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Independence / founding reference year Ranking Map for 187 countries and territories Limited coverage: Countries and territories with a Gregorian year extractable from the CIA World Factbook Independence field. 187 countries and territories included; reference period: 2025 archive.
In the available data, South Sudan has the highest recorded value at 2,011 (rank #1); Japan ranks #110 at 1,947. Coverage: 187 countries and territories. Reference years: South Sudan CIA World Factbook 2025 archive; Japan CIA World Factbook 2025 archive. This is the first reference year in the CIA Factbook independence entry, not a complete measure of a state’s historical age.
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95 THEMES / 9 CATEGORIES Current theme Independence / founding reference year Browse by category ＋ 01 / RANKING MAP
Compare independence / founding reference year within the covered dataset. Countries and territories with a Gregorian year extractable from the CIA World Factbook Independence field.
Japan 1,947
Japan, world rank 110 for Independence / founding reference year, 1,947
Fiji: 1,970 Tanzania: 1,964 Western Sahara: Not included in this limited dataset Canada: 1,867 United States: 1,776 Kazakhstan: 1,991 Uzbekistan: 1,991 Papua New Guinea: 1,975 Indonesia: 1,945 Argentina: 1,816 Chile: 1,810 Democratic Republic of the Congo: 1,960 Somalia: 1,960 Kenya: 1,963 Sudan: 1,956 Chad: 1,960 Haiti: 1,804 Dominican Republic: 1,844 Russia: 1,991 Bahamas: 1,973 Falkland Islands: Not included in this limited dataset Norway: 1,905 Greenland: Not included in this limited dataset Fr. S. Antarctic Lands: No data Timor-Leste: 1,975 South Africa: 1,910 Lesotho: 1,966 Mexico: 1,810 Uruguay: 1,825 Brazil: 1,822 Bolivia: 1,825 Peru: 1,821 Colombia: 1,810 Panama: 1,903 Costa Rica: 1,821 Nicaragua: 1,821 Honduras: 1,821 El Salvador: 1,821 Guatemala: 1,821 Belize: 1,981 Venezuela: 1,811 Guyana: 1,966 Suriname: 1,975 France: 486 Ecuador: 1,822 Puerto Rico: Not included in this limited dataset Jamaica: 1,962 Cuba: 1,902 Zimbabwe: 1,980 Botswana: 1,966 Namibia: 1,990 Senegal: 1,960 Mali: 1,960 Mauritania: 1,960 Benin: 1,960 Niger: 1,960 Nigeria: 1,960 Cameroon: 1,960 Togo: 1,960 Ghana: 1,957 Côte d’Ivoire: Not included in this limited dataset Guinea: 1,958 Guinea-Bissau: 1,973 Liberia: 1,847 Sierra Leone: 1,961 Burkina Faso: 1,960 Central African Republic: Not included in this limited dataset Republic of the Congo: 1,960 Gabon: 1,960 Equatorial Guinea: 1,968 Zambia: 1,964 Malawi: 1,964 Mozambique: 1,975 Eswatini: 1,968 Angola: 1,975 Burundi: 1,962 Israel: 1,948 Lebanon: 1,943 Madagascar: 1,960 Palestine: Not included in this limited dataset Gambia: 1,965 Tunisia: 1,956 Algeria: 1,962 Jordan: 1,946 United Arab Emirates: Not included in this limited dataset Qatar: 1,971 Kuwait: 1,961 Iraq: 1,932 Oman: 1,650 Vanuatu: 1,980 Cambodia: 1,953 Thailand: 1,238 Laos: 1,949 Myanmar: 1,948 Vietnam: 1,945 North Korea: 1,945 South Korea: 1,945 Mongolia: 1,911 India: 1,947 Bangladesh: 1,971 Bhutan: 1,907 Nepal: 1,768 Pakistan: 1,947 Afghanistan: 1,919 Tajikistan: 1,991 Kyrgyzstan: 1,991 Turkmenistan: 1,991 Iran: 1,979 Syria: 1,946 Armenia: 1,991 Sweden: 1,523 Belarus: 1,991 Ukraine: 1,991 Poland: 1,918 Austria: 976 Hungary: 1,918 Moldova: 1,991 Romania: 1,877 Lithuania: 1,918 Latvia: 1,918 Estonia: 1,918 Germany: 1,871 Bulgaria: 1,878 Greece: 1,830 Türkiye: 1,923 Albania: 1,912 Croatia: 1,991 Switzerland: 1,291 Luxembourg: 1,839 Belgium: 1,830 Netherlands: 1,581 Portugal: 1,143 Spain: 1,492 Ireland: 1,921 New Caledonia: Not included in this limited dataset Solomon Islands: 1,978 New Zealand: 1,907 Australia: 1,901 Sri Lanka: 1,948 China: 1,949 Taiwan: Not included in this limited dataset Italy: 1,861 Denmark: 965 United Kingdom: 927 Iceland: 1,918 Azerbaijan: 1,991 Georgia: 1,991 Philippines: 1,946 Malaysia: 1,957 Brunei: 1,984 Slovenia: 1,991 Finland: 1,917 Slovakia: 1,993 Czechia: 1,993 Eritrea: 1,993 Japan: 1,947 Paraguay: 1,811 Yemen: 1,990 Saudi Arabia: 1,932 Antarctica: No data N. Cyprus: No data Cyprus: 1,960 Morocco: 1,956 Egypt: 1,922 Libya: 1,951 Ethiopia: Not included in this limited dataset Djibouti: 1,977 Somaliland: No data Uganda: 1,962 Rwanda: 1,962 Bosnia and Herzegovina: 1,992 North Macedonia: 1,991 Serbia: 2,006 Montenegro: 2,006 Kosovo: No data Trinidad and Tobago: 1,962 South Sudan: 2,011 Japan South Sudan 1 Serbia 2 Montenegro 2 Czechia 5 Austria 183 Denmark 184 United Kingdom 185 France 186 Kazakhstan Russia Uzbekistan Eritrea Move map ⛶ Expand map+ − Reset
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× JPN Bottom 50% / CIA World Factbook 2025 archive
Japan Japan
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View Japan's profile and all rankings→ Independence / founding reference yearRankings 110/187 1,947
Original CIA text 3 May 1947 (current constitution adopted as amendment to Meiji Constitution); notable earlier dates: 11 February 660 B.C. (mythological date of Emperor JIMMU founding the nation); 29 November 1890 (Meiji Constitution provides for constitutional monarchy)
Where several founding dates are listed, the map uses the first Gregorian year in the original CIA text.
Area 377,969 km² World # 63
Population 123,366,734 people World # 12 Did you know? Japan ranks #110 for independence / founding reference year. Switch themes to see how the same country changes across the map.
1 South Sudan 2,011 2 Montenegro 2,006 2 Serbia 2,006 4 Palau 1,994 5 Czechia 1,993
187 San Marino 301 186 France 486 185 United Kingdom 927 184 Denmark 965 183 Austria 976 02 / ABOUT THIS DATA
How to read the Independence / founding reference year ranking map Countries and territories with a Gregorian year extractable from the CIA World Factbook Independence field. This page orders 187 countries and territories by value and divides the ranking into ten map colors.
Top 3 #1 South Sudan (2,011), #2 Montenegro (2,006), #2 Serbia (2,006)
Japan’s position World #110 (1,947)
Data period 2025 archive All displayed observations use the reference period above. Check the source and definition before interpreting small differences.
03 / FULL RANKING
View the full ranking. Browse every covered country from the top to the bottom of the ranking. Select one to focus it on the map and open its card.
Independence / founding reference year Full ranking187 countries #8 Bosnia and Herzegovina 1,992 Profile #39 Sao Tome and Principe 1,975 Profile #81 Republic of the Congo 1,960 Profile #81 Democratic Republic of the Congo 1,960 Profile #172 Saint Pierre and Miquelon 1,763 Profile