This is a list of sovereign states in the 1940s, giving an overview of states around the world during the period between 1 January 1940 and 31 December 1949. It contains 106 entries, arranged alphabetically, with information on the status and

recognition Recognition may refer to: *Award, something given in recognition of an achievement Machine learning *Pattern recognition, a branch of machine learning which encompasses the meanings below Biometric * Recognition of human individuals, or biomet ...

of their

sovereignty Sovereignty is the defining authority within individual consciousness, social construct, or territory. Sovereignty entails hierarchy within the state, as well as external autonomy for states. In any state, sovereignty is assigned to the perso ...

. It includes 99 widely recognized sovereign states, six entities which were ''

de facto ''De facto'' ( ; , "in fact") describes practices that exist in reality, whether or not they are officially recognized by laws or other formal norms. It is commonly used to refer to what happens in practice, in contrast with ''de jure'' ("by la ...

'' sovereign but which were not widely recognized by other states. Academic datasets differ in terms of the number of states in the 1940s. At the start of the 1940s, the lowest estimate of the number of states is in the mid-50s whereas the highest is in the low-70s. At the end of the 1940s, the lowest estimate is in the mid-70s while the highest is in the mid-80s.

Sovereign states

Other entities

Excluded from the list above are the following noteworthy entities which either were not fully sovereign or did not claim to be independent: * was divided into four zones of occupation by France, the United Kingdom, the United States, and the Soviet Union. * China, Provisional Government of – Provisional Government of the Republic of China was organized and recognized by Japan military authority during

Second Sino-Japanese War The Second Sino-Japanese War (1937–1945) or War of Resistance (Chinese term) was a military conflict that was primarily waged between the Republic of China and the Empire of Japan. The war made up the Chinese theater of the wider Pacific Th ...

. * China, Reformed Government of – Reformed Government of the Republic of China was organized and recognized by Japan military authority during

. *

East Turkestan East Turkestan ( ug, شەرقىي تۈركىستان, Sherqiy Türkistan, bold=no; zh, s=东突厥斯坦; also spelled East Turkistan), is a loosely-defined geographical and historical region in the western provinces of the People's Republic of ...

, officially the East Turkistan Republic, existed from November 12, 1944 to December 22, 1949, when it was conquered by China. * was incorporated into the Soviet Union in 1940, but the legality of the annexation was not widely recognized. The Baltic diplomatic services in the West continued to be recognised as representing the ''

de jure In law and government, ''de jure'' ( ; , "by law") describes practices that are legally recognized, regardless of whether the practice exists in reality. In contrast, ("in fact") describes situations that exist in reality, even if not legally ...

'' state. * was incorporated into the Soviet Union in 1940, but the legality of the annexation was not widely recognized. The Baltic diplomatic services in the West continued to be recognised as representing the ''

'' state. * – Great Empire of Manchuria was organized and recognized by Japan military authority after Mukden Incident. Recognized by

Axis powers The Axis powers, ; it, Potenze dell'Asse ; ja, 枢軸国 ''Sūjikukoku'', group=nb originally called the Rome–Berlin Axis, was a military coalition that initiated World War II and fought against the Allies. Its principal members were ...

member states. * – Mongol Military Government was organized and recognized by Japan military authority during

. Recognized by

member states. * National Government of the Republic of China – National Government of the Republic of China was organized and recognized by Japanese military, combined Reformed Government and

Provisional Government A provisional government, also called an interim government, an emergency government, or a transitional government, is an emergency governmental authority set up to manage a political transition generally in the cases of a newly formed state or ...

together. Recognized by

member states. * The

Saudi Arabian–Iraqi neutral zone The Saudi Arabian–Iraqi neutral zone was an area of on the border between Saudi Arabia and Iraq within which the border between the two countries had not been settled. The neutral zone came into existence following the Uqair Protocol of 19 ...

was a strip of neutral territory between

Iraq Iraq,; ku, عێراق, translit=Êraq officially the Republic of Iraq, '; ku, کۆماری عێراق, translit=Komarî Êraq is a country in Western Asia. It is bordered by Turkey to the north, Iran to the east, the Persian Gulf and K ...

and

Saudi Arabia Saudi Arabia, officially the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia (KSA), is a country in Western Asia. It covers the bulk of the Arabian Peninsula, and has a land area of about , making it the fifth-largest country in Asia, the second-largest in the A ...

. * The Saudi Arabian–Kuwaiti neutral zone was a strip of neutral territory between

Kuwait Kuwait (; ar, الكويت ', or ), officially the State of Kuwait ( ar, دولة الكويت '), is a country in Western Asia. It is situated in the northern edge of Eastern Arabia at the tip of the Persian Gulf, bordering Iraq to the nort ...

and

. *

Slovakia Slovakia (; sk, Slovensko ), officially the Slovak Republic ( sk, Slovenská republika, links=no ), is a landlocked country in Central Europe. It is bordered by Poland to the north, Ukraine to the east, Hungary to the south, Austria to the s ...

– Slovak Republic was organized and recognized by German military after

Munich Agreement The Munich Agreement ( cs, Mnichovská dohoda; sk, Mníchovská dohoda; german: Münchner Abkommen) was an agreement concluded at Munich on 30 September 1938, by Germany, the United Kingdom, France, and Italy. It provided "cession to Germany ...

. Recognized by

member states. Recognized by

member states and several neutral states. * The

Sovereign Military Order of Malta The Sovereign Military Order of Malta (SMOM), officially the Sovereign Military Hospitaller Order of Saint John of Jerusalem, of Rhodes and of Malta ( it, Sovrano Militare Ordine Ospedaliero di San Giovanni di Gerusalemme, di Rodi e di Malta; ...

was an entity claiming sovereignty. The order had bi-lateral diplomatic relations with a large number of states, but had no territory other than

extraterritorial In international law, extraterritoriality is the state of being exempted from the jurisdiction of local law, usually as the result of diplomatic negotiations. Historically, this primarily applied to individuals, as jurisdiction was usually cl ...

areas within Rome.Bilateral relations with countries
, Retrieved 2009-12-22 Although the order frequently asserted its sovereignty, it did not claim to be a sovereign state. It lacked a defined territory. Since all its members were citizens of other states, almost all of them lived in their native countries, and those who resided in the order's extraterritorial properties in Rome did so only in connection with their official duties, the order lacked the characteristic of having a permanent population. *

Tangier Tangier ( ; ; ar, طنجة, Ṭanja) is a city in northwestern Morocco. It is on the Moroccan coast at the western entrance to the Strait of Gibraltar, where the Mediterranean Sea meets the Atlantic Ocean off Cape Spartel. The town is the capi ...

was an international zone under the joint administration of France, Spain, the United Kingdom, Italy, Portugal and Belgium. *

West Berlin West Berlin (german: Berlin (West) or , ) was a political enclave which comprised the western part of Berlin during the years of the Cold War. Although West Berlin was de jure not part of West Germany, lacked any sovereignty, and was under mi ...

was a political enclave that was closely aligned with – but not actually a part of –

West Germany West Germany is the colloquial term used to indicate the Federal Republic of Germany (FRG; german: Bundesrepublik Deutschland , BRD) between its formation on 23 May 1949 and the German reunification through the accession of East Germany on 3 O ...

. It consisted of three occupied sectors administered by the United States, the United Kingdom, and France.

Notes

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Sovereign states in the 1940s 1940-1949 1940s politics-related lists 1940 in international relations 1941 in international relations 1942 in international relations 1943 in international relations 1944 in international relations 1945 in international relations 1946 in international relations 1947 in international relations 1948 in international relations 1949 in international relations