The following entities are excluded from the list above: • The
Sovereign Military Order of Malta (SMOM) is considered a
sovereign non-state entity, as it claims neither statehood nor territory. It has established
diplomatic relations with 114 UN member states, the
Holy See,
Palestine and the
European Union as a
sovereign subject of international law. Additionally, it participates in the United Nations as a
permanent observer entity, the same status granted to organizations such as the
International Olympic Committee. • Subnational entities and regions that function as
de facto independent states, with the central government exercising little or no control over their territory, but that do not explicitly claim to be independent. Examples include the
Gaza Strip in
Palestine, the
Kurdistan Region in
Iraq,
Puntland in
Somalia,
Rojava in
Syria, and the
Wa State in
Myanmar. •
Rebel groups that have
declared independence and exert some control over territory, but that reliable sources do not describe as meeting the threshold of a sovereign state under international law. Examples include
Ambazonia and the
Islamic State; see
list of rebel groups that control territory for a more complete list of such groups. • Those areas undergoing current
civil wars and other disputes over government succession (such as
rival governments), regardless of temporary alignment with
the inclusion criteria (e.g. by receiving recognition as state or legitimate government), where the conflict is still in its active phase, the situation is too rapidly changing and no relatively stable
quasi-states have emerged yet. • Those of the current
irredentist movements and
governments in exile that do not satisfy
the inclusion criteria by simultaneously not satisfying the declarative theory and not having been recognised as a state or legitimate government by any other state. • Entities considered to be
micronations, even if they are recognised by another micronation. Even though micronations generally claim to be sovereign and independent, it is often debatable whether a micronation truly controls its claimed territory. For this reason, micronations are usually not considered of geopolitical relevance. For a list of micronations, see
list of micronations. •
Uncontacted peoples who live in
societies that cannot be defined as states or whose statuses as such are not definitively known. • Some states can be slow to establish relations with new UN member states and thus do not explicitly recognise them, despite having no dispute and sometimes favorable relations. These are excluded from the list. Examples include
Croatia and
Montenegro. • The
Joseon Cybernation, a self-proclaimed digital nation which claims no territory, was given recognition by UN member state
Antigua and Barbuda in 2023. International law does not have a mechanism for recognising states "in
cyberspace". == See also ==