This is a list of sovereign states in the 1940s, giving an overview of states around the world during the period between 1 January 1940 and 31 December 1949. It contains 106 entries, arranged alphabetically, with information on the status and recognition of their sovereignty. It includes 99 widely recognized sovereign states, six entities[which?] which were de facto sovereign but which were not widely recognized by other states.
Academic datasets differ in terms of the number of states in the 1940s.[1] At the start of the 1940s, the lowest estimate of the number of states is in the mid-50s whereas the highest is in the low-70s.[1] At the end of the 1940s, the lowest estimate is in the mid-70s while the highest is in the mid-80s.[1]
Belgium – Kingdom of Belgium (to 17 May 1940, from 3 September 1944) Capital: Brussels
Widely recognized independent state. LON member state to 20 April 1946. UN member state from 27 December 1945. Belgium had sovereignty over one colony:
Widely recognized independent state; LON member state to 20 April 1946 and UN member state from 2 November 1945. The Cuban area of Guantánamo Bay was under the total control of the United States.
Widely recognized independent state. LON member state to 18 April 1941 and from 20 August 1944 to 9 April 1946. UN member state from 24 October 1945. France administered the foreign affairs of the following protectorate:
Lithuania – Republic of Lithuania (to 15 June 1940) Capital: Vilnius
Widely recognized independent state.LON member state to 5 August 1940 and in exile to 20 April 1946. Conquered by a Soviet offensive but maintained a government in exile.
Luxembourg – Grand Duchy of Luxembourg (to 10 May 1940, from 11 September 1944) Capital: Luxembourg City
Widely recognized independent state; LON member state to 10 May 1940, from 11 Sept 1944 to 20 April 1946 and in exile from 10 May 1940 to 11 Sept 1944. Conquered by a German offensive but maintained a government in exile based in London and a UN member state from 24 October 1945.
Widely recognized independent state. LON member state to 20 April 1946. UN member state from 10 December 1945. Under occupation by Germany from 10 May 1940 to 5 May 1945.
Widely recognized independent state. LON member state to 20 April 1946. UN member state from 24 October 1945. Dominion of the British Empire until 25 Nov 1947. Commonwealth realm.
Widely recognized independent state. LON member state to October 4, 1945. UN member state from October 4, 1945.
U
United Kingdom – United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland Capital: London
Widely recognized independent state. LON member state to October 4, 1945. UN member state from October 4, 1945. The United Kingdom was composed of four countries: England, Northern Ireland, Scotland, and Wales. The United Kingdom had sovereignty over:
Aden – Aden Colony and Protectorate (Crown colony and protectorate)
Widely recognized independent state. UN member state from October 24, 1945. Under occupation by Nazi Germany from April 6, 1941 to May 25, 1945. A government in exile was regarded as the legitimate government by the Allies.
Other entities
Excluded from the list above are the following noteworthy entities which either were not fully sovereign or did not claim to be independent:
Allied-occupied Austria(from 27 April 1945) was divided into four zones of occupation by France, the United Kingdom, the United States, and the Soviet Union.
Allied-occupied Germany(1945–1949) was divided into four zones of occupation by France, the United Kingdom, the United States, and the Soviet Union.
Burma – State of Burma (from 1 August 1943 to 19 August 1945) was organized and recognized by Japanese military during the Japanese occupation. Recognized by Axis powers member states.
Croatia – Independent State of Croatia (from 10 April 1941 to 25 May 1945) was organized and recognized by German military authority during the invasion of Yugoslavia. Recognized by Axis powers member states.
East Turkestan, officially the East Turkestan Republic, existed from November 12, 1944 to December 22, 1949, when it was conquered by China.
Estonia was incorporated into the Soviet Union in 1940, but the legality of the annexation was not widely recognized. The Baltic diplomatic services in the West continued to be recognised as representing the de jure state.
Latvia was incorporated into the Soviet Union in 1940, but the legality of the annexation was not widely recognized. The Baltic diplomatic services in the West continued to be recognised as representing the de jure state.
Lithuania was incorporated into the Soviet Union in 1940, but the legality of the annexation was not widely recognized. The Baltic diplomatic services in the West continued to be recognised as representing the de jure state.
Manchukuo – Empire of Manchuria (to August, 1945) was organized and recognized by Japan military authority after Mukden Incident. Recognized by Axis powers member states.
Mengjiang – Mongol Military Government (to August, 1945) Capital: Kalgan was organized and recognized by Japan military authority during Second Sino-Japanese War. Recognized by Axis powers member states.
Slovakia – Slovak Republic (to April 4, 1945) was organized and recognized by German military after Munich Agreement. Recognized by Axis powers member states. Recognized by Axis powers member states and several neutral states.
The Sovereign Military Order of Malta was an entity claiming sovereignty. The order had bi-lateral diplomatic relations with a large number of states, but had no territory other than extraterritorial areas within Rome.[3] Although the order frequently asserted its sovereignty, it did not claim to be a sovereign state. It lacked a defined territory. Since all its members were citizens of other states, almost all of them lived in their native countries, and those who resided in the order's extraterritorial properties in Rome did so only in connection with their official duties, the order lacked the characteristic of having a permanent population.
Tangier was an international zone under the joint administration of France, Spain, the United Kingdom, Italy, Portugal and Belgium.
West Berlinfrom 23 May 1949 was a political enclave that was closely aligned with – but not actually a part of – West Germany. It consisted of three occupied sectors administered by the United States, the United Kingdom, and France.
World War II or the Second World War was a global conflict that lasted from 1939 to 1945. The vast majority of the world's countries, including all the great powers, fought as part of two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis. Many participating countries invested all available economic, industrial, and scientific capabilities into this total war, blurring the distinction between civilian and military resources. Aircraft played a major role, enabling the strategic bombing of population centres and delivery of the only two nuclear weapons ever used in war. It was by far the deadliest conflict in history, resulting in 70–85 million fatalities. Millions died due to genocides, including the Holocaust, as well as starvation, massacres, and disease. In the wake of Axis defeat, Germany, Austria, and Japan were occupied, and war crime tribunals were conducted against German and Japanese leaders.
The Axis powers, originally called the Rome–Berlin Axis and also Rome–Berlin–Tokyo Axis, was a military coalition that initiated World War II and fought against the Allies. Its principal members were Nazi Germany, the Kingdom of Italy and the Empire of Japan. The Axis were united in their far-right positions and general opposition to the Allies, but otherwise lacked comparable coordination and ideological cohesion.
A puppet state, puppet régime, puppet government or dummy government is a state that is de jure independent but de facto completely dependent upon an outside power and subject to its orders. Puppet states have nominal sovereignty, except that a foreign power effectively exercises control through economic or military support. By leaving a local government in existence the outside power evades all responsibility, while at the same time successfully paralysing the local government they tolerate.
The Treaty of San Francisco, also called the Treaty of Peace with Japan, re-established peaceful relations between Japan and the Allied Powers on behalf of the United Nations by ending the legal state of war and providing for redress for hostile actions up to and including World War II. It was signed by 49 nations on 8 September 1951, in San Francisco, California, at the War Memorial Opera House. Italy and China were not invited, the latter due to disagreements on whether the Republic of China or the People's Republic of China represented the Chinese people. Korea was also not invited due to a similar disagreement on whether South Korea or North Korea represented the Korean people.
Following the termination of hostilities in World War II, the Allies were in control of the defeated Axis countries. Anticipating the defeat of Germany and Japan, they had already set up the European Advisory Commission and a proposed Far Eastern Advisory Commission to make recommendations for the post-war period. Accordingly, they managed their control of the defeated countries through Allied Commissions, often referred to as Allied Control Commissions (ACC), consisting of representatives of the major Allies.
Almost every country in the world participated in World War II. Most were neutral at the beginning, but only a relative few nations remained neutral to the end. The Second World War pitted two alliances against each other, the Axis powers and the Allied powers. It is generally estimated that a total of 74 million people died, with the lowest estimate being 40 million dead and the highest estimate being 90 million dead. The leading Axis powers were Nazi Germany, the Empire of Japan and the Kingdom of Italy; while the British Empire, the United States, the Soviet Union and China were the "Big Four" Allied powers.
The Reorganized National Government of the Republic of China was a puppet state of the Empire of Japan in eastern China. It existed alongside the Nationalist government of the Republic of China under Chiang Kai-shek, which was fighting Japan along with the other Allies of World War II. The country functioned as a dictatorship under Wang Jingwei, formerly a high-ranking official of the Nationalist Kuomintang (KMT). The region it administered was initially seized by Japan during the late 1930s at the beginning of the Second Sino-Japanese War.
The Allies, formally referred to as the United Nations from 1942, were an international military coalition formed during World War II (1939–1945) to oppose the Axis powers. Its principal members by the end of 1941 were the "Big Four" – United Kingdom, United States, Soviet Union, and China.
The Axis leaders of World War II were important political and military figures during World War II. The Axis was established with the signing of the Tripartite Pact in 1940 and pursued a strongly militarist and nationalist ideology; with a policy of anti-communism. During the early phase of the war, puppet governments were established in their occupied nations. When the war ended, many of them faced trial for war crimes. The chief leaders were Adolf Hitler of Nazi Germany, Benito Mussolini of Fascist Italy, and Hirohito of Imperial Japan. Unlike what happened with the Allies, there was never a joint meeting of the main Axis heads of government, although Mussolini and Hitler met on a regular basis.
The neutral powers were countries that remained neutral during World War II. Some of these countries had large colonies abroad or had great economic power. Spain had just been through its civil war, which ended on 1 April 1939 —a war that involved several countries that subsequently participated in World War II.
Foreign relations of the Axis powers includes states which were not officially members of the Axis but had relations with one or more Axis members.
During World War II, the Soviet Union occupied and annexed several countries effectively handed over by Nazi Germany in the secret Molotov–Ribbentrop Pact of 1939. These included the eastern regions of Poland, as well as Latvia, Estonia, Lithuania, part of eastern Finland and eastern Romania. Apart from the Molotov–Ribbentrop Pact and post-war division of Germany, the USSR also occupied and annexed Carpathian Ruthenia from Czechoslovakia in 1945.
The Russian Soviet Federative Socialist Republic, previously known as the Russian Soviet Republic and the Russian Socialist Federative Soviet Republic, as well as being unofficially referred to as Soviet Russia, the Russian Federation, or simply Russia, was an independent federal socialist state from 1917 to 1922, and afterwards the largest and most populous constituent republic of the Soviet Union (USSR) from 1922 to 1991, until becoming a sovereign part of the Soviet Union with priority of Russian laws over Union-level legislation in 1990 and 1991, the last two years of the existence of the USSR. The Russian SFSR was composed of sixteen smaller constituent units of autonomous republics, five autonomous oblasts, ten autonomous okrugs, six krais and forty oblasts. Russians formed the largest ethnic group. The capital of the Russian SFSR and the USSR as a whole was Moscow and the other major urban centers included Leningrad, Stalingrad, Novosibirsk, Sverdlovsk, Gorky and Kuybyshev. It was the first socialist state in the world.
The diplomatic history of World War II includes the major foreign policies and interactions inside the opposing coalitions, the Allies of World War II and the Axis powers, between 1939 and 1945.
The Spanish question was the set of geopolitical and diplomatic circumstances that marked the relationship between Spain and the United Nations between 1945 and 1955, centred on the UN's refusal to admit Spain to the organization due to Francoist Spain's sympathy for the Axis powers, defeated in World War II.
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