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List of unrecognized countries

Several countries in the world have no general international recognition, but are de facto independent. Most are subnational regions that broke off from their home country.

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Unrecognized states with de facto control over their territory

  • Abkhazia is a self-declared and more or less functioning independent state with no international recognition from any other nation. It is situated between the Caucasus and the Black Sea, recognized as a part of northwestern Georgia. The USSR forcefully merged Abkhazia with Georgia in 1931. The Abkhazian Soviets proclaimed independence from Georgia in 1990, and a short war ensued from 1992 through 1994. A June 1994 ceasefire has largely held, leaving Abkhazia outside the control of Georgia's government.
  • Nagorno-Karabakh in Azerbaijan is a self-declared and more or less functioning independent state without international recognition. It is internationally recognized as being part of Azerbaijan, but has an overwhelmingly ethnic Armenian majority.
  • South Ossetia in Georgia is a self-declared and more or less functioning independent state with no international recognition from any other nation. It is recognized as a part of northern Georgia. It had found itself merged with Georgia as a result of the Russian Civil War of 1918-1920. It proclaimed independence from Georgia in 1991, and a ceasefire was declared in 1992.
  • The civil war in Somalia has left no centralized organization governing the entire country. Somaliland in Somalia is a self-declared and more or less functioning independent state with no international recognition from any other nation.
  • Transnistria is the part of Moldova east of the river Dniestr and a self-declared and more or less functioning independent state with no international recognition from any other nation. It has a majority Slavic population, as opposed to majority Romanian which Moldova has.

Partially recognized states largely under occupation

  • Western Sahara is a territory that has been occupied by Morocco since the 1970s. The United Nations has attempted to oversee an independence referendum, but has so far had little success. However, Western Sahara is still recognized by a number of countries, and is a member of the African Union.

Historic unrecognized states with de facto control over their territory

  • Biafra controlled territory in eastern Nigeria between the time of its secession in May 1967 until its final military collapse in January 1970.


See also

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