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Countries by Independence Day Quiz

For each selected date, name the country that became independent.
Independence either real or declared
Answers must correspond to yellow box
Quiz by Quizmaster
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Last updated: July 4, 2019
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First submittedJuly 2, 2012
Times taken41,600
Average score59.1%
Rating4.48
5:00
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Date
Independence From
Country
Jul 4, 1776
Great Britain
United States
Jul 9, 2011
Sudan
South Sudan
Jul 5, 1962
France
Algeria
Sep 7, 1822
Portugal
Brazil
Jun 30, 1960
Belgium
D.R. Congo
Oct 8, 1991
Yugoslavia
Croatia
May 20, 1902
United States
Cuba
May 24, 1993
Ethiopia
Eritrea
Dec 6, 1917
Russia
Finland
Mar 25, 1821
Ottoman Empire
Greece
Jan 1, 1804
France
Haiti
Date
Independence From
Country
Dec 1, 1918
Denmark
Iceland
Aug 15, 1947
United Kingdom
India
April 24, 1916
United Kingdom
Ireland
Dec 24, 1951
Italy
Libya
Sep 16, 1810
Spain
Mexico
Aug 9, 1965
Malaysia
Singapore
Sep 2, 1945
Japan and France
Vietnam
Jul 1, 1867
United Kingdom
Canada
Mar 26, 1971
Pakistan
Bangladesh
Jul 21, 1831
Netherlands
Belgium
Aug 1, 1291
Holy Roman Empire
Switzerland
+18
Level 27
Jul 2, 2012
That was interesting. And as a Swiss I can smile about this date... 1st of August in 1291 is a myth that only hillbillys and idiots still believe ;)
+4
Level 69
Apr 17, 2015
Yeah, that date seems rather ridiculous even to a non-Swiss like me.
+8
Level 70
Jan 3, 2020
Awesome! Finally a person who knows that 1291 is just a myth. The real independence happened in 1648 (Peace of Westphalia)
+1
Level 35
Oct 13, 2021
All three of you are wrong. Switzerland gained independence in 1848
+1
Level 36
Oct 30, 2023
Independence specifically from the Holy Roman Empire would be 1648, even though a Swiss federal state didn’t exist until 1848.
+12
Level 93
Jul 3, 2012
What's defined as independence? I would argue that Canada didn't become independent until 11 December 1931. Some would even go as far as to say 29 March 1982.
+10
Level 19
Jul 11, 2012
Same with Ireland, I would argue that it was actually 1922...
+10
Level 64
Oct 8, 2013
The Irish Easter Rising of 1916 was only supported by a small number of people within Ireland and cannot be considered the date from which it became independent.

It would be more sensible to use the date of the founding of the Irish Free State on 6th December 1922 as this took place by formal and internationally recognised agreement.

It might even be more sensible to use 18 April 1949 as this is the date when the Republic of Ireland Act 1948 came into force, which removed the remaining constitutional role of the British monarch.

+1
Level 79
Aug 2, 2019
They didn't draft anyone. Ireland was exempt from conscription. That doesn't change the main point though. The Easter Rising didn't create Irish independence.
+1
Level 35
Oct 13, 2021
Nope... Ireland got independence at 1937
+3
Level 35
Oct 13, 2021
And Iceland too... got independence in 1944
+10
Level ∞
Jul 12, 2012
Haha. In some ways, they're still technically ruled by the Queen. Not that she has any real power of course.
+3
Level 42
Aug 12, 2012
ireland is not ruled by any queen
+16
Level ∞
Aug 13, 2012
Canada, not Ireland
+5
Level 48
Dec 1, 2017
You should change Ireland to 1922. The 1916 Easter rising was a failed uprising, but an important moment in Irish history. Ireland did not gain the ability to govern itself until the passage of the Anglo-Irish Treaty in 31 March 1922, fully implemented by 6 December 1922.
+5
Level ∞
Dec 2, 2017
Caveats: independence real or declared
+7
Level 79
Feb 27, 2018
That's ridiculous. Anyone can declare independence for anything from anyone. In Ireland's case you could just as validly say 1798. What do you think Wolfe Tone was declaring, Groundhog Day? It only happens when it happens - either de facto or de jure. Ireland became independent in 1922, Canada in 1931.
+16
Level ∞
Jan 22, 2019
Agree that it's somewhat ridiculous, but most of these countries celebrate the declaration more than the reality. For example, here in the U.S. everyone knows July 4th, 1776 but few remember the date of the Treaty of Paris, or Cornwallis's surrender at Yorktown. What would be ridiculous is to NOT use the date that everyone knows and remembers for some sense of technical accuracy.
+7
Level 79
May 29, 2019
Of course. Why bother with "accuracy" if some people believe something different? It's going to be interesting to see how that pans out on all the other quizzes.
+1
Level 60
Oct 30, 2023
Independence is fairly subjective (as is the concept of countries), but the declaration of independence can certainly be a catalyst and a symbol for the independence. I'm always a fan of accuracy, but picking a date of independence is far from clear-cut. Take Cyprus - one could argue that the African nation of Cyprus has no independence because Turkey does not recognize it as such.
+3
Level 82
Feb 3, 2013
I was wondering about this, too. How can you be independent when officially your head of state is still the queen of England? That's like saying you're moving out of your parents house and going to live on your own but really you just move all your stuff to the room over the garage.
+25
Level 74
Jun 19, 2014
No it's not. It's like moving out of home, but still allowing your mother to think she's the boss of you, when in fact you can do whatever you like and there's not a damn thing she can do about it.
+6
Level 82
Mar 21, 2015
Right. They said I couldn't hang up my Iron Maiden posters in the garage but let's just see them try to stop me! Oh crap she's coming!! move something in front of that poster!
+14
Level 69
Mar 24, 2015
She's the Queen of Canada. She happens to be the Queen of the UK and other places too. Canadian lawmaking is completely separate from UK lawmaking.
+10
Level ∞
Jan 22, 2019
Canadian law, like British law, is subject to royal assent. The Queen never withholds her assent, but she could in theory.
+2
Level 68
May 23, 2023
Do you really think she (now he) could?

There is an example in Belgium where King Boudewijn was declared 'incapable to reign' for a few days after refusing to give royal assent.

+2
Level 82
Jul 4, 2019
so more like your mom letting you think you can do whatever you like, when really she's still the boss of you.
+2
Level 88
Jul 4, 2019
The "queen of Canada" (actually the queen of England) hasn't been in Canada in 9 years. She has been there 22 times, which means at least she has been nowhere near Canada for 44 of the 66 years she has been queen of England. And the times she has been there were very brief, traveling around.

She lives in London, the eternal capital of England, not London the capital of suburban prairie beyond Hamilton and Kitchener, Ontario.

+10
Level 78
Jul 4, 2019
foxpenguin is correct. Queen Elizabeth II is the Head of State of many fully independent countries (e.g Canada, Australia, New Zealand, Fiji, Jamaica, UK). This does not mean that any of these countries are in any way dependent on the UK any more than my residents' association and a golf society made up of friends and colleagues from various places over the years are dependent on each other just because I happen to be president of both.

True, Canada still uses the Royal Assent in lawmaking (unlike Australia and New Zealand, for example, which have abandoned it but retain the Queen as Head of State) but in that capacity the Queen is acting as Queen of Canada, not Queen of the UK

+5
Level 64
Feb 28, 2020
She is not the Queen of England
+1
Level 57
Oct 14, 2021
No QM, that doesn't reflect role of convention in UK/Canadian constitutional law. It isn't just that this Queen never withholds her assent, it's that no monarch has done so for over three hundred years. No monarch will ever do so again.
+1
Level 75
Jul 4, 2019
And I suppose I could argue that anyone with the IMF ensconced in their Ministry of Finance isn't really independent either.
+3
Level 78
Jul 5, 2019
The Head of the Bank of England is Canadian. Does that make the UK a province of Canada?
+3
Level 77
Oct 30, 2023
I wrote a pretty thorough explanation of why it's safe to call Canada's "independence date" 1867 in the comments of this quiz. I don't care to rewrite it all, though.
+2
Level 82
Feb 3, 2013
tough when most of these countries have had so many different colonies/territories. The dates help. I managed to score 93rd percentile. With another 90 seconds I probably could have gotten them all.
+2
Level 68
Oct 30, 2023
Cool???

Good for you?

+2
Level 83
Oct 30, 2023
You literally responded to a decade-old comment
+4
Level 67
Apr 6, 2013
Iceland became independent in 1944
+6
Level 80
Oct 31, 2014
The 1918 Danish–Icelandic Act of Union granted Iceland independence, but maintained the two countries in a union. It was 1944 was when Iceland became a republic with no ties to the Danish monarchy.
+1
Level 69
Jul 19, 2020
I was wondering this, too.

Thanks for sharing.

+6
Level 86
Mar 16, 2014
1945 for Vietnam is a bit disputable. It was still considered a french colony until 1954 (Geneva conference).
+2
Level 48
Sep 23, 2014
And actually Greece didn't become independent until 1830. 1821 was the year of the uprising against the Turks.
+3
Level 26
Jul 4, 2019
The national holiday is celebrated and based on 1821. All Greeks claim that day as their independence day. :)
+1
Level 81
Feb 11, 2015
belgium actually became independent in 1830, not 1831.
+3
Level 88
Mar 21, 2015
1830: Declared independence. 1831: Installation of king Leopold I and Treaty of the Eighteen Articles, i.e. more or less recognised by the UK as an independent country (ensuring independence). 1839: Treaty of London: universal recognition of the independence of Belgium. One could make a case for all three. No need to change the quiz.
+1
Level 68
Nov 12, 2021
Doesn't that mean that the date should be 1830, as the quiz uses the declared independence dates?
+3
Level 56
Mar 21, 2015
All the countries from Algeria to Vietnam are in alphabetical order (D.R. Congo is listed here as Congo). Is this intended?
+2
Level 75
Jul 4, 2019
That was a weird element.
+3
Level 35
Mar 24, 2015
Mexico was not independent until September 27, 1821. The Cry of Dolores in 1810 was the "unofficial" beginning of the rebellion, which can still be traced back to 1809.
+3
Level 60
Apr 3, 2015
Can't believe everyone is quibbling about dates and no one has pointed out the US is wrong. Should be September 3, 1783.
+8
Level ∞
Jan 22, 2019
Which is why we have wonderful fireworks displays on September 3rd every year.
+3
Level 55
Jun 12, 2020
But that's the point QM. Moosefight is absolutely right. Just because there's a national myth about something that doesn't make it true. I love this site in part because it doesn't pander to what people think should be the truth. Time to put away childish things and change the answer here so it reflects what actually happened. If that means taking a detached and critical view of U.S. history, that can't be a bad thing at the moment.
+1
Level 77
Oct 30, 2023
It's hard to argue 1783 for American independence since the war was, for all intents and purposes, over after the Battle of Yorktown. Your line of logic would also imply that Haiti was not independent in 1804, but rather in 1825, because that's when France finally officially declared it an independent country. But, of course, Haiti had expunged the French from the island pretty handily by 1804. I think independence is more a process than an absolute either/or. It's not a light switch. The easiest way to mark the independence is when the actual citizens of the place have demonstrable de facto independence and the people who actually live there feel independent.
+1
Level 61
Oct 18, 2016
One request... can you please organize the dates in chronological order? It's a bit confusing otherwise.
+4
Level 86
Oct 14, 2018
The "from" country (and to some extent the year) was far more helpful than the month and day.
+5
Level 67
Apr 7, 2019
DRC should count for D.R. Congo
+1
Level 67
Jul 4, 2019
Add DRC, I tried DRC and Zaire
+1
Level ∞
Jul 4, 2019
DRC will work now
+1
Level 45
Jul 4, 2019
Britain and France colonized everywhere so since I didn't know much about the dates (other than like the US and India) it was quite challenging. Also, surprised that Australia isn't on this list
+7
Level 78
Jul 4, 2019
On the basis of the definition of independence in this quiz, please add my living room. I just declared it independent from the UK and I will seek to have it remain in the EU as a member state post Brexit. And while I am here, happy anniversary of the surrender of Fort Necessary.
+1
Level 68
Nov 12, 2021
Get ready to be annexed
+4
Level 83
Jul 4, 2019
The Easter Rising may well be celebrated in the Republic but I very much doubt if any history textbook printed in Ireland or elsewhere dates the country's independence from then.
+2
Level 75
Jul 4, 2019
Quite correct. The Easter Rising is regarded as an important event but we don't regard ourselves as independent until the Irish Free State came into being in 1922. We subsequently cut all ties with the Commonwealth on becoming a republic in 1949.
+1
Level 24
Oct 9, 2021
This is a terrible quiz! The 'declared from' can be disputed for most of the answers.

As many have pointed out and quizmaster keeps ignoring the 1916 Easter rising was not the first time Ireland 'declared' independence from the UK.

There are about 700 years prior of declaring. The 1641 rebellion? The 1798 rebellion? The nine year war beginning in 1593?

+2
Level 36
Oct 10, 2021
Where's Australia.
+3
Level 49
Oct 10, 2021
Towards the bottom right of most world maps?
+3
Level 73
Oct 13, 2021
pretty much the other side of the world, from where I sit just outside NYC
+2
Level 49
Oct 10, 2021
Pakistan should technically be an acceptable answer for independence from the UK on 15th August 1947 (not that Partition was a "good thing" given the terrible death toll that ensued)
+1
Level 58
Sep 13, 2022
Couldn’t get Ireland or Switzerland. Great quiz!
+1
Level 39
Feb 16, 2023
BRO HOW DID I MISS CANADA :(
+1
Level 36
Oct 30, 2023
Surprised independence for Eritrea and Iceland is more well known than Irish independence.
+2
Level 83
Oct 30, 2023
On the other hand, there are a lot of former British territories, but only so many former Danish and Ethiopian ones
+1
Level 56
Oct 31, 2023
Hey! IDK if anyone else mentioned this, but Ireland's independence was not won in 1916. We became a self governing dominion in 1921 and then got full independence in 1949, when we were then renamed the Republic of Ireland!
+1
Level 76
Jan 22, 2024
Wasn't very good at this. But great quiz