Map: Which Countries Recognize Palestine as Independent in 2016?

(Keep up with changes to Palestine's situation: view all Palestine updates.)

Click to enlarge. Palestine in magenta (circled). Map by Evan Centanni, modified from public domain graphic (source).

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Article by Evan Centanni

Disputed Country

The Palestinian Liberation Organization (PLO) declared an independent State of Palestine in 1988, and continues to pursue its recognition as a country today. Though Palestine's claimed territories are disputed and largely occupied by Israel, it has gathered recognition from more than two-thirds of the world's countries, and is also treated as a country by the UN General Assembly, where it's an "Observer State" but not a member.

Country Name:   • Palestine (English) • Filasṭīn (Arabic) Official Name:   • State of Palestine (English) • Dawlat Filasṭin (Arabic) Capital:  • Jerusalem (claimed) • Ramallah (administrative)

The number of individual countries recognizing Palestine has grown gradually over the past decades. Last June we reported that 135 U.N. member states (and one observer state) officially recognized Palestine, and since September the number is now 136 (about 70% of all UN members). Palestine is also recognized by the proclaimed government of Western Sahara, another disputed country that's not formally recognized by the UN.

Saint Lucia Recognizes Palestine

Last September, the small Caribbean island country of Saint Lucia became the latest national government to recognize Palestine as independent. The formal acknowledgement came on September 14, 2015, when the two countries' UN representatives signed an agreement in New York to establish diplomatic relations.

Saint Lucia is now one of about half the world's countries whose government recognizes both Palestine and Israel as independent countries. All of the independent Caribbean countries except Cuba recognize Israel, and most also recognize Palestine, with the exception of Jamaica, the Bahamas, Saint Kitts and Nevis, Barbados, and Trinidad and Tobago.

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Palestine Recognized as a Country by the UN
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