15 Countries With Active Separatist Movements

On average, since 1960, the world has gotten 2 new countries every year. Some of these have been through a peaceful process of decolonization, while others are the result of brutal civil war. Even with 195 countries recognized by the United Nations today, this process shows little sign of slowing down. Even some well-established, powerful countries are in danger of splitting up. Check out these examples of countries with separatist movements in 2024.

1. Belgium

Flanders, the northern half of Belgium, speaks a Dutch dialect called Flemish. Wallonia, southern Belgium, is French-speaking. There are proposals to divide Belgium into two independent countries or for Flanders to unite with the Netherlands while Wallonia joins France.

2. Bosnia and Herzegovina

Bosnia and Herzegovina is one of the countries that emerged from the Yugoslav civil war. The country’s leadership rotates between the three main ethnic groups: Serbs, Croats, and Bosniaks. The Serbian region, known as Republika Srpska, seeks independence or unification with neighboring Serbia.

3. Canada

There have been many different proposals for partitioning Canada, the world’s second-largest country, into separate nations. The most serious efforts have taken place in Quebec, but there have also been small movements to separate British Columbia, Western Canada, Alberta, Saskatchewan, and Vancouver Island.

4. China

China is a vast, multiethnic state ruled mainly by the Han ethnic group. The more distant parts of the country long for more autonomy or outright independence. Xinjiang, Tibet, and Inner Mongolia are the largest areas with the most serious secessionist sentiments. Inner Mongolia would like independence or unification with independent Mongolia next door.

5. Cyprus

The island of Cyprus is split between the Turkish population in the north and Greeks in the south, separated by a UN-administered buffer zone. Many people in Northern Cyprus would like to unify with Turkey or be recognized as an independent country.

6. Denmark

Denmark controls the Faroe Islands and Greenland in the North Atlantic. Both have independence movements. Greenland has a substantial degree of self-government, and over 65% of the population favors complete independence.

7. Georgia

Abkhazia and South Ossetia are two regions of Georgia seeking independence or unification with Russia. In 2008, Russia invaded Georgia to occupy these regions and stymie the country’s drift toward membership in Western institutions such as NATO and the EU.

8. India

Extremely ethnically diverse and having the largest population in the world, India has a challenging task holding its regions together. These are some of the regions with independence movements: Assam, Nagaland, Kashmir, Kamtapur, Manipur, Sikkim, Punjab, Meghalaya, Tripura, Mizoram, Kukiland, Santhal Pargana, Dimasaland, Tiwa, Zogam, and South India.

9. Mexico

The regions of Chiapas and Oaxaca in the far south of Mexico are two areas that have militant movements for independence. These areas can be hotbeds of criminal activity and are not considered safe for foreigners to visit.

10. Moldova

The former Soviet state of Moldova includes a thin strip of land across the Dnister River known as Transnistria. The area is loyal to Russia and seeks either independence or union with Russia. Another less-well-known part of Moldova that desires independence is Gagauzia.

11. Russia

Russia is the largest country in the world and one of the most ethnically diverse. These are some of the regions that may declare independence if Russia’s grip weakenas: Chechnya, Circassia, Ingushetia, Kaliningrad Oblast, Leningrad Oblast, Karelia, Kalmykia, Bashkortostan, Chuvashia, Idel-Ural, Mari El, Mordovia, and Tatarstan.

12. Spain

Spain has many separatist movements, mainly in regions along its coastlines that used to be independent kingdoms before unification. These include the Basque Country, Catalonia, Galicia, Valencia, Aragon, the Balearic Islands, Andalusia, and Asturias.

13. Ukraine

Even prior to the Russian invasion, Ukraine had some low-key separatist movements in Crimea, seeking an independent state for the Crimean Tatars, and Ruthenia, seeking independence or unification with Hungary. Invading Russians claimed they were supporting the aspirations of Donetsk and Luhansk Oblasts, though there was little indication before the intervention that either region wanted to leave Ukraine.

14. United Kingdom

The UK is made up of four kingdoms: England, Wales, Scotland, and Northern Ireland. Each of these has its own separatist movement seeking to break up the Union. In the case of Northern Ireland, one possibility is reunification with the rest of Ireland. There are also smaller secessionist movements in many other regions of the UK: Cornwall, Northern England, the Midlands (Mercia), and even the city of London itself.

15. United States

The United States weathered a civil war with its unity intact, but there are still those who wish for an independent country encompassing the former Confederate states. The most persistent suggestions for splitting up the country, however, mention California and Texas as the most viable candidates to be self-sustaining nations. Realistically, the only part of the United States with a real shot at independence would be Puerto Rico. It remains in limbo as an American territory without a clear consensus on whether it should become a state or a separate country.

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