Would you like to have a nation of your own? Well, all you have to do is find a piece of land that has not been claimed by any of the neighbouring countries, create a flag and currency of your own and there you will have your own country. Easy? No, not really!

Many such nations have been established over last few years but none of them has been officially recognised by the world governments or major international organisations. These are called Micronations. The earliest known micronations date from the beginning of the 19th century. Micronations are generally created either for fun or to get away from the disputes between countries.

These are few of the Micronations you probably never heard of:

Liberland

This micronation was established on April 13, 2015 and it has a population of zero. It is a little nation between Croatia and Serbia and shares its border with the former. It was created due to border dispute between the two countries. It was founded by a Czech citizen Vit Jedlicka. He has received more than 200,000 application for citizenship so far.



Grand Duchy of Westarctica

The micronation Westarctica was created by an American Travis McHenry on November 2, 2001. He found a loophole in the Antarctic Treaty and on discovering that no country has claimed the piece of land, he sent letters to Russia, Norway, New Zealand, the United States and the United Kingdom to inform them of his claim. He was ignored by all these countries.



Republic of Minerva

In 1971, real estate millionaire and political activist Michael Oliver, arrived on the pieces of lands with barges loaded with sand to pour over the islands bringing the bar level above the water. He then constructed a little tower and a flag. He even created its own currency and issued a declaration of independence on January 19, 1972, in letters to neighboring countries. Not long afterwards, the Tongan military came and removed the flag.



Freetown Christiania

The micronation Christiania which claims itself to be the ultimate hippie paradise was founded in 1971 by King Christian IV by reclaiming the low beaches and islets between Copenhagen and Amager. It has not more than 850 residents.



Global Country of World Peace

Originally conceived as "a country without borders for peace-loving people everywhere", Global Country of World Peace was inaugurated by Maharishi Mahesh Yogi, the founder of Transcendental Meditation, on October 7, 2000. The country, which excludes women entirely, prints its own currency.



Republic of Rose Island

The short-lived micronation was established on June 24, 1968 in the Adriatic Sea. In 1967, Italian engineer Giorgio Rosa funded the construction of a 400-square-metre platform and equipped it with restaurants, bars, nightclubs, shops and a post office. A group of four Italian officers landed on the land and assumed control after his actions were viewed as a trick to raise money from the tourists by Italy.