Stateless nation

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A stateless nation is an ethnic group or nation that does not possess its own state^[1] and is not the majority population in any nation state.^[2] The term "stateless" implies that the group "should have" such a state (country).^[3][4] Members of stateless nations may be citizens of the country in which they live, or they may be denied citizenship by that country. Stateless nations are usually not represented in international sports or in international organisations such as the United Nations. Nations without state are classified as fourth-world nations.^[5][6][7] Some of the stateless nations have a history of statehood, some were always a stateless nation, dominated by another nation.

The term was coined in 1983 by political scientist in his book L'Écosse, une nation sans État about the peculiar position of Scotland within the British state. It was later adopted and popularized by Scottish scholars such as , Michael Keating and T. M. Devine.^[8]

Stateless nations either are dispersed across a number of states (for example, the residing in east of Nepal, includes (Sikkim and Darjeeling) India and north-western part of Bangladesh as the Yakthung Limbuwan nation^[9] and Yoruba people are found in the African states of Nigeria, Benin and Togo) or form the native population of a province within a larger state (such as the Uyghur people in the Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region within the People's Republic of China). Some stateless nations historically had a state, which was absorbed by another; for example, Tibet's declaration of independence in 1913 was not recognized, and it was reunited in 1951 by the People's Republic of China which claims that Tibet is an integral part of China, while the Tibetan government-in-exile maintains that Tibet is an independent state under an unlawful occupation.^[10][11] Some ethnic groups were once a stateless nation that later became a nation state (for example, the nations of the Balkans such as the Croats, Serbs, Bosniaks, Slovenes, Montenegrins and Macedonians were once part of a multinational state of Yugoslavia; since the breakup of Yugoslavia many nation states were formed).

Stateless nations can have large populations; for example the Kurds have an estimated population of over 30 million people, which make them one of the largest stateless nations.^[12] Multiple stateless nations can reside in the same geographical region or country; for example, Cantabrians, Bercians, Catalans, Canarians, Castilians, Basques, Aragonese, Galicians, Asturians, Valencians and Andalusians within Spain in the Iberian Peninsula and the Spanish dependency of Canary Islands in the Atlantic Coast of North Africa, or the Assamese, Brahui, Maithils, Kashmiri, Tamils and Santhals in South Asia, or Chin, Kachin, Karen, Mon, Rakhine, Rohingya and Shan in Myanmar, and Amazighs within Algeria in North Africa.^[13] However, not all peoples within multi-cultural states have the same awareness of being a stateless nation. In Spain, only Basques and Catalans have claimed their right of self-determination, which in the Basque country gave rise to the militant movement ETA, and in the case of Catalonia, has led to multiple attempts to secede from Spain during the past four centuries, as an independent Catalan Republic.

As not all states are nation states, there are ethnic groups who live in multinational states without being considered "stateless nations".

Nation-states and nations without states[]

The symbiotic relationship between nations and states arose in early modern Western Europe (18th century) and it was exported to the rest of the world through colonial rule. Whereas the Western European nation-states are at present relinquishing some of their powers to the European Union, many of the former colonies are now the zealous defenders of the concept of national-statehood.^[4]

Only a small fraction of the world's national groups have associated nation-states. The proportion was estimated to be 3 percent by Minahan. The rest are distributed in one or more states. Of the 192 member states of the United Nations in 2006, fewer than 20 are nation-states. Thus nation-states are not as common as often assumed, and stateless nations are the overwhelming majority of nations in the world.^[4]

Consequences of colonialism and imperialism[]

During the imperial and colonial era, powerful nations extended their influence outside their homeland and this resulted in many colonized nations ceasing to be self-governing and have since been described as stateless nations.^[14] Some nations have been victims of "carve out" and their homeland was divided among several countries. Even today the colonial boundaries form modern national boundaries. These often differ from cultural boundaries. This results in situations where people of the same language or culture are divided by national borders, for example New Guinea splits as West Papua (former Dutch colony) and Papua New Guinea (former British colony).^[15] During decolonization, the colonial powers imposed a unified state structure irrespective of the ethnic differences and granted independence to their colonies as a multinational state. This led to successor states with many minority ethnic groups in them, which increased the potential for ethnic conflicts.^{[16][17][18][19]} Some of these minority groups campaigned for self-determination. Stateless nations were not protected in all countries and become victims of atrocities such as discrimination, ethnic cleansing, genocide, forced assimilation, Exploitation of labour and natural resources.^[20][21]

Nationalism and stateless nations[]

People with a common origin, history, language, culture, customs or religion can turn into a nation by awakening of national consciousness.^[22] A nation can exist without a state, as is exemplified by the stateless nations. Citizenship is not always the nationality of a person.^[23] In a multinational state different national identities can coexist or compete: for example, in Britain English nationalism, Scottish nationalism and Welsh nationalism exist and are held together by British nationalism.^[24] Nationalism is often connected to separatism, because a nation achieves completeness through its independence.^[25]

Throughout history, numerous nations declared their independence, but not all succeeded in establishing a state. Even today, there are active autonomy and independence movements around the world. The claim of the stateless nations to self-determination is often denied due to geopolitical interests and increasing globalization of the world.^{[26][27][28][29]} Stateless nations sometimes show solidarity with other stateless nations and maintain diplomatic relations.^[30][31]

Not all peoples claim that they are nations or aspire to be states. Some see themselves as part of the multinational state and they believe that their interests are well represented in it. This is also associated with Pan-nationalism (Indian nationalism or Chinese nationalism).^[32]

Claims of stateless nations and ethnic groups with autonomous status[]

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The following is a list of ethnic and national groups that has been described as stateless nations in reliable sources^[which?]. States made bold under the "homeland" column are countries of the respective ethnic groups which are native to them and still host the majority (more than half) of their population.

People	Flag	Languages	Language family[a]	Predominant religion	Population	Continent	States	Homeland[b]	Irredentist movement	Notes
Yoruba people[33]		Yoruba language	Volta-Congo languages	Christianity, Islam, Yoruba religion	35,000,000[34][35]	Africa	Nigeria, Benin and Togo, Ghana	Yorubaland	Oodua Peoples Congress
Igbo people[citation needed]		Igbo, English	Volta-Congo languages	Christianity (primarily Roman Catholicism with significant Protestant minorities), Indigenous beliefs	30,000,000[36]	Africa	Nigeria (almost exclusively)	Igboland	Movement for the Actualization of the Sovereign State of Biafra, Indigenous People of Biafra	Attempted secession from Nigeria in 1967 sparked the Nigerian Civil war
Tamils[37]		Tamil language	Dravidian languages	Hinduism (mostly Shaivism)	78,000,000	Asia	India, Sri Lanka	Tamil Nadu, Tamil Eelam	Tamil nationalism, Greater Tamil Nadu, TNRT, Tamil Nadu Liberation Army, Sri Lankan Tamil nationalism, LTTE, Sri Lankan Civil War, TGTE, Vaddukoddai Resolution	Historically ruled Tamilakam and parts of Sri Lanka. Has regional autonomy in Indian state of Tamil Nadu. Demand autonomy in North Eastern Province of Sri Lanka. Seeks total secession from Sri Lanka and India.[38]
Kurds[39]		Kurdish languages, (originally) Arabic, Turkish, Persian (assimilation)	Iranian languages	Islam (Sunni, Shia, Alevi), Zoroastrianism, Yarsanism, Yazdânism	30,000,000–45,000,000[40][41]	Asia	Turkey, Iran, Iraq, Syria (homeland), Germany (largest diaspora)	Kurdistan	Kurdish nationalism, Kurdish–Turkish conflict, Kurdish-Iranian conflict, Iraqi–Kurdish conflict, and Kurdish–Syrian conflict	Regional autonomy achieved in Iraqi Kurdistan and Rojava.[42] Data rough due to censuses not taking ethnicity in homeland countries.
Occitan people[citation needed]		Occitan, French, Italian, Spanish	Romance languages	Roman Catholicism	16,000,000	Europe	France, Monaco, Italy and Spain (Val d'Aran)	Occitania	Occitan nationalism (Occitan Party, Partit de la Nacion Occitana, )	Seek self-determination, greater autonomy or total secession from France.
Assamese people[citation needed]		Assamese language	Indo-Aryan languages	Hinduism	15,000,000[43]	Asia	India	Assam	Assam separatist movements, ULFA Insurgency in Northeast India	Seeks greater regional autonomy for natives of Assam or total secession from India.[44]
Uyghur people[citation needed]		Uyghur language	Turkic languages	Sunni Islam	15,000,000[45]	Asia	China, Kazakhstan, Uzbekistan	East Turkestan (Uyghuristan)	Irredentism is politically fragmented (East Turkestan Liberation Organization, East Turkestan independence movement)	Limited autonomy in the Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region.
Palestinians[46]		Arabic, Hebrew	Semitic languages	Sunni Islam (majority), Christianity	5,242,679[47]	Asia	State of Palestine, Jordan, Israel, Syria, Lebanon	Palestine	Palestinian nationalism (PLO)	Seek self-determination from occupying powers.[c]
Zulu people[citation needed]		Zulu language	Volta-Congo languages	Christianity, Zulu religion	12,159,000	Africa	South Africa, Lesotho, Zimbabwe, Eswatini	KwaZulu-Natal	Inkatha Freedom Party	Limited autonomy in the KwaZulu-Natal region, which maintains a traditional Zulu king.
Kongo people[citation needed]		Kongo language, Lingala, Portuguese, French	Volta-Congo languages	Christianity (Catholicism and Protestantism), African Traditional Religion	10,000,000	Africa	Democratic Republic of the Congo, Republic of the Congo, Angola	Kongo	Kongo nationalism, Bundu dia Kongo	Historically occupied the independent Kingdom of Kongo.
Baloch people[citation needed]		Balochi	Iranian languages	Sunni Islam	10,000,000[49]	Asia	Pakistan, Iran and Afghanistan	Balochistan	Balochistan conflict, Baloch nationalism	Seeks total independence from Pakistan.
Kabyle people[citation needed]		Kabyle language, Algerian Arabic	Berber languages	Islam	4,000,000[50]	Africa	Algeria	Kabylie	Movement for the Autonomy of Kabylie, Provisional Government of Kabylia
Romani people[citation needed]		Romani language	Indo-Aryan languages	Christianity Islam Hinduism	2,000,000-5,000,000[51]	Worldwide
Ahwazi Arabs[citation needed]		Arabic, Persian (assimilation)	Semitic languages	Shia Islam	1,320,000[52]	Asia	Iran	Al Ahwaz	Arab separatism in Khuzestan Democratic Solidarity Party of Ahwaz	Ahwazi includes 30 tribes which see themselves as a distinct Arab nation.[53] Seek self-determination, greater autonomy or total secession from Iran.
Andalusians[citation needed]		Andalusian Spanish, English (in Gibraltar)	Romance languages	Christianity (Roman Catholicism)	9,500,000	Europe	Spain, Gibraltar	Andalusia	Andalusian nationalism	See also Nationalisms and regionalisms of Spain.
Puerto Rico[54]		Spanish, English	Romance languages	Christianity (primarily Roman Catholicism)	9,000,000	America	United States	Puerto Rico	Puerto Rican Nationalist Party, Fuerzas Armadas de Liberación Nacional Puertorriqueña, Boricua Popular Army, Puerto Rican Independence Party	Unincorporated territory of the United States.
Catalans[55][56]		Catalan, Spanish, Occitan, French, Italian	Romance languages	Roman Catholicism, Agnosticism	8,500,000[57]	Europe	Spain, Italy, Andorra and France	Catalan Countries	Catalan independence movement, Catalan nationalism	See also Nationalisms and regionalisms of Spain.
Québécois[58]		French	Romance languages	Christianity (Roman Catholicism)	8,215,000	America	Canada	Quebec	Quebec sovereignty movement, Quebec nationalism	The total population of the Province of Quebec is 8.2 million, of which over 80% are French speakers.
Mon people[citation needed]		Mon language	Monic languages	Buddhism	8,145,500	Asia	Myanmar, Thailand	Mon State	Mon Nationalism, Mon National Party, All Mon Region Democracy Party	Historically occupied the Mon kingdoms
Circassians[citation needed]		Circassian language, Russian	Circassian languages	Islam	5,000,000	Europe	Russia	Circassia	Russo-Circassian War, Circassian nationalism	Majority of the Circassians were destroyed by Russia in the Circassian genocide[59]
Karen people[citation needed]		S'gaw Karen language	Karenic languages	Christianity, Theravada Buddhism	7,000,000	Asia	Myanmar, Thailand	Kawthoolei	Karen nationalism, Karen National Union, Karen National Liberation Army
Maya peoples[citation needed]		Mayan languages	Mayan languages	Christianity (Catholicism), Maya religion	7,000,000	America	Guatemala, Mexico, Belize, Honduras, El Salvador	Mesoamerica	Pan-Maya movement, Rigoberta Menchú, Zapatista Army of National Liberation	Historically occupied the Maya civilization
Volga Tatars[citation needed]		Tatar language, Russian	Turkic languages	Islam	7,000,000	Europe	Russia	Tatarstan	All-Tatar Public Center	Regional autonomy in Tatarstan.
Veneto[citation needed]		Venetian language	Romance languages	Catholicism	5,000,000 (est.)	Europe	Italy	Veneto	Venetian nationalism	Many groups seek for total independence from Italy, while some just want more autonomy and recognition of Venetian language and people. Historically occupied the independent Republic of Venice.
Tibetan people[citation needed]		Tibetan language		Buddhism	7,000,000[60]	Asia	China, India, Nepal	Tibet	Tibetan independence movement	Limited autonomy in the Tibet Autonomous Region. Historically occupied the Tibetan Empire.
Indian Gorkhas[citation needed]		Nepali language		Hinduism	6,360,000[61]	Asia	India	Gorkhastan	Gorkha National Liberation Front, Gorkha Janmukti Morcha	Gorkhaland is a proposed state in India demanded by the people of the Darjeeling Hills and the people of Gorkha ethnic origin on the Northern part of West Bengal.
Riffian people[citation needed]		Riffian language		Islam	6,000,000[62]	Africa	Morocco and Spain	Rif	Rif War, Rif Republic	95% of the land is controlled by Morocco with the rest being controlled by the Spanish territories of Ceuta and Melilla as autonomous cities.
Shan people[citation needed]		Shan language		Buddhism	6,000,000	Asia	Myanmar	Shan State	Shan State Army, Declaration of independence in 2005; see also Hso Khan Pha	Historically occupied the Shan states.
Kashmiri people[citation needed]		Kashmiri language		Islam	5,600,000	Asia	India, Pakistan and China	Kashmir	Insurgency in Jammu and Kashmir	Administered by India (Kashmir Valley, Jammu, Ladakh), Pakistan (Azad Kashmir, Gilgit-Baltistan) and China (Aksai Chin).
Lozi people[citation needed]		Lozi		Christianity	5,153,000	Africa	Zambia	Barotseland	[63]
Valencians[citation needed]		Catalan, Spanish	Romance languages	Roman Catholicism[64]	5,111,706	Europe	Spain	Valencian Community	Valencian nationalism	See also Nationalisms and regionalisms of Spain.
Moro people[citation needed]		Filipino language, other Philippine languages		Islam	5,100,000	Asia	Philippines	Muslim Mindanao	Moro autonomy	The Moro people of Muslim Mindanao has since been granted autonomy as the Bangsamoro Autonomous Region with the adoption of the Bangsamoro Organic Law.
Kuki-Mizo-Zo-Chin people[citation needed]		Kuki-Chin languages		Christianity	5,000,000	Asia	Myanmar, Bangladesh, India	Mizoram, Zogam and Chin State	Mizo National Front, Chin National Front, Kuki National Army, Zomi Revolutionary Army, Zomi nationalism	Kuki-Mizo-Zo-Chin are an ethnic group known by different names and speak different dialects.
Scottish people[58][56]		Scottish Gaelic, Scots, English	Celtic languages	Christianity (Protestantism, Catholic minority)	5,000,000 (only Scotland)[65]	Europe	United Kingdom	Scotland	Scottish independence	Formerly a Sovereign state, Regional autonomy in Scotland.
Sicilians[66]		Sicilian, Italian, Gallo-Italic of Sicily, Arbëresh		Christianity (Roman Catholicism)	5,000,000 (only Sicily)	Europe	Italy	Sicily	Sicilian nationalism	Regional autonomy in Sicily.
Mthwakazi people[citation needed]		IsiNdebele, Venda, Khalanga, Shona, Tonga, Xhosa, Sotho, Nambya, Tswana (a total of over 13 tribes and languages in addition to the ones listed here		Christianity with native	5,000,000	Africa	Zimbabwe	Southern party of Zimbabwe, today described as Matabeleland and the Midlands Province	Various political and revolutionary restoration movements	Mthwakazi was a Kingdom whose last King was King Lobhengula. Mthwakazi was colonised by the British independently as a State in 1893 after a war between the British and the natives of Mthwakazi. Mashonaland which neighbours Mthwakazi, had been colonized without resistance in 1890. Britain later amalgamated these two states.
Acehnese people[citation needed]		Acehnese language		Islam	4,200,000[67]	Asia	Indonesia	Aceh	Insurgency in Aceh	Regional autonomy in Aceh. Historically occupied the Aceh Sultanate.
Hmong people[citation needed]		Hmong language		Buddhism with native	4,000,000	Asia	Laos, China, Vietnam and Thailand	Hmong ChaoFa Federated State	Insurgency in Laos
Rohingya people[citation needed]		Rohingya language		Islam	3,600,000	Asia	Myanmar	Rohang State	Rohingya conflict	The Rohingyas are not recognized as a native ethnic group by Burmese government.[68]
Afrikaners[citation needed]		Afrikaans		Christianity (mainly Protestantism)	3,500,000	Africa	South Africa and Namibia	Volkstaat	Afrikaner Nationalism, Freedom Front	Afrikaners are an Ethno-racial group. Demand autonomy or total secession from South Africa.
Assyrian people[citation needed]		Assyrian Neo-Aramaic, Turoyo, Chaldean Neo-Aramaic	Semitic languages	Christianity (Chaldean Catholicism Syriac Christianity)	3,300,000[69]	Asia	Syria, Iraq, Iran and Turkey	Assyria	Assyrian nationalism, Assyrian independence movement	Historically occupied the Assyrian empire.
Basque people[56]		Basque, French, Spanish	Language isolate	Christianity (Roman Catholicism)	3,000,000[70]	Europe	France and Spain	Basque Country	Basque nationalism	See also Nationalisms and regionalisms of Spain.
Iraqi Turkmen people[citation needed]		Turkish language, Azerbaijani language		Islam	3,000,000	Asia	Iraq	Turkmeneli	Iraqi Turkmen Front	Not to be confused with Syrian Turkmen of Latakia or Central Asian Turkmens of Turkmenistan who share only their ethnonym.[71]
Welsh people[56]		Welsh, English	Celtic languages	Christianity (Protestantism, Catholic minority)	3,000,000	Europe	United Kingdom	Wales	Welsh independence, Welsh nationalism, Meibion Glyndŵr, Plaid Cymru	Regional autonomy in Wales. Historically occupied the independent kingdoms of Wales (Gwynedd, Powys, Dyfed, Seisyllwg, Morgannwg and Gwent).
Galician people[56]		Galician language, Spanish, Portuguese		Christianity (Roman Catholicism)	2,800,000	Europe	Spain	Galicia	Galician nationalism	See also Nationalisms and regionalisms of Spain. Historically occupied the Kingdom of Galicia.
Kachin people[citation needed]		Jingpo, Zaiwa, Maru, Lashi,		Buddhism, Christianity, Animism	2,750,000 (2002)[72]	Asia	Myanmar	Kachin State	Kachin Independence Army, Kachin Independence Organisation, Kachin conflict	The tribes of Kachin Hills form the Kachin Nation.
Aragonese people[citation needed]		Aragonese language, Spanish		Christianity (Roman Catholicism)	2,278,000 (Spain only)[73]	Europe	Spain	Aragon	Aragonese nationalism	See also Nationalisms and regionalisms of Spain. Historically occupied the Kingdom of Aragon.
Meitei people[citation needed]		Meitei language		Hinduism	2,500,000	Asia	India	Imphal Valley, Manipur	UNLF, PLA, Insurgency in Manipur, Anglo-Manipur War	Historically occupied the Kingdom of Manipur.
Chechen people[citation needed]		Chechen language, Russian		Islam	2,000,000	Europe	Russia	Chechnya	Chechen insurgency, Chechen Republic of Ichkeria	Regional autonomy in Chechnya.
Naga people[citation needed]		Tibeto-Burman dialects / Nagamese creole		Christianity	2,000,000	Asia	India	Nagaland	Naga National Council, Insurgency in Northeast India	Regional autonomy in Nagaland.
Sardinian people[74][75][76][77]		Sardinian, Corso-Sardinian, Italian, Catalan, Ligurian		Christianity (Roman Catholicism)	1,661,521	Europe	Italy	Sardinia	Sardinian nationalism	National devolution, further autonomy or total secession from Italy.
Ryukyuan people[citation needed]		Ryukyuan, Japanese		Buddhism	1,600,000[78]	Asia	Japan	Ryukyu Islands	Ryukyu independence movement	Historically occupied the Ryukyu Kingdom.
Frisians[citation needed]		Frisian, Dutch, German, Danish		Christianity (Protestantism and Roman Catholicism)	1,500,000	Europe	Netherlands, Denmark, and Germany	Frisia	Frisian National Party, Groep fan Auwerk	The creation of a new Frisian state. Historically occupied the Frisian Kingdom.
Tripuri people[citation needed]		Kokborok		Hinduism	1,520,000 (2002)[79]	Asia	India	Tripura	Tripuri nationalism, All Tripura Tiger Force, National Liberation Front of Tripura	Historically occupied the Twipra Kingdom. 1949, Tripuris had a population of 85% in Tripura, 2002 they make up 29% and became a minority in their own homeland.[79]
Bodo people[citation needed]		Bodo language		Hinduism Bathouism	1,300,000	Asia	India	Bodoland	Bodo nationalism, National Democratic Front of Bodoland	National devolution or further autonomy from the India.
Tuareg people[citation needed]		Tuareg language		Islam	1,200,000	Africa	Mali and Niger	Azawad	National Movement for the Liberation of Azawad, Tuareg rebellion (2012), Northern Mali conflict	National devolution, further autonomy or total secession from Mali.
Mapuche[citation needed]		Mapudungun		Christianity (Roman Catholicism)	1,000,000[80]	America	Argentina and Chile	Wallmapu	Mapuche conflict
Asturian people[citation needed]		Asturian language, Spanish		Christianity (Roman Catholicism)	1,925,000 (2020)	Europe	Spain and Portugal	Asturias	Asturian nationalism	See also Nationalisms and regionalisms of Spain.
Lezgins[citation needed]		Lezgian		Islam	800,000+	Europe	Russia, Azerbaijan	Lezgistan	Lezgin Nationalism	Unification of the Lezgin people in Azerbaijan and Dagestan (Russia).
Fur people[citation needed]		Fur, Arabic		Islam	800,000[81]	Africa	Sudan	Dafur	War in Darfur, SLM/A	Historically occupied the Sultanate of Darfur.
Māori people[citation needed]		Māori, English		Christianity with native	750,000	Oceania	New Zealand	New Zealand	Māori protest movement
Aboriginal Australians[citation needed]		Aboriginal languages		Christianity (principally Anglicanism and Roman Catholicism) with native	680,000	Oceania	Australia	Australia	Movement is fragmented or focused on specific aboriginal groups
Karakalpaks[citation needed]		Karakalpak language		Islam	620,000	Asia	Uzbekistan	Karakalpakstan	Karakalpak Nationalism	Regional autonomy in Karakalpakstan
Hawaiian people[citation needed]		Hawaiian language		Christianity (Catholicism and Protestantism) with native	527,000	Oceania	United States	Hawaii	Hawaiian sovereignty movement	Historically occupied the Kingdom of Hawaii.
Moravians[citation needed]		Czech (Moravian), Slovak		Traditionally Roman Catholicism presently Irreligion	525,000[82][83]	Europe	Czech Republic and Slovakia	Moravia	Moravians	Historically occupied the Moravian Empire
Kashubians[citation needed]		Kashubian		Christianity (Roman Catholicism)	~0.5 million (2002–07)[84][85] of which 233,000 as ethnic-national identity (2011)	Europe	Poland	Pomerania	Kaszëbskô Jednota	Kashubians with Slovincians (extinct) formed the West Slavic tribes of Pomeranians.
Ogoni people[citation needed]		Ogoni language		Christianity with native	500,000	Africa	Nigeria	Ogoniland	Movement for the Survival of the Ogoni People
Crimean Tatars[citation needed]		Crimean Tatar, Russian, Ukrainian		Islam	500,000	Europe	Ukraine	Crimea	Mejlis of the Crimean Tatar People Tatars in Republic of Crimea Deportation of the Crimean Tatars	Previously an autonomous republic within Ukraine, after being invaded and annexed by Russia in 2014 the Crimean Tatars are currently seeking autonomy[86]
Sahrawi people[87]		Hassaniya Arabic (native), Berber languages (native), Modern Standard Arabic (written only), and Spanish (lingua franca)		Islam (Sunni Islam (Maliki), Sufism)	500,000[88]	Africa	Morocco, Algeria, Mauretania	Western Sahara	Western Sahara conflict, Polisario Front, Sahrawi Arab Democratic Republic	partially controlled by the self-proclaimed Sahrawi Arab Democratic Republic and partially Moroccan-occupied
Yakuts[citation needed]		Yakut language, Russian language		Christianity, Shamanism, Tengrism	480,000–510,000	Asia	Russia	Yakutia	Yakut revolt (1918)	Regional autonomy in Sakha Republic, Yakut leaders declared Yakutia's sovereignty in 1991 in an attempt to take advantage of the fall of the Soviet Union, though this was unsuccessful[89]
Chams[citation needed]		Cham language		Islam, Hinduism, Buddhism	400,000	Asia	Vietnam	South Central Coast	United Front for the Liberation of Oppressed Races, Cham rights movement[90]	Historically occupied the Kingdom of Champa. The Cham in Vietnam are only recognized as a minority, and not as an indigenous people by the Vietnamese government despite being indigenous to the region.
Corsican people[citation needed]		Corsican, French, Ligurian, Italian		Christianity (Roman Catholicism	322,120	Europe	France	Corsica	Corsica Libera	Territorial collectivity in France.
Navajo[citation needed]		Navajo language, Navajo language, Navajo Sign Language		Navajo Traditional, Christianity (principally Roman Catholicism)	300,460	America	United States	Navajo Nation	Navajo Wars	Regional autonomy in the Navajo Nation.
Tuvans[citation needed]		Tuvan language, Russian language, Mongolian language, Chinese language		Tibetan Buddhism, Tengrism	300,000	Asia	Russia, Mongolia, China	Tuva	People's Front "Free Tuva", People's Party of Sovereign Tuva[91]	Regional autonomy in Tuva.
Sikkimese people[citation needed]		Sikkimese language		Hinduism, Buddhism, Christianity	290,000	Asia	India	Sikkim	Sikkim Bhutia Lepcha Apex Committee[92]	Formerly the Kingdom of Sikkim. The Sikkimese people are split among the Lepcha, Limbu and Bhutias In 1990 Sikkimese Nationalist leaders declared the annexation of Sikkim by India to be illegal[93]
Lakota people[citation needed]		Lakota, English		Christianity with native	170,000[94]	America	United States	Lakotah	Sioux Wars, Lakota Freedom Movement	Native American reservation politics.
Sami people[citation needed]		Sami languages, Norwegian, Swedish, Finnish, Russian		Christianity (principally Lutheran), Animism	163,400	Europe	Norway, Sweden, Finland and Russia	Sapmi	Sámi politics	Have their own Parliaments in Norway, Sweden & Finland but Sami groups seek more territorial autonomy.
Inuit[citation needed]		Inuit languages, Danish, English, Russian		Christianity with native	135,991	America	Canada, United States and Denmark	Alaska, Northern Canada and Greenland	Greenland Referendum, Inuit Tapiriit Kanatami	Semi-autonomous rule in Greenland with autonomy within the Kingdom of Denmark.
Yupik peoples[citation needed]		Yupik languages, English, Russian		Christianity with native	35,567 (est.)	Asia and America	Russia and the United States	Siberia and Alaska	Calista Corporation, Bristol Bay Native Corporation
Pamiris[citation needed]		Pamir languages		Islam	135,000[95]	Asia	Tajikistan	Badakhshan	Pamiri nationalism, Lali Badakhshan party, Tajikistani Civil War	Regional autonomy in Gorno-Badakhshan Autonomous Region
Faroese people[citation needed]		Faroese language, Danish		Christianity (principally Lutheran)	66,000	Europe	Denmark	Faroe Islands	Faroese independence movement	Regional autonomy in Faroe Islands.
Sorbs[citation needed]		Sorbian language, Czech, German		Christianity (Roman Catholicism)	60,000–70,000 (est.)	Europe	Germany and Czech Republic	Lusatia	Domowina	Divided into Upper Sorbs and Lower Sorbs.
Ainu people[citation needed]		Ainu languages, Japanese people, Russian language		Animism, Shintoism, Buddhism, Christianity	25,000 – 200,000 (est.)	Asia	Japan, Russia	Hokkaido	Ainu Movement	Seek greater independence in Japan[96][97][98]
Rapa Nui people[citation needed]		Rapa Nui language, Spanish language		Christianity (Catholicism)	5,682	Oceania	Chile	Easter Island	Rapa Nui independence movement[99][100]	The Rapa Nui Parliament is a pro-independence organisation[101]
Pastusos[citation needed]		Spanish language (Pastuso dialect)		Christianity (Roman Catholicism)	1,800,000 (est., 2015)[102]	South America	Colombia and Ecuador	Nudo de los Pastos	Agustín Agualongo, José Rafael Sañudo	Pasto was annexed by Colombia after the Pasto Campaign and Black Christmas. During 2021 protests, many Colombian symbols in the region were destroyed.[103]

Formerly stateless nations[]

Some stateless nations have achieved their own independent state. Examples include Greeks before the Greek War of Independence^[104] and Irish people before the Irish War of Independence.^[105]

Some would include the Jews until the 1948 Israeli declaration of independence,^[106] however others would point out that different groups of Jews have very different characteristics such as languages, cultures, and territories, rendering the idea that all Jews constitute a single nation questionable.^[107][108]

During the breakup of the USSR and the breakup of Yugoslavia, several ethnic groups gained their own sovereign state.^[109]

See also[]

Notes[]

References[]

Sources[]

External links[]

• Map of European Stateless Nations, published by the advocacy group Eurominority
• United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Persons Belonging to National or Ethnic, Religious and Linguistic Minorities