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<p>Eight places in the world you never knew existed</p>
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<p>In the year 1920, the League of Nations officially
recognized sovereignty for 86 countries across the world – nearly 100 years
later, and that number has swelled to 195 internationally recognized states.</p>
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<p>Over the course of the last century, several groups and
factions have revolted against their respective governments to declare a region
“independent” and just like their ancestors before them, territorial disputes
rage on across the globe.</p>
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<p>You may have seen the new name of a country pop up on your atlas
or Google search and wondered to yourself, “When did that happen?”.</p>
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<p>The United Nations (UN) recognizes 195 sovereign countries,
193 of which are members, and two – the Holy See and the State of Palestine –
being simply observer states.</p>
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<p>But depending on whom you ask, by some definitions, there
are 197 countries in the world – a number drawn when Taiwan and Kosovo are
included.</p>
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<p>Buzz Jamaica presents eight countries you probably didn’t know
existed*:</p>
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<h3>Abkhazia</h3>
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<p>1.&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; Abkhazia is a de
facto and partially recognized republic on the eastern coast of the Black Sea,
south of the Greater Caucasus mountains, in what is widely recognized a part of
northwestern Georgia. The country, at 8,660 square kilometres, is nearly 80% of
Jamaica’s size in comparison.</p>
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<p>The unitary, semi-presidential republic – a sore point in
Gerogia-Russia relations after the dissolution of the Soviet Union – is
contentiously recognised as a state by Russia, Venezuela, Nicaragua, Nauru and
Syria. </p>
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<p>While Georgia lacks control over Abkhazia, the Georgian
government and most United Nations member states consider Abkhazia legally part
of Georgia as of 2008, with Georgian constitution designating the area as the
Autonomous Republic of Abkhazia.</p>
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<p>2.&nbsp;&nbsp; &nbsp;Kosovo is another European ‘country’, which
declared its independence from Serbia in 2008. </p>
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<p>Roughly the size of Jamaica at 10,908 square kilometers,
Kosovo is landlocked and located in the center of the Balkan Peninsula in
southeast Europe. </p>
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<p>It has since gained diplomatic recognition as a sovereign
state by 102 United Nations member states. Serbia, the country contesting
Kosovo’s sovereignty has accepted its institutions and elected officials but
continues to claim it as the Autonomous Province of Kosovo and Metohija.</p>
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<p>3.&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; Clocking in at
about 40 percent of Jamaica’s total area, Transnistria is a primarily
unrecognised state that split from Moldova after the collapse of the Soviet
Union.&nbsp; </p>
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<p>The territory mostly sits on a narrow strip of land between
the river Dniester and Ukraine – being only recognised only by Abkhazia,
Artsakh, and South Ossetia. The region is considered by the UN and its member
states to be part of Moldova.</p>
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<p>4.&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; The republic of
Somaliland is a self-declared state located in what is internationally
recognized as northwest Somalia. </p>
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<p>Its officials claimed the territory as an independent
country in 1991 and the state reportedly spans parts of the borders with
Ethiopia, Djibouti and claimants Somalia to the east. </p>
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<p>With an area of 176,120 square kilometres, Somaliland's
self-proclaimed independence remains unrecognised by any country or
international organisation.</p>
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<p>5.&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; Just larger than
Jamaica, Artsakh is a breakaway state in the South Caucasus that is
internationally recognized as part of Azerbaijan. The area has been under a
perpetual ceasefire since 1994 and was a hotly contested territory from the
early 1920s.</p>
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<p>The Republic of Artsakh is neither a member nor observer of
the UN or any of its specialized agencies – and is only recognized as a state
by fellow disputed territories Transnistria, Abkhazia and South Ossetia.</p>
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<p>6. Georgia makes claim to another disputed territory on our
list, after South Ossetia declared its independence in 1990.</p>
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<p>Also called the state of Alania, South Ossetia is a disputed
territory in the South Caucasus, in what is internationally recognised as
northern Georgian territory.</p>
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<p>At 35 percent the size of Jamaica, South Ossetia is only
recoginsed as fully independent and autonomous by Russia, Nauru, Venezuela and
Nicaragua.</p>
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<p>7.&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; The Luhansk
People's Republic (LPR) is a landlocked quasi-state in what is internationally
recognized as part of eastern Ukraine.</p>
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<p>The LPR declared its independence in the aftermath of the
2014 revolution that swept Ukraine, and is the stage of an armed conflict which
rages on as at April 2019.</p>
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<p>No country or member state of the UN has recoginsed the
LPR’s sovereignty.</p>
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<p>8.&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; The Sahrawi
Republic, the 83rd largest country in the world, is a partially recognized
state that claims the non-self-governing territory of Western Sahara. </p>
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<p>Interestingly enough, the Sahrawi Republic controls only the
easternmost one-fifth of that territory, along the border with Mauritania. The
Sahrawi Republic was proclaimed independent in 1976, but its government
controls about 20–25% of the territory it claims.</p>
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<p>The Sahrawi Republic maintains close diplomatic relations
with 40 UN states, and is a full member of the African Union. The majority of
the disputed lands of Western Sahara are governed in full or partly by Morocco
in what is described as a ‘buffer zone’.</p>
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<p>*(We understand that “existed” is used very loosely as many
of these areas are heavily disputed and are mostly not recognized by the
international community, outside of supporting countries/territories.)</p>
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