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The States of the World

Some of our sense of who we are comes from where

we were born and grew up – our countries, most

of which are quite recent creations. In 1945

the United Nations was founded by just 51

states, some of which were not fully

independent at the time (and the defeated states in

World War II were initially excluded). Today, the UN

has 193 members.

Over the past century, states have won, lost,

and regained independence, often against a

background of war and bloodshed. Some have

become formally independent before achieving

real independence; with others, it has been the

other way round. This atlas shows many ways –

economic, environmental, political – in which

independent states do not have full sovereignty in

the modern world – yet the evidence is clear that

sovereignty is a highly desirable political commodity.

The age of forming new states is not yet over.

CANADA

GREENLAND

ICELAND

USA

ST PIERRE & MIQUELON

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