The independence of nations

Although wars are still around, with the formation of the United Nations, wars are no longer a serious threat to most members of the United Nations. Diplomacy rules and most civilized nations no longer sees violence or war as a useful way of solving international disputes. In the late 18th century, countries was divided between rich and poor nations. Poor and weak nations were simply no match for modern warfare, as the Zulu learned to their sorrow in the early 19th century, and Saddam Hussein in 1991. Poor nations therefore stopped using warfare as a strategic tool, shifting to guerilla warfare or terrorism. Even among the rich nations, war is too expensive to fight. In the nuclear age, war between the major world powers became completely unthinkable. The success of the West solving problems through diplomacy although “shaking” during the 2020 presidential election proves to the rest of the world that we are not destined to live with war. Hence, a new form of war between the rich and the poor nations and between the developed and under-developed countries.

The independence of nations is synonymous with the industrial revolution and the enlightenment; from the transformation of warfare to the rise of democratic peace. An independence day is an annual event commemorating the anniversary of a nation’s independence. Here is the list of nations that have established their country’s independence or sovereignty from a foreign power or have never been colonized, for example, Australia that selected January 26 to commemorates arrival of the First Fleet of British ships and is not an independence day.

Country	Name of holiday	Date of holiday	Year of event	Independence from	Event commemorated and notes
Afghanistan	Afghan Independence Day (Afghan Victory Day)	August 19	1919	United Kingdom	Anglo-Afghan Treaty of 1919 or Treaty of Rawalpindi, an armistice between the United Kingdom and Afghanistan during the Third Anglo-Afghan War
Albania	Flag Day (Dita e Flamurit)	November 28	1912	Ottoman Empire	Albanian Declaration of Independence. The following day, November 29, is celebrated as the Liberation Day and commemorates the end of the German occupation in 1944.
Algeria	Independence Day	July 5	1962	France	Algeria gained independence following the Algerian War and the Algerian independence referendum. France officially recognized independent Algeria on July 3, but the Independence Day is celebrated on July 5, the day of the fall of Algiers in 1830 and the beginning of French Algeria.
Andorra	None
Angola	Independence Day	November 11	1975	Portugal	The Alvor Agreement, signed on 15 January 1975, granted Angola independence from Portugal on 11 November, ending the Angolan War of Independence.
Antigua and Barbuda	Independence Day	November 1	1981	United Kingdom	The effective date of the Antigua Termination of Association Order passed by the Parliament of the United Kingdom in July
Argentina	Independence Day	July 9	1816	Spanish Empire	Argentine Declaration of Independence
Armenia	Republic Day	May 28	1918	Russian Soviet Federative Socialist Republic	Declaration of Independence of Armenia (1918)
	Independence Day	September 21	1991	Soviet Union	1991 Armenian independence referendum
Australia	None				Australia Day (January 26) commemorates arrival of the First Fleet of British ships and is not an independence day.
Austria	National Day	October 26	1955	Allied occupying powers (France, United Kingdom, United States, and Soviet Union)	Declaration of Neutrality
Azerbaijan	Republic Day	May 28	1918	Russian Soviet Federative Socialist Republic	Declaration of Independence (Azerbaijan)
	Independence Day	October 18	1991	Soviet Union	Adoption of the constitutional act “On the State Independence of the Republic of Azerbaijan”
Bahamas, The	Independence Day	July 10	1973	United Kingdom	Effective date of The Bahamas Independence Order 1973
Bahrain	Independence Day	December 16	1971	United Kingdom	Ascension of Isa bin Salman Al Khalifa to the throne
Bangladesh	Independence Day	March 26	1971	Pakistan	Proclamation of Bangladeshi Independence
Barbados	Independence Day	November 30	1966	United Kingdom	Effective date of the Barbados Independence Act 1966
Belarus	Independence Day	July 3	1944	Nazi Germany	The liberation of Minsk after several years of German occupation in 1944. Two other independence days – March 25 (proclamation of the Belarusian People’s Republic in 1918) and July 27 (independence from the Soviet Union in 1990) – are commemorated unofficially.
Belgium	National Day	July 21	1831	United Netherlands	Ascension of Leopold of Saxe-Coburg-Saalfeld to the throne
Belize	Independence Day	September 21	1981	United Kingdom	Effective day of the Belize Act 1981
Benin	Independence Day	August 1	1960	France	Effective date of the agreement with France signed on July 11 creating the independent Republic of Dahomey
Bhutan	None
Bolivia	Independence Day	August 6	1825	Spain	Bolivian Declaration of Independence
Bosnia and Herzegovina	Independence Day	March 1	1992	Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia	1992 Bosnian independence referendum
Botswana	Independence Day	September 30	1966	United Kingdom	Effective date of the Botswana Independence Act 1966
Brazil	Independence Day (Dia da Independência)	September 7	1822	United Kingdom of Portugal, Brazil and the Algarves	Declaration of independence by Pedro I of Brazil (see Independence of Brazil)
Brunei	National Day	February 23	1984	United Kingdom	Brunei gained full independence effective January 1, 1984 under the Treaty of Friendship and Co-operation of 7 January 1979 between United Kingdom and Brunei. However, the celebrations of the first National Day were delayed until February 23 and that day continues to be celebrated since.
Bulgaria	Liberation Day	March 3	1878	Ottoman Empire	Treaty of San Stefano which created the autonomous Principality of Bulgaria
	Independence Day	October 5	1908	Ottoman Empire	Bulgarian Declaration of Independence
Burkina Faso	Proclamation of Independence Day	December 11	1958	France	Effective date when French Upper Volta became an autonomous republic in the French Community
	Independence Day	August 5	1960	France	Effective date of the agreement with France signed on July 11 and creation of the independent Republic of Upper Volta
Burundi	Independence Day	July 1	1962	Belgium	Effective date of the United Nations General Assembly Resolution 1746 terminating the Ruanda-Urundi Trusteeship
Cambodia	Independence Day	November 9	1953	France	Ceremony transferring military from French to Cambodian officials based on a military hand-over agreement reached on October 17, 1953
Cameroon	None				Cameroon gained independence on January 1, 1960, but does not celebrate that date. Instead, it celebrates the National Day on May 20 commemorating the 1972 Cameroonian constitutional referendum.
Canada	None				Canada Day on July 1 commemorates the establishment of the Dominion of Canada in 1867.
Cape Verde	Independence Day	July 5	1975	Portugal	Effective date of the Agreement Between Portugal and Partido Africano para a Independência da Guiné e Cabo Verde (PAIGC) signed on December 18, 1974
Central African Republic	National Day	December 1	1958	France	Effective date when Central African Republic became an autonomous republic of the French Community
	Independence Day	August 13	1960	France	Effective date of the agreement with France signed on July 12
Chad	Republic Day	November 28	1958	France	Effective date when Chad became an autonomous republic in the French Community
	Independence Day	August 11	1960	France	Effective date of the agreement with France signed on July 12
Chile	Independence Day (part of Fiestas Patrias)	September 18	1810	Spanish Empire	Establishment of the Government Junta of Chile. The following day, September 19, is celebrated as the Army Day. The two holidays collectively are known as Fiestas Patrias.
China	None				National Day commemorates the founding of the People’s Republic of China on October 1, 1949.
Colombia	Independence Day	July 20	1810	Spanish Empire	Colombian Declaration of Independence
Comoros	Independence Day	July 6	1975	France	Unilateral declaration of independence by the Chamber of Deputies of Comoros following the 1974 Comorian independence referendum
Congo, Democratic Republic of the	Independence Day	June 30	1960	Belgium	Effective date of the Treaty of Friendship, Assistance and Co-operation between Belgium and the Congo concluded on June 29, 1960
Congo, Republic of the	Republic Day	November 28	1958	France	Effective date when Congo became an autonomous republic in the French Community
	Independence Day	August 15	1960	France	Effective date of the agreement with France signed on July 12.
Costa Rica	Independence Day	September 15	1821	Spanish Empire	Act of Independence of Central America[citation needed]
Croatia	Statehood Day	May 30	1990	SFR Yugoslavia	First session of the Croatian Parliament following the 1990 Croatian parliamentary election. October 8 (when the parliament adopted a decision to sever constitutional relations with Yugoslavia in 1991) and June 25 (when the parliament voted for independence in 1991) were also celebrated as independence days. After the 2019 changes to the law on public holidays, October 8 is the Parliament Day and June 25 is the Independence Day, but they are memorial days and not public holidays.
Cuba	Commencement of the Wars of Independence	October 10	1868	Spanish Empire	Call to rebellion (known as Grito de Yara) by sugar planter Carlos Manuel de Cespedes that led to the Ten Years’ War for independence
Cyprus	National Day	April 1	1955	United Kingdom	1 April attacks that started the Cyprus Emergency
	Independence Day	October 1	1960	United Kingdom	Effective date of the London-Zürich Agreements was August 16, 1960, but the public holiday was moved to October 1 to avoid summer heat and tourist season.
Czech Republic	Independence Day	October 28	1918	Austria-Hungary	Independence declaration by the Czechoslovak National Council
	Restoration Day	January 1	1993	Czechoslovakia	Effective date of the Dissolution of Czechoslovakia into Czech Republic and Slovakia
Denmark	None
Djibouti	Independence Day	June 27	1977	France
Dominica	Independence Day	November 3	1978	United Kingdom
Dominican Republic		February 27	1821 and 1844		Independence from Spain in December 1821. Independence re-declared from Haiti in 1844, after a 22-year occupation.
East Timor		May 20	2002	Portugal	East Timor was invaded by Indonesia from 1975 to 1999, officially it never ceased to be considered as administrated by Portugal.
Ecuador	Independence Day	August 10	1809	Spanish Empire	Proclaimed independence on August 10, 1809, but failed with the execution of all the conspirators of the movement on August 2, 1810.
		May 24	1822	Spanish Empire	Battle of Pichincha
Egypt	None				Unilateral Declaration of Egyptian Independence was issued on February 28, 1922, but Egypt does not celebrate this date.
El Salvador	Independence Day	September 15	1821	Spanish Empire	Act of Independence of Central America[citation needed]
Equatorial Guinea		October 12	1968	Spain
Eritrea	Independence Day	May 24	1991	Ethiopia
Estonia	Independence Day	February 24	1918	Russian Soviet Federative Socialist Republic	Estonian Declaration of Independence
	Day of Restoration of Independence	August 20	1991	Soviet Union	Estonian Restoration of Independence
Eswatini	Somhlolo Day	September 6	1968	United Kingdom	Named for Ngwane IV, Somhlolo, who reined from 1815 to 1836 and created a kingdom comparable to the Zulu, the Maroti, or the Pedi.
Ethiopia	None
Fiji	Fiji Day	October 10	1970	United Kingdom	Instruments of Independence
Finland	Independence Day	December 6	1917	Russian Soviet Federative Socialist Republic	Finnish Declaration of Independence
France	None
Gabon		August 17	1960	France	Effective date of the agreement with France signed on July 15.
Gambia, The		February 18	1965	United Kingdom	Effective date of the Gambia Independence Act 1964
Georgia	Independence Day	May 26	1918	Russian Soviet Federative Socialist Republic	Day of the proclamation of the Democratic Republic of Georgia in 1918.
	Day of National Unity	April 9	1991	Soviet Union
Germany	None
Ghana	Independence Day	March 6	1957	United Kingdom
Greece		March 25	1821	Ottoman Empire	Declaration of independence 1821. Start of the Greek War of Independence.
Grenada	Independence Day	February 7	1974	United Kingdom
Guatemala	Independence Day	September 15	1821	Spanish Empire	Act of Independence of Central America[citation needed]
Guinea		October 2	1958	France
Guinea-Bissau	Independence Day	September 24	1973	Portugal	Declaration of independence during the Guinea-Bissau War of Independence
Guyana		May 26	1966	United Kingdom
Haiti	Independence Day	January 1	1804	France	Haitian Declaration of Independence
Honduras	Independence Day	September 15	1821	Spanish Empire	Act of Independence of Central America[citation needed]
Hungary		October 23	1989		Opening of its previously-restricted border with Austria in 1989, and establishment as a democratic parliamentary republic.
Iceland	Independence Day	June 17	1944	Denmark	Effective date of the dissolution of the Danish–Icelandic Act of Union following the 1944 Icelandic constitutional referendum
India	Independence Day	August 15	1947	United Kingdom	Effective date of the Indian Independence Act 1947
Indonesia	Independence Day (Hari Kemerdekaan)	August 17	1945	Netherlands and Japan	Proclamation of Indonesian Independence
Iran		April 1	1979		After holding a referendum, Iran officially became an Islamic republic in April 1979.
Iraq		October 3	1932	United Kingdom
Ireland		April 24	1916	United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland	Proclamation of the Irish Republic commencing the Easter Rising. Usually celebrated on Easter Monday.
Israel	Yom Ha’atzmaut	Iyar 5 (On or between Apr 15 and May 15, depending on the Hebrew calendar).	1948	United Kingdom and the British Mandate for Palestine	Israeli Declaration of Independence on May 14, 1948 (5 Iyar 5708 in the Hebrew calendar). Yom Ha’atzmaut is celebrated on the Tuesday, Wednesday or Thursday nearest to 5 Iyar, so it occurs between 3 and 6 Iyar each year; this means that the holiday can fall any time between and including April 15 and May 15, according to the Gregorian calendar.
Italy	None
Ivory Coast		August 7	1960	France	Effective date of the agreement with France signed on July 11.
Jamaica		August 6	1962	United Kingdom	Independence of Jamaica
Japan	None
Jordan	Independence Day	May 25	1946	United Kingdom	Ascension of Abdullah I of Jordan to the throne
Kazakhstan	Independence Day	December 16	1991	Soviet Union
Kenya	Jamhuri Day	December 12	1963	United Kingdom
Kiribati		July 12	1979	United Kingdom
North Korea	Chogukhaebangŭi nal	August 15	1945	Empire of Japan	Founding of the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea in 1948. Korean War 1950–1953.
South Korea	Samiljeol	March 1	1919	Empire of Japan	Korean Declaration of Independence in 1919. This day is celebrated as Samiljeol, or Independence Proclamation Day.
	Gwangbokjeol	August 15	1945	Empire of Japan	Liberation from the Empire of Japan in 1945. See Japanese Occupation of Korea. The Provisional Government of the Republic of Korea was founded in 1919. Korean War 1950–1953.
Kuwait		February 25	1961	United Kingdom
Kyrgyzstan	Independence Day	August 31	1991	Soviet Union
Laos	None				Laos gained autonomy from France on 19 July 1949 and full independence on 22 October 1953, but those days are not celebrated as public holidays in Laos. The National Day on December 2 commemorates the establishment of the Lao People’s Democratic Republic in 1975.
Latvia	Proclamation Day of the Republic of Latvia	November 18	1918	Russian Soviet Federative Socialist Republic and German Empire	Proclamation of independence on November 18, 1918. Latvia was part of Russian Empire prior to World War I, but its territory had been ceded to German Empire in March 1918
		May 4	1990	Soviet Union	On the Restoration of Independence of the Republic of Latvia
Lebanon	Independence Day	November 22	1943	France
Lesotho		October 4	1966	United Kingdom
Liberia	Independence Day	July 26	1847	American Colonization Society	Liberian Declaration of Independence
Libya		December 24	1951	Italy	Independence from Italy on February 10, 1947, released from British and French on December 24, 1951.
Liechtenstein	None
Lithuania	Statehood Restoration Day	February 16	1918	Russian Soviet Federative Socialist Republic and German Empire	Act of Independence of Lithuania
	Independence Restoration Day	March 11	1990	Soviet Union	Act of the Re-Establishment of the State of Lithuania
Luxembourg	None
Madagascar		June 26	1960	France
Malawi		July 6	1964	United Kingdom
Malaysia	Hari Merdeka	August 31	1957	United Kingdom	Malayan Declaration of Independence
Maldives		July 26	1965	United Kingdom
Mali		September 22	1960	France
Malta	Independence Day	September 21	1964	United Kingdom
Marshall Islands	None
Mauritania		November 28	1960	France	Effective date of the agreement with France signed on October 19.
Mauritius		March 12	1968	United Kingdom
Mexico	Grito de Dolores Día de la Independéncia	September 15 September 16	1810	Spanish Empire	Start of the Mexican War of Independence
Micronesia	Independence Day	November 3	1986	United States	Effective date of the Compact of Free Association
Moldova	Independence Day	August 27	1991	Soviet Union	Moldovan Declaration of Independence
Monaco	None
Mongolia	Independence Day	December 29	1911	Great Qing	Independence declared in 1911. However, the newly established Mongolian government was too weak to resist the occupation of the Republic of China in 1919 and later White Russia in early 1921. After ousting Roman von Ungern-Sternberg’s forces, the new communist government was officially established on June 11, 1921.
Montenegro		May 21	2006	Serbia and Montenegro	2006 Montenegrin independence referendum
Morocco	Proclamation of Independence Day	January 11	1944	France and Spain
	Independence Day	November 18	1955	France and Spain	Return of Mohammed V of Morocco from exile
Mozambique	Independence Day Dia da Independência Nacional	June 25	1975	Portugal	In September 1964 the Mozambique Liberation Front (FRELIMO) began an armed guerilla campaign against the Portuguese. FRELIMO took control of Maputo in April 1974 in a coup. Independence for Mozambique was officially declared a year later on June 25, 1975.
Myanmar	Independence Day	January 4	1948	United Kingdom	Burmese Declaration of Independence
Namibia		March 21	1990	South Africa
Nauru		January 31	1968	Australia, New Zealand and the United Kingdom
Nepal	None
Netherlands, The		July 26	1581	Spanish Empire	Declaration of Independence in 1581 as the Dutch Republic
New Zealand	None
Nicaragua	Independence Day	September 15	1821	Spanish Empire	Act of Independence of Central America[citation needed]
Niger	Independence Day	August 3	1960	France	Effective date of the agreement with France signed on July 11.
Nigeria	Independence Day	October 1	1960	United Kingdom
North Macedonia	Independence Day (Den na nezavisnosta)	September 8	1991	SFR Yugoslavia
Norway	Constitution Day	May 17	1814	Denmark	National Day: Independence and the Constitution of Norway (May 17, 1814)
	Independence Day	June 7	1905	Sweden	Union Dissolution and Independence Day (June 7, 1905)
Oman	National Day	November 18	1650	Portugal
Pakistan	Independence Day (Youm-e-Azadi)	August 14	1947	United Kingdom	Effective date of the Indian Independence Act 1947; see also: Pakistan Day (March 23)
Palau	None
Palestine	National Day	November 15	1988	Israel	Palestinian Declaration of Independence
Panama		November 28	1821	Spain	Independence Act of Panama
		November 3	1903	Colombia	Panama was member of the “Gran Colombia” until 1903. The 1903 separation from Colombia is celebrated as an official holiday day on November 3.
Papua New Guinea		September 16	1975	Australia of the former Territory of Papua and New Guinea
Paraguay	Independence Day	May 14 and May 15	1811	Spanish Empire
Peru	Fiestas Patrias	July 28	1821	Spanish Empire
Philippines	Independence Day (Araw ng Kalayaan or Araw ng Kasarinlan)	June 12	1898	Spanish Empire	Philippine Declaration of Independence by Emilio Aguinaldo during the Philippine Revolution against Spain. The Philippines achieved self-rule from the United States on July 4, 1946, and celebrated July 4 as Independence Day until 1964.
Poland	Independence Day (Święto Niepodległości)	November 11	1918	Russian Soviet Federative Socialist Republic and German Empire	Restoration of Poland’s independence in 1918 after 123 years of partitions by Russia, Prussia, and Austria.
Portugal	Restoration of Independence Day	December 1	1640	Spanish Empire	Portugal was officially an autonomous state, but the country was in a personal union with the Spanish crown from 1580 to 1640 – date of the restoration of full Portuguese autonomy from Iberian Union with Spain.
Qatar	National Day	December 18	1878	Ottoman Empire
	Independence from Britain	December 18	1971	United Kingdom	The former is celebrated more often
Romania		May 9	1877	Ottoman Empire	Romania’s declaration of its independence, while the ultimately victorious independence war against the Ottoman Empire in 1877–1878 alongside Russia, was just beginning.
Russia	None
Rwanda	Independence Day	July 1	1962	Belgium	Effective date of the United Nations General Assembly Resolution 1746 terminating the Ruanda-Urundi Trusteeship
Saint Kitts and Nevis	Independence Day	September 19	1983	United Kingdom
Saint Lucia	Independence Day	February 22	1979	United Kingdom
Saint Vincent and the Grenadines	Independence Day	October 27	1979	United Kingdom
Samoa		June 1	1962	New Zealand
San Marino	None
São Tomé and Príncipe	Independence Day	July 12	1975	Portugal	Effective date of the agreement with Portugal reached on November 26, 1974
Saudi Arabia	National Day	September 23	1932		King Abdulaziz renames the Arabian Peninsula after himself “House of Saud” or “Saud’s Arabia”. King Abdullah officially recognized it in 2005 by royal decree.
Senegal	Independence Day	April 4	1960	France
Serbia	Statehood Day	February 15	1804 and 1835	Ottoman Empire	The beginning of First Serbian Uprising in 1804, it evolved into a Serbian Revolution, war for independence from Ottoman Empire; and the adoption of the first Constitution in 1835.
Seychelles		June 29	1976	United Kingdom
Sierra Leone	Independence Day	April 27	1961	United Kingdom
Singapore	National Day	August 9	1965	Malaysia	Proclamation of Singapore
Slovakia		July 17	1992		Declaration of Independence in 1992 (only a remembrance day), de jure independence came on January 1, 1993 after the division of Czechoslovakia (public holiday).
Slovenia	Independence and Unity Day	December 26 and June 25	1991	SFR Yugoslavia	Date of the release of the official results of the independence plebiscite in 1990, confirming secession from Yugoslavia. (Statehood Day) Declared independence from Yugoslavia in 1991.
Solomon Islands	Independence Day	July 7	1978	United Kingdom
Somalia	Independence Day	July 1	1960	Italy and United Kingdom	Union of the Trust Territory of Somalia (former Italian Somaliland) and British Somaliland to form the Somali Republic. Event commemorated annually.
South Africa	Not a holiday	December 11	1931	United Kingdom	Independence in 1931 in terms of the Balfour Declaration of 1926 which is not a public holiday. The Union of South Africa formed on May 31, 1910 and the Republic of South Africa declared on May 31, 1961 under minority rule during Apartheid. Majority rule achieved on April 27, 1994, which is celebrated annually as the Freedom Day.
South Sudan	Independence Day	July 9	2011	Sudan
Spain	None
Sri Lanka	Independence Day	February 4	1948	United Kingdom
Sudan	Independence Day	January 1	1956	Egypt and the United Kingdom
Suriname	Independence Day	November 25	1975	Netherlands
Sweden	National Day	June 6	1523		Celebrates the election of King Gustav Vasa in 1523 and the new constitutions in 1809 and 1974. The election of King Gustav Vasa was the de facto end of the Kalmar Union and has been seen as a formal declaration of independence.
Switzerland	Swiss National Day	August 1	1291		Alliance against the Holy Roman Empire in 1291.
Syria	Evacuation Day	April 17	1946	France	End of the French Mandate of Syria in 1946.
Tajikistan	Independence Day	September 9	1991	Soviet Union
Tanzania		December 9	1961	United Kingdom	Independence as Tanganyika
Togo		April 27	1960	France
Tonga		June 4	1970	United Kingdom	Termination of protectorate status in 1970
Trinidad and Tobago	Independence Day	August 31	1962	United Kingdom	Effective date of the Trinidad and Tobago Independence Act 1962
Tunisia	Independence Day	March 20	1956	France
Turkey	None				Republic Day (October 29) and National Sovereignty and Children’s Day (April 23) celebrate the founding of the Republic of Turkey, but are not independence days.
Turkmenistan	Independence Day	September 27	1991	Soviet Union
Tuvalu	Independence Day	October 1	1978	United Kingdom
Uganda	Independence Day	October 9	1962	United Kingdom
Ukraine	Independence Day	August 24	1991	Soviet Union	Declaration of Independence of Ukraine
	Day of Unity	January 22	1919	Russian Soviet Federative Socialist Republic	Unification of Ukraine on January 22, 1919.
United Arab Emirates	National Day	December 2	1971	United Kingdom
United States	Independence Day or Fourth of July	July 4	1776	Kingdom of Great Britain	United States Declaration of Independence
Uruguay	Independence Day	August 25	1825	United Provinces of the Rio de la Plata	Declaration of independence and union with the United Provinces of the Rio de la Plata.
Uzbekistan	Independence Day	September 1	1991	Soviet Union
Vanuatu	Independence Day	July 30	1980	United Kingdom and France
Vatican City	None
Venezuela	Independence Day	July 5	1811	Spanish Empire	Venezuelan Declaration of Independence
Vietnam	Independence Day	September 2	1945	Empire of Japan and French	Proclamation of Independence of the Democratic Republic of Vietnam
Yemen		November 30	1967	United Kingdom	Declaration of independence as South Yemen
Zambia	Independence Day	October 24	1964	United Kingdom	Effective date of the Zambia Independence Act 1964
Zimbabwe	Independence Day	April 18	1980	United Kingdom	Effective date of the Lancaster House Agreement