Which Country Lasted The Shortest?

If you’ve arrived here, you’re likely wondering what country was around for the shortest amount of time.

As in, which country was officially a country, is not a country anymore, and lasted the least amount of time as an official country.

It might shock you to find out that there is even a country that lasted only 8 seconds.

Here is a list of the shortest-lived countries in history.

Which Disputed Country Lasted the Shortest?

It’s not easy to figure out exactly which country lasted the shortest amount of time. It all comes down to, what we define a country as in the first place.

There could be both official and unofficial winners for the country that lasted the shortest, and we’ve attempted to give you both.

In either case, there are a few candidates for the world’s most short-lived country.

Here are a couple of the best contenders:

Sultanate of Zanzibar

Zanzibar is a small island country located in the Indian Ocean. On December 10, 1963, the country declared its independence from British rule and became the Sultanate of Zanzibar.

However, the country only lasted one day as on December 11, 1963, it merged with Tanganyika to form the United Republic of Tanzania.

Republic of Crimea

The Republic of Crimea is a disputed territory located in Ukraine.

On March 17, 2014, the Republic of Crimea declared its independence from Ukraine and became a self-proclaimed independent state.

However, on March 18, 2014, Ukraine abolished the Republic of Crimea and reintegrated it into Ukraine.

Therefore, the Republic of Crimea lasted one day as a country.

Russian Democratic Fedarative Republic

The Russian Democratic Federative Republic was a short-lived country that existed for only about six hours on November 7, 1918.

The country was formed after the Bolshevik Revolution when Soviet Russia was renamed the Russian Soviet Federative Socialist Republic.

However, the republic only lasted for a few hours as a country as it was quickly replaced by the Russian Soviet Federative Socialist Republic.

But the undisputed, unofficial winner is…

The Independent State of Catalonia

The Independent State of Catalonia only lasted eight seconds of a 2017 speech by its president, Carles Puigdemont.

The announcement of the new country was met with mixed reactions, with some supporters cheering and others jeering.

The state was declared in response to the Spanish government’s decision to suspend Catalan autonomy after the region held a referendum on independence that was deemed illegal by Madrid.

While the new country didn’t last long, it did put up a fight.

The Spanish government responded by taking control of Catalonia’s finances, arresting several pro-independence leaders, and calling for new elections.

The Catalan government has vowed to continue fighting for its independence.

Which Official Country Lasted The Shortest?

Unofficially, we would give the crown to the Independent State of Catalonia, as it only lasted around 8 seconds!

Officially though, we need to give it to…

The Isle of Man

The country of record that lasted the shortest amount of time was the Isle of Man.

The island was only an autonomous region for two weeks before it merged with the United Kingdom on March 17, 1974.

This was largely due to internal political pressure and the belief that the island would have a more stable future as part of the UK.

It is no longer a country, but is now regarded as a self-governing territory and a well known tax-haven.

Shortest Lived Country Answer

So there you have it, that is our list of the shortest-lived countries throughout history.

Whether this is to help during a quiz or simply satisfy you curiosity, we hope it helped!

If you’re interested in learning more, here’s a hilarious video from the Half as Interesting YouTube channel where he dives into this exact question.

If you were intested by this article, make sure to check out our country fun fact section.

Do you have anything to add? Let us know in the comments below.