Newest Countries in the World Since 1990

What is the newest country in the world?

South Sudan. It declared independence from Sudan on 9 July 2011, after 98.8% of voters backed separation in a referendum that January, and it became the 193rd member of the United Nations on 14 July 2011 [3]. It is still the most recent sovereign state with widespread recognition [3]. Independence followed decades of civil war between Sudan’s government and the south, and South Sudan itself fell into civil war from 2013 to 2018 [3].

List of the newest countries since 1990

Julie Peasley’s map above, built on World Population Review data, counts 31 countries formed between 1990 and 2011 [1][2]. Working back from the most recent:

Year	Country	How it formed
2011	South Sudan	Independence from Sudan after a long war
2008	Kosovo	Declared independence from Serbia (partly recognised)
2006	Montenegro, Serbia	Dissolution of the State Union of Serbia and Montenegro
2002	East Timor (Timor-Leste)	Independence after Indonesian occupation
1994	Palau	Independence from a US-administered UN trust territory
1993	Eritrea	Independence from Ethiopia after a war
1993	Czech Republic, Slovakia	Peaceful split of Czechoslovakia
1991 to 1992	Slovenia, Croatia, North Macedonia, Bosnia and Herzegovina	Break-up of Yugoslavia
1990 to 1991	Russia, Ukraine, Belarus, Moldova, Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania, Georgia, Armenia, Azerbaijan, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan, Uzbekistan	Dissolution of the Soviet Union
1990	Namibia	Independence from South Africa after a war
1990	Yemen	Merger of North and South Yemen
1990	Germany	Reunification of East and West Germany

Sources: [1][2]. Lithuania is dated 1990 because its Act of 11 March 1990 made it the first Soviet republic to declare independence; the other 14 followed over the next 21 months [5]. World Population Review’s wider list also includes states that were already independent but joined the UN after 1990, such as Micronesia, which the map leaves out [2].

Why so many countries formed in the 1990s

Most of the new countries of the early 1990s came from the end of communism in Europe. The collapse of the Soviet Union created 15 states, 14 of them in 1991 [1][5]. Yugoslavia broke up in a series of wars from 1991, producing Slovenia, Croatia, North Macedonia and Bosnia and Herzegovina, with Serbia and Montenegro separating peacefully in 2006 and Kosovo declaring independence in 2008 [1]. Czechoslovakia split peacefully into the Czech Republic and Slovakia on 1 January 1993, a split often called the Velvet Divorce [1].

Outside Europe, new states came mostly from long independence struggles: Namibia from South Africa, Eritrea from Ethiopia, East Timor from Indonesia and South Sudan from Sudan [1]. Two of the 1990 entries are the opposite of a break-up: Germany and Yemen were formed by merging two states [1].

Is Kosovo a country?

Partly. Kosovo declared independence from Serbia in 2008 and is recognised by more than half of UN member states: at least 110 of 193 as of December 2025, about 57% [4]. Serbia, Russia, China and several EU countries do not recognise it, and it is not a UN member [4]. That makes it the newest country on most lists with an asterisk.

How does a new country become a country?

There is no single authority that creates countries. The most widely cited test is the 1933 Montevideo Convention, which says a state needs a permanent population, a defined territory, a government and the capacity to enter into relations with other states [8]. In practice, recognition by other countries matters just as much, and the clearest sign of acceptance is UN membership. A new member is admitted by the General Assembly on the recommendation of the Security Council, where any of the five permanent members can block it [9]. That is why Kosovo, which meets most practical tests, is still outside the UN, and why places like Somaliland can run their own affairs for decades without being counted as countries.

What could be the next new country?

• Bougainville. In a 2019 referendum, 98.31% of voters in this autonomous region of Papua New Guinea chose independence [6]. The vote was non-binding. In July 2026 Bougainville’s leaders recommended 1 September 2030 as the target date for independence, though the Papua New Guinea parliament had still to ratify the result [6].
• Somaliland. It has governed itself since 1991 but is claimed by Somalia. On 26 December 2025 Israel became the first and only UN member state to recognise it [7].
• Other movements in places such as Scotland, Catalonia and New Caledonia have held or sought referendums, but none has produced a new state.

Questions about the newest countries

What is the youngest country in the world?

South Sudan, independent since 9 July 2011 [3].

What is the newest country in Europe?

Kosovo (2008), if you count partly recognised states; otherwise Montenegro and Serbia (2006) [1][4].

How many countries are there in the world?

The UN has 193 member states, plus two observer states, the Vatican and Palestine. South Sudan was the last to join, in 2011 [3].

How many countries came from the Soviet Union?

Fifteen, including Russia [1][5].

What was the newest country before South Sudan?

Kosovo in 2008, or Montenegro in 2006 among UN members [1][2].

Sources

1. Julie Peasley, Voronoi, World’s Newest Countries Since 1990, 17 April 2024, the original post for this map.
2. World Population Review, Newest Countries, the data source named on the map.
3. Wikipedia, South Sudan.
4. Wikipedia, International recognition of Kosovo.
5. Wikipedia, Act of the Re-Establishment of the State of Lithuania.
6. Wikipedia, 2019 Bougainvillean independence referendum.
7. Wikipedia, Somaliland.
8. Wikipedia, Montevideo Convention.
9. Wikipedia, Member states of the United Nations.

Last reviewed 2 November 2026