Which country disappeared most recently? If you answered the USSR, you are fifteen years off: it is Serbia and Montenegro, dissolved in 2006. This quiz offers 20 questions on states wiped off the map, in four difficulty levels. Count one point per correct answer, the scoring table is at the bottom. To revise before you start, our article on countries that no longer exist covers the topic.
Level 1: warm-up
1. Which huge country dissolved on December 26, 1991, leaving fifteen independent states?
The USSR. Russia is its continuator state, and the fourteen other republics, from the Baltics to Kazakhstan, became independent.
2. Which Balkan country, long led by Tito, broke apart in the 1990s?
Yugoslavia. Its breakup produced seven current states, from Slovenia to Kosovo.
3. Which Central European country split in two on January 1, 1993, without a single shot?
Czechoslovakia. The “Velvet Divorce” created Czechia and Slovakia.
4. Which German state disappeared on October 3, 1990?
The GDR (East Germany), absorbed by the Federal Republic at reunification.
5. Which empire, called “the sick man of Europe”, was abolished in 1922?
The Ottoman Empire. Modern Turkey was born the following year under Mustafa Kemal.
Level 2: getting harder
6. Which Central European dual monarchy was dismantled in 1918?
Austria-Hungary. Its dissolution redrew the entire map of Central Europe.
7. Which kingdom, cradle of German unification, was formally abolished by the Allies in 1947?
Prussia. The Nazis had already hollowed out the state, but its formal abolition came after the war.
8. Which great country dreamed up by Simón Bolívar fell apart in 1831?
Gran Colombia. It produced Colombia, Venezuela and Ecuador, and later Panama.
9. Which maritime republic lasted 1,100 years before Napoleon abolished it in 1797?
The Republic of Venice, founded by tradition in 697.
10. Which two countries reunified in May 1990, a few months before the two Germanies?
The two Yemens. North Yemen and South Yemen merged into a single republic.
Level 3: for connoisseurs
11. Which Southeast Asian country disappeared in 1975, at the fall of Saigon?
South Vietnam, reunified with the North the following year.
12. Which two African states merged in 1964 to form Tanzania?
Tanganyika and Zanzibar. The new country’s name is a contraction of the two.
13. Which Himalayan kingdom was absorbed into India in 1975?
Sikkim, which became the 22nd Indian state after a referendum.
14. Which Pacific monarchy was overthrown in 1893 before annexation by the United States?
The Kingdom of Hawaii. Queen Liliuokalani was its last sovereign.
15. Which British dominion voted to join Canada in 1949?
Newfoundland, de facto independent between the wars, which became the tenth Canadian province.
Level 4: experts only
16. Which republic proclaimed in 1895 lived only five months before Japanese occupation?
The Republic of Formosa, on the island of Taiwan.
17. Which tiny neutral territory, between Belgium and Prussia, existed from 1816 to 1920?
Neutral Moresnet, 3.5 km², born of a disagreement over a zinc mine and assigned to Belgium by the Treaty of Versailles.
18. Which Central Asian republic, independent from 1921 to 1944, was absorbed by the USSR?
Tannu Tuva, today the Tuva republic within Russia.
19. Which North American republic existed for nine years before joining the United States in 1845?
The Republic of Texas, independent from Mexico since 1836.
20. Which kingdom of southern Italy disappeared in 1861 during Italian unification?
The Kingdom of the Two Sicilies, whose capital was Naples.
Your score
| Score | Verdict |
|---|---|
| 0-5 | The topic is new to you, and that is good news: everything remains to be discovered |
| 6-10 | Solid general knowledge, the 20th century is covered |
| 11-15 | You know countries most atlases have forgotten |
| 16-20 | Archive-cartographer level |
To go further: the flags of disappeared countries extend the quiz in pictures, the countries that changed their names cover the false disappearances, and the newest countries in the world tell the other side of the story, the births.
Frequently asked questions
What is the most recent country to disappear?
Serbia and Montenegro, dissolved in June 2006 when Montenegro voted for independence. Each of the two members became a separate state.
How many countries disappeared in the 20th century?
Several dozen, depending on how you count: the dissolutions of the USSR, Yugoslavia and Czechoslovakia alone erased three states and created twenty-two.
Can a disappeared country come back?
Yes, it has happened. Poland, wiped off the map from 1795 to 1918, and the Baltic states, annexed by the USSR from 1940 to 1991, regained their independence after decades of erasure.
What is the difference between a disappeared country and a renamed one?
A disappeared country ceases to exist as a state: the USSR, Yugoslavia. A renamed country keeps its state and changes its label: Siam becoming Thailand, or Burma becoming Myanmar.
