Countries · history
Oldest Countries in the World
Which country is the oldest? There is no single answer — borders and governments change — but by their earliest recognised founding date, Egypt, Japan, Iran and Armenia lead the list. 6 countries trace their statehood to before AD 1.
3100 BC
Oldest: Egypt
6
Founded before AD 1
16
Founded before AD 1000
194
Countries ranked
- Before AD 1
- AD 1–999
- 1000–1499
- 1500–1799
- 1800–1944
- Since 1945
Countries by earliest founding date
| Rank | Country | Earliest date | What happened | Continent |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 |  Egypt |
3100 BC | ca. 3100 B.C. (Upper and Lower Egypt unified under the first pharaoh); modern independence from the UK on 28 February 1922 | Africa |
| 2 |  Japan |
660 BC | 11 February 660 B.C. (mythological date of Emperor JIMMU founding the nation) | Asia |
| 3 |  Iran |
550 BC | ca. 550 B.C. (Achaemenid or Persian Empire established) | Asia |
| 4 |  Armenia |
321 BC | 321 B.C. (Kingdom of Armenia established under the Orontid Dynasty), A.D. 884 (Armenian Kingdom reestablished under the Bagratid Dynasty) | Europe |
| 5 |  China |
221 BC | 221 B.C. (unification under the Qin Dynasty) | Asia |
| 6 |  Ethiopia |
100 BC | Aksumite Kingdom, 1st century B.C. | Africa |
| 7 |  San Marino |
AD 301 | 3 September 301 (traditional founding date) | Europe |
| 8 |  France |
AD 486 | 486 (Frankish tribes unified under Merovingian kingship) | Europe |
| 9 |  Germany |
AD 843 | 10 August 843 (Eastern Francia established from the division of the Carolingian Empire) | Europe |
| 10 |  Norway |
AD 872 | ca. 872 (traditional unification of Norwegian kingdoms by HARALD Fairhair) | Europe |
| 11 |  Croatia |
AD 925 | ca. 925 (Kingdom of Croatia established), 1 December 1918 (Kingdom of Serbs, Croats, and Slovenes established, later became Yugoslavia) | Europe |
| 12 |  United Kingdom |
AD 927 | 927 (minor English kingdoms unite) | Europe |
| 13 |  Denmark |
AD 965 | ca. 965 (unified and Christianized under Harald I GORMSSON) | Europe |
| 14 |  Poland |
AD 966 | 14 April 966 (adoption of Christianity, traditional founding date), 1 July 1569 (Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth created) | Europe |
| 15 |  Austria |
AD 976 | 976 (Margravate of Austria established) | Europe |
| 16 |  Ukraine |
AD 982 | ca. 982 (VOLODYMYR I consolidates Kyivan Rus) | Europe |
| 17 |  Hungary |
1000 | 25 December 1000 (crowning of King STEPHEN I, traditional founding date) | Europe |
| 18 |  Georgia |
1008 | notable earlier date: A.D. 1008 (Georgia unified under King BAGRAT III) | Europe |
| 19 |  Portugal |
1143 | 1143 (Kingdom of Portugal recognized) | Europe |
| 20 |  Russia |
1157 | 1157 (Principality of Vladimir-Suzdal created) | Europe |
| 21 |  Serbia |
1217 | 1217 (Serbian Kingdom established) | Europe |
| 22 |  Thailand |
1238 | 1238 (traditional founding date | Asia |
| 23 |  Lithuania |
1253 | 6 July 1253 (coronation of MINDAUGAS, traditional founding date) | Europe |
| 24 |  Andorra |
1278 | 1278 (formed under the joint sovereignty of the French Count of Foix and the Spanish Bishop of Urgell) | Europe |
| 25 |  Switzerland |
1291 | 1 August 1291 (founding of the Swiss Confederation) | Europe |
| 26 |  Monaco |
1419 | 1419 (beginning of permanent rule by the House of GRIMALDI) | Europe |
| 27 |  Spain |
1492 | 1492 | Europe |
| 28 |  Sweden |
1523 | 6 June 1523 (Gustav VASA elected king of Sweden, marking the abolishment of the Kalmar Union of Denmark, Norway, and Sweden) | Europe |
| 29 |  Netherlands |
1581 | 26 July 1581 | Europe |
| 30 |  Oman |
1650 | 1650 (expulsion of the Portuguese) | Asia |
| 31 |  Liechtenstein |
1719 | 23 January 1719 (Principality of Liechtenstein established) | Europe |
| 32 |  Nepal |
1768 | 1768 (unified by Prithvi Narayan SHAH) | Asia |
| 33 |  United States |
1776 | 4 July 1776 (declared independence from Great Britain) | Americas |
| 34 |  Haiti |
1804 | 1 January 1804 (from France) | Americas |
| 35 |  Chile |
1810 | 18 September 1810 (from Spain) | Americas |
| 35 |  Colombia |
1810 | 20 July 1810 (from Spain) | Americas |
| 35 |  Mexico |
1810 | 16 September 1810 (declared independence from Spain) | Americas |
| 38 |  Venezuela |
1811 | 5 July 1811 (from Spain) | Americas |
| 39 |  Argentina |
1816 | 9 July 1816 (from Spain) | Americas |
| 40 |  Costa Rica |
1821 | 15 September 1821 (from Spain) | Americas |
| 40 |  El Salvador |
1821 | 15 September 1821 (from Spain) | Americas |
| 40 |  Guatemala |
1821 | 15 September 1821 (from Spain) | Americas |
| 40 |  Honduras |
1821 | 15 September 1821 (from Spain) | Americas |
| 40 |  Nicaragua |
1821 | 15 September 1821 (from Spain) | Americas |
| 40 |  Panama |
1821 | 28 November 1821 (from Spain) | Americas |
| 40 |  Peru |
1821 | 28 July 1821 (from Spain) | Americas |
| 47 |  Brazil |
1822 | 7 September 1822 (from Portugal) | Americas |
| 47 |  Ecuador |
1822 | 24 May 1822 (from Spain) | Americas |
| 49 |  Bolivia |
1825 | 6 August 1825 (from Spain) | Americas |
| 49 |  Uruguay |
1825 | 25 August 1825 (from Brazil) | Americas |
| 51 |  Belgium |
1830 | 4 October 1830 (a provisional government declared independence from the Netherlands) | Europe |
| 51 |  Greece |
1830 | 3 February 1830 (from the Ottoman Empire) | Europe |
| 53 |  Luxembourg |
1839 | 1839 (from the Netherlands) | Europe |
| 54 |  Dominican Republic |
1844 | 27 February 1844 (from Haiti) | Americas |
| 55 |  Liberia |
1847 | 26 July 1847 | Africa |
| 56 |  Montenegro |
1852 | 13 March 1852 (Principality of Montenegro established) | Europe |
| 57 |  Italy |
1861 | 17 March 1861 | Europe |
| 58 |  Canada |
1867 | 1 July 1867 (union of British North American colonies) | Americas |
| 59 |  Romania |
1877 | 9 May 1877 (independence proclaimed from the Ottoman Empire | Europe |
| 60 |  Bulgaria |
1878 | 3 March 1878 (as an autonomous principality within the Ottoman Empire) | Europe |
| 61 |  Cuba |
1898 | 10 December 1898 (from Spain) | Americas |
| 62 |  Australia |
1901 | 1 January 1901 (from the federation of UK colonies) | Oceania |
| 63 |  Bhutan |
1907 | 17 December 1907 (became a unified kingdom under its first hereditary king) | Asia |
| 63 |  New Zealand |
1907 | 26 September 1907 (from the UK) | Oceania |
| 65 |  South Africa |
1910 | 31 May 1910 (Union of South Africa formed from four British colonies | Africa |
| 66 |  Mongolia |
1911 | 29 December 1911 (independence declared from China | Asia |
| 67 |  Albania |
1912 | 28 November 1912 (from the Ottoman Empire) | Europe |
| 68 |  Finland |
1917 | 6 December 1917 (from Russia) | Europe |
| 69 |  Estonia |
1918 | 24 February 1918 (from Soviet Russia) | Europe |
| 69 |  Iceland |
1918 | 1 December 1918 (became a sovereign state under the Danish Crown) | Europe |
| 69 |  Latvia |
1918 | 18 November 1918 (from Soviet Russia) | Europe |
| 69 |  Yemen |
1918 | 1 November 1918 (North Yemen independent from the Ottoman Empire), 27 September 1962 (North Yemen becomes republic), 30 November 1967 (Sout… | Asia |
| 73 |  Afghanistan |
1919 | 19 August 1919 (from UK control over Afghan foreign affairs) | Asia |
| 74 |  Ireland |
1921 | 6 December 1921 (from the UK) | Europe |
| 75 |  Türkiye |
1923 | 29 October 1923 (republic proclaimed, succeeding the Ottoman Empire) | Asia |
| 76 |  Vatican City |
1929 | 11 February 1929 | Europe |
| 77 |  Iraq |
1932 | 3 October 1932 (from League of Nations mandate under British administration) | Asia |
| 77 |  Saudi Arabia |
1932 | 23 September 1932 (unification of the kingdom) | Asia |
| 79 |  Lebanon |
1943 | 22 November 1943 (from League of Nations mandate under French administration) | Asia |
| 80 |  Indonesia |
1945 | 17 August 1945 (declared independence from the Netherlands) | Asia |
| 80 |  North Korea |
1945 | 15 August 1945 (from Japan) | Asia |
| 80 |  South Korea |
1945 | 15 August 1945 (from Japan) | Asia |
| 80 |  Vietnam |
1945 | 2 September 1945 (from France) | Asia |
| 84 |  Jordan |
1946 | 25 May 1946 (from League of Nations mandate under British administration) | Asia |
| 84 |  Philippines |
1946 | 4 July 1946 (from the US) | Asia |
| 84 |  Syria |
1946 | 17 April 1946 (from League of Nations mandate under French administration) | Asia |
| 87 |  India |
1947 | 15 August 1947 (from the UK) | Asia |
| 87 |  Pakistan |
1947 | 14 August 1947 (from British India) | Asia |
| 89 |  Israel |
1948 | 14 May 1948 (following League of Nations mandate under British administration) | Asia |
| 89 |  Myanmar |
1948 | 4 January 1948 (from the UK) | Asia |
| 89 |  Sri Lanka |
1948 | 4 February 1948 (from the UK) | Asia |
| 92 |  Laos |
1949 | 19 July 1949 (from France) | Asia |
| 93 |  Libya |
1951 | 24 December 1951 (from UN trusteeship) | Africa |
| 94 |  Cambodia |
1953 | 9 November 1953 (from France) | Asia |
| 95 |  Morocco |
1956 | 2 March 1956 (from France) | Africa |
| 95 |  Sudan |
1956 | 1 January 1956 (from Egypt and the UK) | Africa |
| 95 |  Tunisia |
1956 | 20 March 1956 (from France) | Africa |
| 98 |  Ghana |
1957 | 6 March 1957 (from the UK) | Africa |
| 98 |  Malaysia |
1957 | 31 August 1957 (from the UK) | Asia |
| 100 |  Guinea |
1958 | 2 October 1958 (from France) | Africa |
| 101 |  Benin |
1960 | 1 August 1960 (from France) | Africa |
| 101 |  Burkina Faso |
1960 | 5 August 1960 (from France) | Africa |
| 101 |  Cameroon |
1960 | 1 January 1960 (from French-administered UN trusteeship) | Africa |
| 101 |  Central African Republic |
1960 | 13 August 1960 (from France) | Africa |
| 101 |  Chad |
1960 | 11 August 1960 (from France) | Africa |
| 101 |  Cyprus |
1960 | 16 August 1960 (from the UK) | Europe |
| 101 |  Côte d'Ivoire |
1960 | 7 August 1960 (from France) | Africa |
| 101 |  DR Congo |
1960 | 30 June 1960 (from Belgium) | Africa |
| 101 |  Gabon |
1960 | 17 August 1960 (from France) | Africa |
| 101 |  Madagascar |
1960 | 26 June 1960 (from France) | Africa |
| 101 |  Mali |
1960 | 22 September 1960 (from France) | Africa |
| 101 |  Mauritania |
1960 | 28 November 1960 (from France) | Africa |
| 101 |  Niger |
1960 | 3 August 1960 (from France) | Africa |
| 101 |  Nigeria |
1960 | 1 October 1960 (from the UK) | Africa |
| 101 |  Republic of the Congo |
1960 | 15 August 1960 (from France) | Africa |
| 101 |  Senegal |
1960 | 4 April 1960 (from France) | Africa |
| 101 |  Somalia |
1960 | 1 July 1960 (from a merger of British Somaliland, which became independent from the UK on 26 June 1960, and Italian Somaliland, which becam… | Africa |
| 101 |  Togo |
1960 | 27 April 1960 (from French-administered UN trusteeship) | Africa |
| 119 |  Kuwait |
1961 | 19 June 1961 (from the UK) | Asia |
| 119 |  Sierra Leone |
1961 | 27 April 1961 (from the UK) | Africa |
| 119 |  Tanzania |
1961 | 9 December 1961 (Tanganyika became independent from UK-administered UN trusteeship) | Africa |
| 122 |  Algeria |
1962 | 5 July 1962 (from France) | Africa |
| 122 |  Burundi |
1962 | 1 July 1962 (from UN trusteeship under Belgian administration) | Africa |
| 122 |  Jamaica |
1962 | 6 August 1962 (from the UK) | Americas |
| 122 |  Rwanda |
1962 | 1 July 1962 (from Belgium-administered UN trusteeship) | Africa |
| 122 |  Samoa |
1962 | 1 January 1962 (from New Zealand-administered UN trusteeship) | Oceania |
| 122 |  Trinidad and Tobago |
1962 | 31 August 1962 (from the UK) | Americas |
| 122 |  Uganda |
1962 | 9 October 1962 (from the UK) | Africa |
| 129 |  Kenya |
1963 | 12 December 1963 (from the UK) | Africa |
| 130 |  Malawi |
1964 | 6 July 1964 (from the UK) | Africa |
| 130 |  Malta |
1964 | 21 September 1964 (from the UK) | Europe |
| 130 |  Zambia |
1964 | 24 October 1964 (from the UK) | Africa |
| 133 |  Gambia |
1965 | 18 February 1965 (from the UK) | Africa |
| 133 |  Maldives |
1965 | 26 July 1965 (from the UK) | Asia |
| 133 |  Singapore |
1965 | 9 August 1965 (from Malaysian Federation) | Asia |
| 136 |  Barbados |
1966 | 30 November 1966 (from the UK) | Americas |
| 136 |  Botswana |
1966 | 30 September 1966 (from the UK) | Africa |
| 136 |  Guyana |
1966 | 26 May 1966 (from the UK) | Americas |
| 136 |  Lesotho |
1966 | 4 October 1966 (from the UK) | Africa |
| 140 |  Equatorial Guinea |
1968 | 12 October 1968 (from Spain) | Africa |
| 140 |  Eswatini |
1968 | 6 September 1968 (from the UK) | Africa |
| 140 |  Mauritius |
1968 | 12 March 1968 (from the UK) | Africa |
| 140 |  Nauru |
1968 | 31 January 1968 (from the Australia-, NZ-, and UK-administered UN trusteeship) | Oceania |
| 144 |  Fiji |
1970 | 10 October 1970 (from the UK) | Oceania |
| 144 |  Tonga |
1970 | 4 June 1970 (from UK protectorate status) | Oceania |
| 146 |  Bahrain |
1971 | 15 August 1971 (from the UK) | Asia |
| 146 |  Bangladesh |
1971 | 16 December 1971 (from Pakistan) | Asia |
| 146 |  Qatar |
1971 | 3 September 1971 (from the UK) | Asia |
| 146 |  United Arab Emirates |
1971 | 2 December 1971 (from the UK) | Asia |
| 150 |  Bahamas |
1973 | 10 July 1973 (from the UK) | Americas |
| 150 |  Guinea-Bissau |
1973 | 24 September 1973 (declared) | Africa |
| 152 |  Grenada |
1974 | 7 February 1974 (from the UK) | Americas |
| 153 |  Angola |
1975 | 11 November 1975 (from Portugal) | Africa |
| 153 |  Cape Verde |
1975 | 5 July 1975 (from Portugal) | Africa |
| 153 |  Comoros |
1975 | 6 July 1975 (from France) | Africa |
| 153 |  Mozambique |
1975 | 25 June 1975 (from Portugal) | Africa |
| 153 |  Papua New Guinea |
1975 | 16 September 1975 (from the Australia-administered UN trusteeship) | Oceania |
| 153 |  Sao Tome and Principe |
1975 | 12 July 1975 (from Portugal) | Africa |
| 153 |  Suriname |
1975 | 25 November 1975 (from the Netherlands) | Americas |
| 153 |  Timor-Leste |
1975 | 28 November 1975 (from Portugal) | Asia |
| 161 |  Seychelles |
1976 | 29 June 1976 (from the UK) | Africa |
| 162 |  Djibouti |
1977 | 27 June 1977 (from France) | Africa |
| 163 |  Dominica |
1978 | 3 November 1978 (from the UK) | Americas |
| 163 |  Solomon Islands |
1978 | 7 July 1978 (from the UK) | Oceania |
| 163 |  Tuvalu |
1978 | 1 October 1978 (from the UK) | Oceania |
| 166 |  Kiribati |
1979 | 12 July 1979 (from the UK) | Oceania |
| 166 |  Saint Lucia |
1979 | 22 February 1979 (from the UK) | Americas |
| 166 |  Saint Vincent and the Grenadines |
1979 | 27 October 1979 (from the UK) | Americas |
| 169 |  Vanuatu |
1980 | 30 July 1980 (from France and the UK) | Oceania |
| 169 |  Zimbabwe |
1980 | 18 April 1980 (from the UK) | Africa |
| 171 |  Antigua and Barbuda |
1981 | 1 November 1981 (from the UK) | Americas |
| 171 |  Belize |
1981 | 21 September 1981 (from the UK) | Americas |
| 173 |  Saint Kitts and Nevis |
1983 | 19 September 1983 (from the UK) | Americas |
| 174 |  Brunei |
1984 | 1 January 1984 (from the UK) | Asia |
| 175 |  Marshall Islands |
1986 | 21 October 1986 (from the US-administered UN trusteeship) | Oceania |
| 175 |  Micronesia |
1986 | 3 November 1986 (from the US-administered UN trusteeship) | Oceania |
| 177 |  Namibia |
1990 | 21 March 1990 (from South African mandate) | Africa |
| 178 |  Azerbaijan |
1991 | 30 August 1991 (declared from the Soviet Union) | Europe |
| 178 |  Belarus |
1991 | 25 August 1991 (from the Soviet Union) | Europe |
| 178 |  Kazakhstan |
1991 | 16 December 1991 (from the Soviet Union) | Asia |
| 178 |  Kyrgyzstan |
1991 | 31 August 1991 (from the Soviet Union) | Asia |
| 178 |  Moldova |
1991 | 27 August 1991 (from the Soviet Union) | Europe |
| 178 |  North Macedonia |
1991 | 8 September 1991 (referendum endorsed independence from Yugoslavia) | Europe |
| 178 |  Slovenia |
1991 | 25 June 1991 (from Yugoslavia) | Europe |
| 178 |  Tajikistan |
1991 | 9 September 1991 (from the Soviet Union) | Asia |
| 178 |  Turkmenistan |
1991 | 27 October 1991 (from the Soviet Union) | Asia |
| 178 |  Uzbekistan |
1991 | 1 September 1991 (from the Soviet Union) | Asia |
| 188 |  Bosnia and Herzegovina |
1992 | 1 March 1992 (from Yugoslavia) | Europe |
| 189 |  Czechia |
1993 | 1 January 1993 (Czechoslovakia split into the Czech Republic and Slovakia) | Europe |
| 189 |  Eritrea |
1993 | 24 May 1993 (from Ethiopia) | Africa |
| 189 |  Slovakia |
1993 | 1 January 1993 (Czechoslovakia split into the Czech Republic and Slovakia) | Europe |
| 192 |  Palau |
1994 | 1 October 1994 (from the US-administered UN trusteeship) | Oceania |
| 193 |  Kosovo |
2008 | 17 February 2008 (from Serbia) | Europe |
| 194 |  South Sudan |
2011 | 9 July 2011 (from Sudan) | Africa |
Nothing matches your search.
Data: CIA World Factbook (public domain) — “independence” field, including notable earlier and traditional founding dates.
How do you measure the age of a country?
Historians use different milestones: the first unified state on the territory (Egypt, China, Iran), a traditional founding date (Japan in 660 BC, San Marino in AD 301), or the creation of the current state. This ranking uses the earliest date the CIA World Factbook gives for each country, so it measures continuity of statehood, not the age of today’s constitution.
The oldest countries
- Egypt — 3100 BC: ca. 3100 B.C. (Upper and Lower Egypt unified under the first pharaoh); modern independence from the UK on 28 February 1922
- Japan — 660 BC: 11 February 660 B.C. (mythological date of Emperor JIMMU founding the nation)
- Iran — 550 BC: ca. 550 B.C. (Achaemenid or Persian Empire established)
- Armenia — 321 BC: 321 B.C. (Kingdom of Armenia established under the Orontid Dynasty), A.D. 884 (Armenian Kingdom reestablished under the Bagratid Dynasty)
- China — 221 BC: 221 B.C. (unification under the Qin Dynasty)
- Ethiopia — 100 BC: Aksumite Kingdom, 1st century B.C.
- San Marino — AD 301: 3 September 301 (traditional founding date)
- France — AD 486: 486 (Frankish tribes unified under Merovingian kingship)
- Germany — AD 843: 10 August 843 (Eastern Francia established from the division of the Carolingian Empire)
- Norway — AD 872: ca. 872 (traditional unification of Norwegian kingdoms by HARALD Fairhair)
- Croatia — AD 925: ca. 925 (Kingdom of Croatia established), 1 December 1918 (Kingdom of Serbs, Croats, and Slovenes established, later became Yugoslavia)
- United Kingdom — AD 927: 927 (minor English kingdoms unite)
Oldest countries in Europe
Armenia (321 BC), San Marino (AD 301), France (AD 486), Germany (AD 843), Norway (AD 872), Croatia (AD 925), United Kingdom (AD 927) and Denmark (AD 965). San Marino is often called the oldest surviving republic.
Related rankings
Frequently asked questions
What is the oldest country in the world?
Egypt by its earliest founding date (3100 BC), followed by Japan (660 BC), Iran (550 BC), Armenia (321 BC) and China (221 BC). Egypt, China and Iran are also often named as the oldest.
What is the oldest country in Europe?
Armenia (321 BC). San Marino (AD 301) is the oldest surviving republic.
Is Japan the oldest country?
By tradition Japan was founded by Emperor Jimmu in 660 BC, and its imperial house is the oldest continuous hereditary monarchy in the world.
What is the newest country?
South Sudan (2011) — see the newest countries in the world.