In the last decade, a number of new countries have emerged. The breakup of the former Soviet Union contributed to a large number of newly independent states. The dissolution of Yugoslavia not only added to the list of such countries, but also created a new term to describe this phenomenon, called “balkanization" -- a reference to Yugoslavia’s location in the Balkans. For more information about this matter, see the sub-section called "
Balkanization" (located along the menu of featured items within the section titled "
Learn More About ... "). The end of the Cold War, as well as the termination of several "Trust Territory" agreements, gave rise to the emergence of several new countries. Meanwhile, other new countries in various parts of the world emerged, in large part due to their particular geopolitical circumstances. Indeed, the chronologies of these political and historical developments are covered in the Country Reviews, which can be found via the home page of this website at
www.countrywatch.com.
-- Dr. Denise Youngblood Coleman
Editor-in-Chief and Executive Vice President
The following is a comprehensive list of new countries:The Former Soviet Union (The U.S.S.R.):
After the breakup of the former Soviet Union, 12 countries became independent on December 26, 1991. Several months prior to the disintegration of the U.S.S.R., however, three countries (the Baltic States), Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania, declared their independence and became sovereign states. Some analysts suggest that although the dissolution of the former Soviet Union was imminent, the declaration of independence by the Baltic States acted as a catalyst for the breakup. The fifteen independent states rooted in the former Soviet Union are:
Armenia
Azerbaijan
Belarus
Estonia
Georgia
Kazakhstan
Kyrgyzstan
Latvia
Lithuania
Moldova
Russia
Tajikistan
Turkmenistan
Ukraine
Uzbekistan
The Former Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia:
Originally combined after the collapse of Austria-Hungary in the post-World War I period, the former Federation of Yugoslavia was further consolidated following World War II and Nazi occupation to form the former Socialist Federation of Yugoslavia. Plagued by ethnic and religious conflict for decades following, by 1991 the federation was plunged into civil war, resulting in the secessions of Slovenia, Croatia and Bosnia and Herzegovina from Yugoslavia. Macedonia peacefully separated soon thereafter. In April of 1992, Serbia and Montenegro, the only remaining entities within Yugoslavia adopted the republic’s constitution and proclaimed itself to be the “Federal Republic of Yugoslavia.” The country's name was subsequently changed to Serbia and Montenegro. The independent states rooted in the former Yugoslavia include the following:
Bosnia and Herzegovina
Croatia
Macedonia
Serbia and Montenegro
Slovenia
Note: Following its referendum on independence, official proclamation, international recognition and logisitical separation, Montengro became the newest country in the world, while the successor state of the former Serbia and Montenegro was Serbia. CountryWatch added Montenegro to its list of sovereign and independent countries as well. Then, Kosovo followed and also declared its sovereignty from Serbia. As with Montenegro, when official recognition of sovereignty followed, CountryWatch added Kosovo to its list of sovereign and independent countries.
Other Newly-Independent States include the following:
In similar form to the dissolution of the former Soviet Union and the former Yugoslavia, Czechoslovakia is another European country, which fragmented into two separate nations, the Czech Republic and Slovakia in 1993.
Taking the opposite direction, East and West Germany unified to form a unified Germany in 1990. A similar process ensued in the Middle East in 1990 when North Yemen and South Yemen were joined to form the unified country of Yemen.
Meanwhile, in Africa, Eritrea separated from Ethiopia in 1993 and Namibia separated from South Africa in 1990.
In the South Pacific, the Marshall Islands and Palau, both former Trust Territories administered by the United States, gained full independence in 1991 and 1994 respectively. Micronesia (formerly known as the Caroline Islands and also administered by the United States) gained complete sovereignty in 1991.
The list of these nine newly independent states are as follows:
Czech Republic
Eritrea
Germany
Marshall Islands
Micronesia
Namibia
Palau
Slovakia
Yemen
Indonesia and East Timor
In the 1970s, East Timor, a former Portuguese colony, was incorporated into Indonesia despite objections from East Timorese nationalists and the United Nations. For close to two decades, East Timor remained under the dominion of Indonesia. Discussions about limited autonomy for East Timor under the aegis of Indonesian jurisdiction ensued through the 1980s. In 1999, East Timorese voters went to the polls to vote in a referendum on a proposal for limited autonomy within the Republic of Indonesia. The outcome of the vote was a rejection of the proposal and ratification of the push for full and formal independent status. Violent conflict followed between pro-integration militias and pro-independence activists. Finally, in 2002, East Timor gained its independence from Indonesia. As such, it has been a recent addition to the commonwealth of sovereign states.
East Timor
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