List of sovereign states in the 1920s
This is a list of sovereign states in the 1920s, giving an overview of states around the world during the period between 1 January 1920 and 31 December 1929. It contains entries, arranged alphabetically, with information on the status and recognition of their sovereignty. It includes Widely-recognized sovereign states, and entities which were de facto sovereign but which were not Widely-recognized by other states.
Sovereign states[]
Name and capital city | Information on status and recognition of sovereignty | |
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A[] | ||
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Abkhazia – Socialist Soviet Republic of Abkhazia (from March 31, 1921 to December 16, 1921) Capital: Sukhumi |
Recognized independent state. It was subordinate to the Georgian SSR from December 16, 1921.[a] | |
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→ → → → Afghanistan Capital: Kabul
|
Reign of Amanullah Khan, Inayatullah Khan, and Mohammed Nadir Shah: Widely-recognized independent state Reign of Habibullāh Kalakāni,[4] Ali Ahmad Khan and Abd-al Karim: Not recognized by any state. | |
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→ → → Albania Capital: Tirana
|
Widely-recognized independent state. De facto Italian protectorate to August 2, 1920. LON member state from December 17, 1920. | |
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Andorra – Principality of Andorra Capital: Andorra La Vella |
Widely-recognized independent state. | |
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Argentina – Argentine Republic Capital: Buenos Aires |
Widely-recognized independent state. LON founding member state from January 10, 1920. | |
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→ Armenia (to March 12, 1922) Capital: Yerevan
|
Widely-recognized independent state. Became part of the Transcaucasian SFSR from March 12, 1922. | |
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Asir – Idrisid Emirate of Asir (to October 21, 1926) Capital: Sabya |
Widely-recognized independent state. Vassal state of Kingdom of Hejaz and Nejd from October 21, 1926. | |
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Asir, Upper – Sheikdom of Upper Asir (to August 30, 1920) Capital: Abha |
Widely-recognized independent state. Partitioned between Sultanate of Nejd and Idrisid Emirate of Asir from August 30, 1920. | |
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Australia – Commonwealth of Australia Capital: Melbourne (to 9 May, 1927), Canberra (from 9 May, 1927) |
Widely-recognized independent state after 15 November, 1926. LON founding member state from 10 January, 1920. Australia had two external territories:
Australia administered two League of Nations mandates:
| |
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Austria – Republic of Austria Capital: Vienna |
Widely-recognized independent state. LON member state from December 15, 1920. | |
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→ → Azerbaijan (to March 12, 1922) Capital: Baku
|
Widely-recognized independent state. Became part of the Transcaucasian SFSR from March 12, 1922. Azerbaijan had one protectorate:
| |
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B[] | ||
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Belgium – Kingdom of Belgium Capital: Brussels |
Widely-recognized independent state. LON founding member state from January 10, 1920. Belgium had sovereignty over one colony and one concession:
Belgium administered one League of Nations mandate:
| |
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Bolivia – Republic of Bolivia Capital: Sucre |
Widely-recognized independent state. LON founding member state from January 10, 1920. | |
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Brazil – Republic of the United States of Brazil Capital: Rio de Janeiro |
Widely-recognized independent state. LON founding member state from January 10, 1920; withdrew in June 14, 1926. Brazil was a federation of 20 states, one territory, and one federal district.[b] | |
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Bulgaria – Kingdom of Bulgaria Capital: Sofia |
Widely-recognized independent state. LON member state from December 16, 1920. | |
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C[] | ||
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Canada – Dominion of Canada Capital: Ottawa |
Widely-recognized independent state after November 15, 1926. LON founding member state from January 10, 1920. | |
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Chile – Republic of Chile Capital: Santiago |
Widely-recognized independent state. LON founding member state from January 10, 1920. | |
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→ China – Republic of China
Capital: Nanking, Peking, Chungking |
Widely-recognized independent state. LON founding member state from January 10, 1920. | |
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Colombia – Republic of Colombia Capital: Bogotá |
Widely-recognized independent state. LON founding member state from January 10, 1920. | |
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Costa Rica – Republic of Costa Rica Capital: San José |
Widely-recognized independent state. LON member state from December 16, 1920; withdrew in January 22, 1925. | |
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Cuba – Republic of Cuba Capital: Havana |
Widely-recognized independent state. LON founding member state from January 10, 1920. | |
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→ Czechoslovakia Capital: Prague
|
Widely-recognized independent state. LON founding member state from January 10, 1920. | |
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D[] | ||
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Danzig – Free City of Danzig (from November 15, 1920) Capital: Danzig |
Widely-recognized independent. Under League of Nations protection. | |
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Denmark – Kingdom of Denmark Capital: Copenhagen |
Widely-recognized independent state. LON founding member state from January 10, 1920. | |
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Dominican Republic Capital: Santo Domingo |
Widely-recognized independent state. LON member state from September 28, 1924. | |
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E[] | ||
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Ecuador – Republic of Ecuador Capital: Quito |
Widely-recognized independent state. | |
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Egypt – Kingdom of Egypt (from February 28, 1922) Capital: Cairo |
Widely-recognized independent state. | |
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El Salvador – Republic of El Salvador Capital: San Salvador |
Widely-recognized independent state. LON founding member state from January 10, 1920. | |
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Estonia – Republic of Estonia Capital: Tallinn |
Widely-recognized independent state. LON member state from September 22, 1921. | |
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Ethiopia – Ethiopian Empire Capital: Addis Ababa |
Widely-recognized independent state. LON member state from September 28, 1923. | |
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F[] | ||
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Finland – Republic of Finland Capital: Helsinki |
Widely-recognized independent state. LON member state from December 16, 1920. | |
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Fiume – Free State of Fiume (from November 12, 1920 to February 22, 1924) Capital: Fiume |
Widely-recognized independent. Annexed by Italy from February 22, 1924. | |
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France – French Republic Capital: Paris |
Widely-recognized independent state. LON founding member state from January 10, 1920. France administered the foreign affairs of the following protectorates:
France administered the following League of Nations mandates:
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G[] | ||
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→ → Georgia (to March 12, 1922) Capital: Tiflis
|
Widely-recognized independent state. Georgian SSR had one autonomous republic (from July 16, 1921): Adjarian ASSR. Became part of the Transcaucasian SFSR from March 12, 1922.
| |
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Germany – German Realm Capital: Berlin |
Widely-recognized independent state. LON member state from September 8, 1926. | |
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→ Greece Capital: Athens
|
Widely-recognized independent state. LON founding member state from January 10, 1920. | |
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Guatemala – Republic of Guatemala Capital: Guatemala City |
Widely-recognized independent state. LON founding member state from January 10, 1920. | |
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H[] | ||
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→ Ha'il / Jabal Shammar – Emirate of Ha'il (to November 2, 1921) Capital: Ha'il |
Widely-recognized independent state. It was completely conquered by Saudi forces from November 2, 1921 and subsequently incorporated into the Sultanate of Nejd. | |
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Haiti – Republic of Haiti Capital: Port-au-Prince |
Widely-recognized independent state. LON founding member state from January 10, 1920. | |
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→ Hejaz – Hashemite Kingdom of Hejaz (to January 8, 1926) Capital: Mecca |
Widely-recognized independent state. Annexed by Sultanate of Nejd, creating the Kingdom of Hejaz and Nejd from January 8, 1926. | |
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Honduras – Republic of Honduras Capital: Tegucigalpa |
Widely-recognized independent state. LON founding member state from January 10, 1920. | |
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→ Hungary Capital: Budapest
|
Widely-recognized independent state. LON member state from September 18, 1922. | |
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I[] | ||
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Iceland – Kingdom of Iceland Capital: Reykjavik |
Widely-recognized independent state. | |
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Ireland – Irish Free State (from December 6, 1922) Capital: Dublin |
Widely-recognized independent state after November 15, 1926. LON member state from September 10, 1923. | |
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Italy – Kingdom of Italy Capital: Rome |
Widely-recognized independent state. LON founding member state from January 10, 1920. Italy had four colonies and one concession:
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J[] | ||
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Japan – Empire of Japan Capital: Tokyo |
Widely-recognized independent state. LON founding member state from January 10, 1920. Japan had sovereignty over the following dependencies and concessions:
Japan administered one League of Nations mandate:
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L[] | ||
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& Latvia (disputed between two governments to January 13, 1920) Capital: Riga
|
Widely-recognized independent state. LON member state from September 22, 1921. | |
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Liberia – Republic of Liberia Capital: Monrovia |
Widely-recognized independent state. LON founding member state from January 10, 1920. | |
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→ Liechtenstein – Principality of Liechtenstein Capital: Vaduz |
Widely-recognized independent state. | |
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Lithuania – Republic of Lithuania Capital: Vilnius |
Widely-recognized independent state. LON member state from September 22, 1921. | |
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Luxembourg – Grand Duchy of Luxembourg Capital: Luxembourg City |
Widely-recognized independent state. LON member state from December 16, 1920. | |
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M[] | ||
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Mexico – United Mexican States Capital: Mexico City |
Widely-recognized independent state. | |
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Monaco – Principality of Monaco Capital: Monaco City |
Widely-recognized independent state. | |
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Mountain Republic - Mountainous Republic of the Northern Caucasus (to January 20, 1921) Capital: Temir-Khan-Shura |
Widely-recognized independent state. Incorporated into the Russian SFSR as the Mountain ASSR from January 20, 1921. | |
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Muscat and Oman – Sultanate of Muscat and Oman Capital: Muscat |
De jure independent state. De facto a British protectorate. | |
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N[] | ||
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→ Nejd (to January 8, 1926) Capital: Riyadh
|
Widely-recognized independent state. Nejd annexed Hejaz, creating the Kingdom of Hejaz and Nejd from January 8, 1926. | |
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Nejd and Hejaz – Kingdom of Nejd and Hejaz (Personal Union, from January 8, 1926)
Capital: Mecca (Hejaz), Riyadh (Nejd) |
Widely-recognized independent state. Nejd and Hejaz had one protectorate:
| |
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Nepal – Kingdom of Nepal (from December 21, 1923) Capital: Kathmandu |
Widely-recognized independent state. | |
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Netherlands – Kingdom of the Netherlands Capital: Amsterdam |
Widely-recognized independent state. LON founding member state from January 10, 1920. The Netherlands had sovereignty over three colonies:
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Newfoundland – Dominion of Newfoundland Capital: St. John's |
Widely-recognized independent state after November 15, 1926. | |
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New Zealand – Dominion of New Zealand Capital: Wellington |
Widely-recognized independent state after November 15, 1926. LON founding member state from January 10, 1920. The following are territories of New Zealand:
New Zealand administered one League of Nations mandate:
| |
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Nicaragua – Republic of Nicaragua Capital: Managua |
Widely-recognized independent state. LON founding member state from January 10, 1920. | |
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Norway – Kingdom of Norway Capital: Oslo |
Widely-recognized independent state. LON founding member state from January 10, 1920. Norway had sovereignty over two uninhabited possessions:
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O[] | ||
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Ottoman Empire – Sublime Ottoman State (to November 1, 1922) Capital: Constantinople |
Widely-recognized independent state. Ottoman Empire had one protectorate:
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P[] | ||
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Panama – Republic of Panama Capital: Panama City |
Widely-recognized independent state. | |
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Paraguay – Republic of Paraguay Capital: Asunción |
Widely-recognized independent state. LON founding member state from January 10, 1920. | |
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→ Persia Capital: Tehran
|
Widely-recognized independent state. LON founding member state from January 10, 1920. | |
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Peru – Peruvian Republic Capital: Lima |
Widely-recognized independent state. LON founding member state from January 10, 1920. | |
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→ Poland – Republic of Poland Capital: Warsaw |
Widely-recognized independent state. LON founding member state from January 10, 1920. | |
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Portugal – Portuguese Republic Capital: Lisbon |
Widely-recognized independent state. LON founding member state from January 10, 1920. The following are colonies and possession of Portugal:
| |
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R[] | ||
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Romania – Kingdom of Romania Capital: Bucharest |
Widely-recognized independent state. LON founding member state from January 10, 1920. | |
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Russia – Russian Socialist Federative Soviet Republic (to December 30, 1922) Capital: Moscow |
Widely-recognized independent state. Became part of the Soviet Union from December 30, 1922. Russia had three protectorates and one concession: | |
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S[] | ||
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San Marino – Most Serene Republic of San Marino Capital: City of San Marino |
Widely-recognized independent state. | |
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Serbs, Croats and Slovenes / Yugoslavia Capital: Belgrade
|
Widely-recognized independent state. LON founding member state from January 10, 1920. | |
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Siam – Kingdom of Siam Capital: Bangkok |
Widely-recognized independent state. LON founding member state from January 10, 1920. | |
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→ South Africa – Union of South Africa
Capital: Cape Town, Pretoria, Bloemfontein, and Pietermaritzburg |
Widely-recognized independent state after November 15, 1926. LON founding member state from January 10, 1920. South Africa administered one League of Nations mandate:
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→ → Soviet Union – Union of Soviet Socialist Republics (from December 30, 1922) Capital: Moscow |
Widely-recognized independent state. The Soviet Union was a federation of four (later seven) republics.[i] | |
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Spain – Kingdom of Spain Capital: Madrid |
Widely-recognized independent state. LON founding member state from January 10, 1920. Spain had sovereignty over the following colonies, possessions and protectorate:
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Sweden – Kingdom of Sweden Capital: Stockholm |
Widely-recognized independent state. LON founding member state from January 10, 1920. | |
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Switzerland – Swiss Confederation Capital: Bern |
Widely-recognized independent state. LON founding member state from January 10, 1920. | |
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T[] | ||
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Tibet Capital: Lhasa |
De facto independent state. Claimed by the Republic of China. | |
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Transcaucasia – Transcaucasian Socialist Federative Soviet Republic (from March 12 to December 30, 1922) Capital: Tiflis |
Widely-recognized independent state. The Transcaucasian SFSR was a federation constituted by the Armenian SSR, the Azerbaijan SSR and the Georgian SSR. Became part of the Soviet Union from December 30, 1922. | |
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Turkey (from November 1, 1922) Capital: Ankara
|
Widely-recognized independent state. | |
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U[] | ||
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United Kingdom Capital: London
|
Widely-recognized independent state. LON founding member state from January 10, 1920. The following were colonies, and territories of the United Kingdom:
United Kingdom administered the following League of Nations mandates:
| |
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United States – United States of America Capital: Washington, D.C. |
Widely-recognized independent state. The following were territories of the United States of America:
| |
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Uruguay – Eastern Republic of Uruguay Capital: Montevideo |
Widely-recognized independent state. LON founding member state from January 10, 1920. | |
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V[] | ||
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Vatican City – Vatican City State (from February 1, 1929; effective from June 7, 1929) Capital: Vatican City |
Widely recognized independent state. Vatican City is administered by the Holy See. | |
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Venezuela – United States of Venezuela Capital: Caracas |
Widely-recognized independent state. LON founding member state from January 10, 1920. | |
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Y[] | ||
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Yemen – Mutawakkilite Kingdom of Yemen Capital: Sana`a |
Widely-recognized independent state. | |
States claiming sovereignty[] | ||
Alash – Alash Autonomy (to August 26, 1920) Capital: Alash-Qala |
Unrecognized state.[8] | |
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Ararat – Republic of Ararat (from October 28, 1927) Capital: Kurdava |
Unrecognized state. | |
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Armenia, Mountainous (from April 26 to July 13, 1921) Capital: Tabriz |
Unrecognized state. | |
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Azadistan (from April to September 13, 1920) Capital: Goris |
Unrecognized state. | |
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Baranya–Baja – Serbian–Hungarian Baranya–Baja Republic (from 14 to 25 August 1921) Capital: Pécs |
Unrecognized state. | |
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Bottleneck – Free State of Bottleneck (to February 23, 1923) Capital: Lorch |
Quasi-state. Unoccupied territory within post-World War I Germany. | |
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Bukhara (from October 8, 1920 to October 27, 1924) Capital: Bukhara
|
Soviet state. | |
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Byelorussia – Byelorussian Socialist Soviet Republic (from July 31, 1920 to December 30, 1922) Capital: Minsk |
Soviet state. Became part of the Soviet Union from December 30, 1922. | |
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Carnaro – Italian Regency of Carnaro (from September 8 to December 30, 1920) Capital: Fiume |
Unrecognized state. | |
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Central Lithuania – Republic of Central Lithuania (from October 12, 1920) Capital: Vilnius |
Puppet state of the Second Polish Republic. | |
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Don – Don Republic (to 1920) Capital: Novocherkassk |
Unrecognized state. | |
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Far Eastern Republic (from April 6, 1920 to November 15, 1922) Capital: Verkhneudinsk (to October 1920), Chita (from October 1920) |
Puppet state/Buffer state of Soviet Russia. | |
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Galicia – Galician Socialist Soviet Republic (from July 8 to September 21, 1920) Capital: Ternopil |
Unrecognized state. | |
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Gilan – Persian Socialist Soviet Republic (from June 1920 to September 1921) Capital: Rasht |
Unrecognized state. | |
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Ireland – Irish Republic (to December 6, 1922) Capital: Dublin |
Unrecognized state. | |
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Karelia
|
Unrecognized state. | |
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Khorasan – Autonomous Government of Khorasan (from April 2, 1921 to October 6, 1921) Capital: Mashhad |
Unrecognized state. | |
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Khorezm (from April 26, 1920 to October 27, 1924) Capital: Khiva
|
Soviet state. | |
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Korea, Provisional Government of – Provisional Government of the Republic of Korea Capital-in-exile: Shanghai |
Partially recognized Korean government-in-exile. | |
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Kuban – Kuban People's Republic (to March 17, 1920) Capital: Yekaterinodar |
Unrecognized state. | |
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Kurdistan – Kingdom of Kurdistan (from September 1921 to July 1925) Capital: Sulaymaniyah |
Unrecognized state. | |
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Labin – Labin Republic (from March 2 to April 8, 1921) Capital: Labin |
Unrecognized state. | |
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Leitha – Banate of Leitha (from October 4 to November 10, 1921) Capital: Oberwart |
Unrecognized state. | |
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Lemko Republic – Lemko-Rusyn People's Republic (to March 1920) Capital: Florynka |
Unrecognized state. | |
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Mirdita – Republic of Mirdita (from July 17 to November 20, 1921) Capital: Prizren |
Unrecognized state. | |
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→ → Mongolia (from February 21, 1921) Capital: Niislel Khüree (renamed Ulaanbaatar in 1924)
|
Partially recognized socialist republic. Under Soviet intervention from 1921 to 1924. Satellite state of the Soviet Union from November 26, 1924. | |
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North Ingria – Republic of North Ingria (to December 5, 1920) Capital: Kirjasalo |
Unrecognized state. | |
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Rhineland – Rhenish Republic (from October 21, 1923 to November 26, 1924) Capital: Aachen |
Unrecognized state. | |
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Rif – Confederal Republic of the Tribes of the Rif (from September 18, 1921 to May 27, 1926) Capital: Ajdir |
Unrecognized state. | |
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Southern Karelia – Olonets Government of Southern Karelia (from May to December 20, 1920) | Unrecognized state. | |
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Syria – Arab Kingdom of Syria (to July 25, 1920) Capital: Damascus |
De facto independent state not recognized by any other state.[9] | |
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→ Tannu Tuva (from August 14, 1921) Capital: Khem-Beldyr
|
Partially recognized socialist republic. Satellite state of the Soviet Union. | |
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Uhtua – Republic of Uhtua (to December 19, 1920) Capital: Uhtua |
Unrecognized state. | |
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Ukraine, Soviet – Ukrainian Socialist Soviet Republic (to December 30, 1922) Capital: Kharkov |
Soviet proto-state. Became part of the Soviet Union from December 30, 1922. | |
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Notes[]
References[]
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- Lists of sovereign states in the 20th century
- 1920s politics-related lists