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{{Wikipedia text|Declaration of independence|513434876}}

{{incomplete|date=April 2012}}<!--some current states have no first recognition-->
{{citations missing|date=April 2012}}
{{About|the type of document|the short film|Declaration of Independence (film)}}

A '''declaration of independence''' is an assertion of the [[independence]] of an aspiring [[Sovereign state|state]] or states. Such places are usually declared from part or all of the [[wiktionary:Territory|territory]] of another nation or failed nation, or are breakaway territories from within the larger state. Not all declarations of independence are successful and result in independence for these regions.{{Fact|date=April 2012}}

Such declarations are typically made without the consent of the parent state, and hence are sometimes called '''unilateral declarations of independence''' ('''UDIs'''), particularly by those who question the declarations' validity.{{Fact|date=April 2012}}

==List of declarations of independence==
{|class="wikitable sortable"
!Region!!Declaration!!Date!!Year!!Parent!!class="unsortable"|Signatories!!First recognising state
|-
|[[Albania]]||[[Albanian Declaration of Independence]]||November 28||1912||[[Ottoman Empire]]||||
|-
|[[United Provinces of South America]]<br /><small>(present day [[Argentina]], [[Uruguay]] and [[Bolivia]])</small>||[[Argentine Declaration of Independence]]||July 9||1816||[[Spain]]||[[Congress of Tucumán]]|| [[Kingdom of Hawaii]]
|-
|[[Armenia]]||[[Democratic Republic of Armenia]]||May 28||1918||Russian Empire||[[Armenian Congress of Eastern Armenians]] [[Armenian Revolutionary Federation]] (ARF Dashnak)|| [[Russia]]
|-
|[[Azerbaijan]]||[[Azerbaijan Democratic Republic]]||May 28||1918||[[Russian Empire]]||[[Hasan bey Aghayev]], [[Fatali Khan Khoyski]], [[Nasib Yusifbeyli]], [[Jamo bey Hajinski]], Şefi bey Rustambeyli, [[Nariman bey Narimanbeyov]], [[Javad Malik-Yeganov]], [[Mustafa Mahmudov]].||[[Ottoman Empire]]
|-
|[[Azawad]]||[[Azawad Declaration of Independence]]||April 6||2012||[[Mali]]||[[National Movement for the Liberation of Azawad]]||
|-
|[[Bangladesh]]||[[Bangladeshi Declaration of Independence]]||March 26||1971||[[Pakistan]]||||[[Bhutan]]
|-
|[[Belarus]]||[[Belavezha Accords]]||December 8||1991||[[Soviet Union]]||Presidents of [[Russia]], [[Ukraine]] and Belarus||[[Turkey]]
|-
|[[Belgium]]||[[Belgian Declaration of Independence]]||October 4||1830||[[Netherlands]]||[[Provisional Government of Belgium]]||
|-
|[[Bosnia and Herzegovina]]||[[Bosnian Declaration of Independence]]||March 1||1992||[[Yugoslavia]]||||[[Bulgaria]]
|-
|[[Brazil]]||[[Brazilian declaration of independence]]||September 7||1822||[[Portugal]]||[[Pedro I of Brazil]]||[[United States]]
|-
|[[Bulgaria]]||[[Bulgarian Declaration of Independence]]||September 22||1908||[[Ottoman Empire]]||[[Ferdinand of Bulgaria]] and the [[Government of Bulgaria]]||[[Russian Empire]] (5 February 1909)
|-
|[[Carpathian Ruthenia|Republic of Carpathian Ruthenia]]||[[Carpathian Ruthenia Declaration of Independence]]||October 25||2008||[[Ukraine]]||[[Congress of Carpathian Ruthenians]]||
|-
|[[Catalonia]]||Declaration of the Catalan Republic as a state of the Iberian Federation||April 14||1931||[[Spain]]||Francesc Macià, Generalitat Government of Catalonia
|-
|[[Catalonia]]||Declaration of the Catalan state within the Federal Republic of Spain||October 6||1934||[[Spain]]||Lluis Companys, Generalitat Government of Catalonia
|-
|[[Central America]]||[[Central American declarations of independence]]||September 15||1821||[[Spain]]||||
|-
|[[Chile]]||[[Chilean Declaration of Independence]]||February 12||1818||[[Spain]]||[[National Congress]]||[[Portugal]]
|-
|[[Colombia]]||[[Colombian Declaration of Independence]]||July 20||1810||[[Spain]]||||
|-
|[[Croatia]]||Croatian Declaration of Independence||June 25||1991||[[Yugoslavia]]||||[[Iceland]]
|-
||[[Dominican Republic]]||Dominican Declaration of Independence||February 27||1844||[[Haiti]]||||[[United Kingdom]]
|-
||[[East Timor]]||[[East Timorese declaration of independence]]||November 28||1975||[[Portugal]]||||[[Morocco]]
|-
||[[Egypt]]||[[Unilateral Declaration of Egyptian Independence]]||February 28||1922||[[United Kingdom]]||Unilateral grant of independence by the [[Government of the United Kingdom|British government]]||[[United Kingdom]]
|-
|[[Estonia]]||[[Estonian Declaration of Independence]]||February 24||1918||[[Russia]]||[[Salvation Committee]]||[[Russian SFSR]]
|-
|[[Estonia]]||[[History_of_Estonia#Regaining_independence|Estonian Reconfirmation of Independence]]||August 20||1991||[[Soviet Union]]||[[Congress of Estonia]]||[[Iceland]] (reconfirmed earlier recognition)
|-
||[[Finland]]||[[Finnish Declaration of Independence]]||December 6||1917||[[Russia]]||[[Parliament of Finland]]||[[Russian SFSR]]
|-
||[[Florida]]||[[Florida Constitution#Ordinance of secession, 1861|Florida's Constitution of 1861]]||January 10||1861||[[United States]]||[[Florida State Legislature]]||
|-
|[[Georgia (country)|Georgia]]||[[History of Georgia (country)#Georgia under the Soviet Union, 1921–1990|Georgian declaration of independence]]||April 9||1991||[[Soviet Union]]||||[[Germany]]
|-
|[[Georgia (U.S. state)]]||[[s:Georgia Declaration of Causes of Secession|Georgia's secession declaration]]||January 29||1861||[[United States]]||||
|-
|[[Greece]]||[[wikisource:Greek Declaration of Independence|Greek Declaration of Independence]]||January 1 <small>[[Julian Calendar|OS]]</small>||1822||[[Ottoman Empire]]||[[First National Assembly at Epidaurus|First National Assembly]]||[[Haiti]] <small>(1822)</small>
|-
|[[Guinea-Bissau]]||Guinea-Bissau Declaration of Independence||September 24||1973||[[Portugal]]||||
|-
||[[Haiti]]||[[Haitian Declaration of Independence]]||January 1||1804||[[France]]||[[Jean-Jacques Dessalines]]||
|-
|[[Hungary]]||[[Hungarian Declaration of Independence]]||April 14||1849||[[Austrian Empire]]||||
|-
|[[Iceland]]||Icelandic Declaration of Independence||June 17||1944||[[Denmark]]||||[[United States]]
|-
|[[Iraq]]||Iraq Declaration of Independence||October 3||1932 ||[[United Kingdom]]||||[[United Kingdom]]
|-
|[[India]]||[[Indian Independence Act 1947]]||August 15||1947||[[United Kingdom]]||||
|-
|[[Indonesia]]||[[Proclamation of Indonesian Independence]]||August 17||1945||[[Netherlands]]||[[Sukarno]] & [[Mohammad Hatta]]||[[Egypt]]
|-
|[[Ireland]]||[[Proclamation of the Irish Republic]]||April 24||1916||[[United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland|United Kingdom]]||[[Irish Volunteers]]<br />[[Irish Citizen Army]]||
|-
|[[Irish Republic]]||[[Irish Declaration of Independence]]||January 21||1919||[[United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland|United Kingdom]]||[[Dáil Éireann (Irish Republic)|Dáil Éireann]]||[[Russian SFSR]]
|-
|[[Israel]]||[[Declaration of Independence (Israel)|Israeli Declaration of Independence]]||May 14||1948||[[United Kingdom]]||[[Vaad Leumi|Jewish People's Council]]||[[Union of Soviet Socialist Republics]]
|-
|[[Autonomous Republic of Northern Epirus]]||[[Northern Epirote Declaration of Independence]]||February 28||1914||[[Principality of Albania]]||[[Provisional Government of Northern Epirus]]||
|-
|[[Katanga Province|Katanga]]||Katangan Declaration of Independence||||1960||[[Republic of the Congo (Léopoldville)|Congo (Léopoldville)]]||||
|-
|[[Korea]]||[[Korean Declaration of Independence]]||March 1||1919||[[Japan]]||||
|-
|[[Republic of Kosovo]]||[[Kosovo declaration of independence]]||February 17||2008||[[Serbia]]||||[[Afghanistan]]
|-
|[[Republic of Lakotah]]||[[wikisource:Republic of Lakotah declaration of independence|Republic of Lakotah declaration of independence]]||December 19||2007||[[United States of America]]||[[Lakota Freedom Delegation]]||
|-
|[[Latvia]]||[[On the Restoration of Independence of the Republic of Latvia]]||May 4||1990||[[Soviet Union]]||[[Supreme Council of the Republic of Latvia|Supreme Soviet of the Latvian SSR]]||[[Iceland]]
|-
|[[Liberia]]||[[Liberian Declaration of Independence]]||July 16||1847||[[American Colonization Society]]||Liberian Constitutional Convention||[[United Kingdom]]
|-
|[[Lithuania]]||[[Act of Independence of Lithuania]]||February 16||1918||[[Germany]], [[Russia]]||[[Council of Lithuania]]||[[Germany]]
|-
|Lithuania||[[Act of the Re-Establishment of the State of Lithuania]]||March 11||1990||[[Soviet Union]]||[[Supreme Council of Lithuania]]||[[Iceland]]
|-
|[[Republic of Macedonia]]||[[History of the Republic of Macedonia#Road to Republic|Independence of the Republic of Macedonia]]||September 8||1991||[[Yugoslavia]]||||[[Bulgaria]]
|-
|[[Federation of Malaya]] <br> <small>(present day [[Malaysia]])</small>||[[Proclamation of Malayan Independence]]||August 31||1957||[[United Kingdom]]||[[Tunku Abdul Rahman]], [[Prime Minister of Malaysia]]||[[United Kingdom]]<ref name="Federation of Malaya Independence Act 1957">{{sourcetext|source=Federation of Malaya Independence Act 1957}}</ref>
|-
|[[Mississippi]]||[[A Declaration of the Immediate Causes which Induce and Justify the Secession of the State of Mississippi from the Federal Union]]||January 9||1861||[[United States]]||||
|-
|[[Mexican Empire]]</br><small>(present day [[Mexico]])</small>||[[Declaration of Independence of the Mexican Empire]]</br><small>(real independence)</small>||September 28||1821||[[Spain]]||<small>Supreme Provisional Governmental Board</small>||[[United Kingdom]] <small>(January 4, 1825)</small><ref>{{cite web |title=Inglaterra: primer país que reconoce la Independencia de México |url=http://www.memoriapoliticademexico.org/Efemerides/1/04011825.html |publisher=Memoria Politica de México |language= Spanish |accessdate=September 18, 2011}}</ref>
|-
|[[Moldova]]||[[Declaration of Independence of the Republic of Moldova]]||August 27||1991||[[Soviet Union]]||[[Parliament of the Republic of Moldova]]||[[Romania]]
|-
|[[Morocco]]||Moroccan Declaration of Independence||January 11||1944||[[France]]||[[Istiqlal Party]]
|-
|[[Montenegro]]||[[Montenegro#Independence|Montenegro declaration of independence]]||June 3||2006||[[Serbia and Montenegro]]||[[Parliament of Montenegro|Assembly of the Republic of Montenegro]]||[[Iceland]]
|-
|[[Moskitia]]||[[Miskito people|Moskitia declaration of independence]]||August||2009||[[Nicaragua]]|||
|-
|[[Netherlands]]||[[Act of Abjuration]]||July 26||1581||[[Spanish Empire]]||[[Union of Utrecht]]||
|-
|[[New Zealand]]||[[Declaration of the Independence of New Zealand]]||October 28||1835||&mdash;||[[Māori people|Māori]] chiefs||[[United Kingdom]]<ref>{{Citation| last=The Lord Glenelg| author-link=Charles Grant, 1st Baron Glenelg| date=25 May 1836| contribution=EXTRACT of a DESPATCH from Lord GLENELG to Major-General Sir RICHARD BOURKE, New South Wales| title=Documents > Declaration of Independence| place=London| publication-place=Christchurch| publisher=Waitangi Associates| url=http://www.waitangi.co.nz/declarationindependence.htm#Extract| accessdate=22 May 2010}}</ref>
|-
|[[Viceroyalty of New Spain|Northern America]]<br /> <small>(present day [[Mexico]])</small>||[[Solemn Act of the Declaration of Independence of Northern America]]||November 6||1813||[[Spain]]||[[Congress of Anáhuac]]||
|-
|[[Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus]]||Declaration of Independence of the Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus||November 15||1983||[[Cyprus]]||||Turkey
|-
|[[Norway]]||[[Constitution of Norway]]||May 17||1814||[[Treaty of Kiel|Union according to Treaty of Kiel]]||[[Norway in 1814|Constitutional assembly]]||
|-
|[[Pakistan]]||[[Indian Independence Act 1947]]||August 14||1947||[[United Kingdom]], [[British Raj|British India]]||[[Muslim League (Pakistan)]]||
|-
|[[Palestine]]||[[Palestinian Declaration of Independence]]||November 15||1988||[[Palestinian territories]]||[[Palestinian National Council]]||[[Arab League]]
|-
|[[Papua New Guinea]]||Independence Day||September 16||1975||[[Australia]]/[[United Kingdom]]||First Prime Minister: [[Michael Somare]]||
|-
|[[Peru]]||Act of the Declaration of Independence of Peru||July 28||1821||[[Spain]]||[[José de San Martín]]||
|-
|[[Philippines]]||[[Philippine Declaration of Independence]]||June 12||1898||[[Spain]]||[[Emilio Aguinaldo]], [[Katipunan]]||[[United States]]
|-
|[[Rhodesia]]||[[Unilateral Declaration of Independence (Rhodesia)|Rhodesian Unilateral Declaration of Independence]]||November 11||1965||[[United Kingdom]]||[[Ian Smith]] and the rest of the Cabinet||none
|-
|[[Romania]]||[[Romanian War of Independence|Romanian Declaration of Independence]]||May 22||1877||[[Ottoman Empire]]||[[Carol I of Romania|King Carol I]]||
|-
|[[Russia]]||[[Belavezha Accords]] (''[[de-facto]]'')<br>Officially never declared "independence", to become successor to the Soviet Union.||December 8||1991||[[Soviet Union]]||Presidents of [[Russia]], [[Ukraine]] and Belarus||
|-
|[[Kingdom of Scotland]]||[[Declaration of Arbroath]]||April 6||1320||[[Kingdom of England]]||Scottish leaders||
|-
|[[Serbia]]||[[The Proclamation|The Proclamation (Proglašenije/Проглашеније)]]||February||1809||[[Ottoman Empire]]||[[Karađorđe Petrović]] and [[Serbian revolution|Serbian MPs]]||
|-
|[[Singapore]]||[[Singapore in Malaysia#Separation|Proclamation of Singapore]]<ref>Singapore was forced out of Malaysia by the Malaysian parliament, and the proclamations were then agreed by the two governments. See the [http://statutes.agc.gov.sg/non_version/cgi-bin/cgi_retrieve.pl?actno=REVED-INDEP Independence of Singapore Agreement 1965] (1985 Rev. Ed.) and [http://www.legislation.gov.uk/ukpga/1966/29/contents the Acts of the Parliament of the United Kingdom].</ref>||August 9||1965||[[Malaysia]]<ref name="Agreement relating to the separation of Singapore from Malaysia">{{sourcetext|source=Agreement relating to the separation of Singapore from Malaysia as an independent and sovereign state}}</ref><ref name="proclamation of singapore">{{sourcetext|source=Agreement relating to the separation of Singapore from Malaysia as an independent and sovereign state/proclamation of singapore}}</ref>||[[Lee Kuan Yew]], [[Prime Minister of Singapore]]||[[United Kingdom]] (confirmed earlier recognition)<ref name="Singapore Act 1966">{{sourcetext|source=Singapore Act 1966}}</ref>
|-
|[[Slovenia]]||[[History of Slovenia#The Independence of Slovenia|Slovenian Declaration of Independence]]||June 25||1991||[[Yugoslavia]]||||[[Croatia]]
|-
|[[Somaliland]]||[[History of Somaliland#Separatism|Somaliland Declaration of Independence]]||May 18||1991||[[Somalia]]||||none
|-
|[[South Carolina]]||[[Declaration of the Immediate Causes Which Induce and Justify the Secession of South Carolina from the Federal Union]]||December 24||1860||[[United States]]||South Carolinians in Charleston||
|-
|[[Southern Cameroons]]||Southern Cameroons Declaration of Independence||December 31||1999||[[Cameroon]]||||none
|-
|[[Sri Lanka]]||Declaration of Independence of Sri Lanka (Then known as "Ceylon")||February 4||1948||[[United Kingdom]]||||none
|-
|[[Republic of Texas|Texas, Republic of]]||[[Texas Declaration of Independence]]||March 2||1836||[[Mexico]]||||[[France]]
|-
|[[Texas]]||[[A Declaration of the Causes which Impel the State of Texas to Secede from the Federal Union]]||February 1||1861||[[United States]]||Texas Legislature||
|-
|[[Tibet]]||[[History of Tibet (1912–1949)#Declaration of independence|Tibet's Declaration of Independence]]||&nbsp;||1913||[[China]]||[[13th Dalai Lama]]||none
|-
|[[Turkmenistan]]||Declaration of independence||&nbsp;||1991||[[Soviet Union]]||none||[[Turkey]]
|-
|[[Ukraine]]||[[Declaration of Independence of Ukraine]]||August 24||1991||[[Soviet Union]]||[[Verkhovna Rada]]||[[Poland]]
|-
|[[United States]]||[[United States Declaration of Independence]]||July 4||1776||[[Kingdom of Great Britain|Great Britain]]||[[Second Continental Congress]]||Morocco<ref name="Congressional Record">{{cite book|title=Congressional Record|publisher=United States Congress|date=20 June 2000|pages=11461|url=http://books.google.com/books?id=cT1BOgQ2Ys8C&lpg=PA11461&dq=%22Whereas%20Morocco%20was%20the%20first%20country%20to%20recognize%20the%20independence%20of%20the%20United%20States%22&pg=PA11461#v=onepage&q=%22Whereas%20Morocco%20was%20the%20first%20country%20to%20recognize%20the%20independence%20of%20the%20United%20States%22&f=false|accessdate=28 April 2011}}</ref>
|-
|[[Uzbekistan]]||Declaration of Independence||August 31||1991||[[Soviet Union]]||Supreme Council of [[Uzbekistan]]||[[Turkey]]
|-
|[[Venezuela]]||[[Venezuelan Declaration of Independence]]||July 5||1811||[[Kingdom of Spain]]||Representatives of the States of Venezuela||
|-
|[[Vietnam]]||[[Proclamation of Independence of the Democratic Republic of Vietnam]]||September 2||1945||[[Japan]]||[[Hồ Chí Minh]]||[[Soviet Union]]
|-
|[[Lower Canada]]||[[Declaration of Independence of Lower Canada]]||February 22||1838||[[Great Britain]]||[[Robert Nelson]]||none
|}

==See also==
* [[Florida and the Declaration of Independence]]
* [[List of countries by Independence Day]]
* [[List of sovereign states by date of formation]]
* [[Separatism]]

==References==
{{Reflist|2}}

[[Category:Declarations of independence| ]]