Independence

For most countries, this entry gives the date that sovereignty was achieved and from which nation, empire, or trusteeship. For the other countries, the date given may not represent "independence" in the strict sense, but rather some significant nationhood event such as the traditional founding date or the date of unification, federation, confederation, establishment, fundamental change in the form of government, or state succession. For a number of countries, the establishment of statehood was a lengthy evolutionary process occurring over decades or even centuries. In such cases, several significant dates are cited. Dependent areas include the notation "none" followed by the nature of their dependency status. Also see the Terminology note.

• Afghanistan

  19 August 1919 (from UK control over Afghan foreign affairs)

• Albania

  28 November 1912 (from the Ottoman Empire)

• Algeria

  5 July 1962 (from France)

• American Samoa

  none (territory of the US)

• Andorra

  1278 (formed under the joint sovereignty of the French Count of Foix and the Spanish Bishop of Urgell)

• Angola

  11 November 1975 (from Portugal)

• Anguilla

  none (overseas territory of the UK)

• Antigua and Barbuda

  1 November 1981 (from the UK)

• Argentina

  9 July 1816 (from Spain)

• Armenia

  21 September 1991 (from the Soviet Union); notable earlier dates: 321 B.C. (Kingdom of Armenia established under the Orontid Dynasty), A.D. 884 (Armenian Kingdom reestablished under the Bagratid Dynasty); 1198 (Cilician Kingdom established); 28 May 1918 (Democratic Republic of Armenia declared)

• Aruba

  none (part of the Kingdom of the Netherlands)

• Australia

  1 January 1901 (from the federation of UK colonies)

• Austria

  no official date of independence: 976 (Margravate of Austria established); 17 September 1156 (Duchy of Austria founded); 6 January 1453 (Archduchy of Austria acknowledged); 11 August 1804 (Austrian Empire proclaimed); 30 March 1867 (Austro-Hungarian dual monarchy established); 12 November 1918 (First Republic proclaimed); 27 April 1945 (Second Republic proclaimed)

• Azerbaijan

  30 August 1991 (declared from the Soviet Union); 18 October 1991 (adopted by the Supreme Council of Azerbaijan)

• Bahamas, The

  10 July 1973 (from the UK)

• Bahrain

  15 August 1971 (from the UK)

• Bangladesh

  16 December 1971 (from Pakistan)

• Barbados

  30 November 1966 (from the UK)

• Belarus

  25 August 1991 (from the Soviet Union)

• Belgium

  4 October 1830 (a provisional government declared independence from the Netherlands); 21 July 1831 (King LEOPOLD I ascended to the throne)

• Belize

  21 September 1981 (from the UK)

• Benin

  1 August 1960 (from France)

• Bermuda

  none (overseas territory of the UK)

• Bhutan

  17 December 1907 (became a unified kingdom under its first hereditary king); 8 August 1949 (Treaty of Friendship with India maintains Bhutanese independence)

• Bolivia

  6 August 1825 (from Spain)

• Bosnia and Herzegovina

  1 March 1992 (from Yugoslavia); note - referendum for independence completed on 1 March 1992; independence declared on 3 March 1992

• Botswana

  30 September 1966 (from the UK)

• Brazil

  7 September 1822 (from Portugal)

• British Virgin Islands

  none (overseas territory of the UK)

• Brunei

  1 January 1984 (from the UK)

• Bulgaria

  3 March 1878 (as an autonomous principality within the Ottoman Empire); 22 September 1908 (complete independence from the Ottoman Empire)

• Burkina Faso

  5 August 1960 (from France)

• Burma

  4 January 1948 (from the UK)

• Burundi

  1 July 1962 (from UN trusteeship under Belgian administration)

• Cabo Verde

  5 July 1975 (from Portugal)

• Cambodia

  9 November 1953 (from France)

• Cameroon

  1 January 1960 (from French-administered UN trusteeship)

• Canada

  1 July 1867 (union of British North American colonies); 11 December 1931 (recognized by UK per Statute of Westminster)

• Cayman Islands

  none (overseas territory of the UK)

• Central African Republic

  13 August 1960 (from France)

• Chad

  11 August 1960 (from France)

• Chile

  18 September 1810 (from Spain)

• China

  1 October 1949 (People's Republic of China established); notable earlier dates: 221 B.C. (unification under the Qin Dynasty); 1 January 1912 (Qing Dynasty replaced by the Republic of China)

• Christmas Island

  none (territory of Australia)

• Cocos (Keeling) Islands

  none (territory of Australia)

• Colombia

  20 July 1810 (from Spain)

• Comoros

  6 July 1975 (from France)

• Congo, Democratic Republic of the

  30 June 1960 (from Belgium)

• Congo, Republic of the

  15 August 1960 (from France)

• Cook Islands

  none (became self-governing in free association with New Zealand on 4 August 1965 with the right at any time to move to full independence by unilateral action)

• Costa Rica

  15 September 1821 (from Spain)

• Cote d'Ivoire

  7 August 1960 (from France)

• Croatia

  25 June 1991 (from Yugoslavia); note - 25 June 1991 was the day the Croatian parliament voted for independence; following a three-month moratorium to allow the European Community to solve the Yugoslav crisis peacefully, parliament adopted a decision on 8 October 1991 to sever constitutional relations with Yugoslavia; notable earlier dates: ca. 925 (Kingdom of Croatia established); 1 December 1918 (Kingdom of Serbs, Croats, and Slovenes (Yugoslavia) established)

• Cuba

  20 May 1902 (from Spain 10 December 1898; administered by the US from 1898 to 1902); not acknowledged by the Cuban Government as a day of independence

• Curacao

  none (part of the Kingdom of the Netherlands)

• Cyprus

  16 August 1960 (from the UK); note - Turkish Cypriots proclaimed self-rule on 13 February 1975 and independence in 1983, but these proclamations are recognized only by Turkey

• Czechia

  1 January 1993 (Czechoslovakia split into the Czech Republic and Slovakia); note - although 1 January is the day the Czech Republic came into being, the Czechs commemorate 28 October 1918, the day the former Czechoslovakia declared its independence from the Austro-Hungarian Empire, as their independence day

• Denmark

  ca. 965 (unified and Christianized under Harald I GORMSSON); 5 June 1849 (became a parliamentary constitutional monarchy)

• Djibouti

  27 June 1977 (from France)

• Dominica

  3 November 1978 (from the UK)

• Dominican Republic

  27 February 1844 (from Haiti)

• Ecuador

  24 May 1822 (from Spain)

• Egypt

  28 February 1922 (from UK protectorate status; the military-led revolution that began on 23 July 1952 led to a republic being declared on 18 June 1953 and all British troops withdrawn on 18 June 1956); note - it was ca. 3200 B.C. that the Two Lands of Upper (southern) and Lower (northern) Egypt were first united politically

• El Salvador

  15 September 1821 (from Spain)

• Equatorial Guinea

  12 October 1968 (from Spain)

• Eritrea

  24 May 1993 (from Ethiopia)

• Estonia

  24 February 1918 (from Soviet Russia); 20 August 1991 (declared from the Soviet Union); 6 September 1991 (recognized by the Soviet Union)

• Eswatini

  6 September 1968 (from the UK)

• Ethiopia

  oldest independent country in Africa and one of the oldest in the world - at least 2,000 years (may be traced to the Aksumite Kingdom, which coalesced in the first century B.C.)

• European Union

  7 February 1992 (Maastricht Treaty signed establishing the European Union); 1 November 1993 (Maastricht Treaty entered into force)
  
  note: the Treaties of Rome, signed on 25 March 1957 and subsequently entered into force on 1 January 1958, created the European Economic Community and the European Atomic Energy Community; a series of subsequent treaties have been adopted to increase efficiency and transparency, to prepare for new member states, and to introduce new areas of cooperation - such as a single currency; the Treaty of Lisbon, signed on 13 December 2007 and entered into force on 1 December 2009 is the most recent of these treaties and is intended to make the EU more democratic, more efficient, and better able to address global problems with one voice

• Falkland Islands (Islas Malvinas)

  none (overseas territory of the UK; also claimed by Argentina)

• Faroe Islands

  none (part of the Kingdom of Denmark; self-governing overseas administrative division of Denmark)

• Fiji

  10 October 1970 (from the UK)

• Finland

  6 December 1917 (from Russia)

• France

  no official date of independence: 486 (Frankish tribes unified under Merovingian kingship); 10 August 843 (Western Francia established from the division of the Carolingian Empire); 14 July 1789 (French monarchy overthrown); 22 September 1792 (First French Republic founded); 4 October 1958 (Fifth French Republic established)

• French Polynesia

  none (overseas land of France)

• Gabon

  17 August 1960 (from France)

• Gambia, The

  18 February 1965 (from the UK)

• Georgia

  9 April 1991 (from the Soviet Union); notable earlier date: A.D. 1008 (Georgia unified under King BAGRAT III)

• Germany

  18 January 1871 (establishment of the German Empire); divided into four zones of occupation (UK, US, USSR, and France) in 1945 following World War II; Federal Republic of Germany (FRG or West Germany) proclaimed on 23 May 1949 and included the former UK, US, and French zones; German Democratic Republic (GDR or East Germany) proclaimed on 7 October 1949 and included the former USSR zone; West Germany and East Germany unified on 3 October 1990; all four powers formally relinquished rights on 15 March 1991; notable earlier dates: 10 August 843 (Eastern Francia established from the division of the Carolingian Empire); 2 February 962 (crowning of OTTO I, recognized as the first Holy Roman Emperor)

• Ghana

  6 March 1957 (from the UK)

• Gibraltar

  none (overseas territory of the UK)

• Greece

  3 February 1830 (from the Ottoman Empire); note - 25 March 1821, outbreak of the national revolt against the Ottomans; 3 February 1830, signing of the London Protocol recognizing Greek independence by Great Britain, France, and Russia

• Greenland

  none (extensive self-rule as part of the Kingdom of Denmark; foreign affairs is the responsibility of Denmark, but Greenland actively participates in international agreements relating to Greenland)

• Grenada

  7 February 1974 (from the UK)

• Guam

  none (territory of the US)

• Guatemala

  15 September 1821 (from Spain)

• Guernsey

  none (British Crown dependency)

• Guinea

  2 October 1958 (from France)

• Guinea-Bissau

  24 September 1973 (declared); 10 September 1974 (from Portugal)

• Guyana

  26 May 1966 (from the UK)

• Haiti

  1 January 1804 (from France)

• Holy See (Vatican City)

  11 February 1929; note - the three treaties signed with Italy on 11 February 1929 acknowledged, among other things, the full sovereignty of the Holy See and established its territorial extent; however, the origin of the Papal States, which over centuries varied considerably in extent, may be traced back to A.D. 754

• Honduras

  15 September 1821 (from Spain)

• Hong Kong

  none (special administrative region of China)

• Hungary

  16 November 1918 (republic proclaimed); notable earlier dates: 25 December 1000 (crowning of King STEPHEN I, traditional founding date); 30 March 1867 (Austro-Hungarian dual monarchy established)

• Iceland

  1 December 1918 (became a sovereign state under the Danish Crown); 17 June 1944 (from Denmark; birthday of Jon SIGURDSSON, leader of Iceland's 19th Century independence movement)

• India

  15 August 1947 (from the UK)

• Indonesia

  17 August 1945 (declared independence from the Netherlands)

• Iran

  1 April 1979 (Islamic Republic of Iran proclaimed); notable earlier dates: ca. 550 B.C. (Achaemenid (Persian) Empire established); A.D. 1501 (Iran reunified under the Safavid Dynasty); 1794 (beginning of Qajar Dynasty); 12 December 1925 (modern Iran established under the PAHLAVI Dynasty)

• Iraq

  3 October 1932 (from League of Nations mandate under British administration); note - on 28 June 2004 the Coalition Provisional Authority transferred sovereignty to the Iraqi Interim Government

• Ireland

  6 December 1921 (from the UK by the Anglo-Irish Treaty, which ended British rule); 6 December 1922 (Irish Free State established); 18 April 1949 (Republic of Ireland Act enabled)

• Isle of Man

  none (British Crown dependency)

• Israel

  14 May 1948 (following League of Nations mandate under British administration)

• Italy

  17 March 1861 (Kingdom of Italy proclaimed; Italy was not finally unified until 1871)

• Jamaica

  6 August 1962 (from the UK)

• Japan

  3 May 1947 (current constitution adopted as amendment to Meiji Constitution); notable earlier dates: 11 February 660 B.C. (mythological date of the founding of the nation by Emperor JIMMU); 29 November 1890 (Meiji Constitution provides for constitutional monarchy)

• Jersey

  none (British Crown dependency)

• Jordan

  25 May 1946 (from League of Nations mandate under British administration)

• Kazakhstan

  16 December 1991 (from the Soviet Union)

• Kenya

  12 December 1963 (from the UK)

• Kiribati

  12 July 1979 (from the UK)

• Korea, North

  15 August 1945 (from Japan)

• Korea, South

  15 August 1945 (from Japan)

• Kosovo

  17 February 2008 (from Serbia)

• Kuwait

  19 June 1961 (from the UK)

• Kyrgyzstan

  31 August 1991 (from the Soviet Union)

• Laos

  19 July 1949 (from France by the Franco-Lao General Convention); 22 October 1953 (Franco-Lao Treaty recognizes full independence)

• Latvia

  18 November 1918 (from Soviet Russia); 4 May 1990 (declared from the Soviet Union); 6 September 1991 (recognized by the Soviet Union)

• Lebanon

  22 November 1943 (from League of Nations mandate under French administration)

• Lesotho

  4 October 1966 (from the UK)

• Liberia

  26 July 1847

• Libya

  24 December 1951 (from UN trusteeship)

• Liechtenstein

  23 January 1719 (Principality of Liechtenstein established); 12 July 1806 (independence from the Holy Roman Empire); 24 August 1866 (independence from the German Confederation)

• Lithuania

  16 February 1918 (from Soviet Russia and Germany); 11 March 1990 (declared from the Soviet Union); 6 September 1991 (recognized by the Soviet Union); notable earlier dates: 6 July 1253 (coronation of MINDAUGAS, traditional founding date); 1 July 1569 (Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth created)

• Luxembourg

  1839 (from the Netherlands)

• Macau

  none (special administrative region of China)

• Madagascar

  26 June 1960 (from France)

• Malawi

  6 July 1964 (from the UK)

• Malaysia

  31 August 1957 (from the UK)

• Maldives

  26 July 1965 (from the UK)

• Mali

  22 September 1960 (from France)

• Malta

  21 September 1964 (from the UK)

• Marshall Islands

  21 October 1986 (from the US-administered UN trusteeship)

• Mauritania

  28 November 1960 (from France)

• Mauritius

  12 March 1968 (from the UK)

• Mexico

  16 September 1810 (declared independence from Spain); 27 September 1821 (recognized by Spain)

• Micronesia, Federated States of

  3 November 1986 (from the US-administered UN trusteeship)

• Moldova

  27 August 1991 (from the Soviet Union)

• Monaco

  1419 (beginning of permanent rule by the House of GRIMALDI)

• Mongolia

  29 December 1911 (independence declared from China; in actuality, autonomy attained); 11 July 1921 (from China)

• Montenegro

  3 June 2006 (from the State Union of Serbia and Montenegro); notable earlier dates: 13 March 1852 (Principality of Montenegro established); 13 July 1878 (Congress of Berlin recognizes Montenegrin independence); 28 August 1910 (Kingdom of Montenegro established)

• Montserrat

  none (overseas territory of the UK)

• Morocco

  2 March 1956 (from France)

• Mozambique

  25 June 1975 (from Portugal)

• Namibia

  21 March 1990 (from South African mandate)

• Nauru

  31 January 1968 (from the Australia-, NZ-, and UK-administered UN trusteeship)

• Nepal

  1768 (unified by Prithvi Narayan SHAH)

• Netherlands

  23 January 1579 (the northern provinces of the Low Countries conclude the Union of Utrecht breaking with Spain; on 26 July 1581, they formally declared their independence with an Act of Abjuration; however, it was not until 30 January 1648 and the Peace of Westphalia that Spain recognized this independence)

• New Caledonia

  none (overseas collectivity of France); note - in three independence referenda, on 4 November 2018, 4 October 2020, and 12 December 2021, the majority voted to reject independence in favor of maintaining the status quo; an 18-month transition period is now in place (ending 30 June 2023), during which a referendum on the new status of New Caledonia within France will take place

• New Zealand

  26 September 1907 (from the UK)

• Nicaragua

  15 September 1821 (from Spain)

• Niger

  3 August 1960 (from France)

• Nigeria

  1 October 1960 (from the UK)

• Niue

  19 October 1974 (Niue became a self-governing state in free association with New Zealand)

• Norfolk Island

  none (territory of Australia)

• North Macedonia

  8 September 1991 (referendum by registered voters endorsed independence from Yugoslavia)

• Northern Mariana Islands

  none (commonwealth in political union with the US)

• Norway

  7 June 1905 (declared the union with Sweden dissolved); 26 October 1905 (Sweden agreed to the repeal of the union); notable earlier dates: ca. 872 (traditional unification of petty Norwegian kingdoms by HARALD Fairhair); 1397 (Kalmar Union of Denmark, Norway, and Sweden); 1524 (Denmark-Norway); 17 May 1814 (Norwegian constitution adopted); 4 November 1814 (Sweden-Norway union confirmed)

• Oman

  1650 (expulsion of the Portuguese)

• Pakistan

  14 August 1947 (from British India)

• Palau

  1 October 1994 (from the US-administered UN trusteeship)

• Panama

  3 November 1903 (from Colombia; became independent from Spain on 28 November 1821)

• Papua New Guinea

  16 September 1975 (from the Australia-administered UN trusteeship)

• Paraguay

  14-15 May 1811 (from Spain); note - the uprising against Spanish authorities took place during the night of 14-15 May 1811 and both days are celebrated in Paraguay

• Peru

  28 July 1821 (from Spain)

• Philippines

  4 July 1946 (from the US)

• Pitcairn Islands

  none (overseas territory of the UK)

• Poland

  11 November 1918 (republic proclaimed); notable earlier dates: 14 April 966 (adoption of Christianity, traditional founding date), 1 July 1569 (Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth created)

• Portugal

  1143 (Kingdom of Portugal recognized); 1 December 1640 (independence reestablished following 60 years of Spanish rule); 5 October 1910 (republic proclaimed)

• Puerto Rico

  none (territory of the US with commonwealth status)

• Qatar

  3 September 1971 (from the UK)

• Romania

  9 May 1877 (independence proclaimed from the Ottoman Empire; 13 July 1878 (independence recognized by the Treaty of Berlin); 26 March 1881 (kingdom proclaimed); 30 December 1947 (republic proclaimed)

• Russia

  25 December 1991 (from the Soviet Union; Russian SFSR renamed Russian Federation); notable earlier dates: 1157 (Principality of Vladimir-Suzdal created); 16 January 1547 (Tsardom of Muscovy established); 22 October 1721 (Russian Empire proclaimed); 30 December 1922 (Soviet Union established)

• Rwanda

  1 July 1962 (from Belgium-administered UN trusteeship)

• Saint Barthelemy

  none (overseas collectivity of France)

• Saint Helena, Ascension, and Tristan da Cunha

  none (overseas territory of the UK)

• Saint Kitts and Nevis

  19 September 1983 (from the UK)

• Saint Lucia

  22 February 1979 (from the UK)

• Saint Martin

  none (overseas collectivity of France)

• Saint Pierre and Miquelon

  none (overseas collectivity collectivity of France; has been under French control since 1763)

• Saint Vincent and the Grenadines

  27 October 1979 (from the UK)

• Samoa

  1 January 1962 (from New Zealand-administered UN trusteeship)

• San Marino

  3 September 301 (traditional founding date)

• Sao Tome and Principe

  12 July 1975 (from Portugal)

• Saudi Arabia

  23 September 1932 (unification of the kingdom)

• Senegal

  4 April 1960 (from France); note - complete independence achieved upon dissolution of federation with Mali on 20 August 1960

• Serbia

  5 June 2006 (from the State Union of Serbia and Montenegro); notable earlier dates: 1217 (Serbian Kingdom established); 16 April 1346 (Serbian Empire established); 13 July 1878 (Congress of Berlin recognizes Serbian independence); 1 December 1918 (Kingdom of Serbs, Croats, and Slovenes (Yugoslavia) established)

• Seychelles

  29 June 1976 (from the UK)

• Sierra Leone

  27 April 1961 (from the UK)

• Singapore

  9 August 1965 (from Malaysian Federation)

• Sint Maarten

  none (part of the Kingdom of the Netherlands)

• Slovakia

  1 January 1993 (Czechoslovakia split into the Czech Republic and Slovakia)

• Slovenia

  25 June 1991 (from Yugoslavia)

• Solomon Islands

  7 July 1978 (from the UK)

• Somalia

  1 July 1960 (from a merger of British Somaliland, which became independent from the UK on 26 June 1960, and Italian Somaliland, which became independent from the Italian-administered UN trusteeship on 1 July 1960 to form the Somali Republic)

• South Africa

  31 May 1910 (Union of South Africa formed from four British colonies: Cape Colony, Natal, Transvaal, and Orange Free State); 22 August 1934 (Status of the Union Act); 31 May 1961 (republic declared); 27 April 1994 (majority rule)

• South Sudan

  9 July 2011 (from Sudan)

• Spain

  1492; the Iberian peninsula was characterized by a variety of independent kingdoms prior to the Muslim occupation that began in the early 8th century A.D. and lasted nearly seven centuries; the small Christian redoubts of the north began the reconquest almost immediately, culminating in the seizure of Granada in 1492; this event completed the unification of several kingdoms and is traditionally considered the forging of present-day Spain

• Sri Lanka

  4 February 1948 (from the UK)

• Sudan

  1 January 1956 (from Egypt and the UK)

• Suriname

  25 November 1975 (from the Netherlands)

• Svalbard

  none (territory of Norway)

• Sweden

  6 June 1523 (Gustav VASA elected king of Sweden, marking the abolishment of the Kalmar Union between Denmark, Norway, and Sweden)

• Switzerland

  1 August 1291 (founding of the Swiss Confederation)

• Syria

  17 April 1946 (from League of Nations mandate under French administration)

• Tajikistan

  9 September 1991 (from the Soviet Union)

• Tanzania

  26 April 1964 (Tanganyika united with Zanzibar to form the United Republic of Tanganyika and Zanzibar); 29 October 1964 (renamed United Republic of Tanzania); notable earlier dates: 9 December 1961 (Tanganyika became independent from UK-administered UN trusteeship); 10 December 1963 (Zanzibar became independent from UK)

• Thailand

  1238 (traditional founding date; never colonized)

• Timor-Leste

  20 May 2002 (from Indonesia); note - 28 November 1975 was the date independence was proclaimed from Portugal; 20 May 2002 was the date of international recognition of Timor-Leste's independence from Indonesia

• Togo

  27 April 1960 (from French-administered UN trusteeship)

• Tokelau

  none (territory of New Zealand)

• Tonga

  4 June 1970 (from UK protectorate status)

• Trinidad and Tobago

  31 August 1962 (from the UK)

• Tunisia

  20 March 1956 (from France)

• Turkey (Turkiye)

  29 October 1923 (republic proclaimed, succeeding the Ottoman Empire)

• Turkmenistan

  27 October 1991 (from the Soviet Union)

• Turks and Caicos Islands

  none (overseas territory of the UK)

• Tuvalu

  1 October 1978 (from the UK)

• Uganda

  9 October 1962 (from the UK)

• Ukraine

  24 August 1991 (from the Soviet Union); notable earlier dates: ca. 982 (VOLODYMYR I consolidates Kyivan Rus); 1199 (Principality (later Kingdom) of Ruthenia formed); 1648 (establishment of the Cossack Hetmanate); 22 January 1918 (from Soviet Russia)

• United Arab Emirates

  2 December 1971 (from the UK)

• United Kingdom

  no official date of independence: 927 (minor English kingdoms unite); 3 March 1284 (enactment of the Statute of Rhuddlan uniting England and Wales); 1536 (Act of Union formally incorporates England and Wales); 1 May 1707 (Acts of Union formally unite England, Scotland, and Wales as Great Britain); 1 January 1801 (Acts of Union formally unite Great Britain and Ireland as the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland); 6 December 1921 (Anglo-Irish Treaty formalizes partition of Ireland; six counties remain part of the United Kingdom and Northern Ireland); 12 April 1927 (Royal and Parliamentary Titles Act establishes current name of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland)

• United States

  4 July 1776 (declared independence from Great Britain); 3 September 1783 (recognized by Great Britain)

• Uruguay

  25 August 1825 (from Brazil)

• Uzbekistan

  1 September 1991 (from the Soviet Union)

• Vanuatu

  30 July 1980 (from France and the UK)

• Venezuela

  5 July 1811 (from Spain)

• Vietnam

  2 September 1945 (from France)

• Virgin Islands

  none (territory of the US)

• Wake Island

  none (territory of the US)

• Wallis and Futuna

  none (overseas collectivity of France)

• Yemen

  22 May 1990 (Republic of Yemen was established with the merger of the Yemen Arab Republic [Yemen (Sanaa) or North Yemen] and the Marxist-dominated People's Democratic Republic of Yemen [Yemen (Aden) or South Yemen]); notable earlier dates: North Yemen became independent on 1 November 1918 (from the Ottoman Empire) and became a republic with the overthrow of the theocratic Imamate on 27 September 1962; South Yemen became independent on 30 November 1967 (from the UK)

• Zambia

  24 October 1964 (from the UK)

• Zimbabwe

  18 April 1980 (from the UK)