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<p>In the year 1920, the League of Nations officially recognised sovereignty for 86 countries across the world. Nearly 100 years later, and that number has swelled to 195 internationally recognised 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><em>Countries below, highlighted in red, are currently caught up in territorial dispute</em>s</p>
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<figure class="wp-block-image"><img src="https://buzz-caribbean.com/app/uploads/2019/07/territorial-disputes-all-countries-1024x563.jpg" alt="" class="wp-image-779" /><figcaption>A global map of all countries, including Jamaica, (in red) currently involved in territorial disputes (Photo contributed, Brilliant Maps)</figcaption></figure>
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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) recognises 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><strong><em>Buzz Jamaica</em></strong> presents eight countries you probably didn’t know existed*:</p>
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<h2>Abkhazia</h2>
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<figure class="wp-block-image"><img src="https://buzz-caribbean.com/app/uploads/2019/07/abkhazia-flag-1024x576.jpg" alt="" class="wp-image-769" /><figcaption>Flag of Abkhazia (Photo contributed, Wikipedia)</figcaption></figure>
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<p>1.&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; Abkhazia is a de facto and partially recognised republic on the eastern coast of the Black Sea, south of the Greater Caucasus mountains, in what is widely recognised as 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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<figure class="wp-block-image"><img src="https://buzz-caribbean.com/app/uploads/2019/07/abkhazia-on-world-map-1024x606.png" alt="" class="wp-image-771" /><figcaption>The disputed areas of Abkhazia (left) and South Ossetia (centre) highlighted in lavender and orange stripes respectively (Photo contributed, Google Maps)</figcaption></figure>
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<p>The unitary, semi-presidential republic – a sore point in Georgia-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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<figure class="wp-block-image"><img src="https://buzz-caribbean.com/app/uploads/2019/07/krubera-cave-abkhazia-demo.jpg" alt="" class="wp-image-774" /><figcaption>The Krubera Caves in Gagra, Abkhazia are the deepest in the world and a popular tourist attraction. (Photo contributed, Fodors.com)</figcaption></figure>
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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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<h2>Kosovo</h2>
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<figure class="wp-block-image"><img src="https://buzz-caribbean.com/app/uploads/2019/07/kosovo-flag-1024x683.png" alt="" class="wp-image-775" /><figcaption>Kosovo flag (Photo contributed, Wikipedia)</figcaption></figure>
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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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<figure class="wp-block-image"><img src="https://buzz-caribbean.com/app/uploads/2019/07/kosovo-map-1024x576.jpg" alt="" class="wp-image-777" /><figcaption>Map of Kosovo and the other Balkan states (Photo contributed, Frontiers of Freedom)</figcaption></figure>
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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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<figure class="wp-block-image"><img src="https://buzz-caribbean.com/app/uploads/2019/07/prishtina-city-center.jpg" alt="" class="wp-image-784" /><figcaption>Prishtina, the capital of Kosovo in its glory (Photo contributed, AdventurousTours.com)</figcaption></figure>
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<h2>Transnistria</h2>
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<figure class="wp-block-image"><img src="https://buzz-caribbean.com/app/uploads/2019/07/transnistria-flag-1024x512.png" alt="" class="wp-image-786" /><figcaption>Flag of Transnistria (Photo contributed, Wikipedia)</figcaption></figure>
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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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<figure class="wp-block-image"><img src="https://buzz-caribbean.com/app/uploads/2019/07/transnistria-map.jpg" alt="" class="wp-image-790" /><figcaption>Map of Transnistria and now resolved disputed territory Gagauzia (Photo contributed, Euromaidan Press)</figcaption></figure>
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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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<figure class="wp-block-image"><img src="https://buzz-caribbean.com/app/uploads/2019/07/bender-fortress-transnistria-1024x615.jpg" alt="" class="wp-image-791" /><figcaption>The Tighina Fortress in Bender, Transnistria's second-largest city (Photo contributed, Connor Clyne, TsarExperience.com)</figcaption></figure>
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<h2>Somaliland</h2>
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<figure class="wp-block-image"><img src="https://buzz-caribbean.com/app/uploads/2019/07/somaliland-flag-1024x512.png" alt="" class="wp-image-792" /><figcaption>Flag of Somaliland (Photo contributed, Wikipedia)</figcaption></figure>
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<p>4.&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; The republic of Somaliland is a self-declared state located in what is internationally recognised 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 Somalia to the east. </p>
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<figure class="wp-block-image"><img src="https://buzz-caribbean.com/app/uploads/2019/07/somaliland-map-1024x576.jpg" alt="" class="wp-image-796" /><figcaption>Map showing Somaliland and its neighbours (Photo contributed, The New Arab)</figcaption></figure>
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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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<figure class="wp-block-image"><img src="https://buzz-caribbean.com/app/uploads/2019/07/laas-geel-rock-cave-paintings.jpg" alt="" class="wp-image-797" /><figcaption>The world-famous Laas Geel caves and its intricate rock paintings are a must-see for tourists (Photo contributed, Theodore Hoffsten, Wikipedia Commons)</figcaption></figure>
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<h2>Artsakh</h2>
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<figure class="wp-block-image"><img src="https://buzz-caribbean.com/app/uploads/2019/07/artsakh-1024x512.png" alt="" class="wp-image-798" /><figcaption>Flag of Artsahk (Photo contributed, Wikipedia)</figcaption></figure>
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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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<figure class="wp-block-image"><img src="https://buzz-caribbean.com/app/uploads/2019/07/artsakh-sights-1024x682.jpg" alt="" class="wp-image-799" /><figcaption>The national pride of Artsakh, a grandiose pair of statues called 'We are Mountains'. Known as Tatik Papik by locals, these structures are a tourist magnet. (Photo contributed, Pinterest)</figcaption></figure>
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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 recognised as a state by fellow disputed territories Transnistria, Abkhazia and South Ossetia.</p>
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<figure class="wp-block-image"><img src="https://buzz-caribbean.com/app/uploads/2019/07/artsakh-waterfall-1024x681.jpg" alt="" class="wp-image-800" /><figcaption>The famed 'Umbrella' or Zontik waterfall in Muxtar, Artsakh (Photo contributed, Pinterest)</figcaption></figure>
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<h2>South Ossetia</h2>
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<p>6. Georgia makes claim to another disputed territory on our list after South Ossetia declared itself independent in 1990.</p>
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<figure class="wp-block-image"><img src="https://buzz-caribbean.com/app/uploads/2019/07/south-ossetia-flag-1024x512.png" alt="" class="wp-image-822" /><figcaption>Flag of South Ossetia (Photo contributed, Wikipedia)</figcaption></figure>
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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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<figure class="wp-block-image"><img src="https://buzz-caribbean.com/app/uploads/2019/07/south-ossetia-mountain-lake.jpg" alt="" class="wp-image-823" /><figcaption>The beautiful mountain lake of Kelistba.   Fed by the Xanthi river, Lake Kelistba is 2925 meters high on a plateau in the Caucasus mountains. (Photo contributed, TravelTourismBlog.com)</figcaption></figure>
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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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<figure class="wp-block-image"><img src="https://buzz-caribbean.com/app/uploads/2019/07/south-ossetia-ksani-fortress.jpg" alt="" class="wp-image-824" /><figcaption>The perfectly preserved Ksani fortress in South Ossetia, one of the country's many historical monuments. (Photo contributed, TravelTourismBlog.com) </figcaption></figure>
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<h2>Luhansk People's Republic (LPR)</h2>
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<figure class="wp-block-image"><img src="https://buzz-caribbean.com/app/uploads/2019/07/lugansk-people-republic-flag-1024x683.png" alt="" class="wp-image-826" /><figcaption>Flag of the  Luhansk People's Republic (LPR), (Photo contributed, Wikipedia)</figcaption></figure>
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<p>7.&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; The Luhansk People's Republic (LPR) is a landlocked quasi-state in what is internationally recognised 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 that rages on as at April 2019.</p>
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<figure class="wp-block-image"><img src="https://buzz-caribbean.com/app/uploads/2019/07/lugansk-people-republic-map.jpg" alt="" class="wp-image-827" /><figcaption>Map of Ukraine highlighting its territorial disputes with Russia (Photo contributed, Nationalia.info) </figcaption></figure>
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<p>No country or member state of the UN has recoginsed the
LPR’s sovereignty.</p>
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<h2>Sahrawi Republic </h2>
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<figure class="wp-block-image"><img src="https://buzz-caribbean.com/app/uploads/2019/07/sahrawi-republic-flag-1024x512.png" alt="" class="wp-image-829" /><figcaption>Flag of the Sahrawi Arab Democratic Republic (Photo contributed, Wikipedia)</figcaption></figure>
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<p>8.&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; The Sahrawi Republic, the 83rd largest country in the world, is a partially recognised 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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<figure class="wp-block-image"><img src="https://buzz-caribbean.com/app/uploads/2019/07/western-sahara-conflict-map-1024x768.jpg" alt="" class="wp-image-830" /><figcaption>Map of Western Sahara, showing areas of Morrocan control (in blue) and the territory being controlled by the Sahrawi Republic (in green) (Photo contributed, Wikipedia)</figcaption></figure>
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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 (AU). 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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<figure class="wp-block-image"><img src="https://buzz-caribbean.com/app/uploads/2019/07/polisario-morocco-palace.jpg" alt="" class="wp-image-835" /><figcaption>The Polisario Morrocan Palace in Western Sahara, the territory being disputed by the Sahrawi Republic (Photo contributed, AllThatsInteresting.com)</figcaption></figure>
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<p><em>*(The term “existed” is used in this article in reference to countries that are not popularly known. We also acknowledge that these areas are heavily disputed, and not recognized by the international community, outside of supporting countries/territories.)</em></p>
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<p>If you didn't know, all these countries are visa-free destinations for Jamaicans (but be careful)! For a list of all countries where this is possible, read our <a href="https://buzz-caribbean.com/?p=321">BUZZ feature here</a>.</p>
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<p>Which 'new' country surprised you the most? Let us know in the comments!</p>
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