SOVEREIGN STATES

GOVCOMP/SUMMER 2020/A.D.Bernardo
SOVEREIGN STATE
• defined as a self-governing geopolitical
entity with clearly defined borders.

• Commonly used term for sovereign state is

country
• In international relations, the term
“sovereign state/s” is the proper term to
refer to countries.

GOVCOMP/SUMMER 2020/A.D.Bernardo
1. PEOPLE–citizens of the state
2. TERRITORY–internationally recognized
area owned by the state
3. SOVEREIGNTY–supreme power of the
state
• EXTERNAL SOVEREIGNTY refers to the sovereign
state’s freedom from outside interference and
the right to self government.
4. GOVERNMENT – system and institution
through which the will of the state is
formulated, expressed and carried out.
GOVCOMP/SUMMER 2020/A.D.Bernardo
 THEORIES OF STATEHOOD
DECLARATIVE THEORY – states can be formed if it
possesses the following qualifications:
“ permanent population, a defined territory,
the capacity to practice internal and external
sovereignty through its government.
This theory argues that recognition by other
sovereign states is not important.

• Declarative Theory says that sovereign states

can exist as long as the four elements are
complete and the state formally declares its
independence, from the term declarative.

GOVCOMP/SUMMER 2020/A.D.Bernardo
 THEORIES OF STATEHOOD
CONSTITUTIVE THEORY – states can be formed if it
possesses the following qualifications:
“ permanent population, a defined territory,
the capacity to practice internal and external
sovereignty through its government and
should acquire recognition of other sovereign
states.
This theory considers recognition by other
sovereign states as a requirement.

• Constitutive Theory says that sovereign states

require the four elements and recognition of
other sovereign states.

GOVCOMP/SUMMER 2020/A.D.Bernardo
There are 3 types of SOVEREIGN STATES
• FULLY RECOGNIZED =states with full
recognition
• PARTIALLY RECOGNIZED = states with limited
recognition
• UNRECOGNIZED = de facto states
GOVCOMP/SUMMER 2020/A.D.Bernardo
 REFER TO THE “LIST OF SOVEREIGN STATES” PDF
All three types of sovereign states have the
four elements, the difference is recognition
Fully recognized sovereign states follow the
Constitutive Theory with the four elements
and recognition.
Unrecognized sovereign states follow the
Declarative Theory with only the four
elements of the state, without the
recognition
Partially recognized sovereign states are
recognized by most or some but not all of
the other sovereign states.
GOVCOMP/SUMMER 2020/A.D.Bernardo
 In our GOVCOMP, the sovereign states
that we will study are those listed in the
“List of Sovereign States” pdf.

This list is the latest and current sovereign

states that exist.

GOVCOMP/SUMMER 2020/A.D.Bernardo
POLITICAL
GEOGRAPHY
OF
SOVEREIGN
STATES

GOVCOMP/SUMMER 2020/A.D.Bernardo
Before we study the government and
politics of sovereign states, we first have
to review the geography of each
sovereign state to know where they are
located.
The next pages are the TERRITORY of the
sovereign states.
Please study the following pages along
with the “List of Sovereign States” file for
your guide.

GOVCOMP/SUMMER 2020/A.D.Bernardo
 ASIA

GOVCOMP/SUMMER 2020/A.D.Bernardo
AFGHANISTAN
652,230 km2
ARMENIA
29,743 km2
AZERBAIJAN
86,600 km2
BAHRAIN
760 km2
BANGLADESH
143,998 km2
BHUTAN
38,394 km2
BRUNEI
5,765 km2
CAMBODIA
181,035 km2
CHINA
9,596,961 km2
GEORGIA
69,700 km2
INDIA
3,287,263 km2
INDONESIA
1,904,569 km2
IRAN
1,648,195 km2
IRAQ
438,317 km2
ISRAEL
20,770 km2
JAPAN
377,915 km2
JORDAN
89,342 km2
KAZAKHSTAN
2,724,900 km2
KOREA, NORTH
120,538 km2
KOREA, SOUTH
99,720 km2
KUWAIT
17,818 km2
KYRGYZSTAN
199,951 km2
LAOS
236,800 km2
LEBANON
10,400 km2
MALAYSIA
329,847 km2
MALDIVES
298 km2
MONGOLIA
1,564,116 km2
MYANMAR (BURMA)
676,578 km2
NEPAL
147,181 km2
OMAN
309,500 km2
PAKISTAN
796,095 km2
PHILIPPINES
300,000 km2
QATAR
11,586 km2
SAUDI ARABIA
2,149,690 km2
SINGAPORE
697 km2
SRI LANKA
65,610 km2
SYRIA
185,180 km2
TAJIKISTAN
143,100 km2
THAILAND
513,120 km2
TIMOR LESTE
14,874 km2
TURKEY
783,562 km2
TURKMENISTAN
488,100 km2
UNITED ARAB EMIRATES
83,600 km2
UZBEKISTAN
447,400 km2
VIETNAM
331,210 km2
YEMEN
527,968 km2
ABKHAZIA (Georgia)
8,600 km2
SOUTH OSSETIA (Georgia)
3,885 km2
STATE OF PALESTINE
Gaza Strip =360 km2

West Bank = 5,860 km2

TAIWAN
35,980 km2
 OCEANIA

GOVCOMP/SUMMER 2020/A.D.Bernardo
AUSTRALIA
7,741,220 km2
FIJI
18,274 km2
KIRIBATI
811 km2
MARSHALL
ISLANDS
181 km2
MICRONESIA
702 km2
NAURU
21 km2
NEW ZEALAND
267,710 km2
PALAU
459 km2
PAPUA
NEW GUINEA
462,840 km2
SAMOA
2,831 km2
SOLOMON ISLANDS
28,896 km2
TONGA
747 km2
TUVALU
26 km2
VANUATU
12,189 km2
 AFRICA

GOVCOMP/SUMMER 2020/A.D.Bernardo
ALGERIA
2,381,741 km2
ANGOLA
1,246,700 km2
BENIN
112,622 km2
BOTSWANA
581,730 km2
BURKINA FASO
274,200 km2
BURUNDI
27,830 km2
CABO VERDE
4,033 km2
CAMEROON
475,440 km2
CENTRAL
AFRICAN
REPUBLIC
622,984 km2
CHAD
1,284,000 km2
COMOROS
2,235 km2
CONGO,
Democratic
Republic of
2,344,858 km2
CONGO,
Republic of
342,000 km2
COTE D’IVOIRE
322,463 km2
DJIBOUTI
23,200 km2
EGYPT
1,001,450 km2
EQUATORIAL
GUINEA
28,051 km2
ERITREA
117,600 km2
ESWATINI
17,364 km2
ETHIOPIA
1,104,300 km2
GABON
267,667 km2
GAMBIA
11,295 km2
GHANA
238,533 km2
GUINEA
245,857 km2
GUINEA-BISSAU
36,125 km2
KENYA
580,367 km2
LESOTHO
30,355 km2
LIBERIA
111,369 km2
LIBYA
1,759,540 km2
MADAGASCAR
587,041 km2
MALAWI
118,484 km2
MALI
1,240,192 km2
MAURITANIA
1,030,700 km2
MAURITIUS
2,040 km2
MOROCCO
446,550 km2
MOZAMBIQUE
799,380 km2
NAMIBIA
824,292 km2
NIGER
1,267,000 km2
NIGERIA
923,768 km2
RWANDA
26,338 km2
SAO TOME
and
PRINCIPE
964 km2
SENEGAL
196,722 km2
SEYCHELLES
455 km2
SIERRA LEONE
71,740 km2
SOMALIA
637,657 km2
SOUTH AFRICA
1,219,090 km2
SOUTH SUDAN
644,329 km2
SUDAN
1,861,484 km2
TANZANIA
947,300 km2
TOGO
56,785 km2
TUNISIA
163,610 km2
UGANDA
241,038 km2
ZAMBIA
752,618 km2
ZIMBABWE
390,757 km2
SAHRAWI
REPUBLIC
(Morocco)
266,000 km2
SOMALILAND (Somalia)
637,657 km2
 EUROPE

GOVCOMP/SUMMER 2020/A.D.Bernardo
ALBANIA
28,748 km2
ANDORRA
468 km2
AUSTRIA
83,871 km2
BELARUS
207,600 km2
BELGIUM
30,528 km2
BOSNIA and
HERZEGOVINA
51,197 km2
BULGARIA
110,879 km2
CROATIA
56,594 km2
CYPRUS
9,251 km2
CZECHIA
78,867 km2
 DENMARK
Greenland 43,094 km2
2,166,086 sq km
ESTONIA
45,228 km2
FINLAND
338,145 km2
FRANCE
643,801 km2
GERMANY
357,022 km2
GREECE
131,957 km2
HUNGARY
93,028 km2
ICELAND
103,000 km2
IRELAND
70,273 km2
ITALY
301,340 km2
LATVIA
64,589 km2
LIECHTENSTEIN
160 km2
LITHUANIA
65,300 km2
LUXEMBOURG
2,586 km2
MALTA
316 km2
MOLDOVA
33,851 km2
MONACO
2 km2
MONTENEGRO
13,812 km2
NETHERLANDS
41,543 km2
NORTH
MACEDONIA
25,713 km2
NORWAY
323,802 km2
POLAND
312,685 km2
PORTUGAL
92,090 km2
ROMANIA
238,391 km2
RUSSIA
17,098,242 km2
SAN MARINO
61 km2
SERBIA
77,474 km2
SLOVAKIA
49,035 km2
SLOVENIA
20,273 km2
SPAIN
505,370 km2
SWEDEN
450,295 km2
SWITZERLAND
41,277 km2
UKRAINE CRIMEAN PENINSULA
Annexed by Russia in 2014
603,550 km2 (Crimean peninsula included)
UNITED KINGDOM of
GREAT BRITAIN and
NORTHERN IRELAND
243,610 km2
VATICAN CITY
0.44 km2
KOSOVO
(Serbia)
10,887 km2
NORTHERN CYPRUS (Cyprus)
3,355 km2
TRANSNISTRIA (Moldova)
4,163 km2
AMERICAS

GOVCOMP/SUMMER 2020/A.D.Bernardo
 North
America

GOVCOMP/SUMMER 2020/A.D.Bernardo
CANADA
9,984,670 km2
MEXICO
1,964,375 km2
UNITED STATES of AMERICA
9,826,675 km2
 Central
America

GOVCOMP/SUMMER 2020/A.D.Bernardo
BELIZE
112,622 km2
COSTA RICA
51,100 km2
EL SALVADOR
21,041 km2
GUATEMALA
108,889 km2
HONDURAS
112,090 km2
NICARAGUA
130,370 km2
PANAMA
75,420 km2
 Caribbean

GOVCOMP/SUMMER 2020/A.D.Bernardo
ANTIGUA
and
BARBUDA
442 km2
BAHAMAS
13,880 km2
BARBADOS
430 km2
CUBA
110,860 km2
DOMINICA
751 km2
DOMINICAN REPUBLIC
48,670 km2
GRENADA
344 km2
HAITI
27,750 km2
JAMAICA
10,991 km2
ST.KITTS
and
NEVIS
261 km2
SAINT LUCIA
616 km2
ST. VINCENT
and THE
GRENADINES
389 km2
TRINIDAD and
TOBAGO
5,128 km2
 South America

GOVCOMP/SUMMER 2020/A.D.Bernardo
ARGENTINA
2,780,400 km2
BOLIVIA
1,098,581 km2
BRAZIL
8,514,877 km2
CHILE
756,102 km2
COLOMBIA
1,138,910 km2
ECUADOR
283,561 km2
GUYANA
214,969 km2
PARAGUAY
406,752 km2
PERU
1,285,216 km2
SURINAME
163,820 km2
URUGUAY
176,215 km2
VENEZUELA
912,050 km2