Top 5 Shortest-Lived Countries in History

One October morning in 1918, the State of Slovenes, Croats and Serbs issued its declaration of independence—and dissolved just 33 days later. Number five is the California Republic, which flew its own flag for only 25 days in 1846 before the U.S. Army marched in. Number four: the Republic of Ezo, declared by samurai rebels in Hokkaido in 1869, lasted five months before surrendering to Imperial Japan. At number three is the Republic of Sonora, created by American filibuster William Walker in Mexican territory in 1854, which vanished after just 92 days. Number two, the Republic of Carpatho-Ukraine, existed as an independent state for precisely 24 hours on March 15, 1939, before German and Hungarian troops erased it from the map. But number one goes to the Kingdom of Tavolara, which declared itself sovereign in 1836, only to be formally incorporated into Italy just one day later—a nation remembered for less time than most people spend at work.