Independence In 36 editions of 36.

5 July 1962 (from France)

11 November 1975 (from Portugal)

1 August 1960 (from France)

30 September 1966 (from the UK)

5 August 1960 (from France)

1 July 1962 (from UN trusteeship under Belgian administration)

5 July 1975 (from Portugal)

1 January 1960 (from French-administered UN trusteeship)

13 August 1960 (from France)

11 August 1960 (from France)

6 July 1975 (from France)

30 June 1960 (from Belgium)

15 August 1960 (from France)

7 August 1960 (from France)

27 June 1977 (from France)

• 28 February 1922 (from UK protectorate status; the revolution that began 23 July 1952 led to a republic being declared on 18 June 1953 and all British troops withdrawn 18 June 1956);
• note - it was in ca. 3200 B.C. that the Two Lands of Upper (southern) and Lower (northern) Egypt were first united politically

12 October 1968 (from Spain)

24 May 1993 (from Ethiopia)

6 September 1968 (from the UK)

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 centuries B.C.)

17 August 1960 (from France)

18 February 1965 (from the UK)

6 March 1957 (from the UK)

2 October 1958 (from France)

24 September 1973 (declared); 10 September 1974 (from Portugal)

12 December 1963 (from the UK)

4 October 1966 (from the UK)

26 July 1847

24 December 1951 (from UN trusteeship)

26 June 1960 (from France)

6 July 1964 (from the UK)

22 September 1960 (from France)

28 November 1960 (from France)

12 March 1968 (from the UK)

none (territorial overseas collectivity of France)

2 March 1956 (from France)

25 June 1975 (from Portugal)

21 March 1990 (from South African mandate)

3 August 1960 (from France)

1 October 1960 (from the UK)

1 July 1962 (from Belgium-administered UN trusteeship)

none (overseas territory of the UK)

12 July 1975 (from Portugal)

4 April 1960 (from France); note - complete independence achieved upon dissolution of federation with Mali on 20 August 1960

29 June 1976 (from the UK)

27 April 1961 (from the UK)

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)

• 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)

1 January 1956 (from Egypt and the UK)

• 26 April 1964;
• Tanganyika became independent 9 December 1961 (from UK-administered UN trusteeship);
• Zanzibar became independent 19 December 1963 (from UK);
• Tanganyika united with Zanzibar 26 April 1964 to form the United Republic of Tanganyika and Zanzibar;
• renamed United Republic of Tanzania 29 October 1964

27 April 1960 (from French-administered UN trusteeship)

20 March 1956 (from France)

9 October 1962 (from the UK)

24 October 1964 (from the UK)

18 April 1980 (from the UK)

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)

1 December 1918 (became a sovereign state under the Danish Crown); 17 June 1944 (from Denmark)

none (territory of Norway)

19 August 1919 (from UK control over Afghan foreign affairs)

21 September 1991 (from the Soviet Union)

30 August 1991 (declared from the Soviet Union); 18 October 1991 (adopted by the Supreme Council of Azerbaijan)

16 December 1971 (from West Pakistan); note - 26 March 1971 is the date of independence from West Pakistan, 16 December 1971 is known as Victory Day and commemorates the official creation of the state of Bangladesh

1907 (became a unified kingdom under its first hereditary king)

• 1 October 1949 (People's Republic of China established);
• notable earlier dates: 221 BC (unification under the Qin Dynasty);
• 1 January 1912 (Qing Dynasty replaced by the Republic of China)

9 April 1991 (from the Soviet Union)

15 August 1947 (from the UK)

• 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)

16 December 1991 (from the Soviet Union)

15 August 1945 (from Japan)

15 August 1945 (from Japan)

31 August 1991 (from the Soviet Union)

26 July 1965 (from the UK)

11 July 1921 (from China)

1768 (unified by Prithvi Narayan SHAH)

14 August 1947 (from British India)

• 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)

4 February 1948 (from the UK)

9 September 1991 (from the Soviet Union)

27 October 1991 (from the Soviet Union)

1 September 1991 (from the Soviet Union)

none (overseas territory of the UK)

1 November 1981 (from the UK)

none (part of the Kingdom of the Netherlands)

10 July 1973 (from the UK)

30 November 1966 (from the UK)

21 September 1981 (from the UK)

none (overseas territory of the UK)

none (overseas territory of the UK)

15 September 1821 (from Spain)

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

none (part of the Kingdom of the Netherlands)

3 November 1978 (from the UK)

27 February 1844 (from Haiti)

15 September 1821 (from Spain)

7 February 1974 (from the UK)

15 September 1821 (from Spain)

1 January 1804 (from France)

15 September 1821 (from Spain)

6 August 1962 (from the UK)

none (overseas territory of the UK)

none (part of the Kingdom of the Netherlands)

15 September 1821 (from Spain)

3 November 1903 (from Colombia; became independent from Spain 28 November 1821)

none (territory of the US with commonwealth status)

none (overseas collectivity of France)

19 September 1983 (from the UK)

22 February 1979 (from the UK)

none (overseas collectivity of France)

27 October 1979 (from the UK)

none (part of the Kingdom of the Netherlands)

31 August 1962 (from the UK)

none (overseas territory of the UK)

none (territory of the US)

28 November 1912 (from the Ottoman Empire)

1278 (formed under the joint suzerainty of the French Count of Foix and the Spanish Bishop of Seu d'Urgel)

• 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)

25 August 1991 (from the Soviet Union)

4 October 1830 (a provisional government declared independence from the Netherlands); 21 July 1831 (King LEOPOLD I ascended to the throne)

1 March 1992 (from Yugoslavia; referendum for independence completed on 1 March 1992; independence declared on 3 March 1992)

3 March 1878 (as an autonomous principality within the Ottoman Empire); 22 September 1908 (complete independence from the Ottoman Empire)

25 June 1991 (from Yugoslavia)

• 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 generally consider 28 October 1918, the day the former Czechoslovakia declared its independence from the Austro-Hungarian Empire, as their independence day

ca. 965 (unified and Christianized under HARALD I Gormson); 5 June 1849 (becomes a constitutional monarchy)

20 August 1991 (from the Soviet Union)

7 February 1992 (Maastricht Treaty signed establishing the EU); 1 November 1993 (Maastricht Treaty entered into force)

none (part of the Kingdom of Denmark; self-governing overseas administrative division of Denmark)

6 December 1917 (from Russia)

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)

• 18 January 1871 (German Empire unification);
• 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 23 May 1949 and included the former UK, US, and French zones;
• German Democratic Republic (GDR or East Germany) proclaimed 7 October 1949 and included the former USSR zone;
• West Germany and East Germany unified 3 October 1990;
• all four powers formally relinquished rights 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)

none (overseas territory of the UK)

1829 (from the Ottoman Empire)

none (British crown dependency)

• 11 February 1929 (from Italy);
• note - the three treaties signed with Italy on 11 February 1929 acknowledged, among other things, the full sovereignty of the Vatican and established its territorial extent;
• however, the origin of the Papal States, which over the years have varied considerably in extent, may be traced back to the 8th century

• 16 November 1918 (republic proclaimed);
• notable earlier dates: 25 December 1000 (crowning of King STEPHEN I, traditional founding date);
• 30 March 1867 (dual monarchy of Austria-Hungary created)

6 December 1921 (from the UK by treaty)

none (British crown dependency)

17 March 1861 (Kingdom of Italy proclaimed; Italy was not finally unified until 1870)

none (British crown dependency)

17 February 2008 (from Serbia)

18 November 1918 (from the Soviet Russia)

23 January 1719 (Principality of Liechtenstein established); 12 July 1806 (independence from the Holy Roman Empire)

11 March 1990 (declared); 6 September 1991 (recognized by the Soviet Union)

1839 (from the Netherlands)

21 September 1964 (from the UK)

27 August 1991 (from the Soviet Union)

1419 (beginning of permanent rule by the House of Grimaldi)

3 June 2006 (from Serbia and Montenegro)

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)

8 September 1991 (referendum by registered voters endorsed independence from Yugoslavia)

7 June 1905 (Norway declared the union with Sweden dissolved); 26 October 1905 (Sweden agreed to the repeal of the union)

11 November 1918 (republic proclaimed)

1143 (Kingdom of Portugal recognized); 5 October 1910 (republic proclaimed)

• 9 May 1877 (independence proclaimed from the Ottoman Empire; independence recognized 13 July 1878 by the Treaty of Berlin);
• 26 March 1881 (kingdom proclaimed);
• 30 December 1947 (republic proclaimed)

3 September 301

5 June 2006 (from Serbia and Montenegro)

1 January 1993 (Czechoslovakia split into the Czech Republic and Slovakia)

25 June 1991 (from Yugoslavia)

• 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

6 June 1523 (Gustav VASA elected king)

1 August 1291 (founding of the Swiss Confederation)

24 August 1991 (from the Soviet Union)

• 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 as Northern Ireland)

15 August 1971 (from the UK)

16 August 1960 (from the UK); note - Turkish Cypriots proclaimed self-rule on 13 February 1975 and independence in 1983, but these proclamations are only recognized by Turkey

1 April 1979 (Islamic Republic of Iran proclaimed); notable earlier dates: ca. 625 B.C. (unification of Iran under the Medes); ca. A.D. 1501 (Iran reunified under the Safavids); 12 December 1925 (modern Iran established under the Pahlavis)

• 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-controlled Government

14 May 1948 (from League of Nations mandate under British administration)

25 May 1946 (from League of Nations mandate under British administration)

19 June 1961 (from the UK)

22 November 1943 (from League of Nations mandate under French administration)

1650 (expulsion of the Portuguese)

3 September 1971 (from the UK)

23 September 1932 (unification of the kingdom)

17 April 1946 (from League of Nations mandate under French administration)

29 October 1923 (successor state to the Ottoman Empire)

2 December 1971 (from the UK)

• 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)

none (overseas territory of the UK)

1 July 1867 (union of British North American colonies); 11 December 1931 (recognized by UK)

16 September 1810 (declared); 27 September 1821 (recognized by Spain)