List of national independence days

An Independence Day is an annual event commemorating the anniversary of a nation's independence or statehood, usually after ceasing to be a group or part of another nation or state; more rarely after the end of a military occupation. Most countries observe their respective independence days as a national holiday.

List

The following is a partial list of independence days of countries around the world:

Country	Date of holiday	Year celebrated	Event celebrated	Name of holiday
Abkhazia	July 4	1993	End of the 1992–1993 War in Abkhazia. De facto independence from Georgia in 1993. Officially declared as such in 1999.[1] (Only partially recognized.)	Also known as "liberation day".
Afghanistan	August 19	1919	Independence from United Kingdom in 1919.	Afghan Independence Day
Albania	November 28	1912	Declared by Ismail Qemali in 1912 and signaled the end of five centuries of Ottoman rule.	Independence Day/Dita e Pavarësisë
Algeria	July 5	1962	Independence from France in 1962.
Angola	November 11	1975	Independence from Portugal in 1975.
Antigua and Barbuda	November 1	1981	Independence from the United Kingdom in 1981.
Argentina	July 9	1816	Independence declared from the Spanish Empire in 1816.
Armenia	May 28	1918	Declaration of independence from Russian Empire in 1918.
Armenia	September 21	1991	Independence from the Soviet Union in 1991.	National Day
Austria	October 26	1955	Restoration of sovereignty and signing of the Declaration of Neutrality in 1955.	National Day
Azerbaijan	May 28	1918	Independence from the Russian Empire in 1918 and declaration of the Republic.	Republic Day
Azerbaijan	October 18	1991	Independence re-declared from the Soviet Union in 1991.	Day of the State Independence of Azerbaijan
Bahamas	July 10	1973	Independence from the United Kingdom in 1973.
Bahrain	December 16	1971	Independence from the United Kingdom in 1971.	Bahrain Independence Day
Bangladesh	March 26	1971	Independence was declared from Pakistan and this led to a nine-month war ending on December 16, 1971.	Independence Day of Bangladesh
Barbados	November 30	1966	Independence from the United Kingdom in 1966.
Belarus	July 3	1944	The liberation of Minsk after several years of German occupation in 1944.	Independence Day of Belarus
Belgium	July 21	1831	Independence from the United Netherlands (Belgian revolution) on October 4, 1830. Leopold of Saxe-Coburg-Saalfeld took the oath as first King of the Belgians on July 21, 1831.	Belgian National Day
Belize	September 21	1981	Independence from the United Kingdom in 1981.	September Celebrations
Benin	August 1	1960	Independence from France in 1960.
Bolivia	August 6	1825	Independence from Spain in 1825.
Bosnia and Herzegovina	March 1	1992	Independence from the Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia in 1992.	Independence Day (Bosnia and Herzegovina)
Botswana	September 30	1966	Independence from the United Kingdom in 1966.
Brazil	September 7	1822	Independence from the United Kingdom of Portugal, Brazil and the Algarves on September 7, 1822. Recognized on August 29, 1825.	Independence Day (Brazil)
Brunei	January 1	1984	Independence from the United Kingdom in 1984. National Day celebrations are held on February 23.
Bulgaria	September 22	1908	Independence from the Ottoman Empire in 1908.
Burkina Faso	August 5	1960	Independence from France in 1960.
Myanmar	January 4	1948	Independence from the United Kingdom in 1948.	Independence Day (Myanmar)
Burundi	July 1	1962	Independence from Belgium in 1962.
Cambodia	November 9	1953	Independence from France in 1953.
Cameroon	January 1	1960	Independence from France and United Kingdom in 1960.
Canada	July 1	1867	Granted nominal independence from United Kingdom in 1867. However, as the current province of Newfoundland and Labrador was a former British dominion, it celebrates Discovery Day on June 24 and mourns on July 1 for their World War I war dead. See Memorial Day (Newfoundland and Labrador).	Canada Day
Cape Verde	July 5	1975	Independence from Portugal in 1975.
Central African Republic	August 13	1960	Independence from France in 1960.
Chad	August 11	1960	Independence from France in 1960.
Chile	February 12 and September 18	1810	Declared Independence from Spain on that date in 1810. Actually, Chileans celebrate the date of the first Government Junta, September 18. This date was not recognized as such until April 25, 1844.
Colombia	July 20 and August 7	1810 and 1819	Independence from Spain in 1810.
Comoros	July 6	1975	Independence from France in 1975.
Congo, Democratic Republic of the	June 30	1960	Independence from Belgium in 1960.
Congo, Republic of the	August 15	1960	Independence from France in 1960.
Costa Rica	September 15	1821	Independence from Spain in 1821.
Croatia	October 8	1991	Independence from SFR Yugoslavia in 1991.	Independence Day (Croatia)
Cuba	May 20	1902	Independence from Spain in 1902.
Cyprus	October 1	1960	Independence from the United Kingdom on August 16, 1960, but Cyprus Independence Day is commonly celebrated on October 1.
Czech Republic	October 28	1918	As Czechoslovakia, marking independence from Austria-Hungary on October 28, 1918.
Czech Republic	January 1	1993	As the Czech Republic after the split of Czechoslovakia in 1993.
Djibouti	June 27	1977	Independence from France in 1977.
Dominica	November 3	1978	Independence from the United Kingdom in 1978.
Dominican Republic	December 1	1821	Independence from Spain in 1821.
Dominican Republic	February 27	1844	Independence re-declared from Haiti in 1844, after a 22-year occupation.
East Timor	May 20	2002	Independence from Portugal in 2002 (recognition, East Timor was invaded by Indonesia from 1975 to 1999, officially it never ceased to be considered as administrated by Portugal).
Ecuador	August 10	1809	Proclaimed independence from Spain on August 10, 1809, but failed with the execution of all the conspirators of the movement on August 2, 1810.
Ecuador	May 24	1822	Independence finally occurred on May 24, 1822 at the Battle of Pichincha.
El Salvador	September 15	1821	Independence from Spain in 1821.
Equatorial Guinea	October 12	1968	Independence from Spain in 1968.
Eritrea	May 24	1993	Independence from Ethiopia in 1993.	Independence Day (Eritrea)
Estonia	February 24	1918	Independence from the Russian Empire in 1918.	Independence Day (Estonia)
Estonia	August 20	1991	Independence re-declared from the Soviet Union in 1991.
Fiji	October 10	1970	Independence from the United Kingdom in 1970.
Finland	December 6	1917	Independence from Russia in 1917. Recognized on January 4, 1918.	Independence Day (Finland)
Gabon	August 17	1960	Independence from France in 1960.
Gambia, The	February 18	1965	Independence from the United Kingdom in 1965.
Georgia	May 26	1918	Day of the proclamation of the Democratic Republic of Georgia in 1918.
Georgia	April 9	1991	Independence from the Soviet Union in 1991.
Ghana	March 6	1957	Independence from the United Kingdom in 1957.
Greece	March 25	1821	Declaration of independence from Ottoman Empire in 1821. Start of the Greek War of Independence.
Grenada	February 7	1974	Independence from the United Kingdom in 1974.	Independence Day (Grenada)
Guatemala	September 15	1821	Independence from Spain in 1821.
Guinea	October 2	1958	Independence from France in 1958.
Guinea-Bissau	September 24	1973	Declaration of independence from Portugal in 1973.
Guyana	May 26	1966	Independence from the United Kingdom in 1966.
Haiti	January 1	1804	Declaration of independence from France in 1804.
Honduras	September 15	1821	Independence from Spain in 1821.
Hungary	August 20	1000	Foundation of Christian Hungary and Hungary's first Christian King St. Stephen's Day.	National Day
Iceland	June 17	1944	Foundation of republic in 1944.
India	August 15	1947	Independence from the United Kingdom in 1947.	Independence Day (India)
Indonesia	August 17	1945	Declaration of Independence day (Hari Proklamasi Kemerdekaan R.I.) from the Netherlands on August 17, 1945. The Netherlands acknowledged Indonesian independence and sovereignty in 1949. The Dutch government formally acknowledged August 17, 1945 as the only true date of Indonesian Independence in 2008.[2]
Iraq	October 3	1932	Independence from the United Kingdom in 1932.
Ireland	April 24	1916	Proclamation of the Irish Republic commencing the Easter Rising on April 24, 1916. Independence from the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland.
Israel	Iyar 5 (On or between April 15 and May 15, depending on the Hebrew calendar).	5708 (1948)	Independence from the British Mandate for Palestine, which took place on May 14, 1948 (5 Iyar 5708 in the Hebrew calendar). Yom Ha'atzmaut is celebrated on the Tuesday, Wednesday or Thursday nearest to 5 Iyar, so it occurs between 3 and 6 Iyar each year; this means that the holiday can fall any time between and including April 15 and May 15, according to the Gregorian calendar.	Yom Ha'atzmaut
Ivory Coast	August 7	1960	Independence from France in 1960.
Jamaica	August 6	1962	Independence from the United Kingdom in 1962.
Jordan	May 25	1946	Independence from the United Kingdom in 1946.
Kazakhstan	December 16	1991	Independence from the Soviet Union in 1991.
Kenya	December 12	1963	Independence from the United Kingdom in 1963.	Jamhuri Day
Kiribati	July 12	1979	Independence from the United Kingdom in 1979.
Korea, North	August 15	1945	Founding of the Democratic People's Republic of Korea in 1948. Korean War 1950-1953.
Korea, South	August 15	1945	Independence from the Empire of Japan in 1945. The Provisional Government of the Republic of Korea was founded in 1919. Korean War 1950-1953.
Kosovo	February 17	2008	Independence from Serbia in 2008. (Only partially recognized)
Kuwait	February 25	1961	Independence from the United Kingdom in 1961.
Kyrgyzstan	August 31	1991	Independence from USSR in 1991.
Laos	October 22	1953	Independence from France on October 22, 1953.
Latvia	November 18	1918	Proclamation of independence on November 18, 1918. Latvia was part of Russian Empire prior to the WWI, but its territory had been ceded to German Empire in March of 1918	Proclamation Day of the Republic of Latvia
Latvia	May 4	1990	Restoration of independence from Soviet Union on May 4, 1990.
Lebanon	November 22	1943	Independence from France in 1943.
Lesotho	October 4	1966	Independence from the United Kingdom in 1966.
Liberia	July 26	1847	Independence from the American Colonization Society in 1847.
Libya	December 24	1951	Independence from Italy on 10 February 1947, released from British and French on December 24, 1951.
Lithuania	February 16	1918	Act of Independence of Lithuania: Independence from the Russian and German Empires in February 1918.
Lithuania	March 11	1990	Act of the Re-Establishment of the State of Lithuania: independence from the Soviet Union in March 1990.
Macedonia, Republic of	September 8	1991	Independence from Yugoslavia in 1991.	Den na nezavisnosta or Ден на независноста
Madagascar	June 26	1960	Independence from France in 1960.
Malawi	July 6	1964	Independence from the United Kingdom in 1964.
Malaysia	August 31	1957	Independence of the Federation of Malaya from the United Kingdom in 1957.	Hari Merdeka
Malaysia	September 16	1963	Formation of Malaysia from the Federation of Malaya, North Borneo, Sarawak and Singapore.	Hari Malaysia
Maldives	July 26	1965	Independence from the United Kingdom in 1965.
Mali	September 22	1960	Independence from France in 1960.
Malta	September 21	1964	Independence from the United Kingdom in 1964.	Independence Day
Mauritania	November 28	1960	Independence from the France in 1960.
Mauritius	March 12	1968	Independence from the United Kingdom in 1968.
Mexico	September 16	1810	Independence from Spain declared in 1810. Recognized on September 27, 1821.	Grito de Dolores
Moldova	August 27	1991	Declaration of Independence from the Soviet Union in 1991.	Independence Day
Mongolia	December 29[3]	1911	Independence from the Qing Dynasty in 1911.[4][5] However, the newly established Mongolian government was too weak to resist the occupation of the Republic of China in 1919 and later White Russia in early 1921. After ousting Roman von Ungern-Sternberg's forces, the new communist government was officially established on June 11, 1921.[6]
Montenegro	May 21	2006	Referendum on independence from Serbia and Montenegro in 2006.
Morocco	November 18	1955	Independence from France and Spain in 1956.	عيد الاستقلال Independence Day
Mozambique	June 25	1975	Independence from Portugal in 1975.
Namibia	March 21	1990	Independence from South African mandated in 1990.
Nauru	January 31	1968	Independence from Australia, New Zealand and the United Kingdom in 1968.
Nicaragua	September 15	1821	Independence from Spain in 1821.
Niger	August 3	1960	Independence from France in 1960.
Nigeria	October 1	1960	Independence from the United Kingdom in 1960.
Northern Cyprus	September 2	1983	Declaration of independence from the Republic of Cyprus in 1983. (Partially recognized)
Norway	May 17	1814	Constitution day/National day. Independence from Denmark in 1814, but in union with Sweden until June 1905 – when finally independent.
Pakistan	August 14	1947	Independence from the United Kingdom on 27 Ramadan ul Mubarik, August 14, 1947.	Youm-e-Azadi
Panama	November 28	1821	Independence from Spain in 1821.
Panama	November 3	1903	Panama was member of the "Gran Colombia" until 1903. The 1903 separation from Colombia is celebrated as an official holiday day on November 3.
Papua New Guinea	September 16	1975	Independence from Australia of the former Territory of Papua and New Guinea in 1975.
Paraguay	May 15	1811	Independence from Spain in 1811.[7]	Día de Independencia
Peru	July 28	1821	Independence from Spain in 1821.	Fiestas Patrias
Philippines	June 12	1898	Commemorates 1898 declaration by Emilio Aguinaldo during the Philippine Revolution against Spain. The Republic of the Philippines achieved self-rule from the United States on July 4, 1946, and celebrated July 4 as Independence Day until 1964.[8]	Araw ng Kalayaan or Araw ng Kasarinlan
Poland	November 11	1918	Restoration of Poland's independence in 1918 after 123 years of partitions by Russia, Prussia, and Austria.	Święto Niepodległości (Independence Day)
Portugal	December 1	1640	The country's original independence (from the Kingdom of León) was recognized on October 5, 1143. That day is a holiday in Portugal, but for a different reason. (Implantation of the Republic, or Republic Day. Event of 1910.) Note that none of these events are similar to today's declarations or recognition of independence as these are in fact the recognition of the rule of a king to the land. Portugal existed as a separate entity before 1143 and during the union with Spain between 1580 and 1640.	1640 restoration of Portuguese independence from Iberian Union with Spain.
Qatar	December 18	1971	Original independence from the United Kingdom on 7 September.	Qatar National Day
Rhodesia	November 11	1965	Unilateral Declaration of Independence from the United Kingdom in 1965.	Independence Day
Romania	May 10	1877	Romania's first celebration of its independence, on prince Carol's coronation day, 1877, while the ultimately victorious independence war against the Ottoman Empire in 1877-1878 alongside Russia, was just beginning.
Rwanda	July 1	1962	Independence from Belgium in 1962.
Saint Kitts and Nevis	September 19	1983	Independence from the United Kingdom in 1983.
Saint Lucia	February 22	1979	Independence from the United Kingdom in 1979.	Independence Day
Saint Vincent and the Grenadines	October 27	1979	Independence from the United Kingdom in 1979.
Samoa	June 1	1962	Independence from New Zealand in 1962.
São Tomé and Príncipe	July 12	1975	Independence from Portugal in 1975.
Senegal	April 4	1960	Independence from France in 1960.
Serbia	February 15	1804	The beginning of First Serbian Uprising in 1804, it evolved into a Serbian Revolution, war for independence from Ottoman Empire; and the adoption of the first Constitution in 1835.	Statehood Day
Seychelles	June 29	1976	Independence from the United Kingdom in 1976.
Sierra Leone	April 27	1961	Independence from the United Kingdom in 1961.
Singapore	August 9	1965	Marks city-state's secession/expulsion from the Malaysian Federation in 1965.	National Day (Singapore)
Slovakia	July 17	1992	Declaration of Independence in 1992 (only a remembrance day), de jure independence came on January 1, 1993 after the division of Czechoslovakia (public holiday).
Slovenia	December 26 and June 25	1990	Date of the release of the official results of the independence plebiscite in 1990, confirming secession from Yugoslavia. (Statehood Day) Declared independence from Yugoslavia in 1991.	Independence and Unity Day
Solomon Islands	July 7	1978	Independence from the United Kingdom in 1978.
Somalia	July 1	1960	Union of the Trust Territory of Somalia (former Italian Somaliland) and British Somaliland to form the Somali Republic. Event annually commemorated on Independence Day.
South Africa	December 11	1931	Independence from the United Kingdom in 1931 in terms of the Balfour Declaration of 1926 which is not a public holiday. The Union of South Africa formed on May 31, 1910 and the Republic of South Africa declared on May 31, 1961 under minority rule during Apartheid. Majority rule achieved on April 27, 1994, which is celebrated annually as Freedom Day.
South Sudan	July 9	2011	Independence from Sudan in 2011.
Sri Lanka	February 4	1948	Independence from the United Kingdom in 1948.	Independence Day (Sri Lanka)
Sudan	January 1	1956	Independence from Egypt and the United Kingdom in 1956.
Suriname	November 25	1975	Independence from the Netherlands in 1975.
Swaziland	September 6	1968	Independence from the United Kingdom in 1968.
Sweden	June 6	1523	Celebrates the election of King Gustav Vasa in 1523 and the new constitutions in 1809 and 1974. The election of King Gustav Vasa was the de facto end of the Kalmar Union and has been seen as a formal declaration of independence.	National Day of Sweden
Switzerland	August 1	1291	Alliance against the Holy Roman Empire in 1291.	Swiss National Day
Syria	April 17	1946	End of the French Mandate of Syria in 1946.	Evacuation Day
Tajikistan	September 9	1991	Independence from the Soviet Union in 1991.
Tanzania	December 9	1961	Independence of Tanganyika from the United Kingdom in 1961.
Togo	April 27	1960	Independence from France in 1960.
Tibet	February 13	1913	Independence from Manchu's Qing Dynasty in 1913. Later invaded in October 1950 by China and currently administered by China.	Tibetan Independence Day
Tonga	June 4	1970	Termination of protectorate status under the United Kingdom in 1970.
Trinidad and Tobago	August 31	1962	Independence from the United Kingdom in 1962.
Tunisia	March 20	1956	Independence from France in 1956.
Turkey	October 29	1923	Foundation of the Grand National Assembly and declaration of independence from Istanbul Government.	National Sovereignty Day
Turkmenistan	October 27	1991	Declaration of independence from the Soviet Union in 1991.[11]	Independence Day (Turkmenistan)
Tuvalu	October 1	1978	Independence from the United Kingdom in 1978.
Uganda	October 9	1962	Independence from the United Kingdom in 1962.
Ukraine	August 24	1991	Declaration of Independence of Ukraine from the Soviet Union in 1991.	Independence Day of Ukraine
Ukraine	January 22	1919	Unification of Ukraine on January 22, 1919.[12]	Day of Unity of Ukraine
United Arab Emirates	December 2	1971	Independence from the United Kingdom in 1971.	National Day
United States	July 4	1776	Declaration of Independence from the Kingdom of Great Britain (now the United Kingdom) in 1776.	Independence Day or Fourth of July
Uruguay	August 25	1825	Declaration of independence from the Empire of Brazil in 1825. Recognized in 1828.	Declaratoria de la Independencia
Uzbekistan	September 1	1991	Independence from USSR in 1991.
Vanuatu	July 30	1980	Independence from the United Kingdom and France in 1980.
Venezuela	July 5	1811	Declaration of independence from Spain in 1811.
Vietnam	September 2	1945	Proclamation of independence from Japan and France in 1945.	Independence Day (Vietnam)
Yemen	November 30	1967	South Yemen Declaration of independence from the United Kingdom in 1967.
Zambia	October 24	1964	Independence from the United Kingdom in 1964.
Zimbabwe	April 18	1980	Independence from the United Kingdom in 1980.

  Independence-related National Day

  Other National Day

  No official National Day

References

General

• "National holiday of member states". United Nations. Retrieved June 14, 2011.

Specific

1. Abkhazia , Unrepresented Nations and Peoples Organization (UNPO).
2. Pertama Dalam Sejarah PM Belanda Hadiri Resepsi HUT RI 17-8
3. Xiaoyuan Liu – Reins of Liberation, p.6
4. Stephen Kotkin, Bruce A. Elleman – Mongolia in the twentieth century: landlocked cosmopolitan, p.74
5. David Sneath – The Headless State: Aristocratic Orders, Kinship Society, and Misrepresentations of Nomadic Inner Asia, p.36
6. Duke University. School of Law – Unification of law, 1965, Volume 30, p.282
7. Paraguay Independence Day
8. In 1962, President Diosdado Macapagal signed a proclamation which declared Tuesday, June 12, 1962 as a special public holiday in commemoration of the declaration of independence from Spain on that date in 1898. That proclamation did not move the date of the Independence Day holiday in the Philippines.^[9] The date of the holiday was moved in 1964, with the signing of Republic Act No. 4166.^[10]
9. Diosdado Macapagal, Proclamation No. 28 Declaring June 12 as Philippine Independence Day, Philippine History Group of Los Angeles, retrieved November 11, 2009
10. "Republic Act No. 4166". August 4, 1964. Retrieved August 5, 2009.
11. Edgar, Adrienne Lynn (2004). Tribal Nation: The Making of Soviet Turkmenistan. Princeton: Princeton University Press. p. 1. ISBN 0-691-11775-6. On October 27, 1991, the Turkmen Soviet Socialist Republic declared its independence from the Soviet Union.
12. "Holidays". Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Ukraine. Retrieved 2008-08-24.