The following is a list providing an overview of sovereign states around the world with information on their status and recognition of their sovereignty.
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The 205 listed states can be divided into three categories based on membership within the United Nations System: 193 UN member states,[1] two UN General Assembly non-member observer states, and ten other states. The sovereignty dispute column indicates states having undisputed sovereignty (188 states, of which there are 187 UN member states and one UN General Assembly non-member observer state), states having disputed sovereignty (15 states, of which there are six UN member states, one UN General Assembly non-member observer state, and eight de facto states), and states having a special political status (two states, both in free association with New Zealand).
Compiling a list such as this can be complicated and controversial, as there is no definition that is binding on all the members of the community of nations concerning the criteria for statehood. For more information on the criteria used to determine the contents of this list, please see the criteria for inclusion section below. The list is intended to include entities that have been recognised as having de facto status as sovereign states, and inclusion should not be seen as an endorsement of any specific claim to statehood in legal terms.
Criteria for inclusion
The dominant customary international law standard of statehood is the declarative theory of statehood, which was codified by the Montevideo Convention of 1933. The Convention defines the state as a person of international law if it "possess[es] the following qualifications: (a) a permanent population; (b) a defined territory; (c) government; and (d) a capacity to enter into relations with the other states" so long as it was not "obtained by force whether this consists in the employment of arms, in threatening diplomatic representations, or in any other effective coercive measure".[2]
Debate exists on the degree to which recognition should be included as a criterion of statehood. The declarative theory of statehood argues that statehood is purely objective and recognition of a state by other states is irrelevant. On the other end of the spectrum, the constitutive theory of statehood defines a state as a person under international law only if it is recognised as sovereign by other states. For the purposes of this list, included are all polities that consider themselves sovereign states (through a declaration of independence or some other means) and either:
- are often regarded as satisfying the declarative theory of statehood, or
- are recognised as a sovereign state by at least one UN member state
In some cases, there is a divergence of opinion over the interpretation of the first point, and whether an entity satisfies it is disputed. Unique political entities which fail to meet the classification of a sovereign state are considered proto-states.[3][4]
On the basis of the above criteria, this list includes the following 205 entities:[a][b]
- 203 states recognised by at least one UN member state
- One state that satisfies the declarative theory of statehood and is recognised only by non-UN member states
- One state that satisfies the declarative theory of statehood and is not recognised by any other state
The table includes bullets in the right-hand column representing entities that are either not sovereign states or have a close association to another sovereign state. It also includes subnational areas where the sovereignty of the titular state is limited by an international agreement. Taken together, these include:
- Entities that are in a free association relationship with another state
- Two entities controlled by Pakistan which are neither sovereign states, dependent territories, nor part of another state: Azad Kashmir and Gilgit-Baltistan
- Dependent territories of another state, as well as areas that exhibit many characteristics of dependent territories according to the dependent territory page
- Subnational entities created by international agreements
List of states
UN member states and General Assembly observer states
"Membership within the UN System" column legend |
"Sovereignty dispute" column legend Undisputed sovereignty
Disputed sovereignty
|
Common and formal names | Membership within the UN System[c] | Sovereignty dispute[d] | Further information on status and recognition of sovereignty[f] |
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Afghanistan | UN member state | None | The ![]() The former ruling government, the |
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UN member state | None | |
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UN member state | None | |
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UN member state | None | Andorra is a co-principality in which the office of head of state is jointly held ex officio by the French president and the bishop of the Roman Catholic diocese of Urgell,[7] who himself is appointed with approval from the Holy See. |
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UN member state | None | |
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UN member state | None | Antigua and Barbuda is a Commonwealth realm[g] with one autonomous region, Barbuda.[8][h] |
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UN member state | None | Argentina is a federation of 23 provinces and one autonomous city.[j] |
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UN member state | Not recognised by Pakistan | Armenia is not recognised by Pakistan due to the dispute over Artsakh.[10][11][12][needs update] |
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UN member state | None | Australia is a Commonwealth realm[g] and a federation of both states and territories. There are six states, three internal territories, six external territories and one claimed Antarctic external territory. The external territories of Australia are: |
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UN member state | None | Member of the European Union.[e] Austria is a federation of nine states. |
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UN member state | None | Azerbaijan contains one autonomous region, Nakhchivan.[h] |
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UN member state | None | The Bahamas is a Commonwealth realm.[g] |
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UN member state | None | |
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UN member state | None | |
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UN member state | None | |
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UN member state | None | Many states rescinded their recognition of President Alexander Lukashenko following the disputed 2020 election. Lithuania currently recognises Sviatlana Tsikhanouskaya's Coordination Council as the legitimate government of Belarus.[15] |
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UN member state | None | Member of the EU.[e] Belgium is a federation of three linguistic communities and three regions. |
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UN member state | None | Belize is a Commonwealth realm.[g] |
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UN member state | None | |
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UN member state | None | |
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UN member state | None | |
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UN member state | None | Bosnia and Herzegovina has two constituent entities:
and Brčko District, a self-governing administrative district.[16] |
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UN member state | None | |
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UN member state | None | Brazil is a federation of 26 states and one federal district. |
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UN member state | None | |
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UN member state | None | Member of the EU.[e] |
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UN member state | None | |
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UN member state | None | |
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UN member state | None | |
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UN member state | None | |
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UN member state | None | Canada is a Commonwealth realm[g] and a federation of 10 provinces and three territories. |
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UN member state | None | |
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UN member state | None | |
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UN member state | None | |
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UN member state | None | Chile has one special territory, Easter Island.[n] |
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UN member state | Partially unrecognised. Claimed by the Republic of China | China contains five autonomous regions, Guangxi, Inner Mongolia, Ningxia, Tibet, and Xinjiang.[h] Additionally, it has sovereignty over two Special Administrative Regions:
China claims, but does not control, Taiwan, which is governed by a rival administration (the Republic of China) that claims all of China as its territory.[p] China is not recognised by 11 UN member states and Vatican City, which, with the exception of Bhutan, all recognise the Republic of China (Taiwan) instead.[q] |
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UN member state | None | |
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UN member state | None | Comoros is a federation of three islands.[r] |
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UN member state | None | |
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UN member state | None | |
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UN member state | None | |
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UN member state | None | Member of the EU.[e] |
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UN member state | None | |
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UN member state | Not recognised by Turkey[19] | Member of the EU.[e] The northeastern part of the island is the de facto state of Northern Cyprus.
Cyprus is not recognised by Turkey due to the Cyprus problem, with Turkey recognising Northern Cyprus. |
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UN member state | None | Member of the EU.[e] |
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UN member state | None | Member of the EU.[e] The Kingdom of Denmark includes two self-governing territories:
The metropolitan territory of Denmark, the Faroe Islands and Greenland form the three constituent countries of the Kingdom.[v] The Kingdom of Denmark as a whole is a member of the EU, but EU law (in most cases) does not apply to the Faroe Islands and Greenland. See Greenland and the European Union, and Faroe Islands and the European Union.[20][21] |
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UN member state | None | |
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UN member state | None | |
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UN member state | None | |
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UN member state | None | |
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UN member state | None | |
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UN member state | None | |
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UN member state | None | |
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UN member state | None | |
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UN member state | None | |
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UN member state | None | Member of the EU.[e] |
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UN member state | None | |
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UN member state | None | Ethiopia is a federation of 12 regions and two chartered cities. |
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UN member state | None | Fiji contains one autonomous region, Rotuma.[h][22][23] |
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UN member state | None | Member of the EU.[e] |
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UN member state | None | Member of the EU.[e] France contains five overseas regions/departments; French Guiana, Guadeloupe, Martinique, Mayotte, and Réunion. France also includes eight overseas territories: |
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UN member state | None | |
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UN member state | None | |
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UN member state | None | Georgia contains two autonomous republics, Adjara and Abkhazia.[h] In Abkhazia and South Ossetia, de facto states have been formed. |
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UN member state | None | Member of the EU.[e] Germany is a federation of 16 states. |
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UN member state | None | |
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UN member state | None | Member of the EU.[e] Greece contains one autonomous area, Mount Athos.[25] |
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UN member state | None | Grenada is a Commonwealth realm.[g] |
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UN member state | None | |
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UN member state | None | |
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UN member state | None | |
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UN member state | None | |
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UN member state | None | |
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UN member state | None | |
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UN member state | None | Member of the EU.[e] |
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UN member state | None | |
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UN member state | None | India is a federation of 28 states and eight union territories. |
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UN member state | None | Indonesia has nine autonomous provinces: Aceh, Jakarta, Central Papua, Highland Papua, Papua, South Papua, Southwest Papua, West Papua, and Yogyakarta.[h] |
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UN member state | None | |
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UN member state | None | Iraq is a federation[r][29] of 19 governorates, four of which make up the autonomous Kurdistan Region.[h] |
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UN member state | None | Member of the EU.[e] |
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UN member state | Partially unrecognised | Israel exerts strong control over the territory claimed by Palestine. It has annexed East Jerusalem,[31] an act not recognised by the international community.[32] Israel has varying levels of control over the rest of the West Bank, and although it ended its permanent civilian or military presence in the Gaza Strip, it is still considered to be the occupying power under international law.[33][34][35][36]
Israel is not recognised as a state by 28 UN members and the Sahrawi Arab Democratic Republic. The Palestine Liberation Organization, recognised by a majority of UN member states as the representative of the Palestinian people, recognised Israel in 1993. |
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UN member state | None | Member of the EU.[e] Italy has five autonomous regions: Aosta Valley, Friuli-Venezia Giulia, Sardinia, Sicily and Trentino-Alto Adige/Südtirol.[h] |
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UN member state | None | |
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UN member state | None | Jamaica is a Commonwealth realm.[g] |
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UN member state | None | |
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UN member state | None | |
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UN member state | None | |
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UN member state | None | |
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UN member state | None | |
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UN member state | None | |
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UN member state | None | |
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UN member state | None | |
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UN member state | None | Member of the EU.[e] |
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UN member state | None | |
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UN member state | None | |
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UN member state | None | |
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UN member state | None | |
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UN member state | None | |
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UN member state | None | Member of the EU.[e] |
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UN member state | None | Member of the EU.[e] |
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UN member state | None | |
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UN member state | None | |
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UN member state | None | Malaysia is a federation of 13 states and three federal territories. |
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UN member state | None | |
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UN member state | None | |
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UN member state | None | Member of the EU.[e] |
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UN member state | None | Under Compact of Free Association with the United States. |
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UN member state | None | |
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UN member state | None | Mauritius has an autonomous island, Rodrigues.[h] |
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UN member state | None | Mexico is a federation of 31 states and one autonomous city. |
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UN member state | None | Under Compact of Free Association with the United States. The Federated States of Micronesia is a federation of four states. |
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UN member state | None | Moldova has two autonomous territorial units, Gagauzia and the Left Bank of the Dniester. The latter and a city, Bender (Tighina), are under the de facto control of Transnistria. |
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UN member state | None | |
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UN member state | None | |
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UN member state | None | |
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UN member state | None | Part of the Moroccan-claimed Western Sahara is controlled by the partially recognised Sahrawi Arab Democratic Republic. |
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UN member state | None | |
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UN member state | None | Wa State is a de facto autonomous state within Myanmar. The United Nations has not recognised the de facto ruling government of Myanmar, the State Administration Council.[6] |
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UN member state | None | |
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UN member state | None | |
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UN member state | None | Nepal is a federation composed of seven provinces. |
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UN member state | None | Member of the EU.[e] The Kingdom of the Netherlands includes four areas with substantial autonomy:
The Metropolitan Netherlands, Aruba, Curaçao and Sint Maarten form the four constituent countries of the Kingdom. Three overseas parts of the Netherlands (Bonaire, Saba and Sint Eustatius) are special municipalities of the metropolitan Netherlands.[af] The Kingdom of the Netherlands as a whole is a member of the EU, but EU law only wholly applies to parts within Europe. |
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UN member state | None | New Zealand is a Commonwealth realm,[g] and has one dependent territory and one claimed Antarctic dependent territory:
The New Zealand Government acts for the entire Realm of New Zealand in all international contexts, which has responsibilities for (but no rights of control over) two freely associated states: The Cook Islands and Niue have diplomatic relations with 63 and 25 UN members respectively.[37][38] They have full treaty-making capacity in the UN,[39] and are members of some UN specialized agencies. |
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UN member state | None | Nicaragua contains two autonomous regions, North Caribbean Coast and South Caribbean Coast.[h] |
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UN member state | None | |
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UN member state | None | Nigeria is a federation of 36 states and one federal territory. |
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UN member state | Claimed by South Korea | North Korea is not recognised by one UN member, South Korea, which claims to be the sole legitimate government of Korea.[40] |
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UN member state | None | |
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UN member state | None | Norway has two unincorporated areas in Europe:
Norway has one dependent territory and two claimed Antarctic dependent territories in the Southern Hemisphere: |
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UN member state | None | |
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UN member state | None | Pakistan is a federation of four provinces and one capital territory. Pakistan exercises control over certain portions of Kashmir, but has not officially annexed any of it,[41][42] instead regarding it as a disputed territory.[43][44] The portions that it controls are divided into two territories, administered separately from Pakistan proper:
Azad Kashmir describes itself as a "self-governing state under Pakistani control", while Gilgit-Baltistan is described in its governance order as a group of "areas" with self-government.[45][46][47] These territories are not usually regarded as sovereign, as they do not fulfil the criteria set out by the declarative theory of statehood (for example, their current laws do not allow them to engage independently in relations with other states). Several state functions of these territories (such as foreign affairs and defense) are performed by Pakistan.[46][48][49] |
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UN member state | None | Under Compact of Free Association with the United States. |
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UN General Assembly observer state; member of two UN specialized agencies | Partially unrecognised | The State of Palestine, declared in 1988, is not recognised as a state by Israel but has received diplomatic recognition from 146 states.[50] The proclaimed state has no agreed territorial borders, or effective control over much of the territory that it proclaimed.[51] The Palestinian Authority is an interim administrative body formed as a result of the Oslo Accords that exercises limited autonomous jurisdiction within the occupied Palestinian territories. In foreign relations, Palestine is represented by the Palestine Liberation Organization.[52] The State of Palestine is a member state of UNESCO,[53] UNIDO and other international organizations.[54] |
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UN member state | None | |
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UN member state | None | Papua New Guinea is a Commonwealth realm[g] with one autonomous region, Bougainville.[h] |
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UN member state | None | |
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UN member state | None | |
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UN member state | None | The Philippines contains one autonomous region, Bangsamoro.[h] |
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UN member state | None | Member of the EU.[e] |
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UN member state | None | Member of the EU.[e] Portugal contains two autonomous regions, the Azores and Madeira.[h] |
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UN member state | None | |
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UN member state | None | Member of the EU.[e] |
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UN member state | None | Russia is a federation of 83 internationally recognised federal subjects (republics, oblasts, krais, autonomous okrugs, federal cities, and an autonomous oblast). Several of the federal subjects are ethnic republics.[h] |
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UN member state | None | |
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UN member state | None | Saint Kitts and Nevis is a Commonwealth realm[g] and is a federation[r] of two islands, Saint Kitts and Nevis. |
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UN member state | None | Saint Lucia is a Commonwealth realm.[g] |
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UN member state | None | Saint Vincent and the Grenadines is a Commonwealth realm.[g] |
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UN member state | None | |
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UN member state | None | |
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UN member state | None | São Tomé and Príncipe contains one autonomous province, Príncipe.[h] |
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UN member state | None | |
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UN member state | None | |
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UN member state | None | Serbia contains two autonomous provinces, Vojvodina and Kosovo and Metohija.[h] The latter is under the de facto control of Kosovo. |
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UN member state | None | |
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UN member state | None | |
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UN member state | None | |
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UN member state | None | Member of the EU.[e] |
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UN member state | None | Member of the EU.[e] |
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UN member state | None | Solomon Islands is a Commonwealth realm.[g] |
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UN member state | None | Somalia is a federation of six states. Two, Puntland and Galmudug, have self-declared autonomy, while one, Somaliland, is de facto independent. |
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UN member state | None | |
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UN member state | Claimed by North Korea | South Korea has one autonomous region, Jeju Province.[h][55]
South Korea is not recognised by North Korea, which claims to be the sole legitimate government of Korea. |
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UN member state | None | South Sudan is a federation of 10 states and three administrative areas.
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UN member state | None | Member of the EU.[e] Spain is divided into 17 autonomous communities and two special autonomous cities.[h][ah] |
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UN member state | None | |
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UN member state | None | Sudan is a federation of 18 states.
|
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UN member state | None | |
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UN member state | None | Member of the EU.[e] |
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UN member state | None | Switzerland is a federation of 26 cantons. |
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UN member state | None | The National Coalition of Syrian Revolutionary and Opposition Forces, which is recognised as the legitimate representative of the Syrian people by 20 UN members, has established an interim government to rule rebel-controlled territory during the Syrian civil war.
Syria has one self-declared autonomous region, Rojava. |
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UN member state | None | Tajikistan contains one autonomous region, Gorno-Badakhshan.[h] |
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UN member state | None | Tanzania contains one autonomous region, Zanzibar.[h] |
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UN member state | None | |
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UN member state | None | |
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UN member state | None | |
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UN member state | None | Trinidad and Tobago contains one autonomous region, Tobago.[h] |
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UN member state | None | |
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UN member state | None | |
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UN member state | None | |
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UN member state | None | Tuvalu is a Commonwealth realm.[g] |
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UN member state | None | |
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UN member state | None | Ukraine contains one autonomous region, the Autonomous Republic of Crimea,[h] which is under the control of Russia. Seven other areas of Ukraine are under full or partial Russian control, including Donetsk, Kharkiv, Kherson, Luhansk, Mykolaiv, Zaporizhzhia oblasts and Sevastopol. |
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UN member state | None | The United Arab Emirates is a federation of seven emirates. |
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UN member state | None | The United Kingdom is a Commonwealth realm[g] consisting of four constituent countries: England, Northern Ireland, Scotland, and Wales. The United Kingdom has the following 13 overseas territories and one claimed Antarctic dependent territory:
The British monarch also has direct sovereignty over three self-governing Crown Dependencies: |
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UN member state | None | The United States is a federation of 50 states, one federal district, and one incorporated territory. Additionally, the federal government of the United States has sovereignty over 13 unincorporated territories. Of these territories, five are inhabited possessions:
The United States also has sovereignty over eight uninhabited territories:
The United States disputes sovereignty over two territories: Three sovereign states have become associated states of the United States under the Compact of Free Association: |
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UN member state | None | |
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UN member state | None | Uzbekistan contains one autonomous region, Karakalpakstan.[h] |
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UN member state | None | |
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UN General Assembly observer state under the designation of "Holy See"; member of three UN specialized agencies | None | Administered by the Holy See, a sovereign entity with diplomatic relations to 183 states (including 180 UN member states, the Cook Islands, the Republic of China (Taiwan), and Palestine).[58] In addition, the European Union and the Sovereign Military Order of Malta maintain diplomatic relations with the Holy See. The Holy See is a member of three UN specialized agencies (ITU, UPU, and WIPO) and the IAEA, as well as being a permanent observer of the UN (in the category of "Non-member State")[52] and multiple other UN System organizations. The Vatican City is governed by officials appointed by the Pope, who is the Bishop of the Diocese of Rome and ex officio sovereign of Vatican City. |
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UN member state | None | Venezuela is a federation of 23 states, one capital district, and federal dependencies. |
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UN member state | None | |
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UN member state | None | |
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UN member state | None | |
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UN member state | None |
Other states
"Membership within the UN System" column legend Member state of a UN Specialized Agency
No membership |
"Sovereignty dispute" column legend Undisputed sovereignty
Disputed sovereignty
|
Common and formal names | Membership within the UN System[c] | Sovereignty dispute[d] | Further information on status and recognition of sovereignty[f] |
---|---|---|---|
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No membership | Claimed by Georgia | Recognised by Russia, Nicaragua, Nauru, Syria, Venezuela, South Ossetia, and Transnistria.[59] Claimed in whole by Georgia as the Autonomous Republic of Abkhazia. |
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UN specialized agencies | Member of eight(See political status) |
NoneA state in free association with New Zealand, the Cook Islands maintains diplomatic relations with at least 63 other states and is recognized as a sovereign state by a number of them. The Cook Islands is a member of multiple UN agencies with full treaty-making capacity.[39] It shares a head of state with New Zealand as well as having shared citizenship. |
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UN specialized agencies | Member of twoClaimed by Serbia | Pursuant to United Nations Security Council Resolution 1244, Kosovo was placed under the administration of the United Nations Interim Administration Mission in Kosovo in 1999.[60] Kosovo declared independence in 2008, and it has received diplomatic recognition from 114 UN member states and the Republic of China (Taiwan), while 18 of those states have recognised Kosovo only to later withdraw their recognition.[61] Serbia continues to maintain its sovereignty claim over Kosovo. Other UN member states and non UN member states continue to recognise Serbian sovereignty or have taken no position on the question. Kosovo is a member of the International Monetary Fund and the World Bank Group. The Republic of Kosovo has de facto control over most of the territory, with limited control in North Kosovo. |
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UN specialized agencies | Member of five(See political status) |
NoneA state in free association with New Zealand, Niue maintains diplomatic relations with at least 28 other states and is recognized as a sovereign state by a number of them. Niue is a member of multiple UN agencies with full treaty-making capacity.[39] It shares a head of state with New Zealand as well as having shared citizenship. |
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No membership | Claimed by the Republic of Cyprus | Recognised only by Turkey. Under the name "Turkish Cypriot State", it is an observer state of the Organisation of Islamic Cooperation and the Economic Cooperation Organization. Northern Cyprus is claimed in whole by the Republic of Cyprus.[62] |
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No membership | Claimed by Morocco | The Polisario Front, which administers the Sahrawi Arab Democratic Republic, is recognized by the UN as the legitimate representative of the people of Western Sahara.[63][64] Recognised at some stage by 84 UN member states, 38 of which have since withdrawn or frozen their recognition. It is a founding member of the African Union, an international organization with permanent observer status at the UN General Assembly.
The territories under its control, the so-called Free Zone, are claimed in whole by Morocco as part of its Southern Provinces. In turn, the Sahrawi Arab Democratic Republic claims the part of Western Sahara to the west of the Moroccan sand wall controlled by Morocco. Its government resides in exile in Tindouf, Algeria. |
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No membership | Claimed by Somalia | A de facto independent state[65][66][67] not formally diplomatically recognised by any other state[ak] and claimed in whole by the Federal Republic of Somalia.[68] |
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No membership | Claimed by Georgia | A de facto independent state,[69] recognised by Russia, Nicaragua, Nauru, Syria, Venezuela, Abkhazia, and Transnistria. Claimed in whole by Georgia through the Administration of South Ossetia.[70] |
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UN member state until 1971, now no membership | Partially unrecognised. Claimed by the People's Republic of China | A state competing (nominally) for recognition with the People's Republic of China (PRC) as the government of China since 1949. The Republic of China (ROC) controls the islands of Taiwan, Penghu, Kinmen, the Matsu Islands, and Pratas Island, as well as Taiping Island and Zhongzhou Reef of the Spratly Islands, and has not renounced claims over its annexed territories on the mainland.[71] The ROC is recognised by 11 UN member states and Vatican City, none of which recognise the PRC. Additionally, one UN member (Bhutan) has refrained from recognising either the ROC or the PRC.
In addition to these relations, the ROC also maintains unofficial relations[72] with 58 UN member states, one self-declared state (Somaliland), three territories (Guam, Hong Kong, and Macau), and the European Union via its representative offices and consulates under the One China principle. Taiwan has the 31st-largest diplomatic network in the world with 110 offices.[73] The territory of the ROC is claimed in whole by the PRC.[p] The ROC participates in international organizations under a variety of pseudonyms, most commonly "Chinese Taipei". In the WTO, the ROC has full membership under the designation of "Separate Customs Territory of Taiwan, Penghu, Kinmen and Matsu". The ROC was a founding member of the UN and enjoyed membership from 1945 to 1971, with veto power in the UN Security Council. See China and the United Nations. |
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No membership | Claimed by Moldova | A de facto independent state,[65] recognised only by Abkhazia and South Ossetia.[59] Claimed in whole by Moldova.[74] |
See also
- Armorial of sovereign states
- Associated state
- Condominium
- Dependent territory
- ISO 3166-1
- List of adjectival and demonymic forms for countries and nations
- List of administrative divisions by country
- List of countries and dependencies and their capitals in native languages
- List of countries and dependencies by area
- List of countries and dependencies by population
- List of countries and territories by the United Nations geoscheme
- List of country-name etymologies
- List of international rankings
- List of ISO 3166 country codes
- List of micronations
- List of national capitals
- List of national flags of sovereign states
- List of rebel groups that control territory
- List of states with limited recognition
- List of territorial disputes
- List of territories governed by the United Nations
- Lists of political entities by century
- Lists of state leaders by century
- Member states of the United Nations
- Sovereign state
- Template:Clickable world map
- Terra nullius
- United Nations list of non-self-governing territories
Notes
- The Sovereign Military Order of Malta is not included, as despite being a sovereign entity it lacks territory and does not claim statehood. Entities considered to be micronations are not included. It is often up to debate whether a micronation truly controls its claimed territory. Also omitted from this list are all uncontacted peoples, either who live in societies that cannot be defined as states or whose statuses as such are not definitively known.
- This column indicates whether or not a state is a member of the United Nations.[1] It also indicates which non-member states participate in the United Nations System through membership in the International Atomic Energy Agency or one of the specialized agencies of the United Nations. All United Nations members belong to at least one specialized agency and are parties to the statute of the International Court of Justice.
- The member states of the European Union have transferred part of their sovereignty in the form of legislative, executive, and judicial powers to the institutions of the EU, which is an example of supranational union. The EU has 27 member states.[13]
- Information is included on:
- The extent to which a state's sovereignty is recognised internationally. More information can be found at List of states with limited recognition,
- Membership in the European Union,[e] where applicable,
- Any dependencies, if applicable, which are generally not part of the territory of the sovereign state,
- federal structure of the state, where applicable. More information can be found at Federated state,
- Any autonomous areas inside the territory of the sovereign state,
- Any situations where one person is the Head of State of more than one state,
- Any governments-in-exile recognised by at least one state.
- Commonwealth realm refers to any member state of the Commonwealth of Nations whose head of state is King Charles III. Each realm is separate, independent, and a sovereign state; see Commonwealth realm interrelationship.
- For more information on divisions with a high degree of autonomy, see List of autonomous areas by country.
- The Argentine Constitution (Art. 35) recognises the following denominations for Argentina: "United Provinces of the Río de la Plata", "Argentine Republic" and "Argentine Confederation"; furthermore, it establishes the usage of "Argentine Nation" for purposes of legislation.
- Argentina's claimed Antarctic territory of Argentine Antarctica (Antártida Argentina) is one of five constituent departments of the province Tierra del Fuego.[9]
- The legal name for Canada is the sole word; an officially sanctioned, though disused, name is Dominion of Canada (which includes its legal title); see: Use of Dominion, Dominion#Canada.
- The government of Cape Verde declared "Cabo Verde" to be the official English name of the country in 2013.[17]
- Chile's claimed Antarctic territory of the Chilean Antarctic (Antártica Chilena) is a commune of the Antártica Chilena Province of the Magallanes Region.
- The People's Republic of China (PRC) is commonly referred to as "China", while the Republic of China (ROC) is commonly referred to as "Taiwan". The ROC is also occasionally known diplomatically as Chinese Taipei, or by other alternative names.
- In 1949, the Republic of China government led by the Kuomintang (KMT) lost the Chinese Civil War to the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) and set up a provisional capital in Taipei. The CCP established the PRC. As such, the political status of the ROC and legal status of Taiwan (alongside the territories under ROC jurisdiction) are in dispute. In 1971, the United Nations gave the China seat to the PRC. In the view of the United Nations, no member of the organization withdrew as a consequence of this, but the ROC representatives declared that they were withdrawing. Most states recognise the PRC to be the sole legitimate representative of all China, and the UN classifies Taiwan as "Taiwan, Province of China". The ROC has de facto relations with most sovereign states. A significant political movement within Taiwan advocates Taiwan independence.
- More information on more or less federal structures can be found at Federal governments.[18]
- Also known as Congo-Kinshasa. Formerly referred to as Zaire, its official name from 1971 to 1997.
- An official short name in English has been adopted by the Czech government, "Czechia". This variant remains uncommon, but has been adopted by several companies and organizations including the United Nations. See Name of the Czech Republic.
- Åland was demilitarized by the Treaty of Paris in 1856, which was later affirmed by the League of Nations in 1921, and in a somewhat different context reaffirmed in the treaty on Finland's admission to the European Union in 1995.
- France's claimed Antarctic territory of Adélie Land (Terre Adélie) is one of five constituent districts of the French Southern and Antarctic Lands.
- While sometimes referred to as the "Republic of Iceland"[26][27] and sometimes its counterpart Lýðveldið Ísland in Icelandic, the official name of the country is simply "Iceland".[28] One example of the former is the name of the Constitution of Iceland, which in Icelandic is Stjórnarskrá lýðveldisins Íslands and literally means "the Constitution of the republic of Iceland". However, in this usage, "republic" is not capitalized.
- "Ireland" is the official name of the country in English. "Republic of Ireland" (the official description in English) and "Éire" (the official name in Irish) have sometimes been used unofficially to distinguish the state from the larger island of Ireland, however, this is officially deprecated.[30] See names of the Irish state.
- The country's official name of Myanmar, adopted in 1989, has been mixed and controversial, with the former name Burma still being used in many cases. See Names of Myanmar.
- The designation "the Netherlands" can refer either to the Metropolitan Netherlands or to the entire Kingdom (e.g. in international organisations).
- Formerly known constitutionally as the "Republic of Macedonia" from 1991 to 2019 and under the international designation of "the former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia" (FYROM) from 1993 to 2019 due to the Macedonia naming dispute with Greece. Following the Prespa Agreement going into effect in February 2019, the country was renamed "North Macedonia".
- Spain holds several small overseas territories scattered along the Mediterranean coast bordering Morocco, known as the plazas de soberanía.
- Formerly known as Ceylon until 1972.
References
Bibliography
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