Unrecognized Countries 2022

Depending on the criteria used by other countries, there may be as many as 190 countries in the world today. Several territories lay claim to independence, and some even have functioning governments.

Many people, however, dismiss their existence because they are not acknowledged worldwide or because their acceptance is so limited.

Palestine is the first and, perhaps, most important non-recognized country. Before the beginning of the Jewish exile in the first century, the territory now known as Israel was known as Palestine. That real humans were living there is the only issue.

Zionism, a movement advocating for a Jewish return to Palestine and the establishment of a Jewish state, gained steam in the late 1800s as a response to the widespread tyranny and persecution of Jews in Europe at the time.

Many Jews fled to Palestine after the Holocaust, the climax of the suffering they had endured.

In the subsequent battle between Jews and Palestinians, many Palestinians were uprooted from their homes in what is known as the Nakba, or disaster.

The West Bank and Gaza Strip are now governed independently and are actively seeking international recognition as sovereign states. Their efforts, however, are thwarted by countries that hold the view that only Jews should be allowed to dwell in Palestine.

There is also Kurdistan, a country you may not be familiar with but that is at the centre of contemporary political discussion.

Kurds are a distinct ethnic group with their language, religion, and cultural standards. They are concentrated in a strip of the area that spans portions of Syria, Turkey, Iraq, and Iran.

Also See: Unknown Countries 2022

The northern part of Iraq is governed independently, but in Turkey, they face harsh persecution at the hands of the Turkish government. Peace talks between Kurds and nations that want to wipe them out might be facilitated by calls to recognise Kurdistan’s statehood. Yet, much as in Palestine, such pleas fall on deaf ears.

Many Catalan’s lifelong dreams came true in 2017 when the Spanish province of Catalonia finally proclaimed its independence.

The initiative failed and the country was ignored by the rest of the world. Several Catalans felt betrayed by Spain’s handling of the independence movement, particularly when the country locked up many of the movement’s leaders.

The political status of many other unrecognised nations across the globe is sometimes a source of conflict.