World's Newest Countries

Since 1990, 33 new countries have been created. The dissolution of the USSR and Yugoslavia in the early 1990s caused the creation of most of the newly independent states.
You probably know about many of these changes but a few of these new countries seemed to slip by almost unnoticed. This comprehensive listing will update you about the countries which have formed since 1990.

Union of Soviet Socialist Republics

Fifteen new countries became independent with the dissolution of the USSR in 1991. Most of these countries declared independence a few months preceding the fall of the Soviet Union in late 1991.

Armenia
Azerbaijan
Belarus
Estonia
Georgia
Kazakhstan
Kyrgyzstan
Latvia
Lithuania
Moldova
Russia
Tajikistan
Turkmenistan
Ukraine
Uzbekistan
Former Yugoslavia
Yugoslavia dissolved in the early 1990s into five independent countries.

Bosnia and Herzegovina, February 29, 1992
Croatia, June 25, 1991
Macedonia (officially The Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia) declared independence on September 8, 1991 but wasn't recognized by the United Nations until 1993 and the United States and Russia in February of 1994
Serbia and Montenegro, (also known as the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia), April 17, 1992 (see below for separate Serbia and Montenegro entries)
Slovenia, June 25, 1991
Other New Countries

Nine other countries became independent through a variety of causes.

March 21, 1990 - Namibia became independent of South Africa.
May 22, 1990 - North and South Yemen merged to form a unified Yemen.
October 3, 1990 - East Germany and West Germany merged to form a unified Germany after the fall of the Iron Curtain.
September 17, 1991 - The Marshall Islands was part of the Trust Territory of Pacific Islands (administered by the United States) and gained independence as a former colony.
September 17, 1991 - Micronesia, previously known as the Caroline Islands, became independent from the United States.
anuary 1, 1993 - The Czech Republic and Slovakia became independent nations when Czechoslovakia dissolved.
May 25, 1993 - Eritrea was a part of Ethiopia but seceded and gained independence.
October 1, 1994 - Palau was part of the Trust Territory of Pacific Islands (administered by the United States) and gained independence as a former colony.
May 20, 2002 - East Timor (Timor-Leste) declared independence from Portugal in 1975 but did not became independent from Indonesia until 2002.
June 3, 2006 - Montenegro was part of Serbia and Montenegro (also known as Yugoslavia) but gained independence after a referendum.
June 5, 2006 - Serbia became its own entity after Montenegro split.
Febraury 17, 2008 - Kosovo unilaterally declared independence from Serbia.