Independence Day
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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 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. |
| Australia | January 1 | Partial independence from the United Kingdom in 1901. |
| Bangladesh | March 26 | Public declaration (over radio) of independence from Pakistan in 1971. |
| Botswana | September 30 | Independence from the United Kingdom in 1966. |
| Burkina Faso | August 5 | Independence from France in 1960 |
| Brazil | September 7 | (Sete de Setembro) Independence from Portugal in 1822. |
| Burundi | July 1 | Independence from Belgium in 1962 |
| Central America | September 15 | celebrated in Guatemala, Honduras, El Salvador, Nicaragua, and Costa Rica, the former states of the United States of Central America, who achieved independence from Spain or Mexico on this date. |
| Canada | July 1 | (Canada Day) Partial independence from the United Kingdom in 1867. |
| Chile | September 18 | Independence from Spain in 1810. |
| Colombia | July 20 | Independence from Spain in 1810. |
| Croatia | October 8 | Independence from Yugoslavia. |
| Czech Republic | October 28 | As Czechoslovakia, marking restored independence from Austria-Hungary in 1918. |
| East Timor | May 20 | Independence from Indonesia in 2002. |
| Estonia | February 24 | Independence from Imperial Russia in 1918. |
| Finland | December 6 | Independence from Russia in 1917. |
| The Gambia | February 18 | Independence from UK in 1965. |
| Ghana | March 6 | Independence from UK in 1957. |
| Greece | March 25 | Revolution against Ottomans in 1821. |
| 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. | |
| Italy | April 25 | Independence from fascism in 1945. |
| Kazakhstan | December 16 | Independence from the Soviet Union in 1991. |
| Kenya | December 12 | Independence from the UK in 1963. |
| Korea | August 15 | (Liberation Day) 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 Imperial Russia in 1918. | |
| Lebanon | November 22 | Independence from France in 1943. |
| Lithuania | February 16 | Independence from Imperial Russia in 1918. |
| Malaysia | August 31 | (Hari Merdeka) Independence from the United Kingdom |
| Mali | September 22 | Independence from France in 1960 |
| Mexico | September 16 | Independence from Spain in 1810 (Fiestas Patrias) |
| Mongolia | November 26 | Independence from China (1921) (July 11) |
| Morocco | March 2 | Independence from France in 1956 |
| Norway | May 17 | Independence from Denmark in 1814 |
| Pakistan | August 14 | (Yaum e Azadi) Independence from the United Kingdom. |
| 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. |
| 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. |
| 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 (public holiday). |
| Slovenia | December 26 | (Dan neodvisnosti) Date of the official results of the independence plebiscite in 1990. |
| South Africa | May 31 | (Independence Day) marks formation of Union of South Africa in 1910. |
| Sri Lanka | February 4 | Independence from the United Kingdom. |
| 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 | August 30 | The victory in 1922 that ended Greek occupation in Anatolia. |
| Ukraine | August 24 | Independence from the Soviet Union in 1991. |
| United States | July 4 | (Fourth of July) Independence from Great Britain in 1776. |
| Venezuela | July 5 | Declared independence from Spain in 1811. |
| Western Sahara | February 28 (declared) | Independence from Spain in 1976. |