The world’s oldest country: why it matters how we define it

When asked what the oldest country in the world is, most of my friends would probably answer correctly. Because we had a very strict teacher in high school who didn’t give a damn about Egyptian history. Yes, officially, this country is probably the one we can define as the oldest. But it depends a lot on your perspective.

In 3150 BC, King Narmer united Upper and Lower Egypt under his rule. This created the world’s oldest country. Yes, thanks to my history teacher, I will remember this year for the rest of my life. But did you know that the same country could theoretically be considered the world’s youngest?

The oldest and the youngest

The three oldest countries in the world, if we focus on the years in which they were founded, are:

• Egypt – 3150 BC.
• Iran – 2600 BC.
• India – 2500 BC.

Egypt in particular is a much visited country today, where tourists go for the sea, but also for culture. Ancient Egyptian civilization was established as early as four millennia BC. The country is therefore interesting for lovers of unconventional culture and architecture, for history enthusiasts, but simply for anyone who likes to enjoy the heat, the beach and the sea.

In 2013, Egypt experienced a military coup which led to the creation of a new constitution. “Egypt’s experience with constitutions over the past half-century may reverse Marx’s assertion that everything in history happens twice, first as tragedy and then as farce. Egypt’s 1971 constitution has been replaced by a 2012 document that was the result of a mess of political manoeuvring, and commentators and citizens are still trying to understand its implications,” says Zaid Al-Ali, a political scientist and Middle East expert. It is thus safe to say that Egypt can be considered both the oldest country in the world and the youngest.

Oldest country by constitution

If we define the oldest country in the world by the year in which it was founded, then of course Egypt wins. But we can also focus just on constitutions. And in that case, the oldest country is then unofficially San Marino, whose constitution was written in 1600. The next four places are then:

• United States of America – Constitution of 1787
• Great Britain – Constitution of 1801
• Finland – Constitution of 1809
• Norway – Constitution of 1814

Then there are also several countries with older constitutions that are no longer in force today. The first constitution in Europe was adopted in Poland on 3 May 1791. As Poland was divided three times, the constitution was subsequently suspended. Let us not forget the French constitution of 3 September 1791. However, the current French constitution has been in force since 4 October 1958.