No international recognition Limited recognition Majority recognition Territories whose status is disputed, with a government body, that has limited recognition
These lists of unrecognized or partially recognized countries give an overview of contemporary geopolitical entities, that wish to be recognized as sovereign states under the Montevideo Convention, which do not enjoy worldwide diplomatic recognition. The entries listed here have control over their claimed territory and are self-governing with a desire for full independence, or if they lack such control over their territory, are recognized by at least one other recognized nation.
Present geopolitical entities by level of recognition
The terms country, state, and nation can have various meanings. Therefore, diverse lists of these entities are possible. Wikipedia offers the following lists:
the list of countries, listing countries in the sense of independent states (both those that are internationally recognized and generally unrecognized), inhabited dependent territories, and areas of special sovereignty.
the list of sovereign states, listing sovereign states with information on the extent of their sovereignty. It includes both states widely recognized (de jure) to be sovereign and entities that claim sovereignty while exercising de facto control over (part of) their claimed territory.
Abkhazia is not independent from Georgia, according to the UN; its sovereignty though is recognized by Russia, Nicaragua; two non-UN member states, South Ossetia, Transnistria6 and the Hamas government in Gaza.7
According to the UN, the area currently controlled by the Republic of China (commonly known as "Taiwan") is part of China and the People's Republic of China is the sole legitimate government of China. The sovereignty of the ROC as sole legitimate government of China though is recognized by 23 UN members, including the Holy See, an observer state of the UN.II The ROC is a former member of the UN, representing China. Besides the land the ROC currently controls, the ROC claims land controlled by Afghanistan, Bhutan, India, Japan, Mongolia, Myanmar, Pakistan, Russia, Tajikistan and the PRC. Many nations have unofficial relations with the ROC.
Western Sahara is on the United Nations list of Non-Self-Governing Territories; its soveignty though as the Sahrawi Arab Democratic Republic is recognized by 49 UN members and the African Union, but not by Morocco, which claims the entirety of its territory. De facto sovereignty is limited to the Free Zone, the remainder is under Moroccan military occupation. The SADR also controls a number of refugee camps in southwestern Algeria.
South Ossetia is not independent from Georgia, according to the UN; its sovereignty though is recognized by Russia, Nicaragua; two non-UN states, Abkhazia and Transnistria and the Hamas government in Gaza. Its independence movement aspires to join Russia.14
Palestine is recognized as independent by 96 UN member states and by the Holy See and missions of the PLO (considered representative of the Palestinian people) having diplomatic or special status in 12 other countries. It is not recognized by Israel, the United States, most Western European and Latin American countries, among others. The Palestinian Authority governing the claimed Palestinian territory is not fully controlled by the PLO and has not declared independence so far.
Israel has no diplomatic relations with 34 countries. It is not recognized by 26 countries and the partially recognized Sahrawi Arab Democratic Republic and Iran.III
The People's Republic of China is not recognized by the Republic of China (Taiwan). Because of the One-China policy, the PRC is not recognized by the 23 UN member states that recognize the ROC.
^III See Foreign relations of Israel for the list of countries, that do not recognize Israel and countries, that do not have formal diplomatic relations with Israel.