Independence Day
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(Redirected from Independence day)
- For other uses, see Independence Day (disambiguation).
An Independence Day is an annual celebration commemorating the anniversary of a nation's assumption of independent statehood, usually after ceasing to be a colony of another state. Most countries honour their respective independence day as a national holiday.
List of Independence Days
The following is a partial list of independence days around the world:
| Country | Date | Significant event |
|---|---|---|
| Afghanistan | August 18 | Independence from the United Kingdom in 1919. |
| Albania | November 28 | (Dita e Pavarësisë) Proclaimed by Ismail Qemali in 1912 and signalled the end of five centuries of Ottoman rule |
| Angola | November 11 | Portugal grants independence to its former colony in 1975. |
| Antigua and Barbuda | November 1 | Partial independence from the United Kingdom in 1981. |
| Argentina | July 9 | Independence from Spain in 1816. |
| Armenia | September 21 | Independence from the Soviet Union in 1991. |
| Australia | January 1 | Partial independence from the United Kingdom in 1901. |
| Bahamas | July 10 | Independence from the United Kingdom in 1973. |
| Bangladesh | March 26 | Public declaration (over radio) of independence from Pakistan in 1971. |
| Belgium | October 4 | (Belgian revolution) Independence from the Netherlands in 1830. |
| Botswana | September 30 | Independence from the United Kingdom in 1966. |
| Brazil | September 7 | (Sete de Setembro) Independence from Portugal in 1822. |
| Brunei | January 1 | Independence from United Kingdom in 1984 |
| Bulgaria | March 3 | Independence from Ottoman Empire in 1878 |
| Burkina Faso | August 5 | Independence from France in 1960 |
| Burundi | July 1 | Independence from Belgium in 1962 |
| Central America | September 15 | celebrated in Guatemala, Honduras, El Salvador - September 14, Nicaragua, and Costa Rica, the former states of the United States of Central America, who achieved independence from Spain or Mexico on this date in 1821. |
| Canada | July 1 | (Canada Day) British colonies joined to form one country, partial autonomy, as a Dominion, granted by the United Kingdom in 1867. |
| Cape Verde Islands | July 5 | (Cape Verde Independence Day) Independence from Portugal in 1975. |
| Chile | February 12 | Independence from Spain in 1818. |
| Colombia | July 20 | Independence from Spain in 1810. |
| Croatia | October 8 | Independence from Yugoslavia in 1991. |
| Czech Republic | October 28 | As Czechoslovakia, marking restored independence from Austria-Hungary in 1918. |
| Dominican Republic | February 27 | Independence from Haiti in 1844, after a 22-year occupation. |
| East Timor | May 20 | Independence from Indonesia in 2002. |
| Estonia | February 24 | Independence from Soviet Russia in 1918. |
| Finland | December 6 | Independence from Russia in 1917. |
| The Gambia | February 18 | Independence from the United Kingdom in 1965. |
| Georgia | May 26 | Independence from Russia in 1918. |
| Ghana | March 6 | Independence from the United Kingdom in 1957. |
| Greece | 25 March | Independence from Ottoman Empire in 1821. |
| Guyana | May 26 | Independence from the United Kingdom in 1966. |
| Iceland | June 17 | Independence from Denmark in 1944. |
| India | August 15 | Independence from the United Kingdom in 1947. |
| Indonesia | August 17 | Proclamation of Independence day (Hari Proklamasi Kemerdekaan R.I.) Independence from Netherlands in 1945. |
| Israel | (Yom Ha'atzma'ut) Hebrew date of 5 Iyar (unless that falls on Shabbat, in which case it is the 3rd) which occurs usually at the end of spring (May). The Gregorian date in which Israeli independence was proclaimed is May 14, 1948 (from Great Britain). | |
| Kazakhstan | December 16 | Independence from the Soviet Union in 1991. |
| Kenya | December 12 | Independence from the United Kingdom in 1963. |
| Korea | August 15 | (Gwangbokjeol) Independence from Japan in 1945. |
| Kyrgyzstan | August 31 | Independence from USSR in 1991. |
| Latvia | May 4 | (Neatkaribas deklaracijas pasludinasanas diena) Independence from the Soviet Union in 1990. |
| November 18 | (Latvijas Republikas proklamesanas diena) Independence from Soviet Russia in 1918. | |
| Lebanon | November 22 | Independence from France in 1943. |
| Lithuania | February 16 | Independence from Soviet Russia in 1918. |
| Macedonia | September 8 | (Den na nezavisnosta or Ден на независноста) Independence from Yugoslavia in 1991. |
| Malaysia | August 31 | (Hari Merdeka) Independence from the United Kingdom in 1957 |
| Mali | September 22 | Independence from France in 1960 |
| Malta | September 21 | (Independence Day (Malta)) Independence from the United Kingdom in 1964. |
| Mexico | September 16 | Independence from Spain in 1810 (Fiestas Patrias) |
| Moldova | August 27 | Independence from the Soviet Union in 1991 |
| Mongolia | November 26 | Independence from China in July 11, 1921 |
| Morocco | March 2 | Independence from France in 1956 |
| Mozambique | June 25 | Independence from Portugal in 1975 |
| Niger | August 3 | Independence from France in 1960 |
| Norway | June 7 | Independence from Sweden in 1905 |
| Pakistan | August 14 | (Yaum e Azadi) Independence from the United Kingdom and India in 1947. |
| Palestine | July 5 (declared) | Independence from Israel. |
| Panama | November 3 | Independence from Colombia in 1903. |
| Papua New Guinea | September 16 | Independence from Australia of the former Territories of New Guinea, and Papua, in 1975. |
| Paraguay | May 15 | (Día de Independencia) Independence from Spain in 1811. |
| Peru | July 28 | Independence from Spain in 1821. |
| Philippines | June 12 | (Araw ng Kalayaan) Independence from Spain in 1898. |
| Poland | November 11 | (Święto Niepodległości) Restoration of Poland's independence in 1918. |
| Portugal | December 1 | Restoration of Portugal's independence (from Spain) in 1640.
The country's original independece (from the Kingdom of León) was recognized on the 5th of October of 1143. That day is a holiday in Portugal, but for a different reason. (Implantation of the Republic, or Republic Day. Event of 1910.) |
| Romania | May 9 | Independence from the Ottoman Empire in 1877. |
| Russia | June 12 | (Russia Day) |
| Rwanda | July 1 | Independence from Belgium in 1962. |
| Serbia | February 15 | The beginning of the First Uprising against Ottoman occupation in 1804. |
| Serbia and Montenegro | February 4 | Constitutional Charter was pronounced in 2003. |
| Seychelles | 29 June | Independence from the United Kingdom in 1976. |
| Singapore | August 9 | (National Day) marks expulsion / separation from Malaysia in 1965. |
| Slovakia | July 17 | Declaration of Independence (only a remembrance day), but the independence came only on January 1, 1993 from the division of Czechoslovakia (public holiday). |
| Slovenia | December 26 | (Dan neodvisnosti) Date of the official results of the independence plebiscite in 1990, confirming secession from Yugoslavia. |
| South Africa | May 31 | (Independence Day) marks formation of Union of South Africa in 1910. |
| Sri Lanka | February 4 | Independence from the United Kingdom in 1948. |
| Suriname | November 25 | Independence from The Netherlands in 1975. |
| Switzerland | August 1 | Alliance against the Holy Roman Empire in 1291. |
| Swaziland | September 6 | Independence from the United Kingdom in 1968. |
| Tajikistan | September 9 | Independence from the Soviet Union in 1991. |
| Trinidad and Tobago | August 31 | Independence from the United Kingdom in 1962. |
| Tonga | June 4 | Independence from the United Kingdom in 1970. |
| Turkey | October 29 | Declared independence in 1923. |
| Ukraine | August 24 | Independence from the Soviet Union in 1991. |
| United States | July 4 | (Fourth of July) Formal declaration of independence from Great Britain in 1776. |
| Uruguay | August 25 | (Día de la Independencia) Independence from Brazil in 1825. |
| Uzbekistan | September 1 | Independence from USSR in 1991. |
| Venezuela | July 5 | Declared independence from Spain in 1811. |
| Vietnam | September 2 | Declared independence from France in 1945. |
| Western Sahara | February 28 | Declared independence from Spain in 1976. |
