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Countries that Recognize Palestine 2024

The State of Palestine is a partially recognized sovereign state, similar to Kosovo and Taiwan, which is currently classified as a "non-member observer state" by the United Nations. As of April 2022, Palestine 138 of the United Nations' 193 members (and one observer) have recognized Palestine. Geographically, Palestine is located in the Mediterranean Middle East and consists of two non-contiguous territories: the West Bank and the Gaza Strip. These territories are separated by Israel, another partially recognized country—but one that has gained enough recognition (162 of 193 members) to join the U.N.—though its statehood is disputed by some members.

Palestine and Israel are the two main players in the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, a political and military dispute in which both Palestinian Jews and Israeli Arabs/Muslims claim the same territory—particularly the city of Jerusalem—which is considered holy by both faiths. While the two are currently locked in a politically complex, at times violent stalemate, Palestine continues to seek formal recognition from enough United Nations member states so that it, too, may achieve full U.N.-member status. A list of countries that recognize Palestine appears below, and the full data set complete with dates appears further down this page.

A brief summary of the conflict between Israel and Palestine

The region of modern-day Palestine has been ruled by several groups throughout history, including the Greeks, the Romans, and the Ottoman Empire. After World War I, the British controlled a region called Mandatory Palestine, which encompassed territory that would become modern Palestine, Israel, and parts of Jordan and Egypt. However, both Jews and Arabs/Muslims declared it was their right to establish a new, exclusive country in the area.

In 1947, the United Nations proposed the two-state solution, which would divide Mandatory Palestine into two separate nations: a Jewish state and an Arab state. Neither state would possess Jerusalem, which would become an internationalized territory.

While Jewish leaders accepted the plan, Arab leaders opposed it, arguing that they represented the majority of the population in certain regions and should be given more territory. The Arab state of Israel was founded in May 1948, coinciding with the British withdrawal from Palestine, and the Arab-Israeli conflict quickly broke out between Israel and Jordan, Iraq, Syria, Egypt, Lebanon, and Palestine. Although its intensity has waxed and waned over the decades, the conflict continues today.

In 1988, the Palestinian Declaration of Independence proclaimed the establishment of the State of Palestine. The Declaration was recognized by several countries shortly after. In 1993 and 1995, the Oslo Accords were signed by Israel and the Palestine Liberation Organization to resolve the ongoing Israeli-Palestinian conflict, including establishing the Palestinian National Authority as a self-governing interim administration in areas of the West Bank and the Gaza Strip.

Today, much of Palestine is occupied territory, with West Bank split between Palestinians and Israeli occupiers and Gaza Strip occupied by Hamas, a fundamentalist Islamic group unaffiliated with either Israel or Palestine. While the various factions have attempted to negotiate over the years, no agreement has been made. As a result, instability, displacement, and violence still occur throughout the region.

Many of the countries that do not recognize Palestine as a state, such as the United States, Germany, the United Kingdom, France, Japan, and Canada, support a two-state solution. However, their recognition of a Palestinian state is conditioned on direct negotiations between Israel and the Palestinian National Authority.

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Country
Date Recognized
Ecuador12-27-2010
Bhutan12-25-1988
Central African Republic12-23-1988
Burundi12-22-1988
Nepal12-19-1988
Botswana12-19-1988
DR Congo12-18-1988
Bolivia12-17-2010
Iceland12-15-2011
Poland12-14-1988
Oman12-13-1988
Gabon12-12-1988
Sao Tome and Principe12-10-1988
Mozambique12-08-1988
Argentina12-06-2010
Angola12-06-1988
Republic of the Congo12-05-1988
Brazil12-03-2011
Uganda12-03-1988
Sierra Leone12-03-1988
Laos12-02-1988
Ivory Coast12-01-2008
Chad12-01-1988
Lebanon11-30-2008
Ghana11-29-1988
Zimbabwe11-29-1988
Togo11-29-1988
Maldives11-28-1988
Bulgaria11-25-1988
Tanzania11-24-1988
Niger11-24-1988
North Korea11-24-1988
Romania11-24-1988
Cape Verde11-24-1988
Hungary11-23-1988
Senegal11-22-1988
Mongolia11-22-1988
Mali11-21-1988
Burkina Faso11-21-1988
Cambodia11-21-1988
Guinea11-21-1988
Guinea Bissau11-21-1988
Comoros11-21-1988
China11-20-1988
Russia11-19-1988
Vietnam11-19-1988
Ukraine11-19-1988
Belarus11-19-1988
Namibia11-19-1988
India11-18-1988
Nigeria11-18-1988
Egypt11-18-1988
Sri Lanka11-18-1988
Czech Republic11-18-1988
Slovakia11-18-1988
Gambia11-18-1988
Cyprus11-18-1988
Seychelles11-18-1988
Sudan11-17-1988
Albania11-17-1988
Mauritius11-17-1988
Djibouti11-17-1988
Brunei11-17-1988
Pakistan11-16-1988
Bangladesh11-16-1988
Afghanistan11-16-1988
Saudi Arabia11-16-1988
Madagascar11-16-1988
Zambia11-16-1988
Jordan11-16-1988
Cuba11-16-1988
United Arab Emirates11-16-1988
Nicaragua11-16-1988
Serbia11-16-1988
Qatar11-16-1988
Malta11-16-1988
Indonesia11-15-1988
Turkey11-15-1988
Iraq11-15-1988
Algeria11-15-1988
Morocco11-15-1988
Yemen11-15-1988
Malaysia11-15-1988
Somalia11-15-1988
Tunisia11-15-1988
Libya11-15-1988
Mauritania11-15-1988
Kuwait11-15-1988
Bahrain11-15-1988
Western Sahara11-15-1988
Kyrgyzstan11-01-1995
Sweden10-30-2014
Malawi10-23-1998
Haiti09-27-2013
Grenada09-25-2011
Uzbekistan09-25-1994
Antigua and Barbuda09-22-2011
Dominica09-19-2011
Saint Lucia09-14-2015
Belize09-09-2011
Philippines09-01-1989
Saint Vincent and the Grenadines08-29-2011
Honduras08-26-2011
El Salvador08-25-2011
Vanuatu08-21-1989
Colombia08-03-2018
Saint Kitts and Nevis07-29-2019
Montenegro07-24-2006
Syria07-18-2011
Dominican Republic07-15-2009
South Sudan07-14-2011
Liberia07-01-2011
Eswatini07-01-1991
Bosnia and Herzegovina05-27-1992
Lesotho05-03-2011
Kenya05-01-1989
Benin05-01-1989
Equatorial Guinea05-01-1989
Venezuela04-27-2009
Georgia04-25-1992
Turkmenistan04-17-1992
Azerbaijan04-15-1992
Guatemala04-09-2013
Kazakhstan04-06-1992
Tajikistan04-02-1994
Uruguay03-16-2011
Timor Leste03-01-2004
South Africa02-15-1995
Costa Rica02-05-2008
Ethiopia02-04-1989
Iran02-04-1988
Vatican City02-01-2015
Paraguay01-29-2011
Suriname01-26-2011
Peru01-24-2011
Thailand01-18-2012
Guyana01-13-2011
Papua New Guinea01-13-1995
Chile01-07-2011
Rwanda01-02-1989
showing: 140 rows

How many countries recognize Palestine?

There are a total of 140 countries that recognize Palestine as a sovereign nation.

Which countries recognize Palestine?

Some of the countries that recognize Palestine include Ecuador, Egypt, India, Iceland, Romania, Poland, Burundi, Thailand, Tanzania, Iraq, Sweden, and Russia. The United States does not recognize Palestine.

Frequently Asked Questions

Sources