Cabinda

  • Unrecognized states
  • Independence declared 1975
  • Capital Cabinda
  • Inhabitants 716,076
  • Area 7,270 km²

Cabinda is a piece of land in West Africa that lies between the Democratic Republic of the Congo, the Republic of the Congo and the Atlantic Ocean. Adjacent to its coast are some of the largest offshore oil fields in the world. Formally, it is an exclave and province of Angola, but this status has been disputed by several groups that proclaimed independence in 1975. The Front for the Liberation of the Enclave of Cabinda - Forces Armadas de Cabinda (FLEC-FAC) runs an exile office in Paris.

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Somaliland

Somaliland is a self-declared state, internationally considered to be an autonomous region of Somalia. It lies in northwestern Somalia, on the southern coast of the Gulf of Aden. After the overthrow of Somali military dictator Siad Barr, the former British protectorate declared independence in 1991. Somaliland is ranked as partly free by Freedom House, and maintains informal ties with some foreign governments. The de facto state issues its own money: the Somaliland shilling. However, Somaliland’s self-proclaimed independence remains unrecognized by any country or international organization.

Chagos Archipelago

The Chagos Archipelago is a group of seven atolls consisting of more than sixty islands, of which Diego Garcia is the largest and the only one inhabited. The sovereignty is disputed between Mauritius, the Maldives and the United Kingdom, which considers it to be part of the British Indian Ocean Territory. The indigenous Chagossians, a Bourbonnais Creole-speaking people, were evicted between 1967 and 1973 when the UK rented the area out to the United States to build a military base. Whereas only military and civilian contracted personnel is now living on Diego Garcia, the Chagossian natives still fight for their return to the islands. In 2019, the United Nations adopted a resolution that affirmed that the archipelago forms an integral part of Mauritius.

Nutopia

On the 1st of April, 1973 John Lennon and Yoko Ono announced: ‘[...] the birth of a conceptual country, NUTOPIA. Citizenship of the country can be obtained by declaration of your awareness of NUTOPIA. NUTOPIA has no land, no boundaries, no passports, only people. NUTOPIA has no laws other than cosmic. All people of NUTOPIA are ambassadors of the country. As two ambassadors of NUTOPIA, we ask for diplomatic immunity and recognition in the United Nations of our country and its people.’ The Nutopian anthem (included on Lennon’s album Mind Games) consists of only a few seconds of silence, finding a resemblance in John Cage's 4’33’’. Besides stating an ideology that is in line with the famous song ‘Imagine’ this was also seen as a satirical response to Lennon’s ongoing immigration troubles.