Mapped: Recognition of Palestine by Country
The recent conflict between Hamas and Israel has brought the Gaza Strip, and the partially recognized State of Palestine, prominently into the focus of the global news cycle.
In the graphic above, we use Wikipedia data to map the countries that currently recognize Palestine as a state and those that don’t.
This post is a companion piece to our map showing the recognition of Israel by country.
55 Countries Do Not Recognize Palestine
On November 15, 1988, the State of Palestine was officially proclaimed by the Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO) coalition. The state claimed sovereignty of the Gaza Strip, the West Bank, and East Jerusalem.
As of November 2023, 138 of the 193 UN members (72%) recognize the State of Palestine.
Here are the 55 countries that don’t recognize Palestine:
| State | Recognizes Palestine? |
|---|---|
| 🇦🇩 Andorra | No |
| 🇦🇲 Armenia | No |
| 🇦🇺 Australia | No, informal relations |
| 🇦🇹 Austria | No, informal relations |
| 🇧🇸 Bahamas | No |
| 🇧🇧 Barbados | No |
| 🇧🇪 Belgium | No, informal relations |
| 🇨🇲 Cameroon | No, informal relations |
| 🇨🇦 Canada | No, informal relations |
| 🇭🇷 Croatia | No, informal relations |
| 🇩🇰 Denmark | No, informal relations |
| 🇪🇷 Eritrea | No, informal relations |
| 🇪🇪 Estonia | No, informal relations |
| 🇫🇲 Federated States of Micronesia | No |
| 🇫🇯 Fiji | No |
| 🇫🇮 Finland | No, informal relations |
| 🇫🇷 France | No, informal relations |
| 🇩🇪 Germany | No, informal relations |
| 🇬🇷 Greece | No, informal relations |
| 🇮🇪 Ireland | No, informal relations |
| 🇮🇱 Israel | No, informal relations |
| 🇮🇹 Italy | No, informal relations |
| 🇯🇲 Jamaica | No |
| 🇯🇵 Japan | No, informal relations |
| 🇰🇮 Kiribati | No |
| 🇱🇻 Latvia | No, informal relations |
| 🇱🇮 Liechtenstein | No |
| 🇱🇹 Lithuania | No, informal relations |
| 🇱🇺 Luxembourg | No, informal relations |
| 🇲🇭 Marshall Islands | No |
| 🇲🇽 Mexico | No, informal relations |
| 🇲🇩 Moldova | No, informal relations |
| 🇲🇨 Monaco | No |
| 🇲🇲 Myanmar | No |
| 🇳🇷 Nauru | No |
| 🇳🇱 Netherlands | No, informal relations |
| 🇳🇿 New Zealand | No, informal relations |
| 🇲🇰 North Macedonia | No |
| 🇳🇴 Norway | No, informal relations |
| 🇵🇼 Palau | No |
| 🇵🇦 Panama | No |
| 🇵🇹 Portugal | No, informal relations |
| 🇼🇸 Samoa | No |
| 🇸🇲 San Marino | No |
| 🇸🇬 Singapore | No |
| 🇸🇮 Slovenia | No, informal relations |
| 🇸🇧 Solomon Islands | No |
| 🇰🇷 South Korea | No, informal relations |
| 🇪🇸 Spain | No, informal relations |
| 🇨🇭 Switzerland | No, informal relations |
| 🇹🇴 Tonga | No |
| 🇹🇹 Trinidad and Tobago | No |
| 🇹🇻 Tuvalu | No |
| 🇬🇧 United Kingdom | No, informal relations |
| 🇺🇸 United States | No, informal relations |
Many of the world’s Western countries, including the entire G7, do not recognize Palestine. Instead, many maintain informal diplomatic relations.
In contrast, emerging major economies like those within BRICS and other G20 nations, including Argentina, Indonesia, Türkiye, and Saudi Arabia, officially recognize the state.
In 2012, the State of Palestine was also upgraded by the UN to become a non-member observer state, a status shared only by the Holy See of Vatican City.
Hamas and the Gaza Strip
Officially, the United Nations recognizes the PLO as the governing entity in the West Bank (including East Jerusalem) and the Gaza Strip, both of which fell under Israeli control following the 1967 Six-Day War.
After the Oslo Accords were signed by Israel and the PLO in the mid 1990s, the PLO gained control over the Gaza Strip and 40% of the West Bank through the newly-created Palestinian Authority administration.
However, following a 2007 military conflict between rival Palestinian factions Fatah (the majority party of the PLO) and Hamas (a militant political party separate from the PLO), the Gaza Strip has been governed by Hamas.
As of November 2023, just under 72% of UN members recognized Palestine as a country, compared to 84% for the State of Israel.
