This is a list of sovereign states in the 1980s, giving an overview of states around the world during the period between 1 January 1980 and 31 December 1989. It contains 188 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 171 widely-recognized sovereign states, 2 constituent republics of another sovereign state that were UN members on their own right, 2 associated states, and 13 entities which claim an effective sovereignty but are considered ''

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 ...

'' dependencies of other powers by the general international community.

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: *

Antarctica Antarctica () is Earth's southernmost and least-populated continent. Situated almost entirely south of the Antarctic Circle and surrounded by the Southern Ocean, it contains the geographic South Pole. Antarctica is the fifth-largest cont ...

as a whole had no government and no permanent population. Seven states claimed portions of Antarctica and five of these had reciprocally recognised one another's claims. "Australia, New Zealand, France, Norway and the United Kingdom reciprocally recognize the validity of each other's claims." These claims, which were regulated by the Antarctic Treaty System, were neither recognised nor disputed by any other signatory state.CIA – the World Factbook – Antarctica
– accessed 19 January 2008 * was occupied and administered by Indonesia as

Timor Timur Timor is an island at the southern end of Maritime Southeast Asia, in the north of the Timor Sea. The island is divided between the sovereign states of East Timor on the eastern part and Indonesia on the western part. The Indonesian part, also ...

, but this was not recognized by the United Nations, which considered it to be Portuguese territory under Indonesian occupation. * was effectively a part of the

Soviet Union The Soviet Union,. officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR),. was a List of former transcontinental countries#Since 1700, transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 to 1991. A flagship communist state, ...

, 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. * The

Federal Republic of Mindanao The Federal Republic of Mindanao was a short-lived, self-proclaimed, unrecognized breakaway state encompassing Mindanao, Palawan and the Sulu Archipelago of the Philippines The Philippines (; fil, Pilipinas, links=no), officially the ...

was a short-lived, self-proclaimed, unrecognized

breakaway state Breakaway or Break Away may refer to: Film, television and radio * ''Breakaway'' (1955 film), a British film * ''Breakaway'' (1990 film), an Australian film featuring Deborah Kara Unger * ''Breakaway'' (1996 film), an American film featuring T ...

encompassing

Mindanao Mindanao ( ) ( Jawi: مينداناو) is the second-largest island in the Philippines, after Luzon, and seventh-most populous island in the world. Located in the southern region of the archipelago, the island is part of an island group of ...

Palawan Palawan (), officially the Province of Palawan ( cyo, Probinsya i'ang Palawan; tl, Lalawigan ng Palawan), is an archipelagic province of the Philippines that is located in the region of Mimaropa. It is the largest province in the country in t ...

and the Sulu Archipelago of the

Philippines The Philippines (; fil, Pilipinas, links=no), officially the Republic of the Philippines ( fil, Republika ng Pilipinas, links=no), * bik, Republika kan Filipinas * ceb, Republika sa Pilipinas * cbk, República de Filipinas * hil, Republ ...

. The independence of the republic was to be proclaimed at a convention in Cagayan de Oro on April 25, 1986 by the Mindanao People's Democratic Movement led by Reuben Canoy but original plans to proclaim the proposed republic's independence were changed to avert arrest by the Corazon Aquino administration due to violation against sedition law. * was effectively a part of the

, 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. * was incorporated into the

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. * 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 ...

(to 26 December 1981). * 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 , established_title = Founded , established_date = 753 BC , founder = King Romulus (legendary) , image_map = Map of comune of Rome (metropolitan city of Capital Rome, region Lazio, Italy).svg , map_caption ...

. The order's Constitution stated: "The Order is a subject of international law and exercises sovereign functions." 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. *

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 States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territori ...

, the

United Kingdom The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Europe, off the north-western coast of the European mainland, continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotlan ...

, and

France France (), officially the French Republic ( ), is a country primarily located in Western Europe. It also comprises of overseas regions and territories in the Americas and the Atlantic, Pacific and Indian Oceans. Its metropolitan area ...

Notes

References

{{Lists of sovereign states by year, expanded=CE

1980-1989 File:1980s replacement montage02.PNG, 420px, From left, clockwise: The first Space Shuttle, ''Columbia'', lifts off in 1981; US president Ronald Reagan and Soviet leader Mikhail Gorbachev ease tensions between the two superpowers, leading to the ...

Sovereign states 1980 in international relations 1981 in international relations 1982 in international relations 1983 in international relations 1984 in international relations 1985 in international relations 1986 in international relations 1987 in international relations 1988 in international relations 1989 in international relations

Sovereign states

Other entities

See also

Notes

References