Buzz
Building a nation is no easy feat. You could create your own army, issue passports, claim territory, appoint a leader, and establish a legal system, and yet still fail to be recognized as a legitimate country. Just look at Kosovo, which many see as part of Serbia, or Somaliland, which is not acknowledged by any country, despite having a solid case for sovereignty.
These are just the prominent examples that often make the headlines. But if you dig a little deeper, you'll discover a whole range of 'nations' waiting for acknowledgment. Some are located in far-off corners of the globe, while others may be closer than you expect.
10. The Lakotah Republic
Imagine being able to step into a newly recognized country in North America. A nation the size of Syria, where languages other than European ones are spoken, and where an ancient civilization has thrived for centuries. Well, guess what? Lakotah exists, and you can find it in the heart of the Midwest.
Spanning over 1,600 kilometers (1,000 miles) across Montana, Nebraska, Wyoming, North Dakota, and South Dakota, Lakotah is the ancestral land of the Lakota Sioux, who held the Black Hills in sacred reverence. In 1868, the US government signed a treaty granting the tribe the rights to this land.
The reason Montanans don’t speak Sioux today lies in the Gold Rush. When prospectors flooded the Black Hills, the government quietly disregarded its own treaty, allowing the Lakota to be forcibly removed from their land. In 1998, the Supreme Court reviewed the case and remarked, “a more ripe and rank case of dishonest dealings may never be found in our history.”
Although the Court offered the Lakota $600 million in compensation, they rejected it, instead declaring their intention to withdraw from the United States. In 2007, the tribe formally petitioned Washington, asking for its reservations to be recognized as a sovereign nation. By 2015, the Lakota continued to consider themselves an independent state and continue their fight for international recognition.
9. Balochistan
August 11, 1947 stands as a significant date for the Baloch region, a vast area that constitutes nearly 45 percent of Pakistan. It’s the day Balochistan declared its independence.
At least, this is the account according to Baloch nationalists. They assert that the British recognized the region as a sovereign state just before their departure, only for Pakistan to annex it illegally less than a year later. Conversely, Pakistan argues that the four provinces of Balochistan independently agreed to join the country. Regardless of the true historical account, what is undeniable is that tensions between modern Balochistan and its governing authorities remain high. After the 2005 incident in which a Pakistani army captain raped a local girl, the province erupted into violence that has continued to this day.
At the time of writing, this aspiring nation is effectively under military rule, but its government-in-exile continues to fight for either full independence from Pakistan or at least greater autonomy. While most Balochs view Islamabad with deep distrust and seek separation, it seems unlikely they will ever reach this goal.
8. Northern Epirus
In 2008, Kosovo declared its independence from Serbia and, with Albania’s backing, established its own government. The move sparked outrage in Belgrade for several reasons, one of which may have been Albania’s hypocrisy. While Albania supported Kosovo’s push for statehood, it has long ignored a similar call for independence from the southern part of its own territory: Northern Epirus.
Home to 40,000 ethnic Greeks, this enclave in Albania has faced long-standing tensions with Tirana. From 1946 to 1986, Greece and Albania were technically at war over the region’s status. As recently as 2013, Albania’s foreign minister was still voicing concerns about Greece’s failure to repeal a law concerning the area, leaving the two countries in a state of frozen conflict.
While the goal of the Greeks in Northern Epirus is to eventually join Greece, the province already operates with a degree of autonomy. Under the Communist regime, Albanian dictator Enver Hoxha granted the community control over 99 villages. Today, Greeks in the region argue that this has led to discrimination by Tirana.
7. Abkhazia
What defines a nation? Abkhazia boasts a unique ethnic identity, historical borders, a military, a functioning government, a national bank, its own passports, and recognition from at least four UN members (Russia, Nicaragua, Venezuela, and Nauru). Yet, to over 90 percent of the world, it is still considered a province of Georgia, the country it seceded from in the brutal 1992–1993 war.
Historically, Abkhazia is as independent as regions like Wales. From the ninth century to 1008 AD, it was a sovereign kingdom before becoming part of Georgia and later Russia. After the Soviet Union collapsed, the people of Abkhazia declared a return to their medieval borders, triggering a fierce war with Georgia. Due to widespread ethnic cleansing, most Georgians fled the province, and most Abkhazians fled Georgia. Since 1999, it has declared itself an independent state.
The lack of broader recognition may be linked to Russia’s involvement. Since the early 2000s, Russia has used Abkhazia to provoke its adversary Georgia. Putin even leveraged the region to open a new front against Tbilisi during the 2008 Russia-Georgia war. And speaking of that...
6. South Ossetia
A small strip of land in northern Georgia, South Ossetia spans just 4,000 square kilometers (1,500 miles) of rugged, mountainous terrain and is home to only about 50,000 people. Despite its size, the inhabitants consider their land an independent nation. With a distinct language and ethnic ties closer to Russia’s Ossetians than to Georgians, they followed Abkhazia's lead after the USSR collapsed by proclaiming independence.
However, the conflict here wasn’t as decisive. By the end of the 1992 war, South Ossetia remained a part of Georgia, though it was patrolled by peacekeepers from Georgia, Russia, and the region itself. For the next 14 years, tensions simmered until a 2006 referendum on autonomy reignited the conflict. In 2008, Georgia attempted to regain control by sending in tanks, only to be repelled by a Russian invasion.
Since that time, South Ossetia has effectively operated as an independent state with its own government. But this situation may not last much longer. In October 2015, President Leonid Tibilov announced plans to make the region a formal part of Russia.
5. Barotseland
Barotseland, a stretch of African floodplain roughly the size of England, claims to be the world’s youngest nation-state. In March 2012, the Barotse National Council decided to unilaterally proclaim independence from Zambia over a broken promise made nearly 50 years earlier.
According to the Barotseland royal family, the 1964 agreement to join Zambia was meant to grant the kingdom full autonomy within the country. Before the treaty, the region had been an independent nation, recognized by the British colonial administration. However, once the treaty was signed, Zambia absorbed Barotseland entirely, reducing it to just another province without special status. In the years since, efforts to seek independence have been met with violence, including beatings and shootings.
This situation is particularly bitter because Barotseland was once the heart of an empire that stretched from Angola to Namibia and up into the Democratic Republic of the Congo, including most of modern-day Zambia. While the royal family today seeks only a small portion—126,000 square kilometers (50,000 square miles) of the western province—Zambia’s government in Lusaka has ignored their demands completely.
4. Chinland
Located along the western edge of Myanmar, bordering India and Bangladesh, Chinland is home to about 1.5 million people and an extraordinary diversity of tribes. The region hosts at least six major ethnic groups, which are further divided into 63 tribes, speaking around 20 languages. The common thread among all these groups is a long-standing resentment toward Myanmar.
Before the 18th century, Chinland’s borders stretched across vast areas of Myanmar, Bangladesh, and parts of northeastern India. However, the arrival of the British led to its conquest. Not only did this alter Chinland’s present, but it also set the stage for its troubled future. When the British left the subcontinent in the late 1940s, Chinland was left vulnerable to its larger neighbors. Before long, the region was absorbed into what was then Burma.
Since then, Chin nationalists have continued to call for either the establishment of a separate state or for Myanmar to transform into a full federation, giving them exclusive rights. With the current political turmoil in Naypyidaw, it’s uncertain whether their demands will be met anytime soon.
3. The Sovereign Military Order Of Malta
In stark contrast to most other unrecognized nations, the Sovereign Military Order of Malta enjoys global recognition. It maintains bilateral relations with 105 countries and diplomatic ties with six others (including Palestine). With a permanent observer status at the UN, its passports are accepted in numerous major nations. Yet, despite all this recognition, it has absolutely no land, and it doesn’t even claim any territory.
This unusual status stems from the Order’s remarkably long history. Originally a group of Catholic knights founded in the 11th century, it once ruled the island of Malta. However, in 1798, Napoleon intervened, forcing the Order to leave its homeland. They relocated to Italy, where Catholic nations continued to recognize their legitimacy as a nation. This odd arrangement persisted for an astonishing 217 years.
In the present day, the Order controls only two buildings in Rome. It has no desire to reclaim Malta, and its 13,500 members mainly focus on humanitarian efforts. Yet, for over half the world’s countries, including the EU and Canada, it is still seen as a functioning state, enjoying the same privileges as many recognized nations.
2. Nagorno-Karabakh Republic
Nagorno-Karabakh, known locally as Artsakh, is another post-Soviet entity that remains frozen in time. It has its own government, constitution, and military, yet not a single country recognizes it, not even Russia. Instead, the global community regards it as a part of Azerbaijan, the very country it fought a fierce war for independence against between 1991 and 1994.
A significant part of this is its geographic situation. Nagorno-Karabakh is entirely surrounded by Azerbaijan. Located high in the mountains and smaller than South Ossetia, it’s one of the most geographically isolated would-be nations in the world. A single corridor of Azeri-held land connects it to Armenia, with which its people share ethnic ties, resembling a narrow umbilical cord. The chances of Armenia and Azerbaijan reaching an agreement over Nagorno-Karabakh’s future are slim. Both sides committed horrific acts of ethnic cleansing during the post-Soviet war, and the conflict continues to claim dozens of lives annually.
1. Degar
Like many others on this list, the Degar were left in a difficult position following the collapse of colonial powers. A Christian group based in the central mountains of Vietnam, they had faced long-standing persecution for their faith. That all shifted when the French arrived and encountered them as the Montagnard. The Degar formed an alliance with the colonizers, and in return, they were promised a state of their own.
In 1946, the Pays Montagnard du Sud was conceived, a proposed kingdom to be governed by an emperor, distinct from the rest of Vietnam. For a few years, it seemed as though this dream could come true. However, by 1954, the French suddenly abandoned their ambitions in the region, pulling out before the Degar state could be established, leaving a power vacuum in their departure.
With the French no longer in the picture, the Degar turned to US special forces for support. They soon controlled military bases within the proposed territory and fought alongside American forces against the Viet Cong. Once again, they dreamed of creating their own nation, but history had other plans.
Following the Vietnam War and the Communist victory, the Degar lost everything. Many fled to the US or Cambodia. Today, they consider themselves a repressed minority within Vietnam, still striving to regain the state that history denied them.
