This is a list of sovereign states in the 1970s, giving an overview of states around the world during the period between 1 January 1970 and 31 December 1979. It contains 188 entries, arranged alphabetically, with information on the status and recognition of their sovereignty. It includes 167 widely recognized sovereign states, 8 entities which claim an effective sovereignty but are considered de facto dependencies of other powers by the general international community, 4 states which were initially unrecognized but then gained full recognition later in the decade, and 1 state which was initially widely recognized but then lost full recognition later in the decade.
Australia administered one United Nations Trust Territory:
Widely recognized independent state (from 3 November 1978). UN member state (from 18 December 1978).
It also co-administered one condominium:
France also claimed Banc du Geyser (disputed by Madagascar and the Comoros).
Widely recognized independent state (from 7 February 1974). UN member state (from 17 September 1974). Commonwealth realm. Grenada had one autonomous dependency, Carriacou and Petite Martinique.
Indian sovereignty over South Tibet, administered as part of North-East Frontier Agency and then Arunachal Pradesh from 1972 was disputed by the People's Republic of China. India administered part of the disputed region of Kashmir as the state of Jammu and Kashmir.
The Kingdom of the Netherlands as a whole was a member of the EEC.
It also had sovereignty over three dependent territories: