Years a country was a European overseas colony by country
Number of years the country has been colonized from overseas by the European colonial power(s) in a specific year, between Belgium, United Kingdom, France, Germany, Netherlands, Portugal, Spain, and Italy, or a combination of them.
Countries reporting
159
Highest
514 years
Cape Verde
Lowest
0 years
Taiwan
Median
73 years
Years covered
561
1462–2022
Data points
88,747
What the numbers show
Years a country was a European overseas colony is currently reported for 159 countries. The highest value is 514 years in Cape Verde; the lowest is 0 years in Taiwan.
The median across all reporting countries is 73 years, and the mean is 127.3 years.
Years a country was a European overseas colony: full country ranking
| # | Country | Latest | Year | 10-year change | Trend |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Cape Verde | 514 years | 2022 | unchanged | volatile |
| 2 | Belize | 458 years | 2022 | unchanged | volatile |
| 3 | Jamaica | 454 years | 2022 | unchanged | volatile |
| 3 | Sao Tome and Principe | 454 years | 2022 | unchanged | volatile |
| 5 | Ghana | 426 years | 2022 | unchanged | volatile |
| 6 | Angola | 400 years | 2022 | unchanged | volatile |
| 7 | Cuba | 389 years | 2022 | unchanged | volatile |
| 8 | Guyana | 387 years | 2022 | unchanged | volatile |
| 9 | Dominican Republic | 371 years | 2022 | unchanged | volatile |
| 9 | Trinidad and Tobago | 371 years | 2022 | unchanged | volatile |
| 11 | Saint Kitts and Nevis | 361 years | 2022 | unchanged | volatile |
| 12 | Antigua and Barbuda | 350 years | 2022 | unchanged | volatile |
| 13 | Barbados | 340 years | 2022 | unchanged | volatile |
| 13 | Indonesia | 340 years | 2022 | unchanged | volatile |
| 15 | Philippines | 334 years | 2022 | unchanged | volatile |
| 15 | East Timor | 334 years | 2022 | unchanged | volatile |
| 17 | Saint Lucia | 330 years | 2022 | unchanged | volatile |
| 18 | Grenada | 325 years | 2022 | unchanged | volatile |
| 19 | Canada | 312 years | 2022 | unchanged | volatile |
| 20 | Suriname | 308 years | 2022 | unchanged | volatile |
| 21 | Dominica | 306 years | 2022 | unchanged | volatile |
| 22 | Panama | 303 years | 2022 | unchanged | volatile |
| 23 | Mexico | 301 years | 2022 | unchanged | volatile |
| 24 | Costa Rica | 298 years | 2022 | unchanged | volatile |
| 24 | Guatemala | 298 years | 2022 | unchanged | volatile |
| 24 | Honduras | 298 years | 2022 | unchanged | volatile |
| 24 | Nicaragua | 298 years | 2022 | unchanged | volatile |
| 28 | Colombia | 296 years | 2022 | unchanged | volatile |
| 29 | Ecuador | 295 years | 2022 | unchanged | volatile |
| 30 | El Salvador | 294 years | 2022 | unchanged | volatile |
| 31 | Peru | 292 years | 2022 | unchanged | volatile |
| 32 | Brazil | 290 years | 2022 | unchanged | volatile |
| 33 | Chile | 278 years | 2022 | unchanged | volatile |
| 34 | Paraguay | 275 years | 2022 | unchanged | volatile |
| 35 | Bolivia | 267 years | 2022 | unchanged | volatile |
| 36 | Venezuela | 266 years | 2022 | unchanged | volatile |
| 37 | South Africa | 262 years | 2022 | unchanged | volatile |
| 38 | Mauritius | 254 years | 2022 | unchanged | volatile |
| 39 | Micronesia (country) | 250 years | 2022 | unchanged | volatile |
| 40 | Argentina | 240 years | 2022 | unchanged | volatile |
| 41 | Senegal | 232 years | 2022 | unchanged | volatile |
| 42 | Saint Vincent and the Grenadines | 218 years | 2022 | unchanged | volatile |
| 43 | Malaysia | 207 years | 2022 | unchanged | volatile |
| 44 | Uruguay | 204 years | 2022 | unchanged | volatile |
| 45 | Seychelles | 202 years | 2022 | unchanged | volatile |
| 46 | Bahamas | 191 years | 2022 | unchanged | volatile |
| 47 | Sri Lanka | 189 years | 2022 | unchanged | volatile |
| 48 | United States | 177 years | 2022 | unchanged | volatile |
| 49 | Equatorial Guinea | 143 years | 2022 | unchanged | volatile |
| 50 | Haiti | 140 years | 2022 | unchanged | volatile |
| 51 | Singapore | 138 years | 2022 | unchanged | volatile |
| 52 | Algeria | 115 years | 2022 | unchanged | volatile |
| 53 | Bahrain | 111 years | 2022 | unchanged | volatile |
| 54 | Brunei | 97 years | 2022 | unchanged | volatile |
| 54 | Fiji | 97 years | 2022 | unchanged | volatile |
| 56 | Guinea-Bissau | 96 years | 2022 | unchanged | volatile |
| 57 | Djibouti | 94 years | 2022 | unchanged | volatile |
| 57 | Solomon Islands | 94 years | 2022 | unchanged | volatile |
| 57 | Vanuatu | 94 years | 2022 | unchanged | volatile |
| 60 | Morocco | 92 years | 2022 | unchanged | volatile |
| 61 | Australia | 91 years | 2022 | unchanged | volatile |
| 61 | Bangladesh | 91 years | 2022 | unchanged | volatile |
| 61 | India | 91 years | 2022 | unchanged | volatile |
| 61 | Mozambique | 91 years | 2022 | unchanged | volatile |
| 61 | Pakistan | 91 years | 2022 | unchanged | volatile |
| 66 | Kiribati | 88 years | 2022 | unchanged | volatile |
| 66 | Tuvalu | 88 years | 2022 | unchanged | volatile |
| 68 | Lesotho | 83 years | 2022 | unchanged | volatile |
| 69 | Nauru | 81 years | 2022 | unchanged | volatile |
| 69 | New Zealand | 81 years | 2022 | unchanged | volatile |
| 71 | United Arab Emirates | 80 years | 2022 | unchanged | volatile |
| 72 | Congo | 79 years | 2022 | unchanged | volatile |
| 72 | Maldives | 79 years | 2022 | unchanged | volatile |
| 74 | Guinea | 78 years | 2022 | unchanged | volatile |
| 74 | Gambia | 78 years | 2022 | unchanged | volatile |
| 76 | Democratic Republic of Congo | 76 years | 2022 | unchanged | volatile |
| 76 | Tunisia | 76 years | 2022 | unchanged | volatile |
| 78 | Gabon | 75 years | 2022 | unchanged | volatile |
| 79 | Malawi | 74 years | 2022 | unchanged | volatile |
| 80 | Somalia | 73 years | 2022 | unchanged | volatile |
| 80 | Tanzania | 73 years | 2022 | unchanged | volatile |
| 82 | Botswana | 72 years | 2022 | unchanged | volatile |
| 82 | Cote d'Ivoire | 72 years | 2022 | unchanged | volatile |
| 82 | Cameroon | 72 years | 2022 | unchanged | volatile |
| 85 | Togo | 71 years | 2022 | unchanged | volatile |
| 85 | Tonga | 71 years | 2022 | unchanged | volatile |
| 87 | Cambodia | 70 years | 2022 | unchanged | volatile |
| 88 | Kenya | 69 years | 2022 | unchanged | volatile |
| 88 | Uganda | 69 years | 2022 | unchanged | volatile |
| 90 | Vietnam | 68 years | 2022 | unchanged | volatile |
| 91 | Benin | 67 years | 2022 | unchanged | volatile |
| 92 | Burkina Faso | 66 years | 2022 | unchanged | volatile |
| 92 | Madagascar | 66 years | 2022 | unchanged | volatile |
| 92 | Sierra Leone | 66 years | 2022 | unchanged | volatile |
| 92 | Eswatini | 66 years | 2022 | unchanged | volatile |
| 96 | Burundi | 64 years | 2022 | unchanged | volatile |
| 97 | Myanmar | 63 years | 2022 | unchanged | volatile |
| 98 | Comoros | 62 years | 2022 | unchanged | volatile |
| 98 | Eritrea | 62 years | 2022 | unchanged | volatile |
| 98 | Laos | 62 years | 2022 | unchanged | volatile |
| 98 | Nigeria | 62 years | 2022 | unchanged | volatile |
| 102 | Sudan | 59 years | 2022 | unchanged | volatile |
| 103 | Mauritania | 58 years | 2022 | unchanged | volatile |
| 103 | Rwanda | 58 years | 2022 | unchanged | volatile |
| 103 | Zimbabwe | 58 years | 2022 | unchanged | volatile |
| 106 | Mali | 57 years | 2022 | unchanged | volatile |
| 107 | Qatar | 56 years | 2022 | unchanged | volatile |
| 108 | Central African Republic | 55 years | 2022 | unchanged | volatile |
| 109 | Egypt | 54 years | 2022 | unchanged | volatile |
| 110 | Chad | 51 years | 2022 | unchanged | volatile |
| 111 | Kuwait | 48 years | 2022 | unchanged | volatile |
| 112 | Cyprus | 47 years | 2022 | unchanged | rising |
| 113 | Zambia | 42 years | 2022 | unchanged | volatile |
| 114 | Bhutan | 40 years | 2022 | unchanged | volatile |
| 115 | Niger | 39 years | 2022 | unchanged | volatile |
| 116 | Libya | 38 years | 2022 | unchanged | volatile |
| 117 | Papua New Guinea | 37 years | 2022 | unchanged | volatile |
| 118 | Namibia | 36 years | 2022 | unchanged | volatile |
| 119 | Marshall Islands | 30 years | 2022 | unchanged | volatile |
| 119 | Palau | 30 years | 2022 | unchanged | volatile |
| 121 | Israel | 26 years | 2022 | unchanged | volatile |
| 122 | Jordan | 24 years | 2022 | unchanged | volatile |
| 122 | Lebanon | 24 years | 2022 | unchanged | volatile |
| 122 | Syria | 24 years | 2022 | unchanged | volatile |
| 125 | Samoa | 21 years | 2022 | unchanged | volatile |
| 126 | Iraq | 13 years | 2022 | unchanged | volatile |
| 127 | Yemen | 9 years | 2022 | unchanged | volatile |
| 128 | Afghanistan | 0 years | 2022 | — | flat |
| 128 | Armenia | 0 years | 2022 | — | flat |
| 128 | Azerbaijan | 0 years | 2022 | — | flat |
| 128 | Belgium | 0 years | 2022 | — | flat |
| 128 | China | 0 years | 2022 | — | flat |
| 128 | Germany | 0 years | 2022 | — | flat |
| 128 | Spain | 0 years | 2022 | — | flat |
| 128 | Ethiopia | 0 years | 2022 | — | flat |
| 128 | France | 0 years | 2022 | — | flat |
| 128 | United Kingdom | 0 years | 2022 | — | flat |
| 128 | Georgia | 0 years | 2022 | — | flat |
| 128 | Iran | 0 years | 2022 | — | flat |
| 128 | Italy | 0 years | 2022 | — | flat |
| 128 | Japan | 0 years | 2022 | — | flat |
| 128 | Kazakhstan | 0 years | 2022 | — | flat |
| 128 | Kyrgyzstan | 0 years | 2022 | — | flat |
| 128 | South Korea | 0 years | 2022 | — | flat |
| 128 | Liberia | 0 years | 2022 | — | flat |
| 128 | Mongolia | 0 years | 2022 | — | flat |
| 128 | Netherlands | 0 years | 2022 | — | flat |
| 128 | Nepal | 0 years | 2022 | — | flat |
| 128 | Oman | 0 years | 2022 | — | flat |
| 128 | North Korea | 0 years | 2022 | — | flat |
| 128 | Portugal | 0 years | 2022 | — | flat |
| 128 | Saudi Arabia | 0 years | 2022 | — | flat |
| 128 | South Sudan | 0 years | 2022 | — | flat |
| 128 | Thailand | 0 years | 2022 | — | flat |
| 128 | Tajikistan | 0 years | 2022 | — | flat |
| 128 | Turkmenistan | 0 years | 2022 | — | flat |
| 128 | Turkey | 0 years | 2022 | — | flat |
| 128 | Uzbekistan | 0 years | 2022 | — | flat |
| 128 | Taiwan | 0 years | 2022 | — | flat |
About this data
Number of years the country has been colonized from overseas by the European colonial power(s) in a specific year, between Belgium, United Kingdom, France, Germany, Netherlands, Portugal, Spain, and Italy, or a combination of them.