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Below is a list of countries by formation dates, sorted by continent.

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 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 desription of a country's formation and history please see the main article for each country.

List

Africa

Country	Birth of current form of government		Date of acquisition of sovereignty		Date of most recent significant territorial modification
	Date[1]	Event	Date[1]	Event	Date[1]	Event
Algeria			1962-07-03	French recognition of Algerian referendum on independence held two days previous
Angola			1975-11-11	Independence from Portugal.
Benin			1960-08-01	Independence from France	1894-01-15	Borders of French Protectorate of Dahomey set at conclusion of Second Franco-Dahomean War
Botswana			1885-03-31	Establishment of the Bechuanaland Protectorate by the United Kingdom	1894	Extended north into Ngamiland
			1966-09-30	Independence from United Kingdom
Burkina Faso			1958-12-11	Self-government achieved and republic within Franco-African Community	1947-09-04	Restoration of colonial boundaries used from 1919-1932
			1960-08-05	Independence from France
Burundi	1966-11-28	Monarchy replaced by republic	1962-07-01	Independence from Belgium
Cameroon			1960-01-01	Independence from France	1961-10-01	Merger of British Cameroons with Cameroon
Cape Verde			1975-07-05	Independence from Portugal
Central African Republic			1958-12-01	Central African Republic becomes autonomous territory in French Republic
			1960-08-13	Independence from France
Chad			1960-08-11	Independence from France	1984-02-13	Aouzou Strip awarded to Chad
Comoros			1975-07-06	Independence from France declared
Congo, Democratic Republic of the			1884-04-22	Congo Free State recognized as an independent state
			1960-06-30	Independence from Belgium
Congo, Republic of the			1960-08-15	Independence from France
Côte d'Ivoire			1958-12-04	Autonomous republic within French Community
			1960-08-07	Independence from France
Djibouti			1977-06-27	Independence from France
Equatorial Guinea			1968-10-12	Independence from Spain
Eritrea			1993-05-24	Independence from Ethiopia declared.	2002-04-01	Badme ruled to be Eritrean by the Eritrea-Ethiopia Boundary Commission (EEBC after the Eritrean-Ethiopian War. Contested by Ethiopia.
Ethiopia	1975-03-21	Monarchy abolished and replaced by republic	1941-05-05	Haile Selassie restored as Emperor of Ethiopia, ending Italian occupation.	2002-04-01	Badme ruled to be Eritrean by the Eritrea-Ethiopia Boundary Commission (EEBC after the Eritrean-Ethiopian War. Contested by Ethiopia.
Gabon			1960-08-17	Independence from France
Gambia			1965-02-18	Independence from United Kingdom
Ghana			1957-03-06	Independence from United Kingdom	1956-12-13	Union of British Togoland with Gold Coast
Guinea			1958-10-02	Independence from France
Guinea-Bissau			1973-09-24	Independence from Portugal declared
			1974-09-10	Independence from Portugal recognized
Kenya			1963-12-12	Independence from United Kingdom
Lesotho			1966-10-04	Independence from United Kingdom	1868-03-12	Area that is now present-day Lesotho placed under British rule
Liberia			1847-07-26	Independence from the United States
Libya	1969-09-01	Monarchy replaced by republic	1951-12-24	Independence from UN Trusteeship (British and French administration after Italian governance ends in 1947)	1984-02-13	Aouzou Strip awarded to Chad
Madagascar			1958-10-14	The Malagasy Republic was created as autonomous state within French Community
			1960-06-26	France recognizes Madagascar's independence
Malawi			1964-07-06	Independence from United Kingdom
Mali			1958-11-25	French Sudan gains autonomy	1960-08-20	Senegal secedes from Mali Federation
			1960-09-22	Independence from France
Mauritania			1960-11-28	Independence from France	1979-08-11	Mauritania withdraws from Tiris al-Gharbiyya (part of Western Sahara)
Mauritius			1968-03-12	Independence from United Kingdom	1965	Separation of Chagos Archipelago
Morocco			1956-03-02	Independence from France	1969-01-04	Return of Ifni to Morocco
			1956-04-07	French protectorate formally relinquished
Mozambique			1975-06-25	Independence from Portugal
Namibia			1990-03-21	Independence from South African rule	1994-03-01	Walvis Bay integrated into Namibia
Niger			1958-12-04	Autonomy within French Community
			1960-08-03	Independence from France
Nigeria			1960-10-01	Independence from United Kingdom	1970-01-15	Biafra re-integrated into Nigeria
					1961-06-01	Northern Cameroons integrated in Nigeria
Rwanda			1962-07-01	Independence from Belgium
São Tomé and Príncipe			1975-07-12	Independence from Portugal
Senegal			1960-08-20	Independence from France
Seychelles			1976-06-29	Independence from United Kingdom
Sierra Leone			1961-04-27	Independence from United Kingdom
Somalia			1960-07-01	Merger of former British Somaliland and Italian Somaliland
South Africa	1910-05-31	Creation of the Union of South Africa from the previously separate colonies of the Cape, Natal, Transvaal and Orange River	1931-12-11	Statute of Westminster, which establishes a status of legislative equality between the self-governing dominion of the Union of South Africa and the UK	1994-04-27	Reincorporation of the nominally independent bantustans into post-Apartheid South Africa
			1961-05-31	Republic declared (South Africa no longer a Commonwealth realm)
Sudan			1956-01-01	Independence from Egyptian and British rule
Swaziland			1968-09-06	Independence from the United Kingdom
Tanzania			1961-12-09	Independence of Tanganyika from United Kingdom	1964-04-26	Merger of Zanzibar with Tanganyika to form Tanzania
Togo			1958-08-30	Autonomy within French Union
			1960-04-27	Independence from France
Tunisia	1957-07-25	Declaration of Republic	1956-03-20	Independence from France
Uganda			1962-03-01	Self-government granted
			1962-10-09	Independence from United Kingdom
Zambia			1964-10-24	Independence from United Kingdom
Zimbabwe			1965-11-11	Unilateral declaration of independence by Southern Rhodesia	1901	BSAC separates North-Eastern Rhodesia from Southern Rhodesia
			1980-04-18	Recognized independence from United Kingdom as Zimbabwe.

Americas

Country	Birth of current form of government		Date of acquisition of sovereignty		Date of most recent significant territorial modification
	Date[1]	Event	Date[1]	Event	Date[1]	Event
Antigua and Barbuda			1981-11-01	Independence from the United Kingdom.
Argentina			1810-05-25	May Revolution installs first local government
			1816-07-09	Argentine Declaration of Independence
			1821	Independence recognized by Spain
Bahamas			1964-01-07	Internal self-governance granted
			1973-07-10	Independence from the United Kingdom
Barbados			1966-11-30	Independence from the United Kingdom
Belize			1981-09-21	Independence from United Kingdom	1859	Treaty establishes border between British Honduras and Guatemala
			1964-01-01	Self governing colony
Bolivia			1825-08-06	Bolivian War of Independence	1903-11-11	Signing of the Treaty of Petrópolis with Brazil whereby Bolivia gained lands in Mato Grosso in exchange for the territory of Acre
Brazil			1822-09-07	Independence from Portugal declared	1903-11-11	Signing of the Treaty of Petrópolis with Bolivia whereby Brazil is given the territory of Acre in exchange for lands in Mato Grosso
			1825-08-29	Independence recognized by Portugal
Canada	1867-07-01	Canadian Confederation	1931-12-11	Statute of Westminster	1949-03-31	Newfoundland and Labrador join Confederation
			1982-04-17	Patriation of Constitution
Chile	1810-09-18	First Government Junta declares Chile an autonomous republic within Spain	1818-02-12	Independence declared from Spain	1929-07-03	Chile awarded Arica district in Treaty of Lima
			1844-04-25	Independence recognized by Spain
Colombia			1810-07-10	Independence declared from Spain	1903-11-03	Separation of Panama from Colombia
			1819-08-07	Independence recognized by Spain
Costa Rica			1821-09-15	Costa Rica declared independence from Spain	1824-07-25	Partido de Nicoya
			1838-11-15	Independence from Federal Republic of Central America
Cuba			1868-10-10	Independence from Spain declared
Dominica			1967-02-27	Became an associated state of the United Kingdom
			1978-11-03	Independence from United Kingdom
Dominican Republic			1865-03-03	Independence regained from Spain following the Dominican Restoration War
Ecuador	1809-08-10	First call of Independence. Influenced the rest of the Americas.	1822-05-24	Independence from Spain of Gran Colombia, of which Ecuador is a part	1942-02-26	Rio Protocol ends border dispute with Peru
			1830-05-13	Dissolution of Gran Colombia
El Salvador			1821-09-15	El Salvador becomes state in Federal Republic of Central America, which declared independence from Spain
			1841-02-02	El Salvador declares itself an independent republic, ending the Federal Republic of Central America
Grenada			1967-02-27	Associated state of United Kingdom
			1974-02-07	Full independence from United Kingdom
Guatemala			1821-09-15	Guatemala becomes state in Federal Republic of Central America, which declared independence from Spain
			1839-04-17	Independence from Federal Republic of Central America declared
Guyana			1966-05-26	Independence from United Kingdom
Haiti			1801-01-01	The French colony Saint-Domingue gains independence as Haiti.	1844-02-27	The Dominican Republic gains independence from Haiti
Honduras			1821-09-15	Honduras becomes state in Federal Republic of Central America, which declared independence from Spain	1972-09-01	Swan Islands returned to Honduras from United States occupation
			1838-10-26	Independence from Federal Republic of Central America
Jamaica			1962-08-06	Independence from United Kingdom
Mexico			1810-09-16	Independence from Spain declared	1853-12-30	Gadsden Purchase
			1821-08-24	Independence recognized by Spain in Treaty of Córdoba
Nicaragua			1821-09-15	Nicaragua becomes state in Federal Republic of Central America, which declared independence from Spain
			1838-11-05	Independence from Federal Republic of Central America
Panama			1903-11-03	Separation of Panama from Colombia
Paraguay			1811-05-14	Independence from Spain declared	1938	Paraguay awarded a large portion of the Gran Chaco as a result of the Chaco War
Peru			1821-07-28	Independence from Spain declared	1942-02-26	Rio Protocol ends border dispute with Ecuador
			1879	Independence from Spain recognized
Saint Kitts and Nevis			1967-02-27	Associated state of United Kingdom	1980-12-19	Anguilla separated from Saint Christopher-Nevis-Anguilla
			1983-09-19	Independence from United Kingdom
Saint Lucia			1967-02-27	Associated statehood
			1979-02-22	Independence from United Kingdom
Saint Vincent and the Grenadines			1969-10-27	Associated statehood
			1979-10-27	Independence from United Kingdom
Suriname			1954-12-15	Self government granted
			1975-11-25	Independence from Netherlands
Trinidad and Tobago			1962-08-31	Independence from United Kingdom
United States	1787-09-17	Ratification of the United States Constitution replaced the previous Articles of Confederation creating a new system of government	1776-07-04	Independence from the Kingdom of Great Britain declared	1959-08-21	Admission of Hawaii to the Union
			1783-09-03	Independence from the Kingdom of Great Britain recognized
Uruguay			1825-08-25	Independence declared, joined in union with United Provinces of the Río de la Plata (current Argentina)
			1828-08-27	Treaty of Montevideo signed, recognizing Uruguay's independence
Venezuela			1811-07-05	independence from Spain declared
			1830-01-13	President José Antonio Páez declares Venezuela independent from Gran Colombia

Asia

Country	Birth of current form of government		Date of acquisition of sovereignty		Date of most recent significant territorial modification
	Date[1]	Event	Date[1]	Event	Date[1]	Event
Afghanistan			1919-08-20	Treaty of Rawalpindi gives Afghanistan control from the United Kingdom over its own affairs
Armenia			1990-08-23	Independence from Soviet Union declared	1936-12-05	Establishment of Armenian SSR
			1991-09-21	Independence recognized by Soviet Union
Azerbaijan	1918-05-28	Establishment of Azerbaijan Democratic Republic	1991-10-18	Declaration of independence from Soviet Union	1920-04-28	Establishment of Azerbaijan SSR
Bahrain			1971-08-15	Independence from the United Kingdom	1521-07-01	Portuguese conquest of current territory
Bangladesh			1971-03-26	Independence from Pakistan declared.
Bhutan			1885	Ugyen Wangchuck ends period of civil war and unites Bhutan	1865-11-11	Treaty of Sinchula
Brunei			1984-01-01	Brunei regains its independence after an agreement with the British on January 4, 1979
Cambodia			1989-09-26	Becomes free from Vietnamese occupation; it gets back its name instead of People's Republic of Kampuchea
China	1949-10-01	Establishment of the People's Republic of China (PRC) as the Chinese Civil War nears its end			1999-12-20	Transfer of the sovereignty of Macau from Portugal to the PRC
Georgia	1918-05-26	Establishment of Democratic Republic of Georgia	1991-04-09	Independence from Soviet Union declared
India			1947-08-15	Independence from the United Kingdom	1975-05-16	Accession of Sikkim to India
Indonesia			1945-08-17	Indonesian Declaration of Independence from the Netherlands	2002-05-20	Independence of East Timor, formerly administered as a province of Indonesia
Iran					March 6, 1975	Algiers Accord establishes border with Iraq
Iraq			1932-10-03	Kingdom of Iraq
Israel			1948-05-14	Reading of the Declaration of Independence of Israel before the expiration of the British Mandate of Palestine at midnight	1994-10-26	Signing of the Israel-Jordan Treaty of Peace, whereby most of the disputed 400 square-kilometer area in the Arabah is handed back to Jordan
Japan	1947-05-03	Coming into force of the current Constitution of Japan, whereby the emperor is deprived of his powers and a liberal democracy is established	1952-04-28	Coming into force of the Treaty of San Francisco, whereby World War II is officially ended and Japan's independence is reinstated	1972-05-14	Return of the Ryukyu Islands to Japan and abolition of the United States Civil Administration of the Ryukyu Islands
Jordan			1946-05-25	End of British League of Nations mandate	1994-10-26	Signing of the Israel-Jordan Treaty of Peace, whereby most of the disputed 400 square-kilometer area in the Arabah is handed back to Jordan
Kazakhstan			1991-12-16	Independence declared from Soviet Union
Korea, North			1948-09-09	Declaration of creation of North Korea	1953-07-27	Cease-fire in the Korean War creates the southern border along the Military Demarcation Line
Korea, South			1948-08-15	First Republic of South Korea established	1953-07-27	Cease-fire in the Korean War creates the northern border along the Military Demarcation Line
Kuwait			1991-02-28	End of Iraqi occupation (Gulf War)	1969-12-18	Formal division of Saudi-Kuwaiti neutral zone
Kyrgyzstan			1991-08-31	Independence from Soviet Union
Laos			1949-07-19	Independence from France
Lebanon	1926-05-23	Lebanese Republic formed	1941-11-26	Independence from France declared	1920-09-01	France establishes State of Greater Lebanon with current boundaries
			1943-11-22	Independence from France recognized
Malaysia			1957-08-31	Malayan Independence from the United Kingdom is declared in Independence Square.	1965-08-09	Singapore secedes from the federation after the 1964 Race Riots.
			1963-09-16	Malaysia is formed after the merging Malaya, Sabah, Sarawak, and Singapore into one independent state.
Maldives			1965-07-26	Independence from United Kingdom
Mongolia			1911-12-29	Proclamation of Mongolian independence from Qing Dynasty China
Myanmar			1948-01-04	Myanmar (Burma) declares independence from the British Empire.	1956	Signing of border treaty with the People's Republic of China.
Nepal	2008-05-28	Formation_of_Republic	1768-12-21	Nepali unification	1815-12-02	Sugauli Treaty ends the Gurkha War
Oman			1650-01-26	Expulsion of the Portuguese
Pakistan			1947-08-14	Independence from the UK and the Partition of India, creation of the Dominion of Pakistan	1971-12-16	De facto : Province of East Pakistan dissolved following the surrender of the Pakistani Army at the end of the Bangladesh Liberation War
					1974-02-22	De jure : Recognition by Pakistan of Bangladesh as an independent country, whereby Pakistan definitely surrenders claims over the former province of East Pakistan
Philippines			1935-03-24	The Commonwealth of the Philippines is established through the provisions of the Tydings-McDuffie Act and the Jones Law.	1928-01-23	| The island of Palmas or Miangas is awarded to the Netherlands on behalf of the Netherlands East Indies through an international case under the Permanent Court of Arbitration.
			1946-07-04	The United States awards independence on July 4 under the provisions of the Treaty of Manila (1946). The 1935 Philippine constitution remains in effect.
Qatar			1971-09-03	Independence from United Kingdom
Saudi Arabia	1932-09-23	Regions of Al-Hasa, Qatif, Nejd and Hejaz unified to become Saudi Arabia	1927-05-20	Kingdom of Nejd and Hejaz recognized as independent in Treaty of Jeddah	2000-06-12	Border with Yemen finalized by Treaty of Jeddah
Singapore			1959-06-03	Self government under United Kingdom
			1965-08-09	Separation from Malaysia
Sri Lanka			1948-02-04	Independence from the United Kingdom
Syria			1961-09-28	End of United Arab Republic
Taiwan	1911-10-10	After the Xinhai Revolution the Republic of China formally replaced the Qing Dynasty.	1949-12-07[2]	Republic of China government moved to Taiwan after the Chinese Civil War[3]	1955-02-25	Withdrawal of the Republic of China from the Dachen Archipelago.
Tajikistan			1991-09-09	Independence from the Soviet Union