thumb|[[Claude Joseph Rouget de Lisle, the composer of the French national anthem "La Marseillaise", sings it for the first time. The anthem is one of the earliest to be adopted by a modern state, in 1795.]]
Most nation states have an anthem, defined as "a song, as of praise, devotion, or patriotism"; most anthems are either marches or hymns in style. A song or hymn can become a national anthem under the state's constitution, by a law enacted by its legislature, or simply by tradition. A royal anthem is a patriotic song similar to a national anthem, but it specifically praises or prays for a monarch or royal dynasty. Such anthems are usually performed at public appearances by the monarch or during other events of royal importance. Some states use their royal anthem as the national anthem, such as the state anthem of Jordan.
Anthems became increasingly popular among European states in the 18th century. In 1795, the French First Republic adopted "La Marseillaise" as its national anthem by decree, making France the first country in history to have an official national anthem. Some anthems are older in origin but were not officially adopted until the 19th or 20th century. For example, the Japanese anthem, "Kimigayo", employs the oldest lyrics of any national anthem, taking its words from the "Kokin Wakashū", which was first published in 905, yet these words were not set to music until 1880. The national anthem of the Netherlands, the "Wilhelmus", contains a melody and lyrics dating back to the 16th century, but it was not officially adopted as the country's national anthem until 1932.
National anthems are usually written in the most common language of the state, whether de facto or official. States with multiple national languages may offer several versions of their anthem. For instance, Switzerland's national anthem has different lyrics for each of the country's four official languages: French, German, Italian, and Romansh. One of New Zealand's two national anthems is commonly sung with the first verse in Māori ("Aotearoa") and the second in English ("God Defend New Zealand"). The tune is the same but the lyrics have different meanings. South Africa's national anthem is unique in that it is two different songs put together with five of the country's eleven official languages being used, in which each language comprises a stanza.
Denmark and New Zealand are two countries with two official national anthems of equal status. Denmark has two anthems, Der er et yndigt land ("There is a Lovely Country") and Kong Christian stod ved højen mast ("King Christian stood by the lofty mast"). Der er et yndigt land is considered the civil national anthem and is often played at civil and sports events. Kong Christian stod ved højen mast is both a royal and national anthem. New Zealand has two anthems, God Defend New Zealand and God Save the King. God Defend New Zealand was added in 1977 after a petition to Parliament and Queen Elizabeth II's approval. The two anthems are almost never sung together. Usually the first verse of God Defend New Zealand is sung in Māori ("Aotearoa") and the second in English.
India has both a national anthem, Jana-gana-mana, and a national song, Vande Mataram. Jana-gana-mana was originally written in Bengali by Rabindranath Tagore in 1911 and adopted as the national anthem in 1950. Vande Mataram was composed in Sanskritised Bengali by Bankimchandra Chatterjee in the 1870s and inspired people during their fight for freedom.
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UN member states and observer states
<div style ="overflow:auto">
{| class="wikitable plainrowheaders sortable" border=1
! scope="col" | State
! scope=col| National anthem
! width=150pt | Date adopted (de jure)
! scope="col" | Lyricist
! width="200pt" | Composer/Artist
! width="250pt" | Audio
! | Length
! | Ref.
|-
! scope="row"|
| "Dā də Bātorāno Kor"<br /><small>("This is the Home of the Brave")</small>
| style="text-align:center"|
| colspan="2" style="text-align:center"| Unknown
|
| 4m 26s
| style="text-align:center"|
|-
! scope="row"|
| "Himni i Flamurit"<br /><small>("The Hymn of the Flag")</small>
| style="text-align:center"|
| Aleksandër Stavre Drenova
| Ciprian Porumbescu
|
| 1m 6s
| style="text-align:center"|
|-
! scope="row"|
| "Kassaman" <br /><small>("We Pledge")</small>
| style="text-align:center"|
| Moufdi Zakaria
| Mohamed Fawzi
|
| 1m 13s
| style="text-align:center"|
|-
! scope="row"|
| "El gran Carlemany"<br /><small>("The Great Charlemagne")</small>
| style="text-align:center"|
| Enric Marfany Bons
| Juan Benlloch y Vivó
|
| 1m 6s
| style="text-align:center"|
|-
! scope="row"|
| "Angola Avante"<br /><small>("Onward Angola")</small>
| style="text-align:center" |
| Manuel Rui Alves Monteiro
| Ruy Mingas
|
| 1m 4s
| style="text-align:center"|
|-
! scope="row"|
| "Fair Antigua, We Salute Thee"
| style="text-align:center"|
| Novelle Richards
| Walter P. Chambers
|
| 1m 1s
| style="text-align:center" |
|-
! scope="row"|
| "Himno Nacional Argentino"<br /><small>("Argentine National Anthem")</small>
| style="text-align:center"|
| Vicente López y Planes
| Blas Parera
|
| 3m 33s
| style="text-align:center"|
|-
! scope="row"|
| "Mer Hayrenik"<br /><small>("Our Fatherland")</small>
| style="text-align:center"|
| Mikael Nalbandian
| Barsegh Kanachyan
|
| 0m 28s (one verse)
| style="text-align:center"|
|-
! scope="row"|
| "Advance Australia Fair"
| style="text-align:center"|
| colspan="2" style="text-align:center"| Peter Dodds McCormick
|
| 0m 54s
| style="text-align:center"|
|-
! scope="row"|
| "Bundeshymne der Republik Österreich"<br /><small>("National Anthem of the Republic of Austria")</small>
| style="text-align:center"| (as instrumental)<br> (with lyrics)
| Paula von Preradović
| Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart/
|
| 1m 29s
| style="text-align:center"|
|-
! scope="row"|
| "Azərbaycan marşı"<br /><small>("Azerbaijan's Anthem")</small>
| style="text-align:center"|
| Ahmed Javad
| Uzeyir Hajibeyov
|
| 2m 12s
| style="text-align:center"|
|-
! scope="row"|
| "March On, Bahamaland"
| style="text-align:center"|
| colspan="2" style="text-align:center"| Timothy Gibson
|
| 1m 15s
| style="text-align:center"|
|-
! scope="row"|
| "Bahrainona"<br /><small>("Our Bahrain")</small>
| style="text-align:center"| (music only)<br> (original)<br> (current)
| Mohamed Sudqi Ayyash
| data-sort-value="ZZZZ"| Unknown
|
| 0m 49s
| style="text-align:center"|
|-
! scope="row"|
| "Amar Shonar Bangla"<br /><small>("My Golden Bengal")</small>
| style="text-align:center"| (provisional)<br> (official)
| Rabindranath Tagore
| Samar Das
|
| 2m 15s
| style="text-align:center"|
|-
! scope="row"|
| "In Plenty and In Time of Need"
| style="text-align:center"|
| Irving Burgie
| C. Van Roland Edwards
|
| 1m 19s
| style="text-align:center"|
|-
! scope="row"|
| "My Belarusy"<br /><small>("We, the Belarusians")</small>
| style="text-align:center"| (music)<br> (with current lyrics)
| Michael Klimovich
| Nestar Sakalowski
|
| 3m 32s
| style="text-align:center"|
|-
! scope="row"|
|"La Brabançonne"<br /><small>("The Brabantian")</small>
| style="text-align:center"|
| Jenneval (Louis-Alexandre Dechet)
| François Van Campenhout
|
| 1m 3s
| style="text-align:center"|
|-
! scope="row"|
| "Land of the Free"
| style="text-align:center"|
| Samuel Alfred Haynes
| Selwyn Walford Young
|
| 2m 42s
| style="text-align:center"|
|-
! scope="row"|
| "L'Aube Nouvelle"<br /><small>("The Dawn of a New Day")</small>
| style="text-align:center"|
| colspan="2" style="text-align:center"| Gilbert Jean Dagnon
|
| 1m 8s
| style="text-align:center"|
|-
! scope="row"|
| "Druk Tsenden"<br /><small>("The Thunder Dragon Kingdom")</small>
| style="text-align:center"|
| Dasho Gyaldun Thinley
| Aku Tongmi
|
|1m 45s
| style="text-align:center"|
|-
! scope="row"|
| "Himno Nacional de Bolivia"<br /><small>("National Anthem of Bolivia")</small>
| style="text-align:center"|
| José Ignacio de Sanjinés
|Leopoldo Benedetto Vincenti
|
| 1m 41s
| style="text-align:center"|
|-
! scope="row"|
| "Državna himna Bosne i Hercegovine"<br /><small>("The National Anthem of Bosnia and Herzegovina")</small>
| style="text-align:center"| (de facto)<br> (de jure)
| Awaiting official approval
| Dušan Šestić
|
| 0m 25s
| style="text-align:center"|
|-
! scope="row"|
| "Fatshe leno la rona"<br /><small>("Blessed Be This Noble Land")</small>
| style="text-align:center"|
| colspan="2" style="text-align:center"| Kgalemang Tumedisco Motsete
|
| 0m 57s
| style="text-align:center"|
|-
! scope="row"|
| "Hino Nacional Brasileiro"<br /><small>("Brazilian National Anthem")</small>
| style="text-align:center"| <br> (lyrics adopted)
| Joaquim Osório Duque Estrada
| Francisco Manuel da Silva
|
| 3m 21s
| style="text-align:center"|
|-
! scope="row"|
| "Allah Peliharakan Sultan"<br /><small>("God Bless the Sultan")</small>
| style="text-align:center"|
| Pengiran Haji Mohamed Yusuf bin Abdul Rahim
| Besar bin Sagap
|
| 1m 5s
| style="text-align:center"|
|-
! scope="row"|
| "Mila Rodino"<br /><small>("Dear Motherland")</small>
| style="text-align:center"|
| colspan="2" style="text-align:center"| Tsvetan Radoslavov
|
| 2m 1s
| style="text-align:center"|
|-
! scope="row"|
| "Une Seule Nuit"<br /><small>("One Single Night")</small>
| style="text-align:center"|
| colspan="2" style="text-align:center"| Thomas Sankara
|
| 1m 47s
| style="text-align:center"|
|-
! scope="row"|
| "Burundi Bwacu"<br /><small>("Our Burundi")</small>
| style="text-align:center"|
| Jean-Baptiste Ntahokaja and others
| Marc Barengayabo
|
| 1m 50s
| style="text-align:center"|
|-
! scope="row"|
| "Nokor Reach"<br /><small>("Royal Kingdom")</small>
| style="text-align:center"|
| Samdach Chuon Nat
| F. Perruchot and J. Jekyll
|
| 1m 30s
| style="text-align:center"|
|-
! scope="row"|
| "O Cameroun, Berceau de nos Ancêtres"<br /><small>("O Cameroon, Cradle of Our Forefathers")</small>
| style="text-align:center"| (French version)<br> (English version)
| René Djam Afame, Samuel Minkio Bamba, Moïse Nyatte Nko'o (French),<br />Dr Bernard Fonlon (English)
| René Djam Afame
|
| 0m 58s
| style="text-align:center"|
|-
! scope="row"|
| "O Canada"<br /><small>("Ô Canada")</small>
| style="text-align:center"|
| Adolphe-Basile Routhier (French);<br />Robert Stanley Weir (English)
| Calixa Lavallée
|
| 1m 23s
| style="text-align:center"|
|-
! scope="row"|
| "Cântico da Liberdade"<br /><small>("Song of Freedom")</small>
| style="text-align:center"|
| Amílcar Spencer Lopes
| Adalberto Higino Tavares Silva
|
| 1m 11s
| style="text-align:center"|
|-
! scope="row"|
| "La Renaissance"<br /><small>("The Rebirth")</small>
| style="text-align:center"|
| Barthélémy Boganda
| Herbert Pepper
|
| 1m 6s
| style="text-align:center"|
|-
! scope="row"|
| "La Tchadienne"<br /><small>("People of Chad")</small>
| style="text-align:center"|
| Louis Gidrol and others
| Paul Villard
|
| 1m 1s
| style="text-align:center"|
|-
! scope="row"|
| "Himno Nacional de Chile"<br /><small>("National Anthem of Chile")</small>
| style="text-align:center"|
| Eusebio Lillo
| Ramón Carnicer
|
| 2m 2s
| style="text-align:center"|
|-
! scope="row"|
| "Yìyǒngjūn Jìnxíngqǔ"<br /><small>("March of the Volunteers")</small>
| style="text-align:center"| (provisional)<br />1982 (official)<br />2004 (constitutional)
| Tian Han
| Nie Er
|
| 0m 44s
| style="text-align:center"|
|-
! scope="row"|
| "Himno Nacional de la República de Colombia"<br /><small>("National Anthem of the Republic of Colombia")</small>
| style="text-align:center"|
| Rafael Núñez
| Oreste Sindici
|
| 2m 41s
| style="text-align:center"|
|-
! scope="row"|
| "Udzima wa ya Masiwa"<br /><small>("The Union of the Great Islands")</small>
| style="text-align:center"|
| Said Hachim Sidi Abderemane
| Said Hachim Sidi Abderemane and Kamildine Abdallah
|
| 1m 37s
| style="text-align:center"|
|-
! scope="row"|
| "Debout Congolais"<br /><small>("Arise Congolese")</small>
| style="text-align:center"| ,
| Joseph Lutumba
| Simon-Pierre Boka di Mpasi Londi
|
| 1m 27s
| style="text-align:center"|
|-
! scope="row"|
| "La Congolaise"<br /><small>("The Congolese")</small>
| style="text-align:center"| ,
| Jacques Tondra and Georges Kibanghi
| Jean Royer and Joseph Spadilière
|
| 1m 15s
| style="text-align:center"|
|-
! scope="row"|
| "Himno Nacional de Costa Rica"<br /><small>("National Anthem of Costa Rica")</small>
| style="text-align:center"|
| José María Zeledón Brenes
|Manuel María Gutiérrez
|
| 1m 50s
| style="text-align:center"|
|-
! scope="row"|
| "Lijepa naša domovino"<br /><small>("Our Beautiful Homeland")</small>
| style="text-align:center"|
| Antun Mihanović
| Josip Runjanin
|
| 0m 59s
| style="text-align:center"|
|-
! scope="row"|
| "El Himno de Bayamo"<br /><small>("The Anthem of Bayamo")</small>
| style="text-align:center"|
| colspan="2" style="text-align:center"| Perucho Figueredo
|
| 0m 53s
| style="text-align:center"|
|-
! scope="row"|
| "Ýmnos eis tīn Eleutherían"<br /><small>("Hymn to Liberty")</small>
| style="text-align:center"|
| Dionýsios Solomós
| Nikolaos Mantzaros
|
| 0m 45s
| style="text-align:center"|
|-
! scope="row"|
| "Kde domov můj"<br /><small>("Where My Home is")</small>
| style="text-align:center"|
| Josef Kajetán Tyl
| František Škroup
|
| 1m 12s
| style="text-align:center"|
|-
! scope="row" rowspan=2|
| "Kong Christian stod ved højen mast"