List of former sovereign states explained
A historical sovereign state is a state that once existed, but has since been dissolved due to conflict, war, rebellion, annexation, or uprising. This page lists sovereign states, countries, nations, or empires that ceased to exist as political entities sometime after 1453, grouped geographically and by constitutional nature.
Criteria for inclusion
The criteria for inclusion in this list are similar to that of the list of states with limited recognition. To be included here, a polity must have claimed statehood and either:
- had de facto control over a territory, a population, a government, a capacity to enter into relations with other states, or
- have been recognised as a state by at least one other state.
This is not a list for all variant governments of a state, nor is it a list of variations of countries' official long form name.For purposes of this list, the cutoff between medieval and early modern states is the fall of Constantinople in 1453.
Ancient and medieval states
Modern states and territories by geography
Africa
See also: List of kingdoms in Africa throughout history.
See also: List of African Great Lakes kingdoms.
Morocco (Maghreb al-Aqsa)
Egypt, Sudan and Libya
Algeria (Central Maghreb)
Comoro Islands
Madagascar
Sub-Saharan Africa
Horn of Africa
Western Africa
African Great Lakes
Eastern Africa
Central Africa
Southern Africa
Asia
Central Asia
East Asia
Japanese Archipelago
Korean Peninsula
West Asia
Afghanistan
Balochistan
Anatolia
Cyprus
Mesopotamia
Persia / Iran
Levant
Arabian Peninsula
South Asia
Southeast Asia
Europe
See also: Former countries in Europe after 1815.
Nordic countries
In the Nordic countries, unions were personal, not unitary
Modern France
Modern Germany
Austria
Switzerland
Italy
See also: Historical states of Italy.
Modern United Kingdom
Ireland
Benelux
Poland
- Duchy of Pomerania (1121–1160, 1264–1295, 1478–1531, 1625–1637)
- Demmin Principality (1160–1264)
- Szczecin Principality (1160–1264, 1295–1523)
- Duchy of Pomerania-Wolgast (1295–1478)
- Duchy of Masovia (1138–1275, 1294–1310, 1370–1381, 1495–1526)
- Duchy of Pomerania-Stolp (1368–1478)
- Duchy of Pomerania-Neustettin (1368–1390)
- Duchy of Kraków (1227–1320)
- Principality of Halych (1110–1339)
- Kingdom of Galicia–Volhynia (1199–1349)
- Duchy of Bytom (1281–1498)
- Duchy of Silesia (1138–1335)
- Duchy of Opole (1172–1202, 1281–1532)
- Duchy of Racibórz (1172–1202, 1281–1521)
- Duchy of Opole and Racibórz (1202–1281, 1521–1532, 1551–1556)
- Duchy of Inowrocław (1267–1364)
- Duchy of Teschen (1281–1918)
- Duchy of Poland (966–1025, 1031–1076, 1079–1138, 1138–1227)
- Kingdom of Poland (1025–1031, 1076–1079, 1295–1296, 1300–1320)
- United Kingdom of Poland (1320–1386)
- Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth (1569–1795)
- Kingdom of Galicia and Lodomeria (1772–1918, part of the Austrian Empire, later part of the Austria-Hungary.)
- Duchy of Warsaw (1807–1815; part of First French Empire, personal union with Kingdom of Saxony.)
- Free, Independent, and Strictly Neutral City of Cracow with its Territory (1815–1846)
- Kingdom of Poland (1815–1832; personal union with Russian Empire.)
- Vistula Land (1867–1915; part of the Russian Empire.)
- Grand Duchy of Posen (1815–1848; part of Kingdom of Prussia)
- Grand Duchy of Kraków (1846–1918; part of the Austria-Hungary)
- Polish National Government (1830–1831)
- Polish National Government (1846)
- Polish National Government (1863–1864)
- Kingdom of Poland (1917–1918)
- Republic of Zakopane (1918)
- Republic of Tarnobrzeg (1918–1919)
- Komancza Republic (1918–1919)
- Lemko-Rusyn People's Republic (1918–1920)
- II Republic of Poland (1918–1939)
- Provisional Polish Revolutionary Committee (1920)
- Military Administration in Poland (1939)
- General Governorate for the Occupied Polish Region (1939–1945)
- Polish Underground State (1939–1945)
- Polish Committee of National Liberation (1944)
- Provisional Government of the Republic of Poland (1944–1945)
- Provisional Government of National Unity (1945–1947)
- Republic of Poland (1947–1952)
- Polish People's Republic (1952–1989)
- Polish National-Territorial Region (1990–1991)
Ukraine
Crimea
Baltic countries and Belarus
Romania and Moldova
Russia
Hungary
Czechia and Slovakia
Austria
Balkans
- In Albania:
- In Aromanian:
- In Bosnia:
- In Bulgaria:
- In Croatia:
- In Greece:
- In Montenegro:
- In North Macedonia:
- In Serbia:
- In Turkey:
Caucasus
Iberian Peninsula
North America
Anguilla
Bahamas
Canada
Dominican Republic
Guatemala
Haiti
Mexico
United States
Oceania
See also: List of predecessors of sovereign states in Oceania.
South America
Argentina
Bolivia
Brazil
Chile
Colombia
Ecuador
Paraguay
Peru
Uruguay
Venezuela
Modern states and territories by type
Dismembered countries
These states are now dissolved into a number of states.
- – Dissolved in 1945, its former territory now consists of the entirety of the countries of Austria and Germany, and parts of what is now Belarus, the Czech Republic, France, Luxembourg, Poland, Russia, Belgium, the Netherlands, Denmark, Norway, Greece, Serbia, Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania, Ukraine and Slovenia.
- – An empire created after Brazil declared its independence in 1822 and dissolved in 1889, now the countries of Brazil and Uruguay (who declared their independence in 1825, and was recognized in 1828).
- – Existed from 1821 to 1841, broke up into Guatemala, Belize, El Salvador, Honduras, Nicaragua, and Costa Rica.
- – Polity existed to 7 December 1949 and its territory now controlled by the People's Republic of China (Mainland China), Mongolia, portion of the territory claimed by India and Japan, and parts of Afghanistan, Bhutan, Pakistan, Russia and Tajikistan. The rump state, still known as the "Republic of China", continues to control Taiwan and Penghu which was acquired from Japan in 1945, as well as Kinmen and Matsu Islands, forming part of the rump Fujian Province. See also the political status of Taiwan and the Theory of the Undetermined Status of Taiwan.
- – Existed from 1918 to 1992, the country wasn't active in World War II, but the government was in exile, dissolved in 1992 and broke up into the Czech Republic and Slovakia.
- – Ceased to exist in 1910, its former territory now consists of the entirety of territory controlled by North Korea and South Korea, and a portion of territory claimed by Japan.
- Mali Federation – In 1959 formed by Senegal and French Sudan, both parts of French West Africa, as an independent nation. It collapsed in 1960, and is now Senegal and Mali.
- Portugal, Brazil and the Algarves (Reino Unido de Portugal, Brasil e Algarves) created in 1815 when Brazil was upgraded to the rank of kingdom, once the Portuguese royal family was living in Rio de Janeiro since 1809. This country was dissolved in 1822 when Brazil became independent. Now the countries of Portugal, Brazil, Cabo Verde, São Tomé and Príncipe, Angola, East Timor and Mozambique.
- – Dissolved in 1979, now the country of Zimbabwe.
- – Dissolved in 2006, now the countries of Montenegro, Serbia, and the partially recognized Kosovo.
- Somali Republic – Dissolved in 1991, now the countries of Somalia and unrecognized Somaliland.
- – Dissolved in 1991, now the countries of Armenia, Azerbaijan, Belarus, Georgia, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Moldova, Russia, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan, Ukraine, and Uzbekistan. The Baltic countries occupied by USSR until 1991 (Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania) were not considered by most Western countries de jure part of the USSR.
- United Arab Republic – A union formed by Egypt and Syria in 1958. It was dissolved in 1961, though Egypt used the name until 1971. Other Pan-Arab unity agreements with Iraq and Jordan in the 1950s failed.
- United Arab States – A confederation formed by the United Arab Republic and North Yemen in 1958; it was dissolved in 1961.
- – Dissolved in 1991 and 1992, now the countries of Bosnia and Herzegovina, Croatia, Montenegro, North Macedonia, Serbia, Slovenia, and the partially recognized Kosovo.
Nominally independent homelands of South Africa
Four of the homelands, or bantustans, for black South Africans, were granted nominal independence by the apartheid regime of South Africa. Not recognised by other nations, these effectively were puppet states and were re-incorporated in 1994.
- Bophuthatswana – Declared independent in 1977, reincorporated in 1994.
- Ciskei – Declared independent in 1981, reincorporated in 1994.
- Transkei – Declared independent in 1976, reincorporated in 1994.
- Venda – Declared independent in 1979, reincorporated in 1994.
Secessionist states
These nations declared themselves independent, but failed to achieve it in fact or did not seek permanent independence and were either re-incorporated into the mother country or incorporated into another country.
- Carpatho-Ukraine – declared independence from Czechoslovakia in 1939, but was occupied and annexed by Hungary in one day.
- Cartagena Canton – the haven city of Cartagena, Spain seceded from the First Spanish Republic in 1873.
- Catalan Republic (April 14–17, 1931).
- Chechnya – Virtually independent from Russia from 1996 as Chechen Republic of Ichkeria, however the country was recognized only by the Taliban. After terrorist attacks in 1999 the republic was returned to Russia's control in the Second Chechen War.
- – Occupied the southeastern United States, stretching from Texas to Virginia. Declared secession from the U.S. in 1861, reintegrated into the U.S. in 1865. Reconstruction ended in 1876 and U.S. troops withdrew as an occupation force in 1877. South Carolina was the first state to declare its secession from the United States, doing so on December 20, 1860. Political factions in the "border states" of Kentucky and Missouri declared themselves parts of the Confederacy and controlled small portions of those regions early in the war. The major Indian tribes in Oklahoma signed an alliance with the Confederacy, and participated in its military efforts against the U.S.
- Crimean Autonomous Soviet Socialist Republic, declared independence from Ukraine in 1992 but soon settled for being an autonomous republic within Ukraine.
- Cruzob, achieved independence from Mexico in 1856, but was reannexed in 1901.
- Green Ukraine – Declared independence from Far Eastern Republic in 1920, dissolved in 1922.
- Herzeg-Bosnia – Separated from Bosnia and Herzegovina in 1992, reincorporated into the country in 1994.
- Italian Social Republic (1943–1945)
- Katanga – Declared its independence of the newly formed Democratic Republic of the Congo in 1960, was incorporated again into the country in 1963.
- Manitoba – short-lived republic led by Thomas Spence, declared after the Hudson's Bay Company gave up Rupert's Land and before the government of Canada took control (1867).
- Red River Rebellion – provisional government in Rupert's Land, led by Louis Riel in (1869–1870).
- Serbian Krajina – declared independence from Croatia in 1991, reincorporated into the country in 1995.
- South Kasai – declared independence from the Democratic Republic of the Congo in June 1960, reincorporated into the country in December 1961.
- Supreme Administration of Northern Region – Proclaimed independent in 1918, later became the Provisional Government of the Northern Region.
- – Separated from Bosnia and Herzegovina in 1992, reincorporated into the country in 1995.
- Principality of Trinidad – Declared independence in 1893, claimed by United Kingdom in 1895, but incorporated by Brazil.
- Western Bosnia – Declared independence from Bosnia and Herzegovina in 1993 and reincorporated into it in 1995.
- – Established in 2015 as a result of the merger of the Donetsk People's Republic with the Luhansk People's Republic and at the beginning of 2015 the confederation project was suspended.
- – Declared independence on April 7, 2014. As a result of a staged referendum of September 30, 2022, it was incorporated as a republic into the Russian Federation. The incorporation is not recognised.
- – Declared independence on April 27, 2014. As a result of a staged referendum of September 30, 2022, it was incorporated as a republic into the Russian Federation. The incorporation is not recognised.
- Republic of Artsakh – Declared independence from Azerbaijan in 1991, reincorporated into the country in 2024.
Annexed countries
These nations, once separate, are now part of another country. Cases of voluntary accession are included.
- Regency of Carnaro in 1919 and Free State of Fiume 1920–1924, two short-lived states in the port city of Fiume/Rijeka proclaimed by Gabriele D'Annunzio. Following World War I, the city was disputed between Italy and Yugoslavia, and eventually captured by Italy in 1921. The city passed to Yugoslavia after World War II and is now in Croatia.
- Couto Misto – Tiny 10th century border territory that was split between Spain and Portugal in 1864–8.
- Crete – Autonomous under Ottoman suzerainty in 1898, unilaterally declared union with Greece in 1908, which was recognized in 1913.
- – Annexed by West Germany in 1990 and now part of Germany.
- – Merged with Scotland to form the Kingdom of Great Britain in 1707, now part of the United Kingdom.
- Franceville (1889–1890) – Independent in 1889, later governed by France and Britain as part of the New Hebrides; now part of Vanuatu.
- Hatay – Part of the Mandate of Syria that became part of Turkey; independent 1938–1939
- – Annexed by the U.S. in the late 19th century.
- Khanate of Kalat (1638, 1666–1955) – 1666 to 1955, became part of Pakistan.
- Free States of Menton and Roquebrune – Seceded from Monaco in 1848, under nominal protection of the Kingdom of Sardinia, then annexed by France in 1861.
- Moresnet – 1816–1920, Tiny European territory that endured for a hundred years before definitively becoming part of Belgium.
- Natalia Republic – 1839–1843, Was quickly made into a British colony
- Islands of Refreshment – The islands of Tristan da Cunha were settled in 1810 and declared independence in 1811. Annexed by the United Kingdom in 1815.
- – Merged with England to form the Kingdom of Great Britain in 1707, now part of the United Kingdom.
- – Occupied by North Vietnam in 1975 and annexed into it in 1976.
- Republic of Tatarstan – Existed from 1992 until annexed by Russia in 1994.
- – Now part of South Africa.
- – Annexed by the U.S. in 1845.
- Vermont Republic – Annexed by the US in 1791.
See also
Further reading
- Berge, Bjørn (2017). Nowherelands: An Atlas of Vanished Countries 1840–1975. New York: Thames & Hudson. . 240pp.
- Harding, Les. Dead Countries of the Nineteenth and Twentieth Centuries: Aden to Zululand. Scarecrow Press, 1998. .
State of Somaliland (1960)
Thomas Sankara's Burkina Faso government (1984–1987)
Turkish Federated State of Cyprus (1975–1983)
Denmark–Norway (1524–1814, intermittent)
Waldeck (1180–1871)
Transpadane Republic (1796–1797)
West Ukrainian People's Republic (1918–1919)
Kingdom of Lithuania (1918)
Kingdom of Romania (1881–1947)
Principality of Bulgaria (1878–1908)
First Republic of Armenia (1918–1920)
Democratic Republic of Azerbaijan (1918–1920)