Seven countries, states and breakaway republics you have probably never heard of
- They’ve got flags, football teams and national anthems, all that’s missing is official recognition
- Some are old, some are tiny, one even has a grand duke who’s never stepped foot on his own soil
According to Irish playwright George Bernard Shaw, patriotism is the conviction that your country is superior to all others because you were born in it. But what if your country doesn’t exist, or lies on the fringes of legitimacy? Or it’s so minuscule that even minnows such as Luxembourg and Andorra run rings around it on the football pitch.
Recognition is everything, of course. It’s all very well having (pretend) passports, a flag and anthem but you’re unlikely to be taken seriously if established countries don’t acknowledge your presence. Breakaway republics are populated by fiercely patriotic people who throw off a despised government because of a nostalgic yearning for another (usually Russia). Other self-proclaimed nations exist, Narnia-like, only in the minds of their founders and are little more than a bit of fun. Maybe the best way to define a country would be to use musician Frank Zappa’s definition: it needs an airline, a beer and a football team.
San Marino
Entirely surrounded by Italy (you’re never more than 4km from the Italian border), San Marino claims to be the world’s oldest sovereign state. It’s also the fifth smallest. The mountainous microstate has a population of around 33,000, a standard of living comparable to that of Italy and no crime to speak of. There aren’t any traffic lights, either, even though it’s the only country with more cars than people (taxes are lower than in Italy, making it much cheaper to register vehicles in San Marino).
Tourists drop by to shop and soak up sweeping views across the principality and the surrounding Italian countryside from three medieval towers, while long-suffering locals pay good money to watch their international football team, which has never won a competitive match.
South Ossetia
If it’s success on a football pitch you’re after, the breakaway republic of South Ossetia is for you. The “national” side are European champions, although it should be pointed out they triumphed in the Conifa tournament, which is contested by teams that aren’t recognised by Fifa or the international community.