The world has seen dozens of countries vanish in a century. Here are the main ones, by era, with what they became.
Disappeared in the 1990s-2000s
USSR (1922-1991). Collapsed December 25, 1991. 15 independent republics: Russia, Ukraine, Belarus, Kazakhstan, Uzbekistan, Turkmenistan, Tajikistan, Kyrgyzstan, Georgia, Armenia, Azerbaijan, Lithuania, Latvia, Estonia, Moldova.
Yugoslavia (1945-1992, then 2003). Six countries emerged: Slovenia, Croatia, Bosnia-Herzegovina, North Macedonia, Serbia, Montenegro. Later, Kosovo separated from Serbia.
Czechoslovakia (1918-1993). “Velvet divorce” without war. Czech Republic and Slovakia.
East Germany (GDR, 1949-1990). Reunified with West Germany on October 3, 1990 after the fall of the Berlin Wall.
Countries vanished in the 20th century
Austro-Hungarian Empire (1867-1918). Fragmented into Austria, Hungary, Czechoslovakia (then Czech Republic and Slovakia), Yugoslavia (then 6 countries), parts annexed to Poland, Romania, Italy.
Ottoman Empire (1299-1922). Became Turkey, and all Middle Eastern countries (Syria, Lebanon, Jordan, Iraq, Arabian Peninsula, etc.) emerged from its dismantling.
Tibet (until 1950). Annexed by China.
Sikkim (until 1975). Annexed by India.
Nazi Germany (1933-1945). Collapsed at the end of World War II.
Countries vanished in the 19th century
Napoleonic Empire (1804-1815). Collapsed after Waterloo.
Kingdom of the Two Sicilies (1816-1860). Integrated into unified Italy.
German Confederation (1815-1866). Became German Empire then modern Germany.
Papal States (756-1870). Reduced to the Vatican after Italian unification.
Older vanished countries
Western Roman Empire (476). Became a patchwork of barbarian kingdoms then modern Europe.
Byzantine Empire (until 1453). Became the Ottoman Empire.
Sumer, Akkad, Babylon, Assyria. Successive Mesopotamian empires that became modern Iraq.
Ancient Egypt, Carthage, Hellenistic Kingdoms. All absorbed by Rome then by Islam.
Special cases
Hong Kong case. British colony from 1842 to 1997. Today special administrative region of China.
Macao case. Portuguese colony until 1999, today Chinese.
Crimea case. Annexed by Russia in 2014, situation contested internationally.
Taiwan case. Officially “Republic of China,” exists de facto since 1949. Recognized by only 12 states.
Countries that could disappear
Tuvalu, Kiribati, Maldives. Threatened by sea level rise.
Countries in civil war. Yemen, Syria, Libya: the question of their unity remains open.
South Sudan case. Independent in 2011 after splitting from Sudan. But in civil war.
Why a country disappears
Three reasons.
Political collapse. USSR, Yugoslavia, Czechoslovakia after the fall of communism.
Annexation. Tibet, Sikkim, Crimea.
Unification. GDR into West Germany, Kingdom of the Two Sicilies into Italy.
Method to remember
Three techniques.
Tie the disappearance to an event. USSR = 1991. Yugoslavia = Balkans war 1992-2001. GDR = fall of the wall 1989.
Know the “children” that emerged from each vanished country. USSR → 15. Yugoslavia → 7 with Kosovo.
Test knowledge. SAPIRO offers quizzes on world geography and history, with contextualized explanations. Worth reading: world history timeline.