynasty); 1 January 1912 (Qing Dynasty replaced by the Republic of China)
|
| Christmas Island |
none (territory of Australia)
|
| Cocos (Keeling) Islands |
none (territory of Australia)
|
| Colombia |
20 July 1810 (from Spain)
|
| Comoros |
6 July 1975 (from France)
|
| Congo, Democratic Republic of the |
30 June 1960 (from Belgium)
|
| Congo, Republic of the |
15 August 1960 (from France)
|
| Cook Islands |
none (became self-governing in free association with New Zealand on 4 August 1965 and has the right at any time to move to full independence by unilateral action)
|
| Costa Rica |
15 September 1821 (from Spain)
|
| Cote d'Ivoire |
7 August 1960 (from France)
|
| Croatia |
25 June 1991 (from Yugoslavia)
|
| Cuba |
20 May 1902 (from Spain 10 December 1898; administered by the US from 1898 to 1902); not acknowledged by the Cuban Government as a day of independence
|
| Curacao |
none (part of the Kingdom of the Netherlands)
|
| Cyprus |
16 August 1960 (from the UK); note - Turkish Cypriots proclaimed self-rule on 13 February 1975 and independence in 1983, but these proclamations are recognized only by Turkey
|
| Czechia |
1 January 1993 (Czechoslovakia split into the Czech Republic and Slovakia); note - although 1 January is the day the Czech Republic came into being, the Czechs commemorate 28 October 1918, the day the former Czechoslovakia declared its independence from the Austro-Hungarian Empire, as their independence day
|
| Denmark |
ca. 965 (unified and Christianized under HARALD I Gormson); 5 June 1849 (became a parliamentary constitutional monarchy)
|
| Djibouti |
27 June 1977 (from France)
|
| Dominica |
3 November 1978 (from the UK)
|
| Dominican Republic |
27 February 1844 (from Haiti)
|
| Ecuador |
24 May 1822 (from Spain)
|
| Egypt |
28 February 1922 (from UK protectorate status; the revolution that began on 23 July 1952 led to a republic being declared on 18 June 1953 and all British troops withdrawn on 18 June 1956); note - it was ca. 3200 B.C. that the Two Lands of Upper (southern) and Lower (northern) Egypt were first united politically
|
| El Salvador |
15 September 1821 (from Spain)
|
| Equatorial Guinea |
12 October 1968 (from Spain)
|
| Eritrea |
24 May 1993 (from Ethiopia)
|
| Estonia |
20 August 1991 (declared); 6 September 1991 (recognized by the Soviet Union)
|
| Ethiopia |
oldest independent country in Africa and one of the oldest in the world - at least 2,000 years (may be traced to the Aksumite Kingdom, which coalesced in the first century B.C.)
|
| European Union |
7 February 1992 (Maastricht Treaty signed establishing the European Union); 1 November 1993 (Maastricht Treaty entered into force)
note: the Treaties of Rome, signed on 25 March 1957 and subsequently entered into force on 1 January 1958, created the European Economic Community and the European Atomic Energy Community; a series of subsequent treaties have been adopted to increase efficiency and transparency, to prepare for new member states, and to introduce new areas of cooperation - such as a single currency; the Treaty of Lisbon, signed on 13 December 2007 and entered into force on 1 December 2009 is the most recent of these treaties and is intended to make the EU more democratic, more efficient, and better able to address global problems with one voice
|
| Falkland Islands (Islas Malvinas) |
none (overseas territory of the UK; also claimed by Argentina)
|
| Faroe Islands |
none (part of the Kingdom of Denmark; self-governing overseas administrative division of Denmark)
|
| Fiji |
10 October 1970 (from the UK)
|
| Finland |
6 December 1917 (from Russia)
|
| France |
no official date of independence: 486 (Frankish tribes unified under Merovingian kingship); 10 August 843 (Western Francia established from the division of the Carolingian Empire); 14 July 1789 (French monarchy overthrown); 22 September 1792 (First French Republic founded); 4 October 1958 (Fifth French Republic established)
|
| French Polynesia |
none (overseas lands of France)
|
| Gabon |
17 August 1960 (from France)
|
| Gambia, The |
18 February 1965 (from the UK)
|
| Georgia |
9 April 1991 (from the Soviet Union); notable earlier date: A.D. 1008 (Georgia unified under King BAGRAT III)
|
| Germany |
18 January 1871 (establishment of the German Empire); divided into four zones of occupation (UK, US, USSR, and France) in 1945 following World War II; Federal Republic of Germany (FRG or West Germany) proclaimed on 23 May 1949 and included the former UK, US, and French zones; German Democratic Republic (GDR or East Germany) proclaimed on 7 October 1949 and included the former USSR zone; West Germany and East Germany unified on 3 October 1990; all four powers formally relinquished rights on 15 March 1991; notable earlier dates: 10 August 843 (Eastern Francia established from the division of the Carolingian Empire); 2 February 962 (crowning of OTTO I, recognized as the first Holy Roman Emperor)
|
| Ghana |
6 March 1957 (from the UK)
|
| Gibraltar |
none (overseas territory of the UK)
|
| Greece |
3 February 1830 (from the Ottoman Empire); note - 25 March 1821, outbreak of the national revolt against the Ottomans; 3 February 1830, signing of the London Protocol recognizing Greek independence by Great Britain, France, and Russia
|
| Greenland |
none (extensive self-rule as part of the Kingdom of Denmark; foreign affairs is the responsibility of Denmark, but Greenland actively participates in international agreements relating to Greenland)
|
| Grenada |
7 February 1974 (from the UK)
|
| Guam |
none (territory of the US)
|
| Guatemala |
15 September 1821 (from Spain)
|
| Guernsey |
none (British crown dependency)
|
| Guinea-Bissau |
24 September 1973 (declared); 10 September 1974 (from Portugal)
|
| Guinea |
2 October 1958 (from France)
|
| Guyana |
26 May 1966 (from the UK)
|
| Haiti |
1 January 1804 (from France)
|
| Holy See (Vatican City) |
11 February 1929; note - the three treaties signed with Italy on 11 February 1929 acknowledged, among other things, the full sovereignty of the Holy See and established its territorial extent; however, the origin of the Papal States, which over centuries varied considerably in extent, may be traced back to 754
|
| Honduras |
15 September 1821 (from Spain)
|
| Hong Kong |
none (special administrative region of China)
|
| Hungary |
16 November 1918 (republic proclaimed); notable earlier dates: 25 December 1000 (crowning of King STEPHEN I, traditional founding date); 30 March 1867 (Austro-Hungarian dual monarchy established)
|
| Iceland |
1 December 1918 (became a sovereign state under the Danish Crown); 17 June 1944 (from Denmark; birthday of Jon SIGURDSSON leader of Iceland's 19th Century independence movement)
|
| India |
15 August 1947 (from the UK)
|
| Indonesia |
17 August 1945 (declared)
|
| Iran |
1 April 1979 (Islamic Republic of Iran proclaimed); notable earlier dates: ca. 550 B.C. (Achaemenid (Persian) Empire established); A.D. 1501 (Iran reunified under the Safavid Dynasty); 12 December 1925 (modern Iran established under the PAHLAVI Dynasty)
|
| Iraq |
3 October 1932 (from League of Nations mandate under British administration); note - on 28 June 2004 the Coalition Provisional Authority transferred sovereignty to the Iraqi Interim Government
|
| Ireland |
6 December 1921 (from the UK by treaty)
|
| Isle of Man |
none (British crown dependency)
|
| Israel |
14 May 1948 (from League of Nations mandate under British administration)
|
| Italy |
17 March 1861 (Kingdom of Italy proclaimed; Italy was not finally unified until 1871)
|
| Jamaica |
6 August 1962 (from the UK)
|
| Japan |
3 May 1947 (current constitution adopted as amendment to Meiji Constitution); notable earlier dates: 660 B.C. (traditional date of the founding of the nation by Emperor JIMMU); 29 November 1890 (Meiji Constitution provides for constitutional monarchy)
|
| Jersey |
none (British crown dependency)
|
| Jordan |
25 May 1946 (from League of Nations mandate under British administration)
|
| Kazakhstan |
16 December 1991 (from the Soviet Union)
|
| Kenya |
12 December 1963 (from the UK)
|
| Kiribati |
12 July 1979 (from the UK)
|
| Korea, North |
15 August 1945 (from Japan)
|
| Korea, South |
15 August 1945 (from Japan)
|
| Kosovo |
17 February 2008 (from Serbia)
|
| Kuwait |
19 June 1961 (from the UK)
|
| Kyrgyzstan |
31 August 1991 (from the Soviet Union)
|
| Laos |
19 July 1949 (from France)
|
| Latvia |
4 May 1990 (declared); 6 September 1991 (recognized by the Soviet Union)
|
| Lebanon |
22 November 1943 (from League of Nations mandate under French administration)
|
| Lesotho |
4 October 1966 (from the UK)
|
| Liberia |
26 July 1847
|
| Libya |
24 December 1951 (from UN trusteeship)
|
| Liechtenstein |
23 January 1719 (Principality of Liechtenstein established); 12 July 1806 (independence from the Holy Roman Empire); 24 August 1866 (independence from the German Confederation)
|
| Lithuania |
11 March 1990 (declared); 6 September 1991 (recognized by the Soviet Union); notable earlier dates: 6 July 1253 (coronation of MINDAUGAS, traditional founding date), 1 July 1569 (Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth created), 16 February 1918 (independence from Soviet Russia)
|
| Luxembourg |
1839 (from the Netherlands)
|
| Macau |
none (special administrative region of China)
|
| Macedonia |
8 September 1991 (referendum by registered voters endorsed independence from Yugoslavia)
|
| Madagascar |
26 June 1960 (from France)
|
| Malawi |
6 July 1964 (from the UK)
|
| Malaysia |
31 August 1957 (from the UK)
|
| Maldives |
26 July 1965 (from the UK)
|
| Mali |
22 September 1960 (from France)
|
| Malta |
21 September 1964 (from the UK)
|
| Marshall Islands |
21 October 1986 (from the US-administered UN trusteeship)
|
| Mauritania |
28 November 1960 (from France)
|
| Mauritius |
12 March 1968 (from the UK)
|
| Mexico |
16 September 1810 (declared); 27 September 1821 (recognized by Spain)
|
| Micronesia, Federated States of |
3 November 1986 (from the US-administered UN trusteeship)
|
| Moldova |
27 August 1991 (from the Soviet Union)
|
| Monaco |
1419 (beginning of permanent rule by the House of GRIMALDI)
|
| Mongolia |
11 July 1921 (from China)
|
| Montenegro |
3 June 2006 (from the State Union of Serbia and Montenegro)
|
| Montserrat |
none (overseas territory of the UK)
|
| Morocco |
2 March 1956 (from France)
|
| Mozambique |
25 June 1975 (from Portugal)
|
| Namibia |
21 March 1990 (from South African mandate)
|
| Nauru |
31 January 1968 (from the Australia-, NZ-, and UK-administered UN trusteeship)
|
| Nepal |
1768 (unified by Prithvi Narayan SHAH)
|
| Netherlands |
23 January 1579 (the northern provinces of the Low Countries conclude the Union of Utrecht breaking with Spain; on 26 July 1581 they formally declared their independence with an Act of Abjuration; however, it was not until 30 January 1648 and the Peace of Westphalia that Spain recognized this independence)
|
| New Caledonia |
none (overseas territory of France); note - a referendum on independence was held in 1998 but was rejected; a new referendum must be held before 2019
|
| New Zealand |
26 September 1907 (from the UK)
|
| Nicaragua |
15 September 1821 (from Spain)
|
| Nigeria |
1 October 1960 (from the UK)
|
| Niger |
3 August 1960 (from France)
|
| Niue |
19 October 1974 (Niue became a self-governing parliamentary government in free association with New Zealand)
|
| Norfolk Island |
none (territory of Australia)
|
| Northern Mariana Islands |
none (commonwealth in political union with the US)
|
| Norway |
7 June 1905 (Norway declared the union with Sweden dissolved); 26 October 1905 (Sweden agreed to the repeal of the union)
|
| Oman |
1650 (expulsion of the Portuguese)
|
| Pakistan |
14 August 1947 (from British India)
|
| Palau |
1 October 1994 (from the US-administered UN trusteeship)
|
| Panama |
3 November 1903 (from Colombia; became independent from Spain on 28 November 1821)
|
| Papua New Guinea |
16 September 1975 (from the Australian-administered UN trusteeship)
|
| Paraguay |
14 May 1811 (from Spain)
|
| Peru |
28 July 1821 (from Spain)
|
| Philippines |
4 July 1946 (from the US)
|
| Pitcairn Islands |
none (overseas territory of the UK)
|
| Poland |
11 November 1918 (republic proclaimed); notable earlier dates: 966 (adoption of Christianity, traditional founding date), 1 July 1569 (Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth created)
|
| Portugal |
1143 (Kingdom of Portugal recognized); 5 October 1910 (republic proclaimed)
|
| Puerto Rico |
none (territory of the US with commonwealth status)
|
| Qatar |
3 September 1971 (from the UK)
|
| Romania |
9 May 1877 (independence proclaimed from the Ottoman Empire; independence recognized on 13 July 1878 by the Treaty of Berlin); 26 March 1881 (kingdom proclaimed); 30 December 1947 (republic proclaimed)
|
| Russia |
24 August 1991 (from the Soviet Union); notable earlier dates: 1157 (Principality of Vladimir-Suzdal created); 16 January 1547 (Tsardom of Muscovy established); 22 October 1721 (Russian Empire proclaimed); 30 December 1922 (Soviet Union established)
|
| Rwanda |
1 July 1962 (from Belgium-administered UN trusteeship)
|
| Saint Barthelemy |
none (overseas collectivity of France)
|
| Saint Helena, Ascension, and Tristan da Cunha |
none (overseas territory of the UK)
|
| Saint Kitts and Nevis |
19 September 1983 (from the UK)
|
| Saint Lucia |
22 February 1979 (from the UK)
|
| Saint Martin |
none (overseas collectivity of France)
|
| Saint Pierre and Miquelon |
none (territorial collectivity of France; has been under French control since 1763)
|
| Saint Vincent and the Grenadines |
27 October 1979 (from the UK)
|
| Samoa |
1 January 1962 (from New Zealand-administered UN trusteeship)
|
| San Marino |
3 September 301 (traditional founding date)
|
| Sao Tome and Principe |
12 July 1975 (from Portugal)
|
| Saudi Arabia |
23 September 1932 (unification of the kingdom)
|
| Senegal |
4 April 1960 (from France); note - complete independence achieved upon dissolution of federation with Mali on 20 August 1960
|
| Serbia |
5 June 2006 (from the State Union of Serbia and Montenegro)
|
| Seychelles |
29 June 1976 (from the UK)
|
| Sierra Leone |
27 April 1961 (from the UK)
|
| Singapore |
9 August 1965 (from Malaysian Federation)
|
| Sint Maarten |
none (part of the Kingdom of the Netherlands)
|
| Slovakia |
1 January 1993 (Czechoslovakia split into the Czech Republic and Slovakia)
|
| Slovenia |
25 June 1991 (from Yugoslavia)
|
| Solomon Islands |
7 July 1978 (from the UK)
|
| Somalia |
1 July 1960 (from a merger of British Somaliland that became independent from the UK on 26 June 1960 and Italian Somaliland that became independent from the Italian-administered UN trusteeship on 1 July 1960 to form the Somali Republic)
|
| South Africa |
31 May 1910 (Union of South Africa formed from four British colonies: Cape Colony, Natal, Transvaal, and Orange Free State); 31 May 1961 (republic declared); 27 April 1994 (majority rule)
|
| South Sudan |
9 July 2011 (from Sudan)
|
| Spain |
1492; the Iberian peninsula was characterized by a variety of independent kingdoms prior to the Muslim occupation that began in the early 8th century A.D. and lasted nearly seven centuries; the small Christian redoubts of the north began the reconquest almost immediately, culminating in the seizure of Granada in 1492; this event completed the unification of several kingdoms and is traditionally considered the forging of present-day Spain
|
| Sri Lanka |
4 February 1948 (from the UK)
|
| Sudan |
1 January 1956 (from Egypt and the UK)
|
| Suriname |
25 November 1975 (from the Netherlands)
|
| Svalbard |
none (territory of Norway)
|
| Swaziland |
6 September 1968 (from the UK)
|
| Sweden |
6 June 1523 (Gustav VASA elected king of Sweden marking the abolishment of the Kalmar Union between Denmark, Norway, and Sweden)
|
| Switzerland |
1 August 1291 (founding of the Swiss Confederation)
|
| Syria |
17 April 1946 (from League of Nations mandate under French administration)
|
| Tajikistan |
9 September 1991 (from the Soviet Union)
|
| Tanzania |
26 April 1964; Tanganyika became independent on 9 December 1961 (from UK-administered UN trusteeship); Zanzibar became independent on 10 December 1963 (from UK); Tanganyika united with Zanzibar on 26 April 1964 to form the United Republic of Tanganyika and Zanzibar; renamed United Republic of Tanzania on 29 October 1964
|
| Thailand |
1238 (traditional founding date; never colonized)
|
| Timor-Leste |
20 May 2002 (from Indonesia); note - 28 November 1975 was the date independence was proclaimed from Portugal; 20 May 2002 was the date of international recognition of Timor-Leste's independence from Indonesia
|
| Togo |
27 April 1960 (from French-administered UN trusteeship)
|
| Tokelau |
none (territory of New Zealand)
|
| Tonga |
4 June 1970 (from UK protectorate)
|
| Trinidad and Tobago |
31 August 1962 (from the UK)
|
| Tunisia |
20 March 1956 (from France)
|
| Turkey |
29 October 1923 (republic proclaimed succeeding to the Ottoman Empire)
|
| Turkmenistan |
27 October 1991 (from the Soviet Union)
|
| Turks and Caicos Islands |
none (overseas territory of the UK)
|
| Tuvalu |
1 October 1978 (from the UK)
|
| Uganda |
9 October 1962 (from the UK)
|
| Ukraine |
24 August 1991 (from the Soviet Union); notable earlier dates: ca. 982 (VOLODYMYR I consolidates Kyivan Rus), 1648 (establishment of the Cossack Hetmanate)
|
| United Arab Emirates |
2 December 1971 (from the UK)
|
| United Kingdom |
12 April 1927 (Royal and Parliamentary Titles Act establishes current name of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland); notable earlier dates: 927 (minor English kingdoms united); 3 March 1284 (enactment of the Statute of Rhuddlan uniting England and Wales); 1536 (Act of Union formally incorporates England and Wales); 1 May 1707 (Acts of Union formally unite England and Scotland as Great Britain); 1 January 1801 (Acts of Union formally unite Great Britain and Ireland as the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland); 6 December 1921 (Anglo-Irish Treaty formalizes partition of Ireland; six counties remain part of the United Kingdom and Northern Ireland)
|
| United States |
4 July 1776 (declared); 3 September 1783 (recognized by Great Britain)
|
| Uruguay |
25 August 1825 (from Brazil)
|
| Uzbekistan |
1 September 1991 (from the Soviet Union)
|
| Vanuatu |
30 July 1980 (from France and the UK)
|
| Venezuela |
5 July 1811 (from Spain)
|
| Vietnam |
2 September 1945 (from France)
|
| Virgin Islands |
none (territory of the US)
|
| Wallis and Futuna |
none (overseas territory of France)
|
| Yemen |
22 May 1990 (Republic of Yemen was established with the merger of the Yemen Arab Republic [Yemen (Sanaa) or North Yemen] and the Marxist-dominated People's Democratic Republic of Yemen [Yemen (Aden) or South Yemen]); note - previously North Yemen became independent in November 1918 (from the Ottoman Empire) and became a republic with the overthrow of the theocratic Imamate in 1962; South Yemen became independent on 30 November 1967 (from the UK)
|
| Zambia |
24 October 1964 (from the UK)
|
| Zimbabwe |
18 April 1980 (from the UK)
|
