International Recognition of Palestine

There are few places on Earth that are as geopolitically complex and controversial as Palestine, a nation that not everyone agrees is a nation. How did this come to be? And which countries recognize Palestine?

We’ll shed some light on these questions as we explore a brief history of Palestine, the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, and international recognition of Palestine. See our post on the international recognition of Israel to see how the two compare.

Below is a map of Palestine, comprising the Gaza Strip and the West Bank, its major cities, and its borders with Israel, Jordan, and Egypt.

Palestine Map 

Since the official Palestinian Declaration of Independence in 1988, the world has been divided in officially recognizing it as a nation. Out of the 193 United Nations member states, 138 countries officially recognize the State of Palestine.

On the map below, countries that recognize Palestine can be seen in green. Most countries in the regions of Asia, Central and South America, Africa, and the Middle East officially recognize the State of Palestine, while most countries in North America and Western Europe do not.

Mapped: Countries Recognizing Palestine

Before taking a closer look at how international recognition of Palestine has changed over time and some of the reasons countries decide to recognize it or not, we’ll learn about the history of Palestine and its journey to globally recognized statehood.  

A Short History of Palestine and the Israeli-Palestinian Conflict

Palestine Region

Before it had a national identity, the area of modern-day Palestine was part of the larger Region of Palestine, whose name is related to the Land of the Philistines, which comes from the Ancient Greek word Philistia, referring to the lands between modern-day Gaza and Tel Aviv.

The Region of Palestine has a tumultuous history as the birthplace of Christianity and Judaism as well as a crossroads of culture, trade, commerce, and politics. Over the centuries, the region was controlled by various empires; namely, the Neo-Assyrian Empire, Neo-Babylonian Empire, Achaemenid Persian Empire, Roman Empire, Byzantine Empire, and various caliphates before having a predominantly Muslim population and becoming part of the Ottoman Empire in the 16^th century.

Mandatory Palestine

During World War I, the Arab population of the Ottoman Empire was encouraged by the United Kingdom to rebel against the ruling Turks. In exchange for this rebellion, the British Government had agreed, by way of the McMahon—Hussein Correspondence, to support the formation of an independent Arab State.

Despite its agreement to support the formation of an independent Arab State, the British Government also engaged in a covert treaty at this time known as the Sykes-Picot Agreement. This agreement between the UK and France established guidelines for how the nations would divide the Arab-majority territories in a partition of the Ottoman Empire.

The result of the Sykes-Picot Agreement and the partition of the Ottoman Empire was the establishment of League of Nations mandates controlled by the British and French. Among these was the British-administered Mandate for Palestine.

In addition to gaining control of Mandatory Palestine, Britain had issued a public statement called the Balfour Declaration announcing its support for the establishment of a national home for the Jewish People.

This was in line with the goals of the Zionist Movement, which was growing in response to antisemitism in Europe. Part of Britain’s motivation for announcing its support of this plan was to garner the support of Jewish people in the war. The land of Mandatory Palestine includes the historic homelands of the Jewish people, making it an ideal location in the eyes of Zionists.

Britain’s Balfour Declaration would pave the way for the formation of the State of Israel and be considered partly responsible for the ongoing Palestinian-Israeli Conflict.

Over the next three decades after the establishment of Mandatory Palestine, tensions grew between the local Arab population and the increasing numbers of Jewish refugees. There were also violent uprisings by the Arab and Jewish populations against the British authorities in Palestine during this time.

Eventually, the UK made the decision to withdraw from Palestine and hand the resolution of the “Question of Palestine” over to the United Nations, which proposed a partition plan that would create a Palestinian State as well as an Israeli State. This was known as the “Two-State Solution,” though it was never successfully implemented.

Several successive violent clashes, including the 1947-1949 Palestine War and the Six-Day War of 1967 led to an expansion of Israeli territory and deepened the Palestinian-Israeli conflict. The conflict has displaced millions of Palestinian refugees around the world.  

The Palestinian Declaration of Independence, announced in 1988, was met with mixed reactions from the international community.

The United Nations and Palestine

In 1975, the UN created the UN Committee on the Exercise of the Inalienable Rights of the Palestinian People (CEIRPP), to protect the rights of the Palestinian people.

In pursuit of international recognition, sovereignty, and diplomatic relations, the State of Palestine has sought membership in the UN since declaring independence. This has been repeatedly opposed by Israel, the United States, and several other countries.

While Palestine has still not acquired full membership in the UN, it did gain non-Member Observer State status in the 2012 General Assembly. This achievement significantly enhanced Palestine’s international standing and has allowed it to participate in various UN activities and agencies, opening avenues for legal recourse through international institutions.

The vote to grant Palestine this status received overwhelming support; countries that voted against the move included the US, Israel, Canada, the Czech Republic, Panama, Nauru, Palau, and Micronesia.

President of Palestine Mahmoud Abbas made another appeal for full UN membership in 2022.

Countries That Recognize Palestine

As of 2022, there are 138 UN member states that officially recognized the State of Palestine, as listed in the table below.

Countries That Recognize Palestine	Date of Recognition
Afghanistan	1988
Albania	1988
Algeria	1988
Angola	1988
Antigua and Barbuda	2011
Argentina	2010
Azerbaijan	1992
Bahrain	1988
Bangladesh	1988
Belarus	1988
Belize	2011
Benin	1989
Bhutan	1988
Bolivia	2010
Bosnia and Herzegovina	1992
Botswana	1988
Brazil	2011
Brunei	1988
Bulgaria	1988
Burkina Faso	1988
Burundi	1988
Cambodia	1988
Cape Verde	1988
Central African Republic	1988
Chad	1988
Chile	2011
China	1988
Colombia	2018
Comoros	1988
Costa Rica	2008
Cuba	1988
Cyprus	1988
Czech Republic	1988
Djibouti	1988
Dominica	2011
Dominican Republic	2009
DR Congo	1988
Ecuador	2010
Egypt	1988
El Salvador	2011
Equatorial Guinea	1989
Eswatini	1991
Ethiopia	1989
Gabon	1988
Gambia	1988
Georgia	1992
Ghana	1988
Grenada	2011
Guatemala	2013
Guinea	1988
Guinea-Bissau	1988
Guyana	2011
Haiti	2013
Honduras	2011
Hungary	1988
Iceland	2011
India	1988
Indonesia	1988
Iran	1988
Iraq	1988
Ivory Coast	1988
Jordan	1988
Kazakhstan	1992
Kenya	1989
Kuwait	1988
Kyrgyzstan	1995
Laos	1988
Lebanon	2008
Lesotho	2011
Liberia	2011
Libya	1988
Madagascar	1988
Malawi	1998
Malaysia	1988
Maldives	1988
Mali	1988
Malta	1988
Mauritania	1988
Mauritius	1988
Mongolia	1988
Montenegro	2006
Morocco	1988
Mozambique	1988
Namibia	1988
Nepal	1988
Nicaragua	1988
Niger	1988
Nigeria	1988
North Korea	1988
Oman	1988
Pakistan	1988
Papua New Guinea	1995
Paraguay	2011
Peru	2011
Philippines	1989
Poland	1988
Qatar	1988
Republic of the Congo	1988
Romania	1988
Russia	1988
Rwanda	1989
Saint Kitts and Nevis	2019
Saint Lucia	2015
Sao Tome and Principe	2011
Saudi Arabia	1988
Senegal	1988
Serbia	1988
Seychelles	1988
Sierra Leone	1988
Slovakia	1988
Somalia	1988
South Africa	1995
South Sudan	2011
Sri Lanka	1988
Sudan	1988
Suriname	2011
Sweden	2014
Syria	2011
Tajikistan	1994
Tanzania	1988
Thailand	2012
Timor-Leste	2004
Togo	1988
Tunisia	1988
Turkey	1988
Turkmenistan	1992
Uganda	1988
Ukraine	1988
United Arab Emirates	1988
Uruguay	2011
Uzbekistan	1994
Vanuatu	1989
Vatican City (UN obs. state)	2015
Venezuela	2009
Vietnam	1988
Yemen	1988
Zambia	1988
Zimbabwe	1988

Many of the countries not on this list state that they will abstain from recognizing Palestine until productive negotiations between Palestine and Israel take place. One of the motivations some countries have for not recognizing Palestine is strong diplomatic ties with either Israel or the US.

Countries That Do Not Recognize Palestine

In the table below, we’ll list the countries that do not currently recognize Palestine. Some of these countries have diplomatic relations with Palestine even though they do not officially recognize the nation.

Although these countries don’t officially recognize Palestine as an independent state, many of them support a two-state solution and have diplomatic relations with Palestine.

Countries That Do Not Recognize Palestine	Diplomatic Relations With Palestine
Andorra	No
Armenia	No
Australia	Yes
Austria	Yes
Barbados	No
Belgium	Yes
Cameroon	Yes
Canada	Yes
Croatia	Yes
Denmark	Yes
Eritrea	Yes
Estonia	Yes
Fiji	No
Finland	Yes
France	Yes
Germany	Yes
Greece	Yes
Iceland	Yes
Ireland	Yes
Israel	Yes
Italy	Yes
Jamaica	No
Japan	Yes
Kiribati	No
Latvia	Yes
Liechtenstein	No
Lithuania	Yes
Luxembourg	Yes
Marshall Islands	No
Mexico	Yes
Micronesia	No
Moldova	Yes
Monaco	No
Myanmar	No
Nauru	No
Netherlands	Yes
New Zealand	Yes
North Macedonia	No
Norway	Yes
Palau	No
Panama	No
Portugal	Yes
Samoa	No
San Marino	No
Singapore	No
Slovenia	Yes
Solomon Islands	No
South Korea	Yes
Spain	Yes
Switzerland	Yes
The Bahamas	No
Tonga	No
Trinidad and Tobago	No
Tuvalu	No
United Kingdom	Yes
United States of America	Yes

Recent Developments in Palestine

In the last decade, seven new countries have expressed recognition of Palestine: Guatemala, Grenada, Haiti, Sweden, Saint Lucia, Colombia, and Saint Kitts and Nevis.  

Guatemala

In April 2013, the President of Guatemala issued a statement that said the country recognized the State of Palestine as a “free, sovereign and independent state.” The motivation for the recognition was to make progress in the Israeli-Palestinian peace process. Guatemala does not have diplomatic relations with Palestine.

Guatemala and the State of Israel have had a strong diplomatic relationship for many years. Guatemala was the second country to recognize Israel after the US in 1948, and it opened an embassy in Jerusalem just two days after the controversial decision by the US to consider the city the capital of Israel.

Grenada and Haiti

After Guatemala, both Grenada and Haiti decided to officially recognize the State of Palestine in September 2013, the year after it became a non-Member Observer State in the UN. The Palestinian Foreign Minister signed agreements with both nations at a ceremony held at the UN headquarters in New York City. The agreement led to an exchange of ambassadors between the countries.

Sweden

In a move making it the first Western European EU member to do so, Sweden announced its decision to officially recognize the State of Palestine in 2014. Palestine opened an embassy in Stockholm the following year, and a plan was put in place to provide Palestine with financial aid from Sweden. This aid was suspended in 2023 after the October 7 Hamas attacks on Israel, pending further review at the end of the year.

Saint Lucia

The Caribbean nation of Saint Lucia joined more than 130 others in recognizing Palestine in 2015. The country issued a Statement on Diplomatic Relations with the State of Palestine at an official signing ceremony in New York City.

Colombia

Colombia was one of the last Latin American countries to recognize Palestine formally, doing so in 2018. The announcement was controversial, as it took place just weeks before a new Colombian government took office. Colombia’s President issued a statement in October 2023 concerning the occupation of Palestinian territory.

Saint Kitts and Nevis

The most recent country to recognize Palestine is Saint Kitts and Nevis, a small island nation located in the Caribbean. The country stated in 2019 that it “formally recognizes the State of Palestine as a free, independent and sovereign state based on its 1967 borders and East Jerusalem as its capital.” It also supports a two-state solution between Palestine and Israel.