A land with a population has existed for millions of years and has seen empires and countries rise and fall. A surprising number of countries have only existed for a short period, and establishing the exact origin of those countries is difficult. A thousand-year-old country in Europe dates back to the Persian Empire in Iran and ancient Ethiopian kingdoms.

Ethiopia
According to historians, Ethiopia is often regarded as the oldest country in Africa. It is generally accepted that Ethiopia developed as a country around 980 BCE, even though skeletal fragments have revealed human habitation has been going on for millions of years. In this period, I’m growing to power, the first kingdom. Ethiopia was colonized when Italian dictator Mussolini occupied it for a year in the 1930s.

Greece
Greeks have controlled the country of Greece for at least 5,000-6,000 years, dating back to the ancient Greek era. It is commonly known that the Greeks were responsible for creating modern Western civilization and taught revolutionary concepts to the world.

As a result, Athens was an influential center of science, technology, art, literature, law, and politics, giving birth to the first form of democracy (which many countries are still trying to understand over 5,000 years later). The borders of modern-day Greece do not resemble those of ancient Greece, and the country has passed to different hands, but much of its original culture remains evident, making it one of the world’s oldest countries.

Portugal
Portugal is one of the oldest and most recognizable countries globally, even though its borders have not been forever so firm as in Greece or Ethiopia. Portugal is the oldest nation in Europe, defined in 1139 CE. Several empires and civilizations had ruled Portugal before it was recognized. Among the oldest cities in Europe is Lisbon, older than Rome.

Japan
In addition to being one of the oldest countries globally, Japan is one of the largest economies in the world. According to Japanese legend, 660 BCE was when the first Japanese Emperor, who claimed descent from the sun goddess Amaterasu, ascended the throne and this was when Japan was founded. The country of Japan began popping up in Chinese literature during the third century CE, despite legend not giving way to facts. Whatever you think about the legend, Japan has certainly existed for a long time. Several dynasties and emperors have ruled Japan, and it is still under the rule of Emperor Akihito, who is expected to surrender in April 2019.

Egypt
Today’s Egypt is a different territory to Egypt of ancient times, just as Greece was to Ancient Greece. Since the 6th millennium BCE, Egypt has ruled this region for millennia, and Egyptian culture dates back thousands of years. In the 4th millennium BCE, Egypt’s first kingdom was created, and hieroglyphics became the world’s second-oldest writing system. In the 9th–10th century CE, the Arabs conquered the country, and it has remained a Muslim country ever since. The area was ruled by various empires through the years, including the Persian Empire and the Ottoman Empire.

China
Xia Dynasty, known as the “Steady-state Revolutionary Empire,” reigned from 2070 BCE to 1600 BCE. The first known written records of the Dynasty appeared in the subsequent Dynasty after 1600 BCE, but most important is the Qin Dynasty. Qin Shi Huang was the first emperor of the Qin Dynasty, which united China under one unified ruler and created the first Dynasty. Some people wonder why China is called China. In fact the origin of the name China, has its origin in Qin. A large army of Terracotta Warriors and the Great Wall are other well-known achievements. Recent archaeological discoveries suggest that the dates are correct. China is considered one of the oldest civilizations in the world by a wide margin, and its first Dynasty lasted from 2070 BCE to 1600 BCE.