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Partially Recognized Countries

Name the countries that are recognized by at least 1 UN member, but that aren't recognized by all UN members.
Source: Wikipedia
Quiz by ponnuki
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Last updated: October 17, 2021
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First submittedMay 3, 2014
Times taken77,254
Average score61.5%
Rating4.98
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Degree of recognition
UN member
JetPunk
Answer
Not recognized by North Korea
Yes
South Korea
Not recognized by Pakistan
Yes
Armenia
Not recognized by Turkey
Yes
Cyprus
Not recognized by South Korea, Japan, and France
Yes
North Korea
Not recognized by 28 mostly-Islamic countries
Yes
Israel
Not recognized by 55 countries
Observer
Palestine
Recognized by 97 countries
No
Kosovo
Recognized by 41, mostly-African countries
No
Western Sahara
Recognized by 14 countries
No
Taiwan
Not recognized by the countries that recognize the above
Yes
China
Recognized by Russia, Nicaragua, Venezuela, Nauru, and Syria
No
South Ossetia
Recognized by Russia, Nicaragua, Venezuela,
Nauru, Syria, and Vanuatu
No
Abkhazia
Recognized only by Turkey
No
Northern Cyprus
+2
Level 70
Oct 9, 2018
The Cook Islands?
+4
Level 87
Dec 26, 2019
New Zealand protectorate.
+1
Level 24
Mar 23, 2020
Although this does bring up the interesting relationship between the US and Marshall Islands, Palau, and Micronesia, but they don't have US citizenship, although they have the right to live and work in the US and serve in the military.
+1
Level 66
Dec 9, 2019
Great idea!
+2
Level 76
Dec 11, 2019
I kept spelling Transnistria as Transinistra. Why is it so hard to spell?!?!
+3
Level 85
Dec 28, 2019
Wait....why isn't Transnistria on the quiz now? It was the first one I guessed because I had made a Transnistria Quiz.
+1
Level ∞
Dec 28, 2019
Prior to the update the criteria for inclusion were inconsistent. Transnistria is not recognized by any UN member.
+3
Level 68
Dec 17, 2019
Can you accept ROK for South Korea, and DPRK for North Korea?
+2
Level ∞
Dec 17, 2019
Those will work now.
+3
Level 72
Jan 13, 2020
Yes I agree: a very thought provoking quiz. (I only got eight answers). Indeed one person's idea of what constitutes a country may well differ from another's. Scottish nationalists always refer to Scotland as a country eg. Also Jetpunk continues to refer to the Netherlands as a country, this is like calling England or Scotland a country. The Netherlands is a constituent member of the Kingdom of the Netherlands in the same way that England is a constituent of the UK. My point here is that in both cases it is the Kingdom that is the nation.
+2
Level 52
Mar 2, 2021
scotland, england, wales and northern ireland are all countries in their own right
+1
Level 65
Feb 17, 2022
Mhm. In their right, not ours.
+1
Level 57
Feb 23, 2022
I'm sure they'll come to terms with that, in time.
+3
Level 43
Nov 17, 2021
People refer to the Kingdom of the Netherlands as the Netherlands. You don't always say "The Kingdom of Spain", you just say Spain.
+3
Level 58
Feb 18, 2022
That's a very odd use of the word "nation". I guess you think that nation means something like "sovereign state"?

It's not just Scottish nationalists who refer to Scotland as a country. Everyone in the UK, whether nationalist or unionist, acknowledges that Scotland is a country. Again, that doesn't imply that they think it is, or should be, a sovereign state.

+1
Level 89
Mar 16, 2020
What about Imaginationland?
+1
Level 71
Mar 16, 2020
Try you speed out with Shakespeare here it is
+3
Level 60
Sep 25, 2021
That is random
+1
Level 60
Dec 16, 2023
Nah, just self-promotion.

I'm tempted to just promote my quizzes here to add to it, but I like to think I'm barely above that.

+1
Level 70
Mar 16, 2020
Could be more hint, with flags, or continent at least. Though good quiz.
+2
Level 74
Mar 16, 2020
western sahara is only the region! the country is sahrawi, pls change that, you can still accept western sahara, but that should not be the answer that is seen
+17
Level 75
Mar 16, 2020
It's high time for JetPunk to recognise Palestine.
+4
Level 74
Mar 16, 2020
second that
+2
Level 43
Nov 17, 2021
third that
+1
Level 46
Feb 19, 2022
Fourth that
+1
Level 43
Feb 28, 2024
fifth that
+7
Level 68
Apr 24, 2020
Absolutely. Palestine has a higher place in the UN than both Kosovo and Taiwan. If those two are countries, then so is Palestine.
+4
Level 44
May 22, 2020
YESS! it's about time
+7
Level 87
Sep 30, 2020
I beg to differ. I think that Palestine rightfully don’t belong in Jetpunk countries yet, while Kosovo and certainly Taiwan, do.

Kosovo is recognized by the US, Canada, Australia and NZ, Western Europe (apart from Spain), and Japan. The same block that has the majority in the UN Security Council, and groups together all The G7 countries - the most developed economies in the world recognize Kosovo and are willing to do business with it.

Taiwan has informal relations with 50+ countries that don’t recognize it officially. These informal relations are headlined by de-facto embassies and consulates of Taipei in those countries. Most importantly, these 50+ UN members that have “informal” relations with Taiwan include the countries I mentioned in the Kosovo case, and ALSO Russia, India, Brazil and more.

As for Palestine, it has wall-to-wall recognition in South America, Africa and most of Asia, but it HAS NOT been recognized by ANY country of the western group (except Sweden).

+1
Level 60
Sep 25, 2021
Don’t ask for it to be recognized. Ask QM to say it’s a country. If Palestine were to be on the quizzes it would reset a lot of quizzes, meaning a lot of climbing back to do.
+6
Level 34
Feb 18, 2022
Why should western recognition matter more than non western recognition? Good on my home country for recognizing Palestine though, I’m glad we’re cooler than literally any other western countries and doesn’t lick the US of A’s boot lmaoooo.
+1
Level 93
Aug 1, 2023
Palestine doesn't even have full autonomy over its own land, and it's not recognized by the UN or the majority of the UN Security Council.
+1
Level 87
Feb 14, 2024
Whose fault is that?

Plus, I concur with the previous comments regarding Thisisreal’s post - completely illogical to suggest Western nations have some kind of authority here.

The world you describe is somewhat arbitrary

+1
Level 51
Mar 16, 2020
I got South Ossetia and Abkhazia yet I missed South Korea. Wow.
+3
Level 75
Mar 16, 2020
Could you accept Abkhasia?
+1
Level 40
Mar 16, 2020
I must be special ed because I missed North Korea. WOW
+1
Level 46
Mar 16, 2020
how do you include spelling variations
+3
Level 75
Mar 20, 2020
Most Jetpunk members are from Taiwan or Kosovo, that explains it. I myself am Kosovar, ask me anything about Kosovo.
+1
Level 63
Mar 23, 2020
How about adding Transnistria and Artsakh? I know that they are not recognized by any countries, but they are recognized by other partially recognized states, including ones on this list.
+2
Level 60
Sep 25, 2021
Then it doesn’t matter. That’s like saying if a dragon said dinosaurs weren’t extinct, dinosaurs would be alive.
+5
Level 69
Apr 9, 2020
It is called double standards. Kosovo is recognized by western world and by JetPunk where as Palestine isn't. Kosovo is btw. biggest american military base in Europe so everything is clear. For example: Decolonization (and independence) of Western Sahara is more than 3 decades on UN agenda but it never happened...Somalia is also split into two different terittories controlled by different groups of people,yet JetPunk counts it as one whole country.
+1
Level 50
May 14, 2020
Pakistan is not recognized by Armenia
+1
Level 46
Feb 19, 2022
What? No lol
+1
Level 25
May 26, 2020
thank god turkey was on there, it's the only reason i accidentally got armenia
+2
Level 84
Sep 15, 2020
There are now only 30 countries that don't recognize Israel, now that Bahrain and the UAE do.

"Thirty UN member states do not recognize Israel and these include 16 of the 22 members of the Arab League: Algeria, Comoros, Djibouti, Iraq, Kuwait, Lebanon, Libya, Morocco, Oman, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, Somalia, Sudan, Syria, Tunisia and Yemen. A further ten are members of Organisation of Islamic Cooperation: Afghanistan, Bangladesh, Brunei, Indonesia, Iran, Malaysia, Mali, Mauritania, Niger and Pakistan. The other countries that do not recognise Israel are Bhutan, Cuba, North Korea and Venezuela." ~ Wikipedia

+5
Level 58
Dec 9, 2020
Sudan now recognizes Israel! And hopefully Saudi Arabia soon, but probably not
+4
Level 57
Feb 23, 2022
Bhutan now recognises Israel so the chances of a major Israel/Bhutani conflict have receded.
+1
Level 55
Oct 11, 2020
Fascinating quiz. Thank you.
+1
Level 68
Feb 17, 2021
Great quiz! I got Abkhazia and South Ossetia rather easily, but Armenia almost stumped me. Finished just in time.
+2
Level 64
Feb 23, 2021
Somaliland is an unrecognized country that declared independence from Somalia?
+3
Level 65
Aug 3, 2021
Declaring independence and being independent are two totally different things.
+1
Level 93
Aug 1, 2023
They aren't recognized as an independent nation by anyone other than themselves as of right now.
+1
Level 64
Feb 23, 2021
So the Koreas don't exist if they don't recognize each other

Japan: I can fix that

+2
Level 31
Mar 9, 2021
Heyyy , I can do a traduction in french of your quiz ?
+1
Level 79
May 26, 2021
You mean translation?
+2
Level 64
Apr 26, 2021
What do North/South/Japanese/French maps of Korea look like?
+1
Level 52
Apr 30, 2021
Accept Abhkazia for Abkhazia?
+7
Level 71
May 5, 2021
Everyone on JetPunk should move to Turkey right now. Can't have arguments on what continent Cyprus belongs to if it doesn't exist :)
+1
Level 60
Sep 25, 2021
I wonder what Afghabwe thinks…
+2
Level 58
May 19, 2021
The biggest reason Taiwan is recognized by only those countries is because they don't want China to sanction them.
+2
Level 28
Jul 5, 2021
Vanuatu recognizes Abkhazia but not South Ossetia
+2
Level 55
Aug 15, 2021
Wait... France doesn't recognize North Korea!!!?!?!
+1
Level 75
Sep 13, 2021
And DR Congo does not recognize Kosovo. President Joseph Kabila Kabangen said that his country would not recognise the independence of Kosovo for as long as he lived. Serious business!
+1
Level 47
Feb 18, 2022
Bhutan doesn't recognise many nations, so by the guidelines that Quizmaster has set, UK, USA, Italy, Russia, China, Japan, France, Mexico, Saudi, Iran, etc should all be on this list as well.
+2
Level 65
Sep 4, 2021
Afghanistan might join this list soon...
+1
Level 46
Feb 19, 2022
Maybe no? Currently UN recognize the Islamic Republic of Afghanistan but not the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan
+1
Level 65
Feb 21, 2022
Yeah not right now, but some countries might recognize the Taliban. It's been a while now and no one has so maybe not.
+2
Level 57
Oct 13, 2021
reallifelore's new video is the only reason that i know armenia
+1
Level 52
Jan 9, 2022
Funny how Nauru and Vanautu are in Russian side
+1
Level 87
Feb 14, 2024
Creative diplomacy on the part of the Russkis - nobody in Vanuatu would have the faintest idea about any of this, nor would they care. Cash in hand for a crooked official is all it boils down to…
+4
Level 49
Feb 4, 2022
fun fact: Bhutan does not recognize the People's Republic of China or the Republic of China, meaning that too Bhutan, China does not legally exist.
+1
Level 76
Feb 17, 2022
allow south ossettia with two T’s? might not be accurate but i’ve only ever seen it written and couldn’t remember if it was double S, double T or both
+1
Level 84
Feb 17, 2022
It should accept single S or double T (regex SOUTHOS+ET+IA).
+3
Level 55
Feb 17, 2022
Kosovo is Serbia
+3
Level 84
Feb 17, 2022
The International Court of Justice ruled that the 2008 Kosovo declaration of independence did not violate international law. The 2013 Brussels Agreement between Serbia and Kosovo abolished all of the Republic of Serbia's institutions in Kosovo. That makes Kosovo at least a de facto country. 97 UN members recognize it as a de jure country.
+5
Level 56
Feb 17, 2022
why is kosovo recognized by jetpunk but not palestine? palestine is more recognized by the un and other countries
+5
Level 82
Feb 17, 2022
UN recognition has to do with popularity and politics. Not objective reality. For an ever clearer case of this, just look at China and Taiwan. JetPunk recognizes both countries as they are both independent and fully sovereign. At the UN, however, recognition switched from Taiwan to China in 1971. Taiwan was no less independent and no less sovereign from 1971-2022 than it was from 1949-1970. Nothing changed in 1971 except for politics. The objective and fair thing to do would be to recognize both countries. But the UN is neither neutral nor objective. They are an organization driven by politics, as are other countries.
+2
Level 46
Feb 19, 2022
I think bc currently Palestine doesn't really have full sovereignty, like uhhh Israel still controls parts of West Bank, maybe that's why..? I guess Jetpunk will add Palestine if the government of Palestine is able to control all of their land, Idk I saw this somewhere else. Take Taiwan for example, even tho it's not recognized by the UN, but it's a de facto country that has its own government, China did not dare to touch them, thats why Jetpunk include Taiwan I think (correct me if I'm wrong)
+1
Level 82
Feb 23, 2022
close enough. Can find many discussions about this on other quizzes on the site on related topics, with more specific details spelled out. Or just look it up off-site if you can find a neutral source (challenging, but possible).
+10
Level 45
Feb 21, 2022
The People's Republic of Donetsk and The People's Republic of Luhansk were just recognized by Russia so if you could please add them to this list. Thanks! :)
+2
Level 60
Feb 25, 2022
They only did that to help with the invasion. The recognition definitely won’t be permanent
+5
Level 70
Feb 21, 2022
Now there are two new countries in the list
+6
Level 64
Feb 21, 2022
Update: Putin just recognized the Donetsk Peoples Republic and the Luhansk Peoples Republic
+10
Level ∞
Feb 21, 2022
We're going to wait for a little bit to see how that all shakes out.
+3
Level 84
Feb 22, 2022
Yup. Might have to remove Ukraine from the 196 quiz when this is over.
+1
Level 60
Feb 22, 2023
It has been a year, on 9.30.2022 Jetpunk did not recognise the Russian annexation of south-eastern Ukraine, so I am doubtful, many countries may not recognise a possible full Russian annexation of Ukraine, and I do not think Jetpunk will.
+4
Level 44
Apr 16, 2022
This didn’t age well…

At least Ukraine is doing well for now.

+5
Level 57
Oct 2, 2022
Welp looks like that won't be necessary anymore...
+1
Level 70
May 3, 2022
Does Rojava qualify?
+2
Level 58
Feb 10, 2023
No, it is not recognized by any generally recognized country. In fact, it doesn't even consider itself a country, but an autonomous region within Syria.
+2
Level 65
Feb 9, 2023
Still always miss Abkhasia because literaly cant spell it lol
+1
Level 68
Jun 6, 2023
No Somaliland?
+1
Level 47
Jun 16, 2023
Somaliland is only recognized by itself, it is only de facto independent.
+1
Level 87
Feb 14, 2024
Won’t be long before the UK sticks its oar in here. We have long been in favour of a more Western-friendly regime in this part of the world, Hargeisa and Somaliland once being part of the empire, I have already seen Somaliland referred to by foreign office official's as an “unrecognised nation” which is just the first step on the road to recognition.
+1
Level 47
Jun 16, 2023
Bhutan recognizes neither China or Taiwan, this is implying that Bhutan recognizes Taiwan but Bhutan recognizes neither.
+1
Level 34
Aug 1, 2023
I somehow managed to type Abkhazia but nearly miss Israel lmao
+1
Level 52
Feb 24, 2024
Vanuatu withdrew recognition of Abkhazia long time ago...
+1
Level 50
Feb 29, 2024
Pakistan's interest in Armenian/Azerbaijani conflicts is wild to me
+1
Level 63
Mar 4, 2024
They have enough problems with their own politics to be focused on ours :)