Sovereign Countries
This is a list of all the independent countries or puppet states that existed between 1815 and the present day that no longer exist. (Lifespan of each is based on that country's sovereignty. This means that those countries may have existed outside of those dates as well but not under full independence.)
| Former countries | Lifespan of sovereignty | Within present-day countries | Further information |
|---|---|---|---|
| Albania (kingdom) | 1928–1939 | Albania | The president of the Albanian Republic during the 1920s decided to reinstate the monarchy but instead of reinstating the previous dynasty he became the new monarch, laying claim to the dynasty that ruled Albania in the Middle Ages; the country and his power was overthrown in 1939 by Fascist Italy |
| Albania (Military Occupation) | 1939–1943
1943–1944 |
Albania, Serbia, Macedonia | Albania was occupied by Axis Powers during World War II first by Fascist Italy and then by Nazi Germany |
| Albania (People’s Republic) | 1946–1992 | Albania | communist government of Albania after World War II |
| Albania (Principality) | 1912–1925 | Albania | gained independence from the Ottoman Empire during its final years of decline; was only actually ruled by a prince until the outbreak of World War I and was dissolved into a republic shortly after the war due to him being of German ethnicity |
| Anhalt (Principality) | 1813–1867 | Germany | became a member of the North German Confederation Federal State |
| Armenia (Democratic Republic) | 1918–1920 | Armenia | the Transcaucasian Democratic Federative Republic temporarily broke up and the Democratic Republic of Armenia was created as one of its successor states but was reunified with the other two to create the Transcaucasian SSR in 1922 |
| Austrian Empire | 1804–1867 | Austria, Hungary, Czech Republic, Slovakia, Poland, Ukraine, Romania, Serbia, Italy, Slovenia, Croatia | the first unified empire under the Habsburg Monarchy until Hungarian uprisings in 1848 and the Hungarian Compromise of 1867 |
| Austro-Hungarian Empire | 1867–1918 | Austria, Hungary, Czech Republic, Slovakia, Poland, Ukraine, Romania, Serbia, Italy, Slovenia, Croatia, Bosnia & Herzegovina | successor state of the Austrian Empire with Hungarian self-government within the Habsburg empire |
| Avar Khanate | 1200s–1864 | Russia | it comprised Circassia and Dagestan; it was the last country in the Caucasus to be annexed by the Russian Empire: Dagestan in 1859 and Circassia in 1864 |
| Azerbaijan (Democratic Republic) | 1918–1920 | Azerbaijan | the Transcaucasian Democratic Federative Republic temporarily broke up and the Azerbaijan Democratic Republic was created as one of its successor states but was reunified with the other two to create the Transcaucasian SSR in 1922 |
| Baden (Grand Duchy) | 1806–1871 | Germany | joined the German Empire and became one of its members |
| Bavaria (Kingdom) | 1806–1871 | Germany | joined the German Empire and became one of its members |
| Belarus (People’s Republic) | 1918–1919 | Belarus | gained independence from the Russian SFSR and quickly was swallowed by the Russian Soviets |
| Bremen (Free City) | 1813–1867 | Germany | became a member of the North German Confederation Federal State |
| Brunswick (Duchy) | 1815–1867 | Germany | became a member of the North German Confederation Federal State |
| Bulgaria (Kingdom) | 1908–1946 | Bulgaria, Serbia, Macedonia, Greece | one of the last countries under the Ottoman Empire to gain independence; it suffered badly after World War I due to fighting as part of the Central Powers and lost some of its territory; it attempted to regain all of its territory and more during World War II |
| Bulgaria (People’s Republic) | 1946–1990 | Bulgaria | communist government of Bulgaria after World War II behind the Iron Curtain |
| Cospaia | 1440–1826 | Italy | by error a small strip of land went unmentioned in a sale treaty, and its inhabitants promptly declared independence; nearly 400 years later it was absorbed into the Papal States and Tuscany equally |
| Couto Mixto | 1200s–1864 | Spain | neutral territory between Portugal and Spain which was granted to Spain entirely in 1864 |
| Cretan State | 1898–1913 | Greece | gained independence after several rebellions against the Ottoman Empire and after only 15 years of independence joined the Kingdom of Greece |
| Croatia (puppet state of Nazi Germany) | 1941–1945 | Croatia, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Serbia | puppet state of Nazi Germany during World War II |
| Czechoslovakia (Democratic Republic) | 1918–1938,
1938–1939 |
Czech Republic, Slovakia, Ukraine | democratic unified government of the Czechs and Slovaks after World War I |
| Czechoslovakia (People’s Republic) | 1945–1992 | Czech Republic, Slovakia | communist government of the Czechs and Slovaks after World War II behind the Iron Curtain |
| Danzig (League of Nations) | 1920–1939 | Poland | protectorate of the League of Nations; annexed by Nazi Germany during the invasion of Poland in World War II |
| German Democratic Republic | 1949–1990 | Germany | soviet government of Germany after World War II |
| Finnish Democratic Republic | 1939–1940 | Russia | puppet state of the Soviet Union during World War II created from southern Finland which was quickly annexed into the Soviet Union |
| France (Kingdom) | 1815–1830,
1830–1848 |
France | even though the French Revolution was intentionally the end of the French monarchy by 1792, starting in 1800 and finally ending in 1870, French monarchies were still in power for long periods of time |
| French State | 1940/1942–1944 | France, Belgium | in 1940 Nazi Germany occupied France and Belgium unifying Belgium with northern and western France and a neutral puppet state called Vichy France was set up in the south until it too was invaded by Nazi Germany and Fascist Italy two years later |
| France (Imperial Monarchy) | 1852–1870 | France | The president of the republic declared himself emperor but was swiftly defeated after 18 years of ruling; additionally France lost Alsace-Lorraine and it returned to the Germanic lands now unifying under the first national state |
| Frankfurt (Free City) | 1816–1866 | Germany | annexed by Prussia in 1866 |
| German Empire | 1871–1918 | Germany, Poland, Denmark, Russia, France, | Germany at its greatest extent |
| Georgia (Democratic Republic) | 1918–1921 | Georgia | the Transcaucasian Democratic Federative Republic temporarily broke up and the Democratic Republic of Georgia was created as one of its successor states but was reunified with the other two to create the Transcaucasian SSR in 1922 |
| Greece (Kingdom) | 1832–1924,
1935–1941, 1944–1974 |
Greece, Turkey | wavering between monarchy and dictatorship the Kingdom of Greece existed three times in history always on rocky foundations |
| Hamburg (Free City) | 1813–1867 | Germany | became a member of the North German Confederation Federal State |
| Hanover (Kingdom) | 1814–1866 | Germany | in personal union with the United Kingdom until 1837; annexed by Prussia in 1866 |
| Hesse (Grand Duchy) | 1806–1867/1871 | Germany | northern part became a member of the North German Confederation Federal State and then the German Empire with the southern part joining the German Empire as well |
| Hesse-Homburg | 1622–1866 | Germany | annexed by Prussia in 1866 |
| Hesse-Kassel | 1813–1866 | Germany | annexed by Prussia in 1866 |
| Hohenzollern-Hechingen | 1576–1850 | Germany | annexed by Prussia in 1850 |
| Hohenzollern-Sigmaringen | 1576–1850 | Germany | annexed by Prussia in 1850 |
| Hungary (Regency) | 1920–1946 | Hungary, Slovakia, Romania, Ukraine | Hungarian attempt at monarchy restoration which ended up only having a regent; was a puppet state of Nazi Germany during World War II (1944–1945) |
| Hungary (People’s Republic) | 1946–1989 | Hungary | communist government of Hungary after World War II behind the Iron Curtain |
| Hungarian Democratic Republic | 1918–1919 | Hungary | short lived ‘try-out’ of democracy in Hungary after the fall of the Habsburg Empire |
| Hungarian Soviet Republic | 1919 | Hungary | short lived ‘try-out’ of communism in Hungary after the fall of the Habsburg Empire |
| Iceland (Kingdom) | 1918–1944 | Iceland | in personal union with the Kingdom of Denmark; previously a Danish colony since 1380 |
| Italian Social Republic | 1943–1945 | Italy | puppet state of Nazi Germany during World War II |
| Italy (Unified Kingdom) | 1861–1946 | Italy, Slovenia, Croatia | Italian unification progressed to its fullest from 1861-1870 adding the territory of the Italian unified state in central Italy and the Two Sicilies to Sardinia as well as the annexations of Austrian Italy and the Papal States; during 1922-1943 it was the period of fascist dictatorship in Italy under Benito Mussolini |
| Irish Free State | 1922–1937 | Ireland | dominion of the British Empire after independence movements in the early 20th century from the former United Kingdom |
| Irish Republic | 1919–1922 | United Kingdom, Ireland | partly recognized, revolutionary state. Declared independence from the United Kingdom after Irish general election, 1918 during the Irish War of Independence. Partitioned into the Irish Free State and United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland after the Anglo-Irish Treaty, 1921. |
| Kraków (Free City) | 1815–1846 | Poland | protectorate of the Kingdom of Prussia, the Russian Empire and the Empire of Austria, later annexed into the Austrian Empire |
| Kuban People's Republic | 1917–1920 | Russia | from the fall of the Russian Empire in 1917 until it was annexed by the Russian SFSR it existed as a small short-lived country in the Northern Caucasus and has never regained its independence |
| Lichtenberg (Principality) | 1815–1834 | Germany | owned by a branch of the Saxe-Coburgs; sold to Prussia 1834 |
| Lippe (Principality) | 1123–1867 | Germany | became a member of the North German Confederation Federal State |
| Lübeck (Free City) | 1815–1867 | Germany | became a member of the North German Confederation Federal State |
| Lucca (Duchy) | 1815–1847 | Italy | annexed by Tuscany in 1847 |
| Luxembourg (Duchy) | 1839–1867 | Luxembourg | predecessor of the Grand Duchy of Luxemburg which still exists today |
| Massa and Carrara (Duchy) | 1473–1829 | Italy | annexed by Modena and Reggio in 1829 |
| Mecklenburg-Schwerin | 1352–1867 | Germany | became a member of the North German Confederation Federal State |
| Mecklenburg-Strelitz | 1701–1867 | Germany | became a member of the North German Confederation Federal State |
| Modena and Reggio (Duchy) | 1814–1859 | Italy | joined the United Provinces of Central Italy, (one of the predecessors of the Kingdom of Italy) |
| Moldavian Democratic Republic | 1918 | Moldova | from the fall of the Russian Empire in 1917 until 1918 and the Versailles Treaty which added this territory to the Kingdom of Romania the Moldavian Democratic Republic existed as one of the Imperial Russian successor countries in Europe |
| Montenegro (Kingdom) | 1910–1918 | Montenegro | a kingdom which was annexed by Serbia during the Serbian Expansion after World War I to create Yugoslavia |
| Montenegro (Principality) | 1878–1910 | Montenegro | predecessor of the Kingdom of Montenegro |
| Montenegro (puppet state of Nazi Germany) | 1941–1944 | Montenegro, Serbia | puppet state of Nazi Germany during World War II |
| Mountainous Republic of the Northern Caucasus | 1917–1920 | Russia | from the fall of the Russian Empire in 1917 until 1920 this country existed for a short time before annexation by the Russian SFSR and never has regained independence |
| Nassau (Duchy) | 1806–1866 | Germany | annexed by Prussia in 1866 |
| Nazi Germany | 1933–1945 | Germany, Poland, Russia, Austria, Czech Republic, France, Luxembourg, Ukraine | was the period of fascist dictatorship in Germany under Adolf Hitler |
| North German Confederation Federal State | 1867–1871 | Germany, Poland, Denmark, Russia | first federal German state and predecessor of the German Empire |
| Oldenburg (Grand Duchy) | 1180–1867 | Germany | became a member of the North German Confederation Federal State |
| Ottoman Empire | 1299–1923 | Turkey, Bosnia & Herzegovina, Serbia, Romania, Montenegro, Albania, Macedonia, Bulgaria, Greece | one of the greatest and longest lasting empires of all time this empire rose out of the Near East and fluctuated drastically in territory and economic status throughout its history; it was radically dissolved after World War I by a republican leader after the Allies had nearly annexed all of its remaining territory |
| Papal States | 752–1870 | Italy | the entire eastern region joined the United Provinces of Central Italy, (one of the predecessors of the Kingdom of Italy); however, the remaining strip of land along the west coast did not join Italy until it was annexed in 1870 |
| Parma (Duchy) | 1814–1859 | Italy | joined the United Provinces of Central Italy, (one of the predecessors of the Kingdom of Italy) |
| Poland (People’s Republic) | 1944–1990 | Poland | communist government of Poland after World War II behind the Iron Curtain |
| Portugal (Kingdom) | 1139–1910 | Portugal | after centuries of existence revolution toppled the monarchy in 1910 |
| Prussia (Kingdom) | 1701–1867 | Germany, Poland, Denmark, Russia | became a member of the North German Confederation Federal State |
| Reuss Junior Line | 1806–1867 | Germany | became a member of the North German Confederation Federal State (a region of Anhalt) |
| Reuss Elder Line | 1778–1867 | Germany | became a member of the North German Confederation Federal State (a region of Anhalt) |
| Romania (Kingdom) | 1881–1947 | Romania, Moldova, Ukraine, Bulgaria | the last Romanian monarchy was dissolved |
| Romania (People’s Republic) | 1947–1989 | Romania | communist government of Romania after World War II behind the Iron Curtain |
| Romania (Principality) | 1878–1881 | Romania | predecessor of the Kingdom of Romania |
| Russian Empire | 1721–1917 | Russia, Finland, Poland, Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania, Belarus, Ukraine, Moldova, Georgia, Armenia, Azerbaijan | one of the great powers of the 18th and 19th centuries as well as the second largest modern empire in history |
| Russian SFSR | 1917–1922 | Russia | from the fall of the Russian Empire in 1917 until 1922 the Russian SFSR was an independent communist state comprising almost all of the territory the Russian Empire had possessed in its final years; in 1922 it became the leading and dominating state in the Soviet Union until the union’s end in 1991 |
| Saar (League of Nations) | 1920–1935 | Germany | League of Nations mandate within Weimar Germany |
| Saar (French protectorate) | 1947–1956 | Germany | French administered region which was later given to West Germany |
| Sardinia (Kingdom) | 1720–1861 | Italy, France | comprised the Italian regions of Sardinia and Piedmont; the leading state that unified the Italian Peninsula |
| Saxe-Altenburg | 1826–1867 | Germany | became a member of the North German Confederation Federal State (a province of Thuringia) |
| Saxe-Coburg and Gotha | 1826–1867 | Germany | became a member of the North German Confederation Federal State (a province of Thuringia) |
| Saxe-Coburg-Saalfeld | 1699–1826 | Germany | merged to form Saxe-Coburg and Gotha in 1826 |
| Saxe-Gotha-Altenburg | 1680–1826 | Germany | merged to form Saxe-Coburg and Gotha in 1826 |
| Saxe-Meiningen | 1675–1867 | Germany | became a member of the North German Confederation Federal State (a province of Thuringia) |
| Saxe-Weimar-Eisenach | 1809–1867 | Germany | became a member of the North German Confederation Federal State (a province of Thuringia) |
| Saxony (Kingdom) | 1806–1867 | Germany | became a member of the North German Confederation Federal State |
| Schaumburg-Lippe | 1643–1867 | Germany | became a member of the North German Confederation Federal State |
| Schleswig (Duchy) | 1864–1866 | Germany, Denmark | independence from Denmark in 1864; annexed by Prussia in 1866 |
| Schwarzburg-Rudolstadt | 1599–1867 | Germany | became a member of the North German Confederation Federal State (a province of Thuringia) |
| Schwarzburg-Sondershausen | 1599–1867 | Germany | became a member of the North German Confederation Federal State (a province of Thuringia) |
| Serbia (Kingdom) | 1882–1918 | Serbia, Macedonia | predecessor of the Kingdom of Yugoslavia which was formed from the annexations of other states |
| Serbia (Principality) | 1878–1882 | Serbia | predecessor of the Kingdom of Serbia |
| Serbia (puppet state of Nazi Germany) | 1941–1944 | Serbia | puppet state of Nazi Germany during World War II |
| Serbia and Montenegro | 2003–2006 | Serbia, Montenegro | re-instated constitution of Yugoslavia ending that title and giving semi-autonomy to Montenegro before its independence from Serbia in 2006 |
| Slovak State | 1939–1945 | Slovakia | puppet state of Nazi Germany during World War II |
| Spanish Republic | 1873–1874,
1931–1939 |
Spain | Spain has been a republic at two occasions; the Second Republic was defeated in the Spanish Civil War. |
| Spanish State | 1939–1975 | Spain | was the period of fascist dictatorship in Spain under Francisco Franco |
| State of Slovenes, Croats and Serbs | 1918 | Slovenia, Croatia, Bosnia & Herzegovina, Serbia | a short lived independent country which was annexed by Serbia during the Serbian Expansion after World War I to create Yugoslavia |
| Swiss Restoration | 1815–1848 | Switzerland | from the crush of Napoleon to a new constitution which still exists today |
| Transcaucasian Democratic Federative Republic | 1918 | Georgia, Armenia, Azerbaijan | from the fall of the Russian Empire in 1917 until 1918 and the temporary breakup of the Transcaucasian DFR it was an independent state comprising of Georgia, Armenia, and Azerbaijan all three of which gained independence and then rejoined together in 1922 to form the Transcaucasian SSR |
| Trieste (Free Territory) | 1947–1975 | Italy, Slovenia, Croatia | de facto splitted in 1954 between neighbouring countries Italy and Yugoslavia, it was formally removed in 1975 with an agreement between these two countries |
| Tuscany (Grand Duchy) | 1815–1859 | Italy | joined the United Provinces of Central Italy, (one of the predecessors of the Kingdom of Italy) |
| Two Sicilies (Kingdom) | 1816–1860 | Italy | comprised the Italian regions of Naples and Sicily; was annexed by the Kingdom of Sardinia in March 1860 |
| Ukraine (People’s Republic) | 1918–1920 | Ukraine | gained independence from the Russian SFSR and quickly was swallowed by the Russian Soviets |
| Ukraine (puppet state of Nazi Germany) | 1941–1944 | Ukraine | puppet state of Nazi Germany during World War II |
| United Baltic Region (puppet state of Nazi Germany) | 1941–1944 | Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania, Belarus | puppet state of Nazi Germany during World War II |
| Union of Soviet Socialist Republics | 1922–1991 | Russia, Belarus, Ukraine, Moldova, Georgia, Armenia, Azerbaijan, Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania | one of the greatest superpowers in modern times comprising most of the territory that once was under the Russian Empire including some new territory after World War II in Europe annexed from Germany, Poland and Czechoslovakia |
| United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland | 1801–1922 | United Kingdom, Republic of Ireland | unified sovereign state of the Kingdom of Great Britain and the Kingdom of Ireland until the Irish independence movements in the early 20th century |
| United Kingdom of the Netherlands | 1815–1839 | Netherlands, Belgium, Luxembourg | unified sovereign state of the Dutch lands after the crush of Napoleon; only the area of Luxembourg was part of the German Confederation |
| United Provinces of Central Italy | 1859–1860 | Italy | first step of Italian unification comprising Tuscany, Parma, Modena and Reggio, and the eastern region of the Papal States; was annexed by the Kingdom of Sardinia in March 1860 |
| Waldeck-Pyrmont | 1180–1867 | Germany | became a member of the North German Confederation Federal State |
| Weimar Germany | 1919–1933 | Germany, Poland, Russia | first German democracy |
| West Germany | 1949–1990 | Germany | democratic government of Germany after World War II |
| West Ukrainian People's Republic | 1918–1919 | Ukraine | successor state of Ukrainians after the fall of the Austro-Hungarian Empire |
| Württemberg (Kingdom) | 1806–1871 | Germany | joined the German Empire and became one of its members |
| Yugoslavia (Democratic Republic) | 1992–2003 | Serbia, Montenegro, Bosnia & Herzegovina | democratic Yugoslavia after the fall of communism; Bosnia & Herzegovina gained independence between 1991 and 1993 |
| Yugoslavia (Kingdom) | 1918–1941 | Serbia, Slovenia, Croatia, Bosnia & Herzegovina, Montenegro, Macedonia | unified Slavic country after World War I |
| Yugoslavia (People’s Republic) | 1944–1992 | Serbia, Slovenia, Croatia, Bosnia & Herzegovina, Montenegro, Macedonia | communist government of the south Slavic ethnicities after World War II outside of the Iron Curtain |
Read more about this topic: Former Countries In Europe After 1815
Famous quotes containing the words sovereign and/or countries:
“To every people the land is given on condition. Perceived or not, there is a Covenant, beyond the constitution, beyond sovereign guarantee, beyond the nation’s sweetest dreams of itself.”
—Leonard Cohen (b. 1934)
“The contention that a standing army and navy is the best security of peace is about as logical as the claim that the most peaceful citizen is he who goes about heavily armed. The experience of every-day life fully proves that the armed individual is invariably anxious to try his strength. The same is historically true of governments. Really peaceful countries do not waste life and energy in war preparations, with the result that peace is maintained.”
—Emma Goldman (1869–1940)