The 15 Countries People Think Are FAKE

quick, how many?

world countries

there's no right answer

because it depends.

who's asking

193 countries

international community

206 Olympic Committee members

FIFA lists countries.

211 nations in UN

states government says 196

nations Russia would support

say 197. 192, Pakistan.

Everyone answers differently.

question due to these 15

uncomfortable spots

conventional definitions

functional nations but

limited in all ways

global recognition

various geopolitical factors

starting with the most famous

from most to least

inappropriate places to call

a nation we're starting in

South Korea has

73 years independent

a full member of the united

nations but openly

unrecognized by another UN member

state with over 25

million North Koreans

North Korea claims the entire

korea and has never

authorized South Korea

authority over the peninsula

southern half, but south korea

recognized by all 191 other un

member denies legitimacy

doubtful compared to

with other states on

People's list follows.

PRC, a UN member

one of five permanent

UNSC members

council unrecognized by 15

One UN observer and

one non-un state 15 UN members

denying recognition may seem cruel.

big deal, but most are

tiny nations in order of

largest smallest population

Guatemala Honduras Paraguay

Nicaragua, Swatini, Bhutan, Belize,

Saint Lucia's tiny islands

The Grenadines

Marshall Islands St. Kitts and Nevis

palau naru, tuvalu,

unobserved holy sea

vatican city the largest and most

significant place refuses

acknowledge the people's republic,

Republic of China (ROC)

Taiwan and

controversy's cause

mainland prc and island roc

Taiwan's islands claim ownership.

only legal government

representative for China

international stage and pursue

their own one-china

policy requiring every nation

world chooses either

recognize the prc/roc as China

neither the prc nor

roc and

everyone knows

a lot bigger

influential prc with 14 UN members

states and the holy see publicly

chosen a smaller and weaker

influential roc bhutan chose

the solution to this dilemma and

only nation to refuse

accept both governments

thus the only nation on earth

who denies existence

china at all

only 78 million

governments reject

the PRC and

more contentious nations

Next on our list is

Cyprus—another UN member

unrecognized state

one non-UN state

turkey and Turkey

Cyprus' northern region

claimed total sovereignty

Cyprus in 1974.

military coup occurred within

aimed to unite Cyprus

Turkey invaded Greece immediately.

island to prevent that

expelling ethnic Greeks

place the self-proclaimed

Northern Cyprus' Turkish Republic

Cypriot territory

rejects Turkey

northern Cyprus as legitimate

Turkey and her

82 million residents

rejected the republic of

Cyprus follows.

Armenia is another UN member.

unrecognized by one UN member

state but someone you probably know

Pakistan beef?

Armenia and Azerbaijan have

both practically at war

for decades since their

Pakistan chose independence.

join Azerbaijan

rejecting Armenia now

allied with several nations

like turkey, azerbaijan

arabia, yemen,

Armenian relations

but they recognize

armenia even azerbaijan

acknowledges armenia but not

Pakistan's population is

huge 216

million whose government doesn't

acknowledge Armenia

North Korea joined the UN after Armenia.

similar member state

same as south korea but with

three u.n.

members, one non-u.n member

like the north

South Korea claims all of

korea and never

accepted northern authority

authority over northern

half in solidarity neither

Japan, France, or Taiwan?

total 269

million whose governments don't

recognize them and move on

the most contentious part

this video and jump into

Israel's membership

the UN, but

unrecognized by 28 UN members

states, and that number keeps changing.

1948 today

Israel and Palestine

British mandate

divided the land between

independent Jewish state and

independent arab state

sloppy upon israel's arrival

founding most of the Arab world

Muslims believed

seized arab land founded state

by Arab Palestinians

British and universally refused

recognize israel's existence

The Americans supported the

israel while the soviets supported

arab-palestinian cause

to most of eastern communist

bloc disavowing

israel throughout its existence

east germany always refused

recognize Israel.

unlike west germany

Germany never paid.

Jewish victims of

nazi germany and recognizing israel

required those reparations

Israel refused relations,

with Spain because

dictator francisco

franco who kept in touch

Nazi and Hitler friendship

WWII Germany

Finally, 1973's Yom Kippur War

Arab nations banned oil.

foreign nations

recognized Israel because

Israel's total occupation

Palestinian territories

widespread breakup

Africa and developing nations

Israel was unknown in 1975.

Africa, the Middle East, Europe

Asia but US-Israeli diplomacy

massive geopolitical shifts

would drastically alter that.

Egypt broke in 1979.

ranks among Arab nations

first Arab state to

acknowledge Israel for

Sinai peninsula return

Israel took during the

by 1986 franco was

Spain was the last.

western European nation

Israel in the 1990s the Soviet Union had collapsed.

collapsed eastern Europe

China finally acknowledged

Jordan and Israel were second.

in 1994.

Israel persuaded Guinea.

help them in 2016

Chad reestablished after Ebola

Relations in 2019

states persuaded

Bahrain, Sudan, and Morocco

the next four Arab nations

in 2020. today the

28 UN nations that refuse

israel by population

pakistan bangladesh iran

Iraq Saudi Arabia Afghanistan

Yemen Venezuela North Korea

Niger Mali Syria Somalia Cuba

oman kuwait mauritania

Qatar Djibouti Brunei Maldives

Seychelles and

over 1.16 billion

parties involved

Israeli controversy

around Palestine

claims west bank east

Jerusalem, Gaza, and

currently and effectively

blockaded by Israel

Palestine is first.

list of non-members

the UN, but instead

observer state their only position

since 2012. the

Palestinian state

unrecognized by 55 UN members

a total population of 1.24

billion mostly of

America Western Europe Israel

Australia, New Zealand, Japan,

South Korea, Palestine,

138 UN members recognize

including all Arabic and

South America China India

eastern Europe palestine is

last on this list

widely accepted

global governments and citizens

Next, we reached

European Kosovo has

2 million Kosovo declared

13-year independence from Serbia

2008. Serbia refuses to ever

Kosovo's independence

sovereign state and continues

claim it as autonomous Serbian

province throughout, despite

97 UN members represent

a total population of 2

billion recognize

Kosovo independent

including major nations like

Saudi Arabia Japan Canada

germany and france

world supports serbs

that Kosovo is simply theirs

Most rebellious provinces

notable countries

Spain is the sole holdout.

who probably doesn't

recognize a successful

Serbian independence

Russia likely doesn't.

Kosovo's similarities

reasons the next-least-known place

the saharawi

Arab Democratic Republic (Sadr)

claim all western

african sovereignty

hostile territory

to Morocco's claim of all

western sahara

Western Sahara occupied until 1975.

Spain finally relinquished it

Morocco invaded and

took it while the

Saharawi nationalist movement

against them in

practice most western sahara

ruled by

Morocco's narrow strip

controls the interior.

Sadr's statehood claim

western sahara is only

43 U.N. members recognize

largest supporters are the

weird grouping of mexico iran nigeria

ethiopia algeria syria

Vietnam and North Korea simultaneously

only other nation

Morocco's claim to

Western Sahara is America

only because 2020

They reached a deal in

Morocco's recognition

Israel most nations

ambiguously neutralize

who has real authority?

western sahara to not piss

that's mostly why

always see it gravemarked

Most world maps continue to the

Chinese republic

Taiwan's roc was a member.

the UN, but

expelled in 1971 and replaced

the PRC

roc claims exclusivity.

all-China government

only controls the island

Taiwan's 14 U.N.

continue ignoring prc

roc instead

even though the

roc has little official presence.

acknowledgment of their world-class

21st largest comparable economy

turkey's population of

Roc claims 23 million people

unofficial ties with over 50 U.N.

members worldwide,

the 2010 US-negotiated

a $6.4 billion sale

weapons, making them appear armed

resembles a valid

country anyway.

South Ossetia and

Abkhazia two breakaway republics

Georgia states that declared

1992–93 independence. today

They only recognize each other.

Russia Venezuela

Syria Nicaragua and Naru

Vanuatu believes

south ossetia isn't a country abkhazia

which slightly boosts them

recognition abroad

though is their main backer

legitimacy with her people

resulting in over 140 million

some say both are almost identical

quasi-Russian protectorates

But every other UN member continues

georgian position that both

South Ossetia and Abkhazia

Georgian rebels

unrecognized state

Turkish republic

northern Cyprus covers about

Northern Cyprus not

surprisingly this republic is only

un member turkey

82 million people

which prompted similar accusations

Northern Cyprus is just a

Turkish protectorate

republic of arts placed last.

this recognized list

country by a UN member

one armenia art sock

controlling government

Armenian Karabakh

Azerbaijan surrounds

besides Armenia

considers karabakh essentially

rebellious Azerbaijani province

14th-least recognized nation

Transnistria declared

moldova independence

early 90s between

dynaester river west and the

eastern Ukrainian border nearly half

Millions live inside

transnistria and their own

autonomous military police

laws, flag,

apart from moldova

no UN member recognizes

transnistria independent

three nations have

Some UN members recognize

abkhazia south

ossetia, artsak,

recognition policy

Russia recognizes Abkhazia

south ossetia and armenia recognize art

all three nations

acknowledge Transnistria's

sort of legitimacy but after

that the final state has few

republic's recognition

Somalia's brutal war

seven-year independence war from

Somalia saw hundreds of thousands

in 1991 Somalia declared

unilateral autonomy

Somalia borders

brief five-day republic

1960 Somaliland

independence from Britain

before joining the rest

Somalia essentially

Today's Somaliland

independent nation like

transnistria's population

nearly 6 million people she owns

totally separate

democratic regime

entirely separate elections

despite that Somalia

no other nation

member state

recognition and Somalia

claims they're just an

autonomic Somalia

how serbia keeps kosovo

or how georgia keeps south

ossetia nonetheless.

Six UN members

maintain consulates

Somalia Ethiopia Kenya

Djibouti UAE Turkey

Denmark, but there's no

not even official recognition

non-un members with un members

transnistria recognition

Somalia is least known

nation on earth

still a nation unless

afghanistan is currently

since the taliban took over no

recognized nation

either, but that's another story.

again, counting up

Many countries are pretty

complex and contentious

business, none of which

mention dozens more places

worldwide with even less

these 15. adding up. subscribe and wait for more curiosity