The marked territories on this global map from The World Factbook sovereign states with full international recognition (brackets denote the country of a marked territory that is not a sovereign state). Some territories are countries in their own right but are not recognized as such (e.g. Taiwan ), some few marked territories are disputed about which country they belong to (e.g. Kashmir ) or if they are countries in their own right (e.g. Western Sahara (territory) or the state known by the same name ), while one UN General Assembly non-member observer state , Palestine , is not labeled due to non-recognition by the United States . A country world , such as a state , nation , or other political entity . When referring to a specific polity, the term "country" may refer to a sovereign state , state with limited recognition , constituent country , or dependent territory . Most sovereign states, but not all countries, are members of the United Nations . There is no universal agreement on the number of "countries" in the world, since several states have disputed sovereignty status or limited recognition, and a number of non-sovereign entities are commonly considered countries.
The definition and usage of the word "country" are flexible and have changed over time. The Economist
Areas much smaller than a political entity may be referred to as a "country", such as the West Country in England, "big sky country" (used in various contexts of the American West ), "coal country" (used to describe coal-mining regions ), or simply "the country" (used to describe a rural area ). The term "country" is also used as a qualifier descriptively, such as country music or country living . (Full article...
Entries here consist of Good and Featured articles, which meet a core set of high editorial standards. Switzerland Swiss Confederation , is a landlocked country located in west-central Europe . It is bordered by Italy to the south, France to the west, Germany to the north, and Austria and Liechtenstein to the east. Switzerland is geographically divided among the Swiss Plateau , the Alps and the Jura ; the Alps occupy the greater part of the territory, whereas most of the country's 9 million people are concentrated on the plateau, which hosts its largest cities and economic centres, including Zurich , Geneva , and Lausanne .
Switzerland is a federal republic composed of 26 cantons , with federal authorities based in Bern . It has four main linguistic and cultural regions: German, French, Italian and Romansh . Although most Swiss are German-speaking, national identity is fairly cohesive, being rooted in a common historical background, shared values such as federalism and direct democracy , and Alpine symbolism. Swiss identity transcends language, ethnicity, and religion, leading to Switzerland being described as a Willensnation nation state . (Full article...
An ethnicity ethnic group is a group of people that perceives themselves to be different from out-groups based on shared attributes. These attributes include having a common language , culture , common sets of ancestry , traditions , society , religion , history, or social treatment. Ethnicities are also characterized by long-term endogamy and may have a narrow or broad spectrum of genetic ancestry, with some groups having mixed genetic ancestry.The term ethnicity is sometimes used interchangeably with the term nation , particularly in cases of ethnic nationalism . It is also used interchangeably with race .
By way of assimilation , acculturation , amalgamation , language shift , intermarriage , adoption , and religious conversion , individuals or groups may over time shift from one ethnic group to another. Ethnic groups may be divided into subgroups or tribes , which over time may become separate ethnic groups themselves due to endogamy or physical isolation from the parent group. Conversely, formerly separate ethnicities can merge to form a panethnicity and may eventually merge into one single ethnicity . Whether through division or amalgamation, the formation of a separate ethnic identity is referred to as ethnogenesis . (Full article...
The following are images from various country-related articles on Wikipedia.
Remaining countries not listed in the Recognized articles section at left are displayed here.
Serbia Republic of Serbia , is a landlocked country in Southeast and Central Europe . Located in the Balkans , it borders Hungary to the north, Romania to the northeast, Bulgaria to the southeast, North Macedonia to the south, Croatia and Bosnia and Herzegovina to the west, and Montenegro to the southwest. Serbia claims a border with Albania through the disputed territory of Kosovo . Serbia has about 6.6 million inhabitants, excluding Kosovo. Its capital Belgrade is also the largest city .
Continuously inhabited since the Paleolithic Age, the territory of modern-day Serbia faced Slavic migrations in the 6th century. Several regional states were founded in the early Middle Ages and were at times recognised as tributaries to the Byzantine , Frankish and Hungarian kingdoms. The Serbian Kingdom obtained recognition by the Holy See and Constantinople in 1217, reaching its territorial apex in 1346 as the Serbian Empire . By the mid-16th century, the Ottomans annexed the entirety of modern-day Serbia; their rule was at times interrupted by the Habsburg Empire , which began expanding towards Central Serbia from the end of the 17th century while maintaining a foothold in Vojvodina . In the early 19th century, the Serbian Revolution established the nation-state as the region's first constitutional monarchy , which subsequently expanded its territory . (Full article...
Top 10 WikiProject Countries Popular articles of the month
Image 1 The
United States of America (
USA ), also known as the
United States (
U.S. ) or
America , is a country located primarily in
North America . It is a
federal republic of 50
states and
the federal capital district of
Washington, D.C. The 48
contiguous states border
Canada to the north and
Mexico to the south, with the state of
Alaska forming a
semi-exclave in the northwest and the state of
Hawaii spanning an
archipelago in
Oceania .
Indian country includes 574
federally recognized tribes and 326
Indian reservations with
tribal sovereignty rights . The U.S. asserts sovereignty over five
major island territories and
various uninhabited islands in the
Pacific Ocean and the
Caribbean . It is an ecologically
megadiverse country , with the world's
third-largest land area and
third-largest population , exceeding 340 million.
Paleo-Indians migrated to North America across the
Bering land bridge more than 12,000 years ago, and formed
various cultures .
Spanish Florida , the first
European colony in what is now the continental U.S., was established in 1513, and later
British colonization led to the first settlement of the
Thirteen Colonies in
Virginia in 1607. Intensive agriculture in the rapidly expanding
Southern Colonies encouraged the
enslavement of Africans . Clashes with the British Crown over taxation and political representation sparked the
American Revolution , with the
Second Continental Congress formally declaring independence on July 4, 1776. The U.S. emerged victorious from the
American Revolutionary War of 1775 to 1783 and
expanded westward across North America, dispossessing
Native Americans during the
Indian Wars . The
Louisiana Purchase in 1803 and the end of the
Mexican–American War in 1848 saw significant territorial acquisition. As more states were admitted, a North–South division over slavery led to the secession of the
Confederate States of America , which fought
the Union in the
American Civil War of 1861 to 1865. With the Union's victory, slavery was abolished nationally. In the late 19th and early 20th centuries, the U.S. established itself as a
great power following the
Spanish–American War and
World War I . After
Japan 's
attack on Pearl Harbor in 1941, the U.S. entered
World War II ; its aftermath left the U.S. and the
Soviet Union as the world's
superpowers . During the
Cold War , both countries struggled for
ideological dominance and
international influence . The Soviet Union's collapse and the end of the
Cold War in 1991 left the U.S. as the world's sole superpower.
The
U.S. national government , as established by the
Constitution in 1789, is a
presidential republic and
liberal democracy with a separation of powers into three branches:
legislative ,
executive , and
judicial . The
U.S. Congress , the national legislature, is composed of the
House of Representatives (a lower house based on population) and the
Senate (an upper house based on equal representation for each state). The
U.S. federal system provides substantial autonomy to the 50 states, each with its own constitution and laws. The American political tradition is rooted in
Enlightenment ideals of liberty, equality, individual rights, and the rule of law. Since the 1850s, the
Democratic and
Republican parties have dominated
American politics . (
Full article... )
Image 2 India , officially the
Republic of India , is a country in
South Asia . It is the
seventh-largest country by area ; the
most populous country from June 2023 onwards; and since its independence in 1947, the world's most populous democracy. Bounded by the
Indian Ocean on the south, the
Arabian Sea on the southwest, and the
Bay of Bengal on the southeast, it shares land borders with
Pakistan to the west;
China ,
Nepal , and
Bhutan to the north; and
Bangladesh and
Myanmar to the east. In the Indian Ocean, India is near
Sri Lanka and the
Maldives ; its
Andaman and Nicobar Islands share a maritime border with
Thailand , Myanmar, and
Indonesia .
Modern humans arrived on the
Indian subcontinent from Africa no later than 55,000 years ago. Their long occupation, predominantly in isolation as hunter-gatherers, has made the region highly diverse, second only to Africa in human
genetic diversity .
Settled life emerged on the subcontinent in the western margins of the
Indus river basin 9,000 years ago, evolving gradually into the
Indus Valley Civilisation of the third millennium BCE. By 1200
BCE , an
archaic form of
Sanskrit , an
Indo-European language , had
diffused into India from the northwest.
Its hymns recorded the dawning of
Hinduism in India. India's pre-existing
Dravidian languages were supplanted in the northern regions. By 400
BCE ,
caste had emerged within Hinduism, and
Buddhism and
Jainism had arisen, proclaiming
social orders unlinked to heredity. Early political consolidations gave rise to the loose-knit
Maurya and
Gupta Empires . Widespread creativity suffused this era, but the status of women declined, and
untouchability became an organized belief. In
South India , the
Middle kingdoms exported Dravidian language scripts and religious cultures to the kingdoms of
Southeast Asia .
In the early medieval era,
Christianity ,
Islam ,
Judaism , and
Zoroastrianism became established on India's southern and western coasts. Muslim armies from
Central Asia intermittently overran India's northern plains. The resulting
Delhi Sultanate drew northern India into the cosmopolitan
networks of medieval Islam . In south India, the
Vijayanagara Empire created a long-lasting composite Hindu culture. In the
Punjab ,
Sikhism emerged, rejecting institutionalised religion. The
Mughal Empire , in 1526, ushered in two centuries of relative peace, leaving a legacy of
luminous architecture . Gradually expanding
rule of the British East India Company turned India into a colonial economy but consolidated its
sovereignty .
British Crown rule began in 1858. The rights promised to Indians were granted slowly, but
technological changes were introduced, and modern ideas of education and public life took root. A pioneering and influential
nationalist movement , noted for nonviolent resistance, became the major factor in ending British rule. In 1947, the British Indian Empire was
partitioned into two independent
dominions , a Hindu-majority
dominion of India and a Muslim-majority
dominion of Pakistan . A large-scale loss of life and an unprecedented migration accompanied the partition. (
Full article... )
Image 3 Vatican City , officially the
Vatican City State (
Italian :
Stato della Città del Vaticano ;
Latin :
Status Civitatis Vaticanae ), is a
landlocked sovereign state and
city-state . It is surrounded by
Rome , the
capital city of
Italy , which it was historically a part of. It became independent from the
Kingdom of Italy in 1929 with the
Lateran Treaty . It is governed by the
Holy See , itself a
sovereign entity under international law , which maintains
its temporal power , governance, diplomacy, and spiritual independence.
Vatican is also used as a
metonym for the
pope , the Holy See, and the
Roman Curia .
With an area of 49 hectares (121 acres) and a population of about 882 in 2024, it is the
smallest sovereign state in the world both by area and
by population . It is among the
least populated capitals in the world. As governed by the Holy See, Vatican City State is an
ecclesiastical or
sacerdotal -
monarchical state ruled by the pope, who is the
bishop of Rome and head of the
Catholic Church . The highest state functionaries are all
Catholic clergy of various origins. After the
Avignon Papacy (1309– 1377) the popes have mainly resided at the
Apostolic Palace within what is now Vatican City, although at times residing instead in the
Quirinal Palace in Rome or elsewhere.
The Holy See dates to
early Christianity and is the principal
episcopal see of the Catholic Church, which in 2018 had about 1.329
billion baptized
Catholics in the world, in the
Latin Church and 23
Eastern Catholic Churches . The independent state of Vatican City came into existence in 1929 via the
Lateran Treaty between the Holy See and the Kingdom of Italy, which spoke of it as a new creation, not as a vestige of the much larger
Papal States (756–1870), which had previously encompassed much of
Central Italy . (
Full article... )
Image 5 The
United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland , commonly known as the
United Kingdom (
UK ) or
Britain , is a country in
Northwestern Europe , off the coast of
the continental mainland . It comprises
England ,
Scotland ,
Wales , and
Northern Ireland . The UK includes the island of
Great Britain , the north-eastern part of the island of
Ireland , and most of
the smaller islands within the
British Isles , covering 94,354 square miles (244,376 km
2 ). Northern Ireland shares
a land border with the
Republic of Ireland ; otherwise, the United Kingdom is surrounded by the
Atlantic Ocean , the
North Sea , the
English Channel , the
Celtic Sea , and the
Irish Sea . The UK maintains sovereignty over the
British Overseas Territories , which are located across various oceans and seas globally. The United Kingdom had an estimated population of over 68.2 million people in 2023. The capital and largest city of both England and the United Kingdom is
London . The cities of
Edinburgh ,
Cardiff , and
Belfast are the national capitals of Scotland, Wales, and Northern Ireland, respectively.
The UK has been inhabited continuously since the
Neolithic . In AD 43, the
Roman conquest of Britain began; the
Roman departure was followed by
Anglo-Saxon settlement . In 1066,
the Normans conquered England . With the end of the
Wars of the Roses , the English state stabilised and began to grow in power, resulting by the 16th century in the
annexation of Wales , and the establishment of the
British Empire . Over the course of the 17th century, the role of the
British monarchy was reduced, particularly as a result of the
English Civil War . In 1707, the
Kingdom of England and the
Kingdom of Scotland united under the
Treaty of Union to create the
Kingdom of Great Britain . In the
Georgian era , the office of
prime minister became established. The
Acts of Union 1800 incorporated the
Kingdom of Ireland to create the
United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland in 1801. Most of Ireland
seceded from the UK in 1922 as the
Irish Free State , and the
Royal and Parliamentary Titles Act 1927 created the present United Kingdom.
The UK
became the first industrialised country and was the world's
foremost power for the majority of the 19th and early 20th centuries, particularly during the
Pax Britannica between 1815 and 1914. The British Empire was the leading
economic power for most of the 19th century, a position supported by
its agricultural prosperity , its role as a dominant
trading nation , a massive industrial capacity,
significant technological achievements , and the rise of
19th-century London as the world's principal financial centre. At its height in the 1920s, the British Empire encompassed almost a quarter of the world's landmass and population, and was the
largest empire in history . However,
its involvement in the First World War and
the Second World War damaged
Britain's economic power , and a global wave of
decolonisation led to the independence of most British colonies. (
Full article... )
Image 6 Indonesia , officially the
Republic of Indonesia , is a country in
Southeast Asia and
Oceania , between the
Indian and
Pacific oceans. Comprising over
17,000 islands , including
Sumatra ,
Java ,
Sulawesi , and parts of
Borneo and
New Guinea , Indonesia is the world's largest
archipelagic state and the
14th-largest country by area , at 1,904,569 square kilometres (735,358 square miles). With over 280 million people, Indonesia is the world's
fourth-most-populous country and the most populous
Muslim-majority country . Java, the world's
most populous island , is home to more than half of the country's population.
Indonesia operates as a
presidential republic with an elected
legislature and consists of
38 provinces , nine of which have
special autonomous status .
Jakarta , the largest city, is the world's
second-most-populous urban area . Indonesia shares
land borders with
Papua New Guinea ,
Timor-Leste , and the
eastern part of Malaysia , as well as
maritime borders with
Singapore ,
Peninsular Malaysia ,
Vietnam ,
Thailand , the
Philippines ,
Australia ,
Palau , and
India . Despite its large population and densely populated regions, Indonesia has vast areas of wilderness that support one of the
world's highest levels of biodiversity .
The
Indonesian archipelago has been a valuable region for
trade since at least the seventh century, when Sumatra's
Srivijaya and later Java's
Majapahit kingdoms engaged in
commerce with entities from
mainland China and the
Indian subcontinent . Over the centuries, local rulers assimilated foreign influences, leading to the flourishing of
Hindu and
Buddhist kingdoms.
Sunni traders and
Sufi scholars later brought
Islam , and European powers fought one another to monopolise trade in the Spice Islands of
Maluku during the
Age of Discovery . Following three and a half centuries of
Dutch colonialism , Indonesia secured
its independence after
World War II and has since faced challenges such as separatism, corruption, and natural disasters, alongside
democratisation and rapid economic growth. (
Full article... )
Image 7 China , officially the
People's Republic of China (
PRC ), is a country in
East Asia . With
a population exceeding 1.4 billion, it is the
second-most populous country after
India , representing 17.4% of the world population. China spans the equivalent of five time zones and
borders fourteen countries by land across an area of nearly 9.6 million square kilometers (3,700,000 sq mi), making it the
third-largest country by land area . The country is divided into 33
province-level divisions : 22
provinces , 5
autonomous regions , 4
municipalities , and 2 semi-autonomous
special administrative regions .
Beijing is the country's capital, while
Shanghai is
its most populous city by urban area and largest
financial center .
China is considered one of the six
cradles of civilization , with the first human inhabitants in the region arriving during the
Paleolithic . By the late 2nd millennium BCE, the earliest
dynastic states had emerged in the
Yellow River basin. The 8th–3rd centuries BCE saw a breakdown in the authority of the
Zhou dynasty , accompanied by the emergence of administrative and military techniques,
literature ,
philosophy , and
historiography . In 221 BCE, China was unified under
an emperor , ushering in more than two millennia of imperial dynasties including the
Qin ,
Han ,
Tang ,
Yuan ,
Ming , and
Qing . With the
invention of gunpowder and
paper , the establishment of the
Silk Road , and the building of the
Great Wall ,
Chinese culture flourished and has
heavily influenced both its neighbors and lands further afield. However, China began to cede
parts of the country in the late 19th century to various European powers by a series of
unequal treaties .
After decades of Qing China on the decline, the
1911 Revolution overthrew the Qing dynasty and the monarchy and the
Republic of China (ROC) was established the following year. The country under the nascent
Beiyang government was unstable and ultimately fragmented during the
Warlord Era , which was ended upon the
Northern Expedition conducted by the
Kuomintang (KMT) to reunify the country. The
Chinese Civil War began in 1927, when KMT forces
purged members of the rival
Chinese Communist Party (CCP), who proceeded to engage in sporadic fighting against the KMT-led
Nationalist government . Following the country's invasion by the
Empire of Japan in 1937, the CCP and KMT formed the
Second United Front to fight the Japanese. The
Second Sino-Japanese War eventually ended in a Chinese victory; however, the CCP and the KMT resumed their civil war as soon as the war ended. In 1949, the resurgent Communists established control over most of the country,
proclaiming the People's Republic of China and forcing the
Nationalist government to retreat to the
island of Taiwan . The country was split, with
both sides claiming to be the
sole legitimate government of China . Following the implementation of
land reforms , further attempts by the PRC to realize
communism failed: the
Great Leap Forward was largely responsible for the
Great Chinese Famine that ended with millions of Chinese people having died, and the subsequent
Cultural Revolution was a period of social turmoil and persecution characterized by
Maoist populism. Following the
Sino-Soviet split , the
Shanghai Communiqué in 1972 would precipitate the normalization of
relations with the United States .
Economic reforms that began in 1978 moved the country away from a socialist
planned economy towards
an increasingly capitalist market economy , spurring significant economic growth. A movement for increased democracy and liberalization stalled after the
Tiananmen Square protests and massacre in 1989. (
Full article... )
Image 8 Canada is a country in
North America . Its
ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, making it the world's
second-largest country by total area , with the
world's longest coastline . Its
border with the United States is the world's longest international land border. The country is characterized by a wide range of both
meteorologic and
geological regions. With
a population of over 41
million people, it has widely varying population densities, with the majority residing in
urban areas and large areas of the country being sparsely populated. Canada's capital is
Ottawa and
its three largest metropolitan areas are
Toronto ,
Montreal , and
Vancouver .
Indigenous peoples have continuously inhabited what is now Canada for thousands of years. Beginning in the 16th century,
British and
French expeditions explored and later settled along the Atlantic coast. As a consequence of
various armed conflicts , France
ceded nearly all of
its colonies in North America in 1763. In 1867, with the union of three
British North American colonies through
Confederation , Canada was formed as a
federal dominion of four provinces. This began an
accretion of provinces and territories resulting in the
displacement of Indigenous populations , and a process of increasing autonomy from the United Kingdom. This increased sovereignty was highlighted by the
Statute of Westminster, 1931 , and culminated in the
Canada Act 1982 , which severed the vestiges of legal dependence on the
Parliament of the United Kingdom .
Canada is a
parliamentary democracy and a
constitutional monarchy in the
Westminster tradition . The country's
head of government is the
prime minister , who holds office by virtue of their ability to
command the confidence of the elected
House of Commons and is appointed by the
governor general , representing the
monarch of Canada , the ceremonial
head of state . The country is a
Commonwealth realm and is
officially bilingual (English and French) in the federal jurisdiction. It is
very highly ranked in international measurements of government transparency, quality of life, economic competitiveness, innovation, education and human rights. It is one of the world's most
ethnically diverse and
multicultural nations, the product of
large-scale immigration . Canada's long and complex
relationship with the United States has had a significant impact on
its history ,
economy , and
culture . (
Full article... )
Image 9 Russia , or the
Russian Federation , is a country spanning
Eastern Europe and
North Asia . It is the
largest country in the world , and extends across
eleven time zones , sharing
land borders with fourteen countries . Russia is the
most populous country in Europe and the
ninth-most populous country in the world . It is a
highly urbanised country , with sixteen of its urban areas having more than 1 million inhabitants.
Moscow , the
most populous metropolitan area in Europe , is the capital and
largest city of Russia , while
Saint Petersburg is its second-largest city and
cultural centre .
Human settlement on the territory of modern Russia dates back to the
Lower Paleolithic . The
East Slavs emerged as a recognised group in Europe between the 3rd and 8th centuries CE. The first East Slavic state,
Kievan Rus' , arose in the 9th century, and in 988, it adopted
Orthodox Christianity from the
Byzantine Empire . Kievan Rus' ultimately disintegrated; the
Grand Duchy of Moscow led the unification of Russian lands, leading to the proclamation of the
Tsardom of Russia in 1547. By the early 18th century, Russia had vastly expanded through conquest, annexation, and the efforts of
Russian explorers , developing into the
Russian Empire , which remains the
third-largest empire in history . However, with the
Russian Revolution in 1917, Russia's monarchic rule
was abolished and eventually replaced by the
Russian SFSR —the world's first constitutionally
socialist state . Following the
Russian Civil War , the Russian SFSR established the
Soviet Union with three other
Soviet republics , within which it was the largest and principal constituent. The Soviet Union underwent
rapid industrialisation in the 1930s , amidst the
deaths of millions under
Joseph Stalin 's rule, and later played a decisive role for the
Allies in World War II by leading large-scale efforts on the
Eastern Front . With the onset of the
Cold War , it competed with the
United States for
ideological dominance and
international influence . The Soviet era of the 20th century saw some of the
most significant Russian technological achievements , including the
first human-made satellite and the
first human expedition into outer space .
In 1991, the Russian SFSR emerged from the
dissolution of the Soviet Union as the Russian Federation.
A new constitution was adopted, which established a
federal semi-presidential system . Since the turn of the century, Russia's political system has been dominated by
Vladimir Putin ,
under whom the country has experienced
democratic backsliding and become an
authoritarian dictatorship .
Russia has been militarily involved in a number of
conflicts in former Soviet states and other countries , including
its war with Georgia in 2008 and
its war with Ukraine since 2014. The latter has involved the internationally unrecognised
annexations of Ukrainian territory, including
Crimea in 2014 and
four other regions in 2022 , during
an ongoing invasion . (
Full article... )
Image 10 Pakistan , officially the
Islamic Republic of Pakistan , is a country in
South Asia . It is the
fifth-most populous country , with a population of over 241.5 million, having the
second-largest Muslim population as of 2023.
Islamabad is the nation's capital, while
Karachi is
its largest city and
financial centre . Pakistan is the
33rd-largest country by area . Bounded by the
Arabian Sea on the south, the
Gulf of Oman on the southwest, and the
Sir Creek on the southeast, it shares land borders with
India to the east;
Afghanistan to the west;
Iran to the southwest; and
China to the northeast. It shares a maritime border with
Oman in the Gulf of Oman, and is separated from
Tajikistan in the northwest by Afghanistan's narrow
Wakhan Corridor .
Pakistan is the site of
several ancient cultures , including the 8,500-year-old
Neolithic site of
Mehrgarh in
Balochistan , the
Indus Valley Civilisation of the
Bronze Age , and the ancient
Gandhara civilisation . The regions that compose the modern state of Pakistan were the realm of multiple empires and dynasties, including the
Achaemenid , the
Maurya , the
Kushan , the
Gupta ; the
Umayyad Caliphate in its southern regions, the
Hindu Shahis , the
Ghaznavids , the
Delhi Sultanate , the
Samma , the
Shah Miris , the
Mughals , and most recently, the
British Raj from 1858 to 1947.
Spurred by the
Pakistan Movement , which sought a homeland for the Muslims of
British India , and election victories in 1946 by the
All-India Muslim League , Pakistan gained independence in 1947 after the
Partition of the British Indian Empire , which awarded separate statehood to its Muslim-majority regions and was accompanied by an unparalleled mass migration and loss of life. Initially a
Dominion of the
British Commonwealth , Pakistan officially drafted
its constitution in 1956, and emerged as a declared
Islamic republic . In 1971, the exclave of
East Pakistan seceded as the new country of
Bangladesh after a
nine-month-long civil war . In the following four decades, Pakistan has been ruled by governments that alternated between civilian and military, democratic and authoritarian, relatively
secular and Islamist. (
Full article... )
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