This is a list of sovereign states in the 2020s, giving an overview of states around the world during the period between 1 January 2020 and the present day. It contains 210 entries, arranged alphabetically, with information on the status and recognition of their sovereignty. It includes 195 widely recognized sovereign states, two associated states, and 13 entities which claim an effective sovereignty but are considered de jure constituents of other powers by the general international community.
Members or observers of the United Nations
Non-UN members or observers
Other entities
Excluded from the list above are the following noteworthy entities which either were not fully sovereign or did not claim to be independent:
Antarctica, as a whole, had no government and no permanent population. Seven states claimed portions of Antarctica and five of these reciprocally recognised one another's claims.[10] These claims, which were regulated by the Antarctic Treaty System, were neither recognised nor disputed by any other signatory state.[11]- The European Union was a sui generis supranational organisation that had 27 member states (28 members until 31 January 2020). The member states transferred a measure of their legislative, executive, and judicial powers to the institutions of the EU, and as such the EU had some elements of sovereignty, without generally being considered a sovereign state. The European Union did not claim to be a sovereign state and had only limited capacity for relations with other states.
- The Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL) was a former proto-state and current insurgent group primarily in Iraq and Syria, among other nations. ISlL used to be considered a quasi-state, but is no longer considered as such.
- The Sovereign Military Order of Malta was a United Nations observer. The order had bi-lateral diplomatic relations with a large number of states, but had no territory other than extraterritorial areas within Rome and Malta.[12] The order's Constitution stated: "The Order is a subject of international law and exercises sovereign functions."[13] Although the order frequently asserted its sovereignty, it did not claim to be a sovereign state. It lacked a defined territory. Since all its members were citizens of other states, almost all of them lived in their native countries, and those who resided in the order's extraterritorial properties in Rome did so only in connection with their official duties, the order lacked the characteristic of having a permanent population.
- The Tigray Region was recognized as a region of Ethiopia. Despite having been at war with the rest of Ethiopia, it was not commonly considered a sovereign state and was more of an insurgency or proto-state.
See also
Notes
- ^ The name "Argentine Nation" is also used for the purposes of legislation.
- ^ Armenia is not recognized by Pakistan.
- ^ a b Both the People's Republic of China and the Republic of China claim to be the sole legitimate government of the entirety of China (including Taiwan).[2][3][4] The following states maintain diplomatic relations with the Republic of China instead of the People's Republic of China: Belize, Eswatini, Guatemala, Haiti, Honduras, Marshall Islands, Nauru, Nicaragua, Palau, Paraguay, Saint Kitts and Nevis, Saint Lucia, Saint Vincent and the Grenadines, Tuvalu, and Vatican City.
- ^ Cyprus is not recognized by Turkey or Northern Cyprus.
- ^ Also known as "Timor-Leste".
- ^ Ireland also had the legal description of "Republic of Ireland", although this is not its constitutional name.
- ^ Israel is not recognized by Afghanistan, Algeria, Bangladesh, Brunei, Comoros, Cuba, Djibouti, Indonesia, Iran, Iraq, Kuwait, Lebanon, Libya, Malaysia, Maldives, Mali, Mauritania, Niger, North Korea, Oman, Pakistan, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, Somalia, Syria, Tunisia, Venezuela, or Yemen.
- ^ North Korea is not recognized by Taiwan, Estonia, France, Japan, or South Korea.
- ^ South Korea is not recognized by North Korea.
- ^ Commonly known in English as "Burma".
- ^ Palestine is recognized by Afghanistan, Albania, Algeria, Angola, Antigua and Barbuda, Argentina, Azerbaijan, Bahrain, Bangladesh, Belarus, Belize, Benin, Bhutan, Bolivia, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Botswana, Brazil, Brunei, Bulgaria, Burkina Faso, Burundi, Cambodia, Cape Verde, Chad, the Central African Republic, Chile, China, Comoros, the Democratic Republic of the Congo, the Republic of the Congo, Costa Rica, Côte d'Ivoire, Cuba, Cyprus, Czech Republic, Djibouti, Dominica, the Dominican Republic, East Timor, Ecuador, Egypt, El Salvador, Equatorial Guinea, Eswatini, Ethiopia, Gabon, Gambia, Georgia, Ghana, Grenada, Guatemala, Guinea, Guinea-Bissau, Guyana, Haiti, Holy See, Honduras, Hungary, Iceland, India, Indonesia, Iraq, Iran, Jordan, Kazakhstan, Kenya, Kuwait, Kyrgyzstan, Laos, Lebanon, Lesotho, Liberia, Libya, Madagascar, Malawi, Malaysia, Maldives, Mali, Malta, Mauritania, Mauritius, Mongolia, Montenegro, Morocco, Mozambique, Namibia, Nepal, Nicaragua, Niger, Nigeria, North Korea, Oman, Pakistan, Papua New Guinea, Paraguay, Peru, the Philippines, Poland, Qatar, Romania, Russia, Rwanda, Saint Lucia, Saint Vincent and the Grenadines, São Tomé and Príncipe, Saudi Arabia, Senegal, Serbia, Seychelles, Sierra Leone, Slovakia, Somalia, South Africa, Sri Lanka, Sudan, Suriname, Sweden, Syria, Tajikistan, Tanzania, Thailand, Togo, Tunisia, Turkey, Turkmenistan, Uganda, Ukraine, the United Arab Emirates, Uruguay, Uzbekistan, Vanuatu, Venezuela, Vietnam, Yemen, Zambia, and Zimbabwe.
- ^ Abkhazia is recognized by six UN member states (Russia, Syria, Nicaragua, Venezuela, Nauru, and Vanuatu), and two non-UN member states (South Ossetia and Transnistria).
- ^ Donetsk People's Republic was recognized by three UN member states (Russia (from 21 February 2022), Syria and North Korea) and two non-UN member states (Luhansk People's Republic and South Ossetia).
- ^ Kherson was recognized only by Russia.[8]
- ^ Kosovo is recognized by Afghanistan, Albania, Andorra, Antigua and Barbuda, Australia, Austria, Bahrain, Bangladesh, Belgium, Belize, Benin, Brunei, Bulgaria, Burkina Faso, Burundi, Canada, Central African Republic, Chad, Colombia, Comoros, Cook Islands, Costa Rica, Croatia, the Czech Republic, Denmark, Djibouti, Dominica, Dominican Republic, Egypt, El Salvador, Estonia, Eswatini, Fiji, Finland, France, Gabon, the Gambia, Germany, Ghana, Grenada, Guinea-Bissau, Guyana, Haiti, Honduras, Hungary, Iceland, Ireland, Italy, Ivory Coast, Japan, Jordan, Kiribati, Kuwait, Latvia, Lesotho, Liberia, Libya, Liechtenstein, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Malawi, Malaysia, Maldives, Malta, Marshall Islands, Mauritania, Micronesia, Monaco, Montenegro, Nauru, Netherlands, New Zealand, Niger, Niue, North Macedonia, Norway, Oman, Palau, Pakistan, Panama, Papua New Guinea, Peru, Poland, Portugal, Qatar, Saint Kitts and Nevis, Saint Lucia, Samoa, San Marino, Saudi Arabia, Senegal, Sierra Leone, Singapore, Slovenia, the Solomon Islands, Somalia, South Korea, Suriname, Sweden, Switzerland, Taiwan, Tanzania, Thailand, Timor-Leste, Togo, Tonga, Turkey, Tuvalu, the United Arab Emirates, the United Kingdom, the United States, Vanuatu, and Yemen.
- ^ Luhansk People's Republic was recognized by three UN member states (Russia (from 21 February 2022), Syria and North Korea) and two non-UN member states (Donetsk People's Republic and South Ossetia).
- ^ Northern Cyprus is recognized only by Turkey.
- ^ the Sahrawi Arab Democratic Republic is recognized by Algeria, Angola, Antigua and Barbuda, Barbados, Belize, Bolivia, Botswana, Burundi, Cambodia, Chad, Colombia, Costa Rica, Cuba, Dominica, the Dominican Republic, Ecuador, Ethiopia, Ghana, Grenada, Guatemala, Guinea-Bissau, Guyana, Haiti, Honduras, Iran, Jamaica, Laos, Lesotho, Libya, Madagascar, Mali, Malawi, Mauritania, Mauritius, Mexico, Mozambique, Namibia, Nicaragua, Nigeria, North Korea, Panama, Papua New Guinea, Paraguay, Rwanda, Saint Kitts and Nevis, Saint Lucia, Saint Vincent and the Grenadines, Sierra Leone, South Africa, Suriname, Syria, Tanzania, Timor-Leste, Trinidad and Tobago, Uganda, Uruguay, Vanuatu, Venezuela, Vietnam, Zambia, Zimbabwe.
- ^ South Ossetia is recognized by five UN member states (Russia, Syria, Nicaragua, Venezuela, and Nauru), and three non-UN member states (Abkhazia, Transnistria, and the Sahrawi Arab Democratic Republic).
- ^ Transnistria is recognized by Abkhazia and South Ossetia.
- ^ Zaporozhye was recognized only by Russia.[9]
References
- ^ "Who will speak for Afghanistan at the United Nations". 24 September 2021.
- ^ a b Sarmento, Clara (2009). Eastwards / Westwards: Which Direction for Gender Studies in the 21st Century?. Cambridge Scholars. p. 127. ISBN 9781443808682.
- ^ a b Hudson, Christopher (2014). The China Handbook. Routledge. p. 59. ISBN 9781134269662.
- ^ a b Rigger, Shelley (2002). Politics in Taiwan: Voting for Reform. Routledge. p. 60. ISBN 9781134692972.
- ^ a b "Republic of Crimea". The Territories of the Russian Federation 2018. Europa Territories of the World series. London: Routledge. 2018. p. 180. ISBN 9781351103916. OCLC 1027753558.
Note: The territories of the Crimean peninsula, comprising Sevastopol City and the Republic of Crimea, remained internationally recognized as constituting part of Ukraine, following their annexation by Russia in March 2014.
- ^ a b "Russia vetoes Security Council resolution condemning attempted annexation of Ukraine regions". UN. 30 September 2022. Retrieved 5 October 2022.
- ^ "UNMIK Background". UN. Retrieved 21 January 2015.
- ^ "Decree of the President of the Russian Federation of September 29, 2022 No. 686 "On the recognition of the Kherson Oblast"". President of Russia. 29 September 2022. Retrieved 30 September 2022.
- ^ "Decree of the President of the Russian Federation of September 29, 2022 No. 685 "On the recognition of the Zaporozhye Oblast"". President of Russia. 29 September 2022. Retrieved 30 September 2022.
- ^ Rogan-Finnemore, Michelle (2005), "What Bioprospecting Means for Antarctica and the Southern Ocean", in Von Tigerstrom, Barbara (ed.), International Law Issues in the South Pacific, Ashgate Publishing, p. 204, ISBN 0-7546-4419-7,
Australia, New Zealand, France, Norway and the United Kingdom reciprocally recognize the validity of each other's claims.
- ^ "The World Factbook". CIA. 13 December 2023. Retrieved 24 December 2023.
- ^ "Bilateral relations with countries". Archived from the original on 26 June 2008.
- ^ Chapter General of the Sovereign Military Hospitaller Order of St. John of Jerusalem of Rhodes and of Malta (12 January 1998). Constitutional Charter and Code of the Sovereign Military Hospitaller Order of St. John of Jerusalem, of Rhodes, and of Malta, promulgated 27 June 1961, revised by the Extraordinary Chapter General 28–30 April 1997, Article 3 "Sovereignty," Paragraph 1 (PDF). Rome: Tipografia Arte della Stampa. p. 11.
Antarctica, as a whole, had no government and no permanent population. Seven states claimed portions of Antarctica and five of these reciprocally recognised one another's claims.[10] These claims, which were regulated by the Antarctic Treaty System, were neither recognised nor disputed by any other signatory state.[11]
The European Union was a sui generis supranational organisation that had 27 member states (28 members until 31 January 2020). The member states transferred a measure of their legislative, executive, and judicial powers to the institutions of the EU, and as such the EU had some elements of sovereignty, without generally being considered a sovereign state. The European Union did not claim to be a sovereign state and had only limited capacity for relations with other states.
The Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL) was a former proto-state and current insurgent group primarily in Iraq and Syria, among other nations. ISlL used to be considered a quasi-state, but is no longer considered as such..svg/1280px-Flag_of_the_Order_of_St._John_(various).svg.png){kind=small}
The Sovereign Military Order of Malta was a United Nations observer. The order had bi-lateral diplomatic relations with a large number of states, but had no territory other than extraterritorial areas within Rome and Malta.[12] The order's Constitution stated: "The Order is a subject of international law and exercises sovereign functions."[13] Although the order frequently asserted its sovereignty, it did not claim to be a sovereign state. It lacked a defined territory. Since all its members were citizens of other states, almost all of them lived in their native countries, and those who resided in the order's extraterritorial properties in Rome did so only in connection with their official duties, the order lacked the characteristic of having a permanent population.
The Tigray Region was recognized as a region of Ethiopia. Despite having been at war with the rest of Ethiopia, it was not commonly considered a sovereign state and was more of an insurgency or proto-state.