Quizzes
More
Create
en
-1

Partially Recognized Countries

Name the countries that are recognized by at least 1 UN member, but that aren't recognized by all UN members.
Quiz by ponnuki
Rate:
Featured Quiz
Last updated: December 26, 2019
More quiz info >>
First submittedMay 3, 2014
Times taken36,521
Rating4.98
Quiz and answer stats >>
Friends stats >>
4:00
Give Up?
Enter country here:
0
 / 13 guessed
The quiz is paused. You have remaining.
Scoring
You scored / = %
This beats or equals % of test takers also scored 100%
The average score is
Your high score is
Your fastest time is
Keep scrolling down for answers and more stats ...
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 31 mostly Islamic countries
Yes
✓
Israel
Not recognized by 55 countries
Observer
✘
Palestine
Not recognized by 95 countries
No
✓
Kosovo
Recognized by 42, 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, and Syria
No
✘
Abkhazia
Recognized only by Turkey
No
✘
Northern Cyprus
adrianeng20
+5
Level 18
May 16, 2014
interesting quizz,saddly done only 9:((( miss china and taiwan
sillie
+4
Level 82
May 16, 2014
How about accepting Palestinia as a spelling?
kalbahamut
+10
Level 81
May 16, 2014
Palestina is the original Roman spelling (cognate of Philistines, renamed from Judea, meant to insult the Jews who lived there and had rebelled against Roman authority by linking the province to the Biblical enemies of David), but I don't think it has ever been spelled -nia.
TomatosRaafatos
+11
Level 70
Mar 23, 2020
I always wondered why Kosovo is accepted as a Jetpunk country but not Palestine, given that the latter is recognized by many more countries and has a higher status in the UN now. I mean, I get it is controversial, and may annoy some people, but by that logic, having Kosovo in might annoy several Serbs and Russians, the same way including Israel and not Palestine as well annoys many Arabs. No one is asking for Israel to be removed, only fair treatment to partially recognized countries.
Vlastimir
+1
Level 63
Apr 9, 2020
You said it.
FolgoreCZ
+4
Level 56
Jul 30, 2020
"No one is asking for Israel to be removed." Well, sadly, Earth would be a much better place if that statement was true.
Thomas1VL
+1
Level 56
Aug 5, 2020
Yeah this quiz shows that this website isn't objective (no offence, I don't have any problems with it, just saying)
nicolde
+1
Level 32
Oct 15, 2020
Thomas1VL it's really hard to be objective in geography sadly.
LadyQuizling
+10
Level 55
May 16, 2014
Wow that was difficult - but interesting!
BlackLab
+1
Level 58
Apr 8, 2016
Seconded!
maxism
+9
Level 66
May 16, 2014
Got Cyprus, forgot Northern Cyprus, damn
Yanni47
+2
Level 72
Mar 16, 2020
Yeah, about that - if Northern Cyprus is named specific, shouldn't Southern Cyprus rather be the answer to the other one? I thought since 'Cyprus' was one answer, that it would count for the entire island, so didn't think of naming just one part of it separately. That'd be like saying all of Spain is accepted by all countries, but Catalonia is not.
BlackJohn
+9
Level 67
Mar 16, 2020
It´s not Southern Cyprus because the state is simply called Cyprus and is supposed to include the entire island, there are even seats in the parliament for the turkish minority still vacant. That´s why the northern pseudo-state is called "Turkish Republic". Cyprus is even a full EU member, only reason this is an issue still is due to Europe been afraid to challenge turkish ambitions.
Coyuznik
+2
Level 78
May 16, 2014
Apparently I can't spell Palestine. This was a delightfully difficult quiz.
Gyrenaica
+1
Level 37
May 16, 2014
I had a version of this, just not as good. Good Job dude.
LP26
+1
Level 21
May 16, 2014
Easily done.
ThirdParty
+3
Level 49
May 16, 2014
Some of the answers seem finicky. For example, for #13 I typed in "TRNC". When that didn't work I spelled it out: "Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus", which also didn't work. I eventually got it, but it consumed way more time than it should have.
Quizmaster
+4
Level ∞
May 16, 2014
Added those as accepted answers.
Malbaby
+13
Level 70
Mar 16, 2020
You typed out 'Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus'........ yeah right!
eliaz55
+4
Level 21
May 17, 2014
Kinda expected Tibet to be here. Or are there like no countries today accepting them as their own country?
Somequiztaker
+3
Level 73
May 20, 2014
This quiz made me feel like an idiot.
whatevera2002
+2
Level 41
Jul 27, 2014
This is silly- just because a country doesn't like another country or has a disagreement that country stops existing? Children...
joeythelemur
+14
Level 84
Oct 6, 2014
It's not about "not existing"; it's about whether the government of one nation recognizes the government of another nation as legitimate. Very complicated in some cases, but not surprising. Seems like in most of these cases they are portions of an existing country that is looking to become independent, and that of course causes people to take sides ("is it legitimate or not?").
camus
+1
Level 74
Mar 16, 2020
So one should recognize both mainland China and Taiwan even though they claim the same territory?
DJ1
+14
Level 21
Jan 4, 2015
Armenia?
ponnuki
+10
Level 54
Jan 8, 2015
Pakistan refuses to acknowledge Armenia because of the conflict around Nagorno Karabakh, in which Pakistan supports Azerbaijan.
Tramp
+40
Level 71
Jun 24, 2017
Funny how even Azerbaijan recognises Armenia though.
someone2018
+5
Level 83
Dec 26, 2019
I hope Pakistan doesn't waste its one nuke on Armenia.
HBK97
+5
Level 67
Mar 16, 2020
@someone2018 Pakistan has more than 100 certified nuclear warheads, even more than India.
gzx5
+3
Level 57
Mar 16, 2020
@HBK97 Recent estimates state Pakistan only has about 20 more than India. The actual amount is minor though compared to the 4000+ the US has.
BlackJohn
+3
Level 67
Mar 16, 2020
Gotta love how such unstable countries have the ability to wipe us all out though. Then again you have Trump and Putin controlling the largest arsenals on the planet. SO reassuring
AbhishekNS
+1
Level 54
Dec 4, 2020
@BlackJohn India isn't unstable. It is one of the strongest democracies in Asia. I would rather be worried abt China and Jinping who have no value for human life.
Gurgispeak
+2
Level 26
Mar 23, 2020
Yup, only got that one cuz it was my first guess for Turkey...
BigSillyGoose
+3
Level 44
Apr 8, 2016
A bit of an odd selection of countries who recognise South Ossetia and Abkhazia. Why those 4 in particular?
kalbahamut
+5
Level 81
Mar 16, 2020
Abkhazia and South Ossetia are both regions of Georgia that were invaded by Russia in 2008. Similar to Crimea, Eastern Ukraine, and Transnistria, these places have an ethnic Russian population and are propped up by the Russian Federation. The other countries that recognize the first two are aligned with or were seeking to curry favor with Russia. Nauru reportedly got $50 million dollars for it; not a bad deal.
Pandora49
+2
Level 51
Oct 11, 2020
Interesting, thanks.
Zefyrinus
+1
Level 67
Jun 21, 2016
What about those new Ukrainian countries, Crimea and what was the other one called?
ponnuki
+4
Level 54
Jul 24, 2016
The Crimea is not recognized by anyone, only a few days after independence it declared itself part of Russia, so those who recognize the independence referendum, consider it part of Russia, not an independent country.

There are two republics in the eastern Ukraine, Donetsk and Luhansk, which I maybe should include, as they are recognized by South Ossetia, though not by Russia or other countries. However, unlike the entities given here and Somaliland, they are generally considered insufficiently stable to be considered a country.

fuanacdc
+2
Level 77
Aug 1, 2016
I'm confused as to why China is on this list. I understand that countries that recognize Taiwan don't recognize China's claim to the island, but they are not suggesting that China itself is not a sovereign nation are they?
ponnuki
+10
Level 54
Aug 4, 2016
Yes, they are. Both China and Taiwan claim that there is only one China, they just disagree about who would legally be governing it. Recognizing both would just upset both.
Findlay
+9
Level 74
Aug 24, 2016
Depends who you ask. Taiwanese nationalism has grown considerably - that is to say, there is support for recognising the reality and declaring an independent Taiwan (as opposed to continuing to claim Taiwan for the Republic of China). Of course the People's Republic of China would be upset about either the Republic of China or a hypothetical Republic of Taiwan claiming Taiwan, since either way such an entity disputes its claim. At times there has been a stronger undercurrent of sympathy towards Taiwan reuniting with the PRC on the model of HK, but Beijing's continual interference with HK's politics has largely killed that notion in the crib.
tshalla
+2
Level 71
Mar 16, 2020
It has a lot to do with with the UN, which in '45 gave permanent Security Council seats to five victors in WWII. The dominant West figured that China would be on side and the Communist victory in the civil war (in 1949) came as a surprise. It wasn't until a concerted effort in the 1960s and '70s that the PRC managed to swing enough votes among newly-independent countries to become the recognized seat-holder. In that process, countries eager for favours typically took sides at least partially based on who was offering what. Thus, you got some pretty crazy-looking attachments.
kalbahamut
+2
Level 81
Mar 19, 2020
The official position of both the People's Republic of China (China) and the Republic of China (Taiwan) is that they should have full sovereignty over all of mainland China and Taiwan. The government of Taiwan was chased off the mainland by Chairman Mao.
Findlay
+3
Level 74
Aug 24, 2016
Pakistan not recognising Armenia seems plain weird.
vindem
+1
Level 66
Apr 24, 2017
Yes, true. Pakistan and Azerbaijan being kinda allies... hmm...
Eigengrau
+1
Level 60
Mar 16, 2020
Pakistan does not recognise Armenia due to the conflict over Nagorno-Karabakh, in which Pakistan supports Azerbaijan.
JWatson24
+1
Level 65
Jun 3, 2020
I only typed in Armenia because I thought it might be the country that Turkey doesn't recognize (figured out later that it was Cyprus).
skyland
+4
Level 55
Mar 1, 2017
What about Somaliland?
ponnuki
+4
Level 54
Mar 6, 2017
Not officially recognized by anyone
mf3
+13
Level 83
Dec 26, 2019
Too bad, because Somaliland is fairly stable and democratic (just had a peaceful change of elected president). It's just that no one wants to delegitimize the main recognized Somali government in Mogadishu, which frankly only has control over Mogadishu itself, and is often not even able to provide security there.
Tramp
+3
Level 71
Jun 24, 2017
Cool quiz - I managed to get everything except Armenia after a lot of thinking. I had no idea Pakistan didn't recognise Armenia though.
Eigengrau
+3
Level 60
Mar 16, 2020
Me too, and I'm from Pakistan!
ing
+1
Level 71
Dec 25, 2020
Biggest clue: there are no Armenian restaurants in Lahore. :)
jpcol
+2
Level 58
Dec 26, 2017
This is a pretty good quiz.

Was wondering about Niue and Cook Islands. I think there’s a case for them being included, not only in this quiz, but also to get full recognition status by Jetpunk, which is, let’s face it, the definitive authority on country recognition worldwide.

mf3
+2
Level 83
Dec 26, 2019
New Zealand protectorates.
Jerry928
+1
Level 74
Dec 27, 2019
Nope, not protectorates but countries. They should be in the Countries of the World quiz. I say this as a New Zealander, and every New Zealander knows they are going to an overseas country when they fly to Niue or the Cook Islands.
Djilas
+2
Level 78
Dec 27, 2019
Wikipedia:

Niue is a self-governing state in free association with New Zealand; and New Zealand conducts most diplomatic relations on its behalf. Niueans are citizens of New Zealand, and Queen Elizabeth II is head of state in her capacity as Queen of New Zealand. Between 90% and 95% of Niuean people live in New Zealand.

Quizmaster
+10
Level ∞
Dec 27, 2019
If the Cook Islands are a country, I demand sovereignty for my neighborhood which has a higher population and a much higher GDP. Like most micronations, we'll take a liberal stance towards tax evasion. For a small fee, we'll hide your assets. For a slightly larger fee, we'll vote to condemn Israel in the UN. I'll volunteer to serve as ambassador to France.
Nathaniel
+1
Level 60
Mar 16, 2020
@Quizmaster you just made my day XD
cornflakesfu
+3
Level 82
Sep 8, 2018
Unsurprisingly, I did poorly on countries not recognized by Jetpunk (though I did recognize most of the names once they appeared).
Gassu
+2
Level 72
Oct 9, 2018
The Cook Islands?
mf3
+1
Level 83
Dec 26, 2019
New Zealand protectorate.
Gurgispeak
+1
Level 26
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.
Sifhraven
+1
Level 67
Dec 9, 2019
Great idea!
TurkeyCookTime
+2
Level 65
Dec 11, 2019
I kept spelling Transnistria as Transinistra. Why is it so hard to spell?!?!
interopia
+2
Level 81
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.
Quizmaster
+1
Level ∞
Dec 28, 2019
Prior to the update the criteria for inclusion were inconsistent. Transnistria is not recognized by any UN member.
kjworkman7
+3
Level 62
Dec 17, 2019
Can you accept ROK for South Korea, and DPRK for North Korea?
Quizmaster
+2
Level ∞
Dec 17, 2019
Those will work now.
FadKrashmor
+3
Level 65
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.
Jacktheguy
+1
Level 84
Mar 16, 2020
What about Imaginationland?
Malbaby
+1
Level 70
Mar 16, 2020
Try you speed out with Shakespeare here it is
bn91
+1
Level 64
Mar 16, 2020
Could be more hint, with flags, or continent at least. Though good quiz.
Nathaniel
+1
Level 60
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
HBK97
+9
Level 67
Mar 16, 2020
It's high time for JetPunk to recognise Palestine.
Nathaniel
+3
Level 60
Mar 16, 2020
second that
BotswanaEmperor
+1
Level 59
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.
Salma777
+1
Level 38
May 22, 2020
YESS! it's about time
Thisisreal
+1
Level 76
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).

sammyasf
+1
Level 54
Mar 16, 2020
I got South Ossetia and Abkhazia yet I missed South Korea. Wow.
APHill
+1
Level 74
Mar 16, 2020
Could you accept Abkhasia?
KyleBusch
+1
Level 43
Mar 16, 2020
I must be special ed because I missed North Korea. WOW
dragonflyboy
+1
Level 31
Mar 16, 2020
how do you include spelling variations
naozi
+3
Level 56
Mar 20, 2020
Most Jetpunk members are from Taiwan or Kosovo, that explains it. I myself am Kosovar, ask me anything about Kosovo.
Crabsarespooky
+1
Level 39
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.
Vlastimir
+1
Level 63
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.
Idontknowok
+1
Level 53
May 14, 2020
Pakistan is not recognized by Armenia
emilywww
+1
Level 27
May 26, 2020
thank god turkey was on there, it's the only reason i accidentally got armenia
sumguy
+2
Level 79
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

Finnisme
+3
Level 47
Dec 9, 2020
Sudan now recognizes Israel! And hopefully Saudi Arabia soon, but probably not
Pandora49
+1
Level 51
Oct 11, 2020
Fascinating quiz. Thank you.
FactoFanatic
+1
Level 60
Feb 17, 2021
Great quiz! I got Abkhazia and South Ossetia rather easily, but Armenia almost stumped me. Finished just in time.
LuigiDood227
+1
Level 42
Feb 23, 2021
Somaliland is an unrecognized country that declared independence from Somalia?
LuigiDood227
+1
Level 42
Feb 23, 2021
So the Koreas don't exist if they don't recognize each other

Japan: I can fix that

Similar Quizzes by Tag
Country
Geography
Copyright H Brothers Inc, 2008–2021
View Mobile Site