MEXICO
BAHAMAS
BERMUDA
CUBA
TURKS & C.
CAYMAN IS.
DOM.
REP.
BELIZE
JAMAICA
HAITI
GUATEMALA
EL SALVADOR
HONDURAS
NICARAGUA
PUERTO
RICO
COSTA RICA
PANAMA
VENEZUELA
GUYANA
SURINAME
FRENCH GUIANA
ECUADOR
PERU
BRAZIL
BOLIVIA
PARAGUAY
CHILE
ARGENTINA
URUGUAY
VIRGIN IS. (UK)
VIRGIN IS. (US)
ST KITTS & NEVIS
MONT.
ST VINCENT
& GREN.
ARUBA
NETH.
ANTILLES
GRENADA
ANGUILLA
ANTIGUA &
BARBUDA
GUADELOUPE
DOMINICA
MARTINIQUE
ST LUCIA
BARBADOS
TRINIDAD & TOBAGO
WESTERN
SAHARA
CAPE
VERDE
MAURITANIA
SENEGAL
GAMBIA
GUINEA-BISSAU
GUINEA
SIERRA LEONE
LIBERIA
FALKLANDS IS.
48
State formation
Number of states gaining
effective independence
in each decade
8
The defeat of
Austria-Hungary and of
the Ottoman Empire
in World War I (1914–18)
led to the breakup of their
empires and the creation of
new European and
Middle Eastern states.
7
1
4
The United Nations
was founded on
24 October 1945
at the end of
World War II
(1939–45).
15
21
pre 1900
1900s
1910s
1920s
1930s
1940s
1950s
COLOMBIA
20
Sovereignty won
1914–2011
Effective independence gained:
before 11 November 1918
11 November 1918 – 23 October 1945
24 October 1945 – 8 November 1989
9 November 1989 – 9 July 2011
not a sovereign state
FAROE IS.
FINLAND
RUSSIA
NORWAY
SWEDEN
EST.
IS. OF MAN
DENMARK
LAT.
IRELAND
UK
NETH.
GERMANY
LITH.
BEL.
POLAND
BELARUS
LIECHT.
CZ.REP.
SLOVAKIA
UKRAINE
CHANNEL IS
LUX.
AUS.
HUN.
ROM.
MOLDOVA
SW.
FRANCE
SM.
SL.
CR.
MONT.
B-H
S.
K.
BUL.
PORTUGAL
ANDORRA
MONACO
ALB.
MAC.
KAZAKHSTAN
UZBEKISTAN
KYRGYZSTAN
GEORGIA
SPAIN
ITALY
TURKEY
ARMENIA
AZER.
TURKMEN.
TAJIKISTAN
GIBRALTAR
TUNISIA
GREECE
MALTA
CYPRUS
SYRIA
MOROCCO
LEB.
ISRAEL
IRAQ
IRAN
AFGHANISTAN
MONGOLIA
NORTH
KOREA
JAPAN
SOUTH
KOREA