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Recently Independent Countries Quiz

Guess these countries that gained independence in 1990 or later.
Even if they were previously independent at some time in the past
Does not include Germany, which was the absorption of the East into the West
Quiz by Quizmaster
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Last updated: February 16, 2019
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First submittedApril 9, 2012
Times taken130,076
Average score83.3%
Rating4.98
4:00
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Former USSR
Armenia
Azerbaijan
Belarus
Estonia
Georgia
Kazakhstan
Kyrgyzstan
Latvia
Lithuania
Moldova
Russia
Tajikistan
Turkmenistan
Ukraine
Uzbekistan
Former Yugoslavia
Bosnia and Herzegovina
Croatia
Kosovo
Montenegro
North Macedonia
Serbia
Slovenia
 
Former Czechoslovakia
Czech Republic
Slovakia
Since
How
Country
2011
from Sudan
South Sudan
2002
from Indonesia
East Timor
1994
from UN Trust
Palau
1993
from Ethiopia
Eritrea
1990
Merger of two countries
Yemen
1990
from South Africa
Namibia
+3
Level 23
Oct 19, 2015
I´m missing Palestine.. I mean, they are considered a country by the UN.

Also, if Kosovo is on the list, shouldn´t other, simular ones, be aswell? Looking mostly at South Ossetia, Abkhazia, Somaliland ect.

+1
Level 67
Dec 1, 2015
I was wondering about Palestine too, as many countries recognize it, in a similar case with Kosovo
+2
Level 74
Aug 14, 2017
This site follows the American version of the list of countries. Hence the ambiguous choice to accept Taiwan and Kosovo (both states of limited recognition) and the Vatican (UN observer), but not Palestine, which technically has exactly the same status as the Vatican.
+7
Level 75
Mar 14, 2023
I think Jetpunk follows a de-facto approach, meaning that it accepts the geopolitical situation as it is. Taiwan is accepted as a country because it works like one even if hardly any other country recognises it (including the USA). Palestine is not accepted because while the Palestinian Authority very much wants to be a country, it has no actual control over its claimed territory. Gaza for example is controlled by Hamas.
+6
Level 60
Aug 14, 2017
Even if Palestine was an accepted country in Jetpunk, it wouldn't make the list since it didn't gain independence in 1990 onward.
+3
Level 63
Sep 27, 2023
Palestine doesn't have control over its own borders.

Also, Abkhazia, South Ossetia, and Somaliland have limited to no international recognition. No reason to add them here. The majority of countries recognize Kosovo.

+1
Level 29
Dec 2, 2015
So did I
+1
Level 28
Feb 15, 2016
The korean war isnt mentioned on here. i would get that fixed if i were u and play my quizzes today!! For free!!
+5
Level 69
May 11, 2016
Well that was a) wrong, and b) shameless…
+1
Level 20
May 1, 2016
Got all except palau and yemen
+2
Level 69
May 11, 2016
All these gazillions of quiz questions with Czech Republic as the answer are going to have to be changed/amended to Czechia, since that's what those crazy Bohemians have gone and renamed themselves.
+4
Level 52
Nov 30, 2018
Not "renamed". Czechia is only the new formally accepted short name, while the Czech Republic still remains a correct full name.
+2
Level 30
Jul 22, 2016
Could you accept Czechia for Czech Republic? It's their new English name.
+1
Level 53
Dec 4, 2016
It is not. It's still an informal name.
+3
Level 75
Jan 3, 2018
Czechia works now.
+1
Level 43
Oct 8, 2016
Maybe Kosovo it's in the independent countries of the right board because Kosovo was independent after that Yugoslavia was "breaking" (2008) so Kosovo was independent in an other period that all others countries former Yugoslavia. (very sorry for my English ;) )
+2
Level 43
Oct 8, 2016
(= in French)

Peut-être que le Kosovo devrait être dans les pays du tableau de droite car le Kosovo a été indépendant après que la Yougoslavie soit disloquée (2008) donc le Kosovo a été indépendant à une autre période que tous les autres pays de l'ex-Yougoslavie.

+1
Level 77
Jun 5, 2018
Vouz avez raison, mon ami.
+3
Level 24
Jan 6, 2018
Kosovo is not a country. It's still not recognized by more than 60 countries in the world including Russia, China, India, Indonesia etc.
+2
Level 51
Dec 10, 2016
Only 60% got Russia? and 90% got Czech Republic?
+3
Level 56
Mar 7, 2022
Well Czech is in Czechoslovakia so 90% actually seems pretty low to me. As for Russia, many think that the USSR and Russia are interchangeable so they don't think of Russia as it can't gain independence from itself. They are of course wrong as Russia is to the USSR as England is to the UK, the largest, most populous, richest and politically dominant but still just one of many within a political union.
+1
Level 90
Dec 27, 2016
What about the Marshall islands and Micronesia? Both did not formally become fully independent until 1990 by my quick Wikipedia inquiry.
+1
Level 38
May 27, 2022
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Trust_Territory_of_the_Pacific_Islands
+1
Level 66
Dec 27, 2016
These quizzes always seem difficult to me because most of these 'recently independent countries are older than me
+2
Level 75
Jan 3, 2018
And I remember when Alaska and Hawaii weren't states, which means I have a much longer time to forget than you do. :)
+2
Level 16
Dec 27, 2016
Easier than I had feared...except for Palau, really had to do some digging into the atlas to get that one.
+2
Level 63
May 24, 2017
You got it from looking into an Atlas? What special kind of Atlas is that?
+2
Level 21
Jan 11, 2017
kosovo?
+1
Level 61
Feb 14, 2017
I'm surprised 10% got Palau. As far as I was concerned, Oceania didn't exist in this quiz.
+1
Level 32
Mar 23, 2017
That moment when you realize you actually forgot Russia :|
+1
Level 40
Jul 23, 2017
Only missed Yemen and Palau on first attempt.
+1
Level 72
Jul 24, 2017
props to those that got Palau, not in a million years..
+1
Level 89
Aug 14, 2017
Kosovo separated from Serbia, not from Yugoslavia.
+2
Level 74
Aug 14, 2017
Kosovo was a part of the territory of Yugoslavia, even though it didn't directly declare it's independence at the same time as other, but neither did Montenegro.
+2
Level 52
Aug 14, 2017
I only got Palau because I learned how Ngerulmud was founded, and I only got Yemen because of the "Countries of the World" song from Animaniacs, where it mentions "both Yemens"
+1
Level 43
Dec 7, 2021
Both Yemens, Kuwait, and Bahrain!
+2
Level 82
Jan 3, 2018
Latest update: QM has given in to the terrorists.
+2
Level 58
Jan 3, 2018
i KNOW there are smart people here HOWEVER Geography i happen to know a decent amount of , there is NO possible way that getting 27th percentile my first try is a representation of what i know statistically this is skewed by repetitive test taking by people who get on here and pose that they know more than they actually do going in to the test first time , some will call me a sore loser but i most assuredly am correct , i am off to score very high my second time and return to brag
+2
Level 82
Jan 3, 2018
yeah you sound a bit sore. This was a pretty easy quiz for a geography nerd. If you only managed 27th percentile that probably means you missed 5 on your first try. But the 24 in the 2 left columns are all give-aways given the hints.. and the 6 in the right column aren't exactly impossible.
+5
Level 67
Jan 3, 2018
Yeah...you're wrong. As kal said, the hints make this a very easy quiz. Most people know what states comprised the Soviet Union, Yugoslavia, and Czechoslovakia.

Secondly, not everyone takes a test repeatedly to "pose that they know more than they actually do." Some people take the tests repeatedly to (gasp!) *actually learn things and commit them to memory.* Don't project your ego problems onto everyone else.

+2
Level 63
Mar 14, 2023
Even if they don't know all the countries there's more than enough time to make some educated guesses, especially since logically all of the countries from the Soviet Union and Yugoslavia are going to be near each other.
+3
Level 62
Jan 3, 2018
Shouldn't Germany be in this quiz aswell?
+4
Level 70
Jan 3, 2018
Read the description again
+1
Level 53
Jun 23, 2021
part of the instructions read:

"Does not include Germany, which was the absorption of the East into the West" yeah that was what happened but I often heard the event referred to as 'the reunification of East and West Germany". It got me too as I didn't read the instructions and to mess with our heads (you know that many of us won't read the full instructions) the 'reunification' happened in 1990. OK you got me. Good quiz.

+2
Level 75
Sep 9, 2021
This is a really good point and this question is still a sensitive topic for some people in Germany until this day. Most were happy that the wall, Stasi, repressions etc were gone, and many were reuinted with friends and family, but still, many were unhappy how East Germany effectively got annexed by West Germany. It was a loss of sovereignty for them, after all, and of course those in power in the West took advantage in the East as everywhere after the fall of the Iron Curtain. Many, many lost their jobs and their feeling of safety or continuity in life, if this makes any sense.
+1
Level 84
Jan 3, 2018
Not to split hairs, but I do not believe Palau was a UN Trust - it was a "free association" with the United States though an independent republic since 1981. Completely independent in 1994, yes, so to be technically correct it ought to say independent from the US, not the UN.
+1
Level 38
May 27, 2022
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Compact_of_Free_Association
+1
Level 28
Jan 3, 2018
it took awhile but i finally got russia
+1
Level 45
Jan 3, 2018
Damm it Yemen!
+2
Level 78
Jan 3, 2018
Where's Nambia?
+3
Level 74
Jan 3, 2018
Nowhere, because there's no such country.
+4
Level 70
Jan 4, 2018
Only in Trump‘s mind
+1
Level 38
Jan 3, 2018
Look at me getting the 2nd least guessed one without google
+1
Level 66
Jan 23, 2019
You mean you usually google the answers for these quizes?
+1
Level 66
Jan 5, 2018
I got every one besides Palau and Yemen.
+1
Level 43
Jan 12, 2018
Hahaha only missed from former USSR : Russia ... #facepalm !
+1
Level 22
Jan 21, 2018
What about India and Vietnam?
+1
Level 51
Feb 14, 2024
india was the 40s and Vietnam was the 70s so too long ago
+3
Level 37
Jan 24, 2018
What about them? - The quiz says "... 1990 or later". India became independent of the Brtitish Raj in 1946 or 1947. Pakistan became independent of India at around the same time. As for Vietnam, that

country's reunification occurred in 1975.

+4
Level 28
Jan 31, 2018
Germany was a merger of two countries in 1990, why is it not here but Yemen is?
+3
Level 82
Mar 13, 2018
Germany as it exists today is a legal continuation of 'West Germany' - East Germany just got absorbed into it.
+1
Level 69
Feb 23, 2019
Yes, when I think about it, West Germany was also the ‘Federal Republic of Germany’ with the same flag so it’s obvious it’s just grown a bit since they knocked the wall down
+2
Level 82
Mar 13, 2018
I am genuinely surprised at how few get Russia. I mean, I understand the confusion, but I would have thought once you had just one Soviet country left to guess, you'd eventually puzzle it out. Palau's exceptionally low guess rate, on the other hand, makes sense.
+1
Level 35
May 10, 2018
Oh god, forgot Russia...
+1
Level 66
Jul 11, 2018
September 17, 1991: The Marshall Islands was part of the Trust Territory of Pacific Islands (administered by the United States) and gained independence as a former colony. On this date, Micronesia, previously known as the Caroline Islands, also became independent from the United States.

The source can be found here: https://www.thoughtco.com/new-countries-of-the-world-1433444

+1
Level 49
Aug 20, 2018
I got all the stan countries yet missed russia too!
+1
Level 33
Jan 16, 2019
Wow, I didn't know Palau independided recently
+6
Level 66
Jan 23, 2019
Yea it is independone
+1
Level 73
Mar 22, 2019
1990 - Merger of 2 countries: Germany fits too.
+1
Level 82
May 22, 2019
See my comment from January 3, 2018
+1
Level 36
May 22, 2019
I'm sad. I actually missed Russia. Russia, Palau, and Yemen. I can't believe it.
+2
Level 66
Jun 26, 2020
You missed Russia twice, that is impressive.
+1
Level 29
Feb 22, 2020
What about Switzerland they only became a sovereign nation in 2004 when they joined the UN
+1
Level 20
Mar 7, 2020
It's when they became independent, not when they became a member of the UN. If it was by UN membership, Kosovo wouldn't count since they aren't a UN member, not even an observer like the Vatican or Palestine.
+1
Level 20
Mar 7, 2020
I was 100% sure the merge one was Germany but I guess it doesn't count.
+1
Level 68
Mar 12, 2020
Why did I miss Russia? wow.
+1
Level 59
Sep 22, 2020
Kosovo (and you could probably say Montenegro as well) got their independence separately from the collapse of Yugoslavia. Obviously they are former Yugoslav countries, but their independence wasn't exactly a part of the collapse of Yugoslavia and took place over a decade later.
+1
Level 38
May 27, 2022
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Serbia_and_Montenegro
+1
Level 69
Nov 9, 2020
If you have Yemen, you should also have Germany.
+1
Level 52
Nov 26, 2020
Russia? Fourth least-guessed? Really? Ah well, the comments explain it all.
+1
Level 66
Dec 1, 2020
It’s the least guessed of the former USSR. I’m guessing it’s because it’s hard to think of Russia as a “new” country.
+1
Level 60
Aug 27, 2021
Now that you put it that way, yah
+1
Level 68
Dec 2, 2020
Thanks for not including Germany on this quiz! It is absolutely the right decision.
+2
Level 69
May 6, 2021
For the 1990, merger of two countries I kept thinking Germany since it also reunited in 1990
+1
Level 44
May 31, 2021
Remembered Russia just when the time ended lmao
+1
Level 60
Sep 16, 2021
I got Yemen from this quiz I made:

https://www.jetpunk.com/user-quizzes/1306568/geographical-groups-of-three-3

+4
Level 69
Sep 21, 2021
I can't be the only one who thought it was Germany for 1990. I suppose they reunited in '89 then...

Note: East and West Germany were definitely different countries before the protests and the fall of the Wall, so I don't think it's that farfetched

+1
Level 43
Dec 7, 2021
nope east germany merged with west germany in 1990
+2
Level 67
Dec 14, 2021
When you get everything for USSR but forget Russia 😐
+2
Level 82
Jan 19, 2022
I managed to get one of the least guessed and then missed Russia. RUSSIA
+1
Level 63
Apr 12, 2022
Great quiz! missed Slovenia Palau and Yemen but wasn't Finland in the USSR?
+1
Level 53
Jun 26, 2022
+2
Level 48
Apr 12, 2022
I feel slightly better seeing that, like me, 68% of people missed Russia. And that after getting every other ex-USSR republic right!

Cheers, everybody!

+2
Level 55
May 18, 2022
Rip Palau and Yemen.
+1
Level 51
Jun 21, 2022
Where's Québec ?? November 30th of 1995 ⚜️💙
+3
Level 62
Mar 14, 2023
it never actually got independence, it just voted on independence, and the results were no on a 50.58% to 49.42% margin
+2
Level 35
Sep 22, 2022
CANT BELIVE I MISSED ONLY RUSSIA
+3
Level 62
Mar 14, 2023
I've seen a few people asking about this, but logically, shouldn't Germany be present? The country unified in October of 1990, about five months after the Yemeni unification. If you're going off of the taking down of the Berlin wall, in November of 1989, that's not when the country was unified. It didn't happen until 11 months after the wall fell. Please add Germany, because many people most likely got confused over this.
+1
Level 74
Mar 14, 2023
Germany is not included because there is no country gaining independence there. East Germany joined the FRG, back then know as West Germany, now know as Germany.
+1
Level 77
Mar 16, 2023
Couldn't the same be said for Yemen, then?
+1
Level 55
Mar 14, 2023
got palau with one second left. wow
+1
Level 50
Mar 29, 2023
Kosovo nije republika.
+1
Level 32
Aug 15, 2023
germany, marshall islands and micronesia were all before yemen in 1991 and 1990
+1
Level 34
Jan 11, 2024
I always forgot Russia in the USSR things lol.