List of Sovereign States By Date of Formation

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.