Walaupun awal merdeka, namun masih ada yang lebih mundur berbanding kita

In conjunction with the 55th anniversary of Malaysia's independence, here are the independence days for every country, from the oldest to the youngest...

Japan is usually regarded as the world's oldest independent country. 

Source: CIA World Factbook, 2007.

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.