List of unrecognized or partially recognized countries

No international recognition      Limited recognition      Majority recognition      Territories whose status is disputed, with a government body, that has limited recognition

These lists of unrecognized or partially recognized countries give an overview of contemporary geopolitical entities, that wish to be recognized as sovereign states under the Montevideo Convention, which do not enjoy worldwide diplomatic recognition. The entries listed here have control over their claimed territory and are self-governing with a desire for full independence, or if they lack such control over their territory, are recognized by at least one other recognized nation.

See list of historical unrecognized countries for similar entities, that have existed in the past. See list of governments in exile for unrecognized governments without control over the territory claimed.

There are 192 United Nations (UN) member states. The Holy See is generally recognized as sovereign in international law, but is not a full member of the United Nations.^[1]

1 Present geopolitical entities by level of recognition 1.1 No recognition by any state 1.2 Recognized by non-UN members only 1.3 Recognized by at least one UN member 1.4 Substantial recognition, but no UN recognition 1.5 UN member state, not recognized by a limited number of states 2 See also 3 Footnotes 4 References 5 External links

Name	Disputed since	UN recognition	Further information	References
Nagorno-Karabakh	1991	Nagorno-Karabakh is not independent from Azerbaijan, according to the UN.	Foreign relations of Nagorno-Karabakh
Somaliland	1991	Somaliland is not independent from Somalia, according to the UN.	Foreign relations of Somaliland

Name	Disputed since	UN Recognition	Further information	References
Transnistria	1990	Transnistria is not independent from Moldova, according to the UN; its sovereignty is recognized though by Abkhazia and South Ossetia.	Foreign relations of Transnistria	[2]

Name	Disputed since	UN Recognition	Further information	References
Abkhazia	1992	Abkhazia is not independent from Georgia, according to the UN; its sovereignty though is recognized by Russia, Nicaragua; two non-UN member states, South Ossetia, Transnistria[3] and the Hamas government in Gaza.[4]	Foreign relations of Abkhazia, International recognition of Abkhazia and South Ossetia	[5][6]
Kosovo	2008	Kosovo is not independent from Serbia, according to the UN; its sovereignty though is recognised by 53 UN members and one former UN member, Republic of China (Taiwan).I According to United Nations Security Council Resolution 1244, Kosovo is de jure part of the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia, to which Serbia is the successor state.	Foreign relations of Kosovo, International reaction to the 2008 Kosovo declaration of independence	[7]
Northern Cyprus	1983	The Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus is not independent from Cyprus, according to the UN; its sovereignty though is recognized by Turkey, the supranational Islamic Conference and Azerbaijan's Nakhchivan Autonomous Republic, a subunit of that republic.	Foreign relations of the Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus	[8]
Republic of China (Taiwan)	1949	According to the UN, the area currently controlled by the Republic of China (commonly known as "Taiwan") is part of China and the People's Republic of China is the sole legitimate government of China. The sovereignty of the ROC as sole legitimate government of China though is recognized by 23 UN members, including the Holy See, an observer state of the UN.II The ROC is a former member of the UN, representing China. Besides the land the ROC currently controls, the ROC claims land controlled by Afghanistan, Bhutan, India, Japan, Mongolia, Myanmar, Pakistan, Russia, Tajikistan and the PRC. Many nations have unofficial relations with the ROC.	Political status of Taiwan, Foreign relations of the Republic of China	[9]
Sahrawi Arab Democratic Republic (SADR)	1976	Western Sahara is on the United Nations list of Non-Self-Governing Territories; its sovereignty as the Sahrawi Arab Democratic Republic is recognized by 49 UN members and the African Union, but not by Morocco, which claims the entirety of its territory. De facto sovereignty is limited to the Free Zone, the remainder is under Moroccan military occupation. The SADR also controls a number of refugee camps in southwestern Algeria.	Foreign relations of the Sahrawi Arab Democratic Republic	[10]
South Ossetia	1991	South Ossetia is not independent from Georgia, according to the UN; its sovereignty though is recognized by Russia, Nicaragua; two non-UN states, Abkhazia and Transnistria and the Hamas government in Gaza. Its independence movement aspires to join Russia.[3]	Foreign relations of South Ossetia, International recognition of Abkhazia and South Ossetia	[11][6][4]

Name	Disputed since	Recognition	Further information	References
Palestine	1988	Palestine is recognized as independent by 96 UN member states and by the Holy See and missions of the PLO (considered representative of the Palestinian people) having diplomatic or special status in 12 other countries. It is not recognized by Israel, the United States, most Western European and Latin American countries, among others. The Palestinian Authority governing the claimed Palestinian territory is not fully controlled by the PLO and has not declared independence so far.	Foreign relations of the Palestinian National Authority	[12]

Name	Disputed since	Recognition	Further information	References
Cyprus	1974	Cyprus is not recognized by Turkey and Northern Cyprus. Turkey and the Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus refer to it as "Güney Kıbrıs Rum Kesimi," Greek Part of Southern Cyprus.	Foreign relations of Cyprus	[13][14]
Czech Republic	1993	The Czech Republic is not recognized by Liechtenstein due to a dispute over the applicability of the Beneš decrees.	Foreign relations of the Czech Republic	[15]
Israel	1948	Israel has no diplomatic relations with 34 countries. It is not recognized by 26 countries and the partially recognized Sahrawi Arab Democratic Republic.III	Foreign relations of Israel	[16]
Liechtenstein	1993	Liechtenstein is recognized by neither the Czech Republic nor Slovakia due to Liechtenstein's refusal to recognize them.	Foreign relations of Liechtenstein	[15]
Democratic People's Republic of Korea	1948	Democratic People's Republic of Korea is not recognized by Japan and Republic of Korea.[17]	Foreign relations of North Korea	[18][19]
Republic of Korea	1948	Republic of Korea is not recognized by Democratic People's Republic of Korea.	Foreign relations of South Korea	[20][21]
People's Republic of China (PRC)	1949	The People's Republic of China is not recognized by the Republic of China (Taiwan). Because of the One-China policy, the PRC is not recognized by the 23 UN member states that recognize the ROC.	PRC's diplomatic relations, Foreign relations of the PRC	[22]
Slovakia	1993	Slovakia is not recognized by Liechtenstein due to a dispute over the applicability of the Beneš decrees.	Foreign relations of Slovakia	[15]

• Micronation
• List of historical unrecognized countries
• List of active autonomist and secessionist movements
• List of historical autonomist and secessionist movements
• Government in exile
• List of territorial disputes
• Unrepresented Nations and Peoples Organization
• United Nations list of Non-Self-Governing Territories
• Flags of unrecognized and partially recognized states

• ^I  See International reaction to the 2008 Kosovo declaration of independence for a complete list of nations, that formally recognize Kosovo's independence.
• ^II  See Political status of Taiwan.
• ^III  See Foreign relations of Israel for the list of countries that do not recognize Israel and countries that do not have formal diplomatic relations with Israel.

• United Nations petitioned by Pridnestrovie, two other unrecognized countries
• Unrecognized countries appeal to international law