According to Article 1 of the Montevideo Convention on the Rights and Duties of States, signed in Montevideo, Uruguay on December 26, 1933, a state as a subject of international law (a fully sovereign state) must meet the following criteria: a stable population, a defined territory, a government, and the capacity to enter into international relations.
In practice, some countries declare themselves independent but are either not internationally recognized as political entities or are widely recognized, yet their governments lack sufficient authority.
Essential Characteristics of an Independent State
- A distinct territory with clearly defined borders
- A permanent population
- A government and other legal institutions
- Sovereignty (the ability to be independent from other states and to exercise absolute control over its territory, govern, protect it from external forces, enforce laws, and collect taxes);
- The ability to maintain foreign relations (in practice, official diplomatic relations can only be established if recognized by partner states).
What is Absolutely Necessary for Each Nation?
There are several crucial attributes essential for every independent nation, which help distinguish it from others: a national flag, national anthem, coat of arms, capital city, citizens’ passports, language, currency, national ISO code, international dialing code, and country domain. These attributes define the identity of a nation, making it recognizable worldwide and widely utilized in everyday life.
There are currently a total of 204 countries in the world.
Nevertheless, if we include these entities, there are a total of 204 countries in the world today. This includes:
- 193 countries recognized as official members of the United Nations.
- 2 observer states at the United Nations, which are the Vatican City and Palestine (due to many countries not recognizing the State of Palestine).
- 2 regions recognized by many countries as independent in practice: Taiwan (which has 19 UN member states and the Vatican maintaining official relations) and Kosovo (recognized by 111 out of 193 UN member states, 23 out of 28 European Union member states, 24 out of 28 NATO member states, and 35 out of 61 member states of the Organization of Islamic Cooperation).
- 1 region recognized by many countries but not independent in practice: Western Sahara (the African Union and at least 41 countries recognize this as a sovereign territory but it is currently occupied).
- 6 regions that have declared independence but are not recognized: Abkhazia (recognized only by Russia, Nicaragua, Venezuela, Nauru, Tuvalu, and Vanuatu); Northern Cyprus (recognized only by Turkey); South Ossetia (recognized only by Russia, Nicaragua, and Venezuela); Somaliland, Transnistria, and Nagorno-Karabakh (none of these three regions have been recognized by any country or international organization).
