List of sovereign states by date of formation

Below is a list of sovereign states and with the dates of their formation (date of their independence or of their constitution), sorted by continent. This list includes the 195 states which currently are undisputedly sovereign; it does not include former sovereign states or states with limited recognition. For proposed states or various indigenous nations which consider themselves still under occupation, see list of active autonomist and secessionist movements. Micronations are not included in this list.

Nation-building is a long evolutionary process, and in most cases the date of a country's "formation" cannot be objectively determined; e.g., the fact that England and France were sovereign kingdoms on equal footing in the medieval period does not prejudice the fact that England is not now a sovereign state (having passed sovereignty to the UK in 1707), while France is a Republic founded in 1792 (technically, France currently refers to the French Fifth Republic, formed in 1958).

An unambiguous measure is the date of national constitutions; but as constitutions are an entirely modern concept, all formation dates by that criterion are modern or early modern (the oldest constitution being that of San Marino, dating to 1600).

Independence dates for widely recognised states earlier than 1919 should be treated with caution, since prior to the founding of the League of Nations, there was no international body to recognise nationhood, and independence had no meaning beyond mutual recognition of de facto sovereigns (the role of the League of Nations was effectively taken over by the United Nations after the Second World War). See also: disputed territories.

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