Which 30 countries decided to be independent?

Sudanese celebrate following the announcement of the preliminary results in the Southern Sudan referendum in Juba on January 30, 2011

Celebrations after results in the Southern Sudan referendum in 2011

The Scottish government says it will take until March 2016 for Scotland to become independent if there is a "Yes" vote in the referendum in autumn next year.

First Minister Alex Salmond said the timescale was in line with previous international experience.

He told BBC Scotland: "30 countries have gone through the process of having a referendum and then becoming independent.

"The average timescale for these 30 countries since the Second World War is 15 months - we've actually allowed a bit longer than that in the process."

Mr Salmond then asked: "If 30 other countries managed to do it, then why couldn't Scotland?"

The Scottish government has given the BBC a list of the 30 countries which it says have decided on independence since World War II - along with the year they took UN membership.

  • 1960 Central African Republic

  • 1960 Chad

  • 1960 Gabon

  • 1960 Dahomey (Republic of Benin)

  • 1960 Upper Volta (Burkino Faso)

  • 1960 Togo

  • 1960 Senegal

  • 1960 Niger

  • 1960 Mali

  • 1960 Malagasy Republic (Madagascar)

  • 1960 Ivory Coast

  • 1962 Algeria

  • 1962 Jamaica

  • 1975 Comoros

  • 1976 Samoa

  • 1977 Djibouti

  • 1980 Saint Vincent and the Grenadines

  • 1981 Vanuatu

  • 1990 Namibia

  • 1991 Estonia

  • 1992 Croatia

  • 1992 Slovenia

  • 1993 Eritrea

  • 1993 The former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia

  • 1994 Palau

  • 1999 Kiribati

  • 2000 Tuvalu

  • 2002 Timor-Leste

  • 2006 Montenegro

  • 2011 South Sudan