Which countries recognise Palestine?

Picture: CARTO

On 2 November 1917, the then Foreign Secretary Arthur Balfour issued a declaration which has been a central document in the Palestinian-Israeli statehood conflict.

It contained a letter to Lord Rothschild, who was then advocating a Jewish homeland in what was then part of the Ottoman Empire.

The short letter, presented to the British Library in 1924, reads:

"Foreign Office,

November 2nd, 1917.

Dear Lord Rothschild,

I have much pleasure in conveying to you, on behalf of His Majesty's Government, the following declaration of sympathy with Jewish Zionist aspirations which has been submitted to, and approved by, the Cabinet:

'His Majesty's Government view with favour the establishment in Palestine of a national home for the Jewish people, and will use their best endeavours to facilitate the achievement of this object, it being clearly understood that nothing shall be done which may prejudice the civil and religious rights of existing non-Jewish communities in Palestine, or the rights and political status enjoyed by Jews in any other country'.

I should be grateful if you would bring this declaration to the knowledge of the Zionist Federation.

Yours sincerely

Arthur James Balfour"

Britain, who issued this promise to help establish a 'national home for the Jewish People' in Palestine, is among those countries which do not currently recognise Palestinian statehood.

Emily Thornberry MP, the UK's Shadow Foreign Secretary, said on Monday that the UK ought to recognise Palestine on the centenary of the declaration.

Thornberry made the suggestion while speaking to Middle East Eye.

"I don't think we celebrate the Balfour Declation but I think we have to mark it because I think it was a turning point in the history of that area.

And I think that probably the most important way of marking it actually would be to recognise Palestine."

If Britain followed the Shadow Foreign Secretary's advice, it would join these countries (shades green) in recognising Palestine as a state.

Click here for the full map.

137 countries are listed as recognising Palestine, on the website of the Palestinian mission to the United Nations.

• Afghanistan
• Albania
• Algeria
• Angola
• Antigua & Barbuda
• Argentina
• Azerbaijan
• Bahrain
• Bangladesh
• Belarus
• Belize
• Benin
• Bhutan
• Bolivia
• Bosnia & Herzegovina
• Botswana
• Brazil
• Brunei Darussalam
• Bulgaria
• Burkina Faso
• Burundi
• Cambodia
• Cape Verde
• Central African Republic
• Chad
• Chile
• China
• Comoros
• Republic of Congo
• Costa Rica
• Cote d' Ivoire
• Cuba
• Cyprus
• Czech Republic
• Democratic People's Republic of Korea
• Democratic Republic of Congo
• Djibouti
• Dominica
• Dominican Republic
• Ecuador
• Egypt
• El Salvador
• Equatorial Guinea
• Ethiopia
• Gabon
• Gambia
• Georgia
• Ghana
• Grenada
• Guatemala
• Guinea
• Guinea-Bissau
• Guyana
• Haiti
• Holy See
• Honduras
• Hungary
• Iceland
• India
• Indonesia
• Iran
• Iraq
• Jordan
• Kazakhstan
• Kenya
• Kuwait
• Kyrgyzstan
• Lao People's Democratic Republic
• Lebanon
• Lesotho
• Liberia
• Libya
• Madagascar
• Malawi
• Malaysia
• Maldives
• Mali
• Malta
• Mauritania
• Mauritius
• Mongolia
• Montenegro
• Morocco
• Mozambique
• Namibia
• Nepal
• Nicaragua
• Niger
• Nigeria
• Oman
• Pakistan
• Papua New Guinea
• Paraguay
• Peru
• Philippines
• Poland
• Qatar
• Romania
• Russian Federation
• Rwanda
• Saint Lucia
• Sao Tome and Principe
• Saudi Arabia
• Senegal
• Serbia
• Seychelles
• Sierra Leone
• Slovakia
• Somalia
• South Africa
• South Sudan
• Sri Lanka
• Saint Vincent and the Grenadines
• Sudan
• Suriname
• Swaziland
• Sweden
• Syria
• Tajikistan
• Tanzania
• Thailand
• Timor-Leste
• Togo
• Tunisia
• Turkey
• Turkmenistan
• Uganda
• Ukraine
• United Arab Emirates
• Uruguay
• Uzbekistan
• Vanuatu
• Venezuela
• Vietnam
• Yemen
• Zambia
• Zimbabwe