Political conditions are constantly changing worldwide. But this not only changes positions of power and economic conditions. Older states are regularly divided into new areas. New nations are emerging. This change is taking place worldwide. That is why there are now many countries across the planet that are only a few years or decades old. But which are the 50 youngest countries in the world?

Ranking of the 50 youngest countries

Rank	Country	founding year
1	Kosovo (Europe)	2008
2	Palau (Australia-Oceania)	1994
3	Eritrea (Africa)	1993
4	Bosnia and Herzegovina (Europe)	1992
5	Azerbaijan (Asia)	1991
6	Kazakhstan (Asia)	1991
7	Kyrgyzstan (Asia)	1991
8	Slovenia (Europe)	1991
9	Tajikistan (Asia)	1991
10	Uzbekistan (Asia)	1991
11	Belarus (Europe)	1991
12	Namibia (Africa)	1990
13	Marshall Islands (Australia-Oceania)	1986
14	Micronesia (Australia-Oceania)	1986
15	St. Kitts and Nevis (North America)	1983
16	Antigua and Barbuda (North America)	1981
17	Belize (North America)	1981
18	Vanuatu (Australia-Oceania)	1980
19	Kiribati (Australia-Oceania)	1979
20	St. Lucia (North America)	1979
21	St. Vincent and the Grenadines (North America)	1979
22	Dominica (North America)	1978
23	Solomon Islands (Australia-Oceania)	1978
24	Tuvalu (Australia-Oceania)	1978
25	Djibouti (Africa)	1977
26	Seychelles (Africa)	1976
27	Angola (Africa)	1975
28	Cape Verde (Africa)	1975
29	Comoros (Africa)	1975
30	Mozambique (Africa)	1975
31	East Timor (Asia)	1975
32	Papua New Guinea (Australia-Oceania)	1975
33	Sao Tome and Principe (Africa)	1975
34	Suriname (South America)	1975
35	Grenada (North America)	1974
36	Niue (Australia-Oceania)	1974
37	Bahamas (North America)	1973
38	Guinea-Bissau (Africa)	1973
39	Bahrain (Asia)	1971
40	Bangladesh (Asia)	1971
41	United Arab Emirates (Asia)	1971
42	Fiji (Australia-Oceania)	1970
43	Tonga (Australia-Oceania)	1970
44	Equatorial Guinea (Africa)	1968
45	Mauritius (Africa)	1968
46	Nauru (Australia-Oceania)	1968
47	Barbados (North America)	1966
48	Botswana (Africa)	1966
49	Guyana (South America)	1966
50	Gambia (Africa)	1965
Founding years with a negative sign (-) are before the birth of Christ.

This country comparison takes 193 countries into account.

Founding year statistics

feature	value
Number of countries covered	193
average	1,237.76
Median	1821
minimum	-3200
maximum	2008
Standard deviation	1,151.25

Many countries in the world are only a few decades old

The founding of the oldest countries in the top 50 also only dates back a few decades. Examples are African countries such as Mauritius or Gambia, which were only brought into being in the 1960s. But there are also many countries around the world that are much younger. The youngest countries are only a few years old. See recipesinthebox.com for cheapest countries for holidays in the world.

South Sudan: The youngest country in the world

Founded in 2011, South Sudan is the youngest country in the world. The state was born in 2011. At that time, a large part of the population was in favor of secession from the north of the country. It then only took half a year before South Sudan was officially declared independent on July 9th. In the country’s past, tensions between the north and south have been relatively common. Political independence should now help the residents of the territories to maintain good relationships with one another.

Several states were founded in 2008

In 2008 several states were even founded. In addition to Abkhazia and South Ossetia, Kosovo is another country that has existed since this year. Kosovo is the last nation of the former Yugoslavia to be declared independent. But while the majority of all countries around the world acknowledge Kosovo’s independence, Serbia still emphasizes that Kosovo is part of Serbia. Nevertheless, the state now has its own national anthem, its own flag and the capital Pristina.

Serbia and Montenegro emerged from what was once Yugoslavia

In third place is Montenegro, which also emerged from the former state of Yugoslavia. The country, founded in 2006, suffered badly from the Yugoslav wars and therefore wanted to distance itself from the multi-ethnic state. However, for a long time Montenegro belonged to the state union Serbia-Montenegro. Since June 2006, the home of cities like the capital Podgorica has been an independent area. From this dispute, Serbia emerged as another state in the same year. Countries like East Timor, founded in 2002, or Palau are next in line. The republic, which has existed since 1994, consists of around 356 islands, of which only a fraction is inhabited. The capital Melekeok is also at home on the main island of Babelthuap. The area in the Pacific was once under the rule of the United States. But now the state is completely independent.