List of sovereign states in 1972
Appearance
Sovereign states by year | ||
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List of sovereign states in 1971 | Events of 1972 | List of sovereign states in 1973 |
Internationally recognized sovereign states
A
Afghanistan – Kingdom of Afghanistan, UN member State
Capital: KabulAlbania – People's Republic of Albania, UN member State
Capital: TiranaAlgeria – People's Democratic Republic of Algeria, UN member State
Capital: AlgiersAndorra – Principality of Andorra
Capital: Andorra la VellaAntigua – Associated state of the United Kingdom
Capital: St. John'sArgentina – Argentine Republic, UN member State[1]
Capital: Buenos AiresAustralia – Commonwealth of Australia, UN member State
Capital: CanberraAustria – Republic of Austria, UN member State
Capital: Vienna
B
Bahrain – State of Bahrain, UN member State
Capital: ManamaBangladesh – People's Republic of Bangladesh
Capital: DhakaBarbados – UN member State
Capital: BridgetownBelgium – Kingdom of Belgium, UN member State
Capital: BrusselsBhutan – Kingdom of Bhutan, UN member State
Capital: ThimphuBolivia – Republic of Bolivia, UN member State
Capital: Sucre (official), La Paz (administrative)Botswana – Republic of Botswana, UN member State
Capital: GaboroneBrazil – Federative Republic of Brazil, UN member State
Capital: BrasíliaBulgaria – People's Republic of Bulgaria, UN member State
Capital: SofiaBurma – Union of Burma, UN member State
Capital: RangoonBurundi – Republic of Burundi, UN member State
Capital: BujumburaByelorussia – Byelorussian Soviet Socialist Republic, UN member State(Republic within the Soviet Union)
Capital: Minsk
C
Cameroon – UN member State
Capital: YaoundéCanada – Dominion of Canada, UN member State
Capital: OttawaCentral African Republic – UN member State
Capital: BanguiCeylon / Sri Lanka – UN member State
Capital: ColomboChad – Republic of Chad, UN member State
Capital: N'DjamenaChile – Republic of Chile, UN member State
Capital: SantiagoPeople's Republic of China – UN member State
Capital: BeijingChinese Taipei / Taiwan – Republic of China (Partially recognized de facto independent state)
Capital: Taipei (seat of government), Nanjing (claimed)Colombia – Republic of Colombia, UN member State
Capital: BogotáCongo – People's Republic of Congo, UN member State
Capital: BrazzavilleCook Islands – A state in free association with New Zealand
Capital: AvaruaCosta Rica – Republic of Costa Rica, UN member State
Capital: San JoséCuba – Republic of Cuba, UN member State
Capital: HavanaCyprus – Republic of Cyprus, UN member State
Capital: NicosiaCzechoslovakia – Czechoslovak Socialist Republic, UN member State
Capital: Prague
D
Dahomey – Republic of Dahomey, UN member State
Capital: Porto-Novo (official), Cotonou (seat of government)Denmark – Kingdom of Denmark, UN member State
Capital: CopenhagenDominica – Associated state of the United Kingdom
Capital: RoseauDominican Republic – UN member State
Capital: Santo Domingo
E
Ecuador – Republic of Ecuador, UN member State
El Salvador – Republic of El Salvador, UN member State
Equatorial Guinea – Republic of Equatorial Guinea, UN member State
Ethiopia – Ethiopian Empire, UN member State
F
Fiji – Dominion of Fiji, UN member State
Finland – Republic of Finland, UN member State
France – French Republic, UN member State
Fujairah – State of Fujairah (Transitional independent state from 1 December to 2 December)
G
Gabon – Gabonese Republic, UN member State
The Gambia – Republic of the Gambia, UN member State
East Germany – German Democratic Republic, UN member State
West Germany – Federal Republic of Germany, Permanent observer at the UN
Ghana – Republic of Ghana, UN member State
Greece – Kingdom of Greece, UN member State
Grenada (Associated state of the United Kingdom)
Guatemala – Republic of Guatemala, UN member State
Guinea – Republic of Guinea, UN member State
Guyana – Co-operative Republic of Guyana, UN member State
H
Haiti – Republic of Haiti, UN member State
Holy See → Vatican City
Honduras – Republic of Honduras, UN member State
Hungary – Hungarian People's Republic, UN member State
I
Iceland – Republic of Iceland, UN member State
India – Republic of India, UN member State
Indonesia – Republic of Indonesia, UN member State
Iran – Imperial State of Iran, UN member State
Iraq – Iraqi Republic, UN member state
Ireland – Republic of Ireland, UN member State
Italy – Italian Republic, UN member State
Ivory Coast – Republic of Ivory Coast, UN member State
J
Jamaica – Commonwealth of Jamaica, UN member State
Japan – UN member State
Jordan – Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan, UN member State
K
Kenya – Republic of Kenya, UN member State
Khmer Republic – UN member State
North Korea – Democratic People's Republic of Korea, Permanent observer at UN (wasn't recognized by 4 UN member States)
South Korea – Republic of Korea, Permanent observer at UN (wasn't recognized by 3 UN member States at greatest extent)
Kuwait – State of Kuwait, UN member State
L
Laos – Kingdom of Laos, UN member State
Lebanon – Lebanese Republic, UN member State
Lesotho – Kingdom of Lesotho, UN member State
Liberia – Republic of Liberia, UN member State
Libya – Libyan Arab Republic, UN member State
Liechtenstein – Principality of Liechtenstein, UN member State from 18 September
Luxembourg – Grand Duchy of Luxembourg, UN member State
M
Malagasy Republic – UN member State
Malawi – Republic of Malawi, UN member state
Malaysia – UN member State
Maldives – Republic of Maldives, UN member State
Mali – Republic of Mali, UN member State
Malta – State of Malta, UN member State
Mauritania – Islamic Republic of Mauritania, UN member State
Mauritius – UN member State
Mexico – United Mexican States, UN member State
Monaco – Principality of Monaco, Permanent observer at the UN
Mongolia – Mongolian People's Republic, UN member State
Morocco – Kingdom of Morocco, UN member State
N
Nauru – Republic of Nauru, UN member State
Nepal – Kingdom of Nepal, UN member State
Netherlands – Kingdom of the Netherlands, UN member State
New Zealand – Dominion of New Zealand, UN member State
Nicaragua – Republic of Nicaragua, UN member State
Niger – Republic of Niger, UN member State
Nigeria – Federal Republic of Nigeria, UN member State
Norway – Kingdom of Norway, UN member State
O
Oman – Sultanate of Oman, UN member State from 7 October
P
Pakistan – Islamic Republic of Pakistan, UN member state
Panama – Republic of Panama, UN member State
– Republic of Paraguay, UN member State
Peru – Peruvian Republic, UN member State
Philippines – Republic of the Philippines, UN member State
Poland – Polish People's Republic, UN member State
Portugal – Portuguese Republic, UN member State
Q
Qatar (from 3 September) – UN member State from 21 September
R
Ras al-Khaimah – State of Ras al-Khaimah (Transitional independent state from 1 December)
Rhodesia – Republic of Rhodesia (De facto independent state)
Romania – Socialist Republic of Romania, UN member State
Rwanda – Rwandese Republic, UN member state
Rwenzururu – Kingdom of Rwenzururu (De facto independent state)
S
Saint Christopher-Nevis-Anguilla (Associated state of the United Kingdom)
Saint Lucia (Associated state of the United Kingdom)
Saint Vincent (Associated state of the United Kingdom)
San Marino – Republic of San Marino
Saudi Arabia – Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, UN member State
Senegal – Republic of Senegal, UN member State
Sharjah – State of Sharjah (Transitional independent state from 1 December to 2 December)
Sierra Leone – Republic of Sierra Leone, UN member State
Singapore – Republic of Singapore, UN member State
Somalia – Somali Democratic Republic, UN member State
South Africa – Republic of South Africa, UN member State
Soviet Union – Union of Soviet Socialist Republics, UN member State
Spain – Spanish State, UN member State
Sri Lanka → Ceylon
Sudan – Democratic Republic of the Sudan, UN member State
Swaziland – Kingdom of Swaziland, UN member State
Sweden – Kingdom of Sweden, UN member State
Switzerland – Swiss Confederation, Permanent observer at UN
Syria – Syrian Arab Republic, UN member State
T
Taiwan → China, Republic of
Tanzania – United Republic of Tanzania, UN member State
Thailand – Kingdom of Thailand, UN member State
Togo – Togolese Republic, UN member State
Tonga – Kingdom of Tonga
Trinidad and Tobago – UN member State
Tunisia – Tunisian Republic, UN member State
Turkey – Republic of Turkey, UN member State
U
Uganda – Republic of Uganda, UN member State
Ukraine – Ukrainian Soviet Socialist Republic, UN member State (Republic within the Soviet Union)
Umm al-Quwain – State of Umm al-Quwain (Transitional independent state from 1 December to 2 December)
United Arab Emirates (from 2 December), UN member State from 9 December
- United Arab Republic (to 2 September), UN member State
- Arab Republic of Egypt (from 2 September), UN member State
United Kingdom – United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, UN member State
United States – United States of America, UN member State
Upper Volta – Republic of Upper Volta, UN member State
Uruguay – Eastern Republic of Uruguay, UN member State
V
Vanuatu – Republic of Vanuatu (from 30 July)
Vatican City – Vatican City State, Permanent observer at UN
Venda – Republic of Venda (nominally independent South African bantustan)
Venezuela – Republic of Venezuela, UN member State
North Vietnam – Democratic Republic of Vietnam
South Vietnam – Republic of Vietnam, Permanent observer at the UN
W
Western Samoa – Independent State of Western Samoa
Y
North Yemen – Yemen Arab Republic, UN member State
South Yemen – People's Democratic Republic of Yemen, UN member State
Yugoslavia – Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia, UN member State
Z
Zaire – Republic of Zaire, UN member State
Capital: KinshasaZambia – Republic of Zambia, UN member State
Zimbabwe-Rhodesia → Rhodesia
Non-sovereign territories
Antigua
Australia
Australian Antarctic Territory (Uninhabited external territory)
Christmas Island – Territory of Christmas Island (External territory)
Cocos (Keeling) Islands – Territory of the Cocos Islands (External territory)
Coral Sea Islands – Coral Sea Islands Territory (Uninhabited external territory)
Heard Island and McDonald Islands – Territory of Heard Island and McDonald Islands (Uninhabited external territory)
Norfolk Island – Territory of Norfolk Island (External territory)
Papua and New Guinea – Territory of Papua and New Guinea (United Nations Trust Territory)
Denmark
Faroe Islands (Constituent country)
Finland
Åland (Neutral and demilitarised region)
France
Comoros (Overseas territory)
- French Afars and Issas (Overseas territory)
French Polynesia (Overseas territory), with one dependency:
French Southern and Antarctic Lands – Territory of French Southern and Antarctic Lands (Overseas territory)
- New Caledonia (Overseas territory)
New Hebrides (Protected jointly with the United Kingdom)
- Saint Pierre and Miquelon (Overseas territory)
- Scattered Islands in the Indian Ocean (Overseas territory), consisting of five uninhabited possessions:
- Bassas da India (Disputed by Madagascar)
- Europa Island (Disputed by Madagascar)
- Glorioso Islands (Disputed by Madagascar, Comoros and the Seychelles)
- Juan de Nova Island (Disputed by Madagascar)
- Tromelin Island (Disputed by Mauritius and the Seychelles)
Wallis and Futuna – Territory of the Wallis and Futuna (Overseas territory)
Greece
Mount Athos (Autonomous monastic state)
Netherlands
Netherlands Antilles (Autonomous country)
Suriname (Autonomous country)
New Zealand
- Niue
- Ross Dependency (Suspended under the Antarctic Treaty)
Tokelau
Norway
- Bouvet Island
- Peter I Island (Suspended under the Antarctic Treaty)
- Queen Maud Land (Suspended under the Antarctic Treaty)
Portugal
- Angola (Overseas province)
- Cape Verde Islands (Overseas province)
Mozambique (Overseas province)
- Portuguese Guinea (Overseas province)
- Portuguese Timor (Overseas province)
- São Tomé and Príncipe (Overseas province)
- Macau (Overseas province)
United Kingdom
Bahrain (Protected state to 15 August)
Brunei (Protected state)
Qatar (Protected state to 3 September)
Trucial States (to 1 December), consisting of seven protected states:
- Canton and Enderbury Islands (Protected jointly with United States)
New Hebrides (Protected jointly with France)
- Akrotiri and Dhekelia – Sovereign Base Areas of Akrotiri and Dhekelia (Crown colony)
Bahama Islands (Crown colony)
Bermuda (Crown colony)
British Antarctic Territory (Crown colony suspended under the Antarctic Treaty)
British Honduras (Crown colony)
British Indian Ocean Territory (Crown colony disputed by Mauritius and the Seychelles)
British Virgin Islands (Crown colony)
- British Western Pacific Territories (Crown colony), consisting of two territories
Cayman Islands (Crown colony)
Falkland Islands (Crown colony disputed by Argentina), with one dependency
Gibraltar (Crown colony)
Gilbert and Ellice Islands (from July)
Hong Kong (Crown colony)
Montserrat (Crown colony)
Pitcairn Islands (Crown colony)
Saint Helena (Crown colony), with two dependencies:
Seychelles (Crown colony)
South Georgia and the South Sandwich Islands (Crown colony disputed by Argentina)
Turks and Caicos Islands (Crown colony)
Guernsey – The Bailiwick of Guernsey (Crown dependency), with three dependencies:
Isle of Man (Crown dependency)
Jersey – The Bailiwick of Jersey (Crown dependency)
United States
American Samoa (Insular area including Swains Island, disputed by Tokelau)
Guam (Insular area)
Panama Canal Zone (Unincorporated territory)
Puerto Rico – The Commonwealth of Puerto Rico (Insular area)
United States Virgin Islands – Virgin Islands of the United States (Insular area)
- Bajo Nuevo Bank (Uninhabited unincorporated territory claimed by Colombia and Nicaragua)
- Baker Island (Uninhabited unincorporated territory)
- Birnie Island (Uninhabited unincorporated territory, claimed by United Kingdom)
- Caroline Island (Uninhabited unincorporated territory, claimed by United Kingdom)
- Christmas Island – Kiritimati (Uninhabited unincorporated territory, claimed by United Kingdom)
- Corn Islands (Uninhabited unincorporated territory to 25 April)
- Howland Island (Uninhabited unincorporated territory)
- Jarvis Island (Uninhabited unincorporated territory)
- Johnston Atoll (Uninhabited unincorporated territory)
- Kingman Reef (Uninhabited unincorporated territory)
- Midway Atoll (Uninhabited unincorporated territory)
- Navassa Island (Uninhabited unincorporated territory claimed by Haiti)
- Quita Sueño Bank (Uninhabited unincorporated territory claimed by Colombia)
- Roncador Bank (Uninhabited unincorporated territory claimed by Colombia)
- Serrana Bank (Uninhabited unincorporated territory claimed by Colombia)
- Serranilla Bank (Uninhabited unincorporated territory claimed by Colombia, Jamaica, and Nicaragua)
- Swan Islands (Uninhabited unincorporated territory)
- Wake Island (Uninhabited unincorporated territory claimed by the Marshall Islands)
- Canton and Enderbury Islands (Condomium with the United Kingdom)
Ryukyu Islands – United States Civil Administration of the Ryukyu Islands (Territory under the residual sovereignty of Japan)
Other entities
Excluded from the list above are the following noteworthy entities which either were not fully sovereign or did not claim to be independent:
- Antarctica as a whole had no government and no permanent population. Seven states claimed portions of Antarctica and five of these had reciprocally recognised one another's claims.[5] These claims, which were regulated by the Antarctic Treaty System, were neither recognised nor disputed by any other signatory state.[6]
Estonia was incorporated into the Soviet Union in 1940, but the legality of the annexation was not widely recognized. The Baltic diplomatic services in the West continued to be recognised as representing the de jure state.
Latvia was incorporated into the Soviet Union in 1940, but the legality of the annexation was not widely recognized. The Baltic diplomatic services in the West continued to be recognised as representing the de jure state.
Lithuania was incorporated into the Soviet Union in 1940, but the legality of the annexation was not widely recognized. The Baltic diplomatic services in the West continued to be recognised as representing the de jure state.
- The Saudi–Iraqi neutral zone was a strip of neutral territory between Iraq and Saudi Arabia.
The Sovereign Military Order of Malta was an entity claiming sovereignty. The order had bi-lateral diplomatic relations with a large number of states, but had no territory other than extraterritorial areas within Rome.[7] The order's Constitution stated: "The Order is a subject of international law and exercises sovereign functions." [8] Although the order frequently asserted its sovereignty, it did not claim to be a sovereign state. It lacked a defined territory. Since all its members were citizens of other states, almost all of them lived in their native countries, and those who resided in the order's extraterritorial properties in Rome did so only in connection with their official duties, the order lacked the characteristic of having a permanent population.
West Berlin was a political enclave that was closely aligned with – but not actually a part of – West Germany. It consisted of three occupied sectors administered by the United States, the United Kingdom, and France.
References
- ^ The name "Argentine Nation" was also used for the purposes of legislation.
- ^ a b Cameroon adopted its constitution on 2 Jun 1972
- ^ a b Ceylon was declared a republic on 22 May 1972
- ^ A new Constitution of Sri Lanka came into effect on 7 Sep 1978
- ^ Rogan-Finnemore, Michelle (2005), "What Bioprospecting Means for Antarctica and the Southern Ocean", in Von Tigerstrom, Barbara (ed.), International Law Issues in the South Pacific, Ashgate Publishing, p. 204, ISBN 0-7546-4419-7 "Australia, New Zealand, France, Norway and the United Kingdom reciprocally recognize the validity of each other's claims."
- ^ CIA – the World Factbook – Antarctica – accessed 19 January 2008
- ^ Bilateral relations with countries Archived 2008-06-26 at the Wayback Machine, Retrieved 2009-12-22
- ^ Chapter General of the Sovereign Military Hospitaller Order of St. John of Jerusalem of Rhodes and of Malta (1998-01-12). Constitutional Charter and Code of the Sovereign Military Hospitaller Order of St. John of Jerusalem, of Rhodes, and of Malta, promulgated 27 June 1961, revised by the Extraordinary Chapter General 28–30 April 1997, Article 3 "Sovereignty," Paragraph 1 (PDF). Rome: Tipografia Arte della Stampa. p. 11.
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