List of states with limited recognition

[[File:Limited Recognition States.svg|thumb|upright=1.2|

]]

A number of polities have declared independence and sought diplomatic recognition from the international community as sovereign states, but have not been universally recognised as such. These entities often have de facto control of their territory. A number of such entities have existed in the past.

There are two traditional theories used to indicate how a sovereign state comes into being. The declarative theory (codified in the 1933 Montevideo Convention) defines a state as a person in international law if it meets the following criteria:

a defined territory
a permanent population
a government, and
a capacity to enter into relations with other states.

According to the declarative theory, an entity's statehood is independent of its recognition by other states. By contrast, the constitutive theory defines a state as a person of international law only if it is recognised as such by other states that are already a member of the international community.

Quasi-states often reference either or both doctrines in order to legitimise their claims to statehood. There are, for example, entities which meet the declarative criteria (with de facto partial or complete control over their claimed territory, a government and a permanent population), but whose statehood is not recognised by any other states. Non-recognition is often a result of conflicts with other countries that claim those entities as integral parts of their territory. In other cases, two or more partially recognised states may claim the same territorial area, with each of them de facto in control of a portion of it (for example, the Republic of China (Taiwan) and the People's Republic of China, or historically North Korea and South Korea). Entities that are recognised by only a minority of the world's states usually reference the declarative doctrine to legitimise their claims.

In many situations, international non-recognition is influenced by the presence of a foreign military force in the territory of the contested entity, making the description of the country's de facto status problematic. The international community can judge this military presence too intrusive, reducing the entity to a puppet state where effective sovereignty is retained by the foreign power. Historical cases in this sense can be seen in Japanese-led Manchukuo or the German-created Slovak Republic and Independent State of Croatia before and during World War II. In the 1996 case Loizidou v. Turkey, the European Court of Human Rights judged Turkey for having exercised authority in the territory of Northern Cyprus.

There are also entities that do not have control over any territory or do not unequivocally meet the declarative criteria for statehood but have been recognised to exist as sovereign entities by at least one other state. Historically, this has happened in the case of the Holy See (1870–1929); Estonia, Latvia, and Lithuania (during Soviet occupation); and Palestine at the time of its declaration of independence in 1988. The Sovereign Military Order of Malta is currently in this position. See list of governments in exile for unrecognised governments without control over the territory claimed.

Criteria

State practice relating to the recognition of a country typically falls somewhere between the declarative theory and constitutive theory approaches.

The criteria for inclusion on this list are limited to polities that claim sovereignty, lack recognition from at least one UN member state, and either:

satisfy the declarative theory of statehood, or
are recognised (constitutive theory) as a state by at least one UN member state.

Background

thumb|Women in [[Somaliland wearing the colors of the Somaliland flag]]

There are United Nations (UN) member states, while both the Holy See and Palestine have observer state status in the United Nations. However, some countries that fulfill the declarative criteria, are recognised by the large majority of other states and are members of the United Nations are still included in the list here because one or more other states do not recognise their statehood, due to territorial claims or other conflicts.

Some states maintain informal (officially non-diplomatic) relations with states that do not officially recognise them. Taiwan (the Republic of China) is one such state, as it maintains unofficial relations with many other states through its Economic and Cultural Offices, which allow regular consular services. This allows Taiwan to have economic relations even with states that do not formally recognise it. A total of 56 states, including Germany, Italy, the United States, and the United Kingdom, maintain some form of unofficial mission in Taiwan. Kosovo, Northern Cyprus, Abkhazia, Transnistria, Somaliland, and Palestine also host informal diplomatic missions, or maintain special delegations or other informal missions abroad.

United Nations member and observer states

{|class="wikitable sortable"

|+UN member states not recognised by at least one UN member state

! scope=col style="width:12%;" | Name

! scope=col style="width:5%;" | Declared

! scope=col style="width:38%;" class=unsortable | Status

! scope=col style="width:24%;" class=unsortable | Other claimants

! scope=col style="width:16%;" class=unsortable | Further information

! scope=row | (PRC)

| 1949

| The People's Republic of China (PRC), proclaimed in 1949, is the more widely recognised of the two claimant governments of China, the other being Taiwan (the Republic of China). The United Nations recognised the ROC as the sole representative of China until 1971, when it decided to give this recognition to the PRC instead (see United Nations General Assembly Resolution 2758). The PRC and the ROC do not recognise each other's statehood, and each enforces its own version of the One China policy meaning that no state can recognise both of them at the same time. The states that recognise the ROC () regard it as the sole legitimate government of China and therefore do not recognise the PRC.

| (the Republic of China) considers itself to be the sole legitimate government of all of China, and therefore claims exclusive sovereignty over all territory controlled by the PRC. See also: One China.

| Foreign relations, missions (of, to)<hr />PRC's diplomatic relations dates of establishment

! scope=row |

| 1960

| The Republic of Cyprus, independent since 1960, is not recognised by one UN member (Turkey) and one non-UN member (Northern Cyprus), due to the ongoing civil dispute over the island. Turkey does not accept the Republic's rule over the whole island and refers to it as the "Greek Administration of Southern Cyprus".

| claims the northeastern portion of the island of Cyprus.

| Foreign relations, missions (of, to)

! scope=row |

| 1948

| Israel, founded in 1948, is not recognised by 29 UN members, mostly Arab and Muslim countries. The majority of these states view the State of Palestine as the sole legitimate government of the historic Palestinian territory. The Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO), which enjoys majority international recognition as sole representative of the Palestinian people, recognised Israel in 1993. In January 2018 and October 2018, the Palestinian Central Council voted to suspend recognition of Israel, but this position has yet to be acted upon by Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas.

| considers itself to be the legitimate government of the West Bank, which is regarded by the United Nations and many legal scholars as being under Israeli occupation, and of the Gaza Strip, whose status is disputed following Israel’s 2005 withdrawal, with some legal scholars arguing that occupation persists due to Israel’s control over borders, airspace, and maritime access, while others contend that it does not meet the classical definition of occupation.

considers itself to be the legitimate government of the Golan Heights, a territory occupied and later annexed by Israel, an action recognised only by the United States.

considers itself to be the legitimate government of the Shebaa Farms, a territory controlled by Israel and claimed by Lebanon, though its status is disputed internationally.

| Foreign relations, missions (of, to)<hr /> International recognition

! scope=row | (DPRK)

| 1948

| North Korea (officially the Democratic People's Republic of Korea), independent since 1948, is not recognised by two UN members, South Korea and Japan.

| considers itself to be the sole legitimate government of Korea, and claims all territory controlled by North Korea. The Palestinian National Authority (PNA), which performs limited internal government functions over certain areas of Palestine, was established in 1994. The 2007 split between the Fatah and Hamas political parties resulted in competing governments claiming to represent the PNA and Palestine, with Fatah exercising authority exclusively over the West Bank and enjoying majority recognition from UN member states, and a separate Hamas leadership exercising authority exclusively over the Gaza area (except for a short period from 2014 to 2016). Palestine is currently UN member states, and the Sahrawi Arab Democratic Republic. The remaining UN member states, including Israel, do not recognise the State of Palestine. The United Nations designates the claimed Palestinian territories as "occupied" by Israel, and accorded Palestine non-member observer state status in 2012 (see United Nations General Assembly resolution 67/19). Palestine also has membership in the Arab League, the Organisation of Islamic Cooperation and UNESCO.

| regards the area claimed by Palestine as "disputed" territory (that is, territory not legally belonging to any state).