The Largest Unrecognized Country In The World

You won’t find this nation on a map

Emblem of Somaliland (Public Domain / Fair use)

The Republic of Somaliland is located in the Horn of Africa. Most people would be forgiven for confusing Somaliland with Somalia, but they are technically two different nations. While Somalia is a recognized nation with a troubled history, Somaliland is unrecognized and actually has been fairly quiet and stable. No countries officially recognize Somaliland despite the fact that it has maintained its independence since 1991. The country is ruled by democratically elected officials who have continuously striven to gain recognition for their nation.

Somaliland encompasses an area of 176,120 square kilometers (68,000 sq miles) and 6.2 million people. This makes it by far the largest unrecognized country in the world in terms of area and second largest in population. (Taiwan has a population of 23 million, and Palestine has a population of 5 million.)

So why isn’t Somaliland recognized? It is complicated.

(Wikipedia)

Somaliland derives its legitimacy from the old British mandate, British Somaliland. In 1960, Somaliland was granted its independence from the British Empire as the…