List Of Sovereign States By Date Of Formation
Below is a list of sovereign states and their formation dates, sorted by continent. This list includes only the 195 sovereign states currently in existence; it does not include former sovereign states. 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. It is therefore practically impossible to come up with a single date for a nation's "birth". However, most nations have accepted some dates in their respective histories as their symbolic starting points. This is usually done more for nationalistic propaganda than for scientific reasons. For many ancient and medieval nations these starting points are usually the dates when a nation was mentioned in a written document for the first time or simply a date from their national mythology. In Europe, this often coincides with the ruler's conversion to Christianity. For post-colonial nations, starting with the United States, the beginning of statehood is usually considered to be the date when independence was declared, granted and/or recognised.
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.
The situation is further complicated by the confusion between two terms commonly used as synonym: nation (generally considered an ethnic or cultural grouping) and state (an independent political entity). Taking this into account a declaration of being the "oldest country" in the world is not fruitful and will inevitably be disputed. 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.
Read more about List Of Sovereign States By Date Of Formation: Sortable List
Famous quotes containing the words list of, list, sovereign, states, date and/or formation:
“Love’s boat has been shattered against the life of everyday. You and I are quits, and it’s useless to draw up a list of mutual hurts, sorrows, and pains.”
—Vladimir Mayakovsky (1893–1930)
“Lastly, his tomb
Shall list and founder in the troughs of grass
And none shall speak his name.”
—Karl Shapiro (b. 1913)
“Nota: man is the intelligence of his soil,
The sovereign ghost. As such, the Socrates
Of snails, musician of pears, principium
And lex. Sed quæritur: is this same wig
Of things, this nincompated pedagogue,
Preceptor to the sea?”
—Wallace Stevens (1879–1955)
“Canadians look down on the United States and consider it Hell. They are right to do so. Canada is to the United States what, in Dante’s scheme, Limbo is to Hell.”
—Irving Layton (b. 1912)
“There is nothing that I shudder at more than the idea of a separation of the Union. Should such an event ever happen, which I fervently pray God to avert, from that date I view our liberty gone.”
—Andrew Jackson (1767–1845)
“The formation of an oppositional world view is necessary for feminist struggle. This means that the world we have most intimately known, the world in which we feel “safe” ... must be radically changed. Perhaps it is the knowledge that everyone must change, not just those we label enemies or oppressors, that has so far served to check our revolutionary impulses.”
—Bell (c. 1955)