In conjunction with the 55th anniversary of Malaysia's independence, here are the independence days for every country, from the oldest to the youngest...
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Japan is usually regarded as the world's oldest independent country. | Source: CIA World Factbook, 2007. |
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660 BCE - Japan
221 BCE - China
301 CE - San Marino
843 CE - France
976 CE - Austria
10th Century CE - Denmark
1001 - Hungary
1143 - Portugal
1206 - Mongolia
1238 - Thailand
1278 - Andorra
August 1, 1291 - Switzerland
1419 - Monaco
15th Century - Spain
1502 - Iran
June 6, 1523 - Sweden
January 23, 1579 - Netherlands
1650 - Oman
May 1, 1707 - United Kingdom
January 23, 1719 - Liechtenstein
1768 - Nepal
July 4, 1776 - United States of America
January 1, 1804 - Haiti
July 20, 1810 - Colombia
Sept. 16, 1810 - Mexico
Sept. 18, 1810 - Chile
May 14, 1811 - Paraguay
July 5, 1811 - Venezuela
July 9, 1816 - Argentina
July 28, 1821 - Peru
Sept. 15, 1821 - Costa Rica
Sept. 15, 1821 - El Salvador
Sept. 15, 1821 - Guatemala
Sept. 15, 1821 - Honduras
Sept. 15, 1821 - Nicaragua
May 24, 1822 - Ecuador
Sept. 7, 1822 - Brazil
August 6, 1825 - Bolivia
August 25, 1825 - Uruguay
1829 - Greece
October 4, 1830 - Belgium
1839 - Luxembourg
February 27, 1844 - Dominican Republic
July 26, 1847 - Liberia
March 17, 1861 - Italy
July 1, 1867 - Canada
January 18, 1871 - Germany
May 9, 1877 - Romania
March 3, 1878 - Bulgaria
1896 - Ethiopia
June 12, 1898 - Philippines
January 1, 1901 - Australia
May 20, 1902 - Cuba
November 3, 1903 - Panama
June 7, 1905 - Norway
Sept. 26, 1907 - New Zealand
May 31, 1910 - South Africa
November 28, 1912 - Albania
December 6, 1917 - Finland
November 11, 1918 - Poland
December 1, 1918 - Iceland
August 19, 1919 - Afghanistan
December 6, 1921 - Ireland
February 28, 1922 - Egypt
October 29, 1923 - Turkey
February 11, 1929 - Vatican City
Sept. 23, 1932 - Saudi Arabia
October 3, 1932 - Iraq
November 22, 1943 - Lebanon
August 15, 1945 - Korea, North
August 15, 1945 - Korea, South
August 17, 1945 - Indonesia
Sept. 2, 1945 - Vietnam
April 17, 1946 - Syria
May 25, 1946 - Jordan
August 14, 1947 - Pakistan
August 15, 1947 - India
January 4, 1948 - Burma
February 4, 1948 - Sri Lanka
May 14, 1948 - Israel
July 19, 1949 - Laos
August 8, 1949 - Bhutan
December 24, 1951 - Libya
November 9, 1953 - Cambodia
January 1, 1956 - Sudan
March 2, 1956 - Morocco
March 20, 1956 - Tunisia
March 6, 1957 - Ghana
August 31, 1957 - Malaysia
October 2, 1958 - Guinea
January 1, 1960 - Cameroon
April 4, 1960 - Senegal
May 27, 1960 - Togo
June 30, 1960 - Republic of the Congo
July 1, 1960 - Somalia
July 26, 1960 - Madagascar
August 1, 1960 - Benin
August 3, 1960 - Niger
August 5, 1960 - Burkina Faso
August 7, 1960 - Cote d'Ivorie
August 11, 1960 - Chad
August 13, 1960 - Central African Republic
August 15, 1960 - Congo, Dem. Rep. of the
August 16, 1960 - Cyprus
August 17, 1960 - Gabon
Sept. 22, 1960 - Mali
October 1, 1960 - Nigeria
November 28, 1960 - Mauritania
April 27, 1961 - Sierra Leone
June 19, 1961 - Kuwait
January 1, 1962 - Samoa
July 1, 1962 - Burundi
July 1, 1962 - Rwanda
July 5, 1962 - Algeria
August 6, 1962 - Jamaica
August 31, 1962 - Trinidad and Tobago
October 9, 1962 - Uganda
December 12, 1963 - Kenya
April 26, 1964 - Tanzania
July 6, 1964 - Malawi
Sept. 21, 1964 - Malta
October 24, 1964 - Zambia
February 18, 1965 - The Gambia
July 26, 1965 - Maldives
August 9, 1965 - Singapore
May 26, 1966 - Guyana
September 30, 1966 - Botswana
October 4, 1966 - Lesotho
November 30, 1966 - Barbados
January 31, 1968 - Nauru
March 12, 1968 - Mauritius
Sept. 6, 1968 - Swaziland
October 12, 1968 - Equatorial
June 4, 1970 - Tonga
October 10, 1970 - Fiji
March 26, 1971 - Bangladesh
August 15, 1971 - Bahrain
Sept. 3, 1971 - Qatar
November 2, 1971 - United Arab Emirates
July 10, 1973 - Bahamas
Sept. 24, 1973 - Guinea-Bissau
February 7, 1974 - Grenada
June 25, 1975 - Mozambique
July 5, 1975 - Cape Verde
July 6, 1975 - Comoros
July 12, 1975 - Sao Tome and Principe
Sept. 16, 1975 - Papua New Guinea
November 11, 1975 - Angola
November 25, 1975 - Suriname
June 29, 1976 - Seychelles
June 27, 1977 - Djibouti
July 7, 1978 - Solomon Islands
October 1, 1978 - Tuvalu
November 3, 1978 - Dominica
February 22, 1979 - Saint Lucia
July 12, 1979 - Kiribati
October 27, 1979 - Saint Vincent and the Grenadines
April 18, 1980 - Zimbabwe
July 30, 1980 - Vanuatu
January 11, 1981 - Antigua and Barbuda
Sept. 21, 1981 - Belize
Sept. 19, 1983 - Saint Kitts and Nevis
January 1, 1984 - Brunei
October 21, 1986 - Marshall Islands
November 3, 1986 - Federated States of Micronesia
March 11, 1990 - Lithuania
March 21, 1990 - Namibia
May 22, 1990 - Yemen
April 9, 1991 - Georgia
June 25, 1991 - Croatia
June 25, 1991 - Slovenia
August 20, 1991 - Estonia
August 21, 1991 - Kyrgyzstan
August 24, 1991 - Russia
August 25, 1991 - Belarus
August 27, 1991 - Moldova
August 30, 1991 - Azerbaijan
Sept. 1, 1991 - Uzbekistan
Sept. 6, 1991 - Latvia
Sept. 8, 1991 - Macedonia
Sept. 9, 1991 - Tajikistan
Sept. 21, 1991 - Armenia
October 27, 1991 - Turkmenistan
November 24, 1991 - Ukraine
December 16, 1991 - Kazakhstan
March 3, 1992 - Bosnia and Herzegovina
January 1, 1993 - Czech Republic
January 1, 1993 - Slovakia
May 24, 1993 - Eritrea
October 1, 1994 - Palau
May 20, 2002 - East Timor
June 3, 2006 - Montenegro
June 5, 2006 - Serbia
February 17, 2008 - Kosovo
July 9, 2011 - South Sudan
The vast majority of the countries on earth became independent after 1800. Only 20 were independent before the start of the 19th century, a mere 10%. By 1900, only 49 or 25% of the world's countries of today were independent. Many countries became independent following World War II when European powers granted independence to their vast colonial holdings, especially Africa.