word | | Independence |
| King | Hungary | 25 December 1000 (crowning of King STEPHEN I, traditional founding date) |
| king | Sweden | 6 June 1523 (Gustav VASA elected king) |
| Kingdom | Aruba | none (part of the Kingdom of the Netherlands) |
| kingdom | Bhutan | 1907 (became a unified kingdom under its first hereditary king) |
| Kingdom | Faroe Islands | none (part of the Kingdom of Denmark; self-governing overseas administrative division of Denmark) |
| Kingdom | Greenland | none (extensive self-rule as part of the Kingdom of Denmark; foreign affairs is the responsibility of Denmark, but Greenland actively participates in international agreements relating to Greenland) |
| Kingdom | Italy | 17 March 1861 (Kingdom of Italy proclaimed; Italy was not finally unified until 1870) |
| Kingdom | Netherlands Antilles | none (part of the Kingdom of the Netherlands) |
| Kingdom | Portugal | 1143 (Kingdom of Portugal recognized); 5 October 1910 (republic proclaimed) |
| kingdom | Romania | 9 May 1877 (independence proclaimed from the Ottoman Empire; independence recognized 13 July 1878 by the Treaty of Berlin); 26 March 1881 (kingdom proclaimed); 30 December 1947 (republic proclaimed) |
| kingdom | Saudi Arabia | 23 September 1932 (unification of the kingdom) |
| Kingdom | United Kingdom | ... the legislative union of Great Britain and Ireland was implemented in 1801, with the adoption of the name the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland; the Anglo-Irish treaty of 1921 ... |
| kingdoms | Spain | the Iberian peninsula was characterized by a variety of independent kingdoms prior to the Muslim occupation that began in the early 8th century A.D. and lasted nearly seven centuries; the small Christian ... |
| lands | French Polynesia | none (overseas lands of France) |
| lasted | Spain | ... kingdoms prior to the Muslim occupation that began in the early 8th century A.D. and lasted nearly seven centuries; the small Christian redoubts of the north began the reconquest almost immediately, culminating ... |
| League | Iraq | 3 October 1932 (from League of Nations mandate under British administration); note - on 28 June 2004 the Coalition Provisional Authority transferred sovereignty to the Iraqi-controlled Government |
| League | Israel | 14 May 1948 (from League of Nations mandate under British administration) |
| League | Jordan | 25 May 1946 (from League of Nations mandate under British administration) |
| League | Lebanon | 22 November 1943 (from League of Nations mandate under French administration) |
| League | Syria | 17 April 1946 (from League of Nations mandate under French administration) |
| least | Ethiopia | oldest independent country in Africa and one of the oldest in the world - at least 2,000 years |
| legislative | United Kingdom | ... Union; in another Act of Union in 1707, England and Scotland agreed to permanently join as Great Britain; the legislative union of Great Britain and Ireland was implemented in 1801, with the ... |
| Leopold | Belgium | 4 October 1830 (a provisional government declared independence from the Netherlands); 21 July 1831 (King Leopold I ascended to the throne) |
| Liechtenstein | Liechtenstein | 23 January 1719 (Principality of Liechtenstein established); 12 July 1806 (independence from the Holy Roman Empire) |
| Maastricht | European Union | 7 February 1992 (Maastricht Treaty signed establishing the EU); 1 November 1993 (Maastricht Treaty entered into force) |
| majority | South Africa | 31 May 1910 (Union of South Africa formed from four British colonies: Cape Colony, Natal, Transvaal, and Orange Free State); 31 May 1961 (republic declared) 27 April 1994 (majority rule) |
| Malaysian | Singapore | 9 August 1965 (from Malaysian Federation) |