In the past two decades, there have only been five new independent countries and these are as follows: East Timor declared independence from Indonesia in 2002, the country of Serbia and Montenegro split into the two countries of well Serbia and Montenegro in 2006, two years later Kosovo split away from Serbia, and finally South Sudan split away from Sudan in 2011.

The East African Federation is a proposed Federal Union between the Democratic Republic of the Congo, South Sudan, Uganda, Kenya, Tanzania, Burundi, and Rwanda. The idea of a federation in East Africa has been discussed for decades, but the process of forming such a federation has faced numerous challenges.

The idea of a combined Kosovar-Albanian State started to gain traction when Kosovo first broke away from Serbia in 2008. One of the main arguments in favor of a Kosovo-Albania Union is the potential economic benefits that it could bring.

Transnistria is a region in Eastern Europe that is officially part of Moldova, but many of its residents claim that it's their own independent country. One of the main reasons for this is that Transnistria has a predominantly Russian-speaking population, whereas Moldova is largely Romanian-speaking.

Somaliland is a region located in modern-day Somalia, and it's bordered by Ethiopia and Djibouti to the West. Following a Civil War in 1991, Somaliland declared itself independent from Somalia, and since then, it has operated separately from the rest of Somalia with its own distinct government and democratic elections.

The history of the region is complex, being fought over by various powers throughout its history. In the late 19th century, Spain colonized the region, and it remained under Spanish control until 1976, when Spain withdrew from the territory.

Bougainville is an autonomous region located in Papua New Guinea, and it's the country on this list that is the most likely to successfully gain independence. Bougainville was at the center of a long and violent conflict over independence from Papua New Guinea, which was sparked by a dispute over the exploitation of natural resources on the island.

The Kurdish people are an ethnic group with a distinct language, culture, and history, and have long sought recognition and self-determination. If Kurdistan ever became a country, the maximum claim of their territory would stretch to parts of Turkey, Syria, Iraq, and Iran.

Republica Srpska is an autonomous entity within Bosnia and Herzegovina, and was established in 1992 following the breakup of Yugoslavia. The current political structure of Bosnia and Herzegovina was established after the Bosnian War, which took place from 1992 to 1995.

Puerto Rico was originally colonized by Spain, but was ceded to the United States in 1898 following the Spanish-American War. Since then, Puerto Rico has remained a territory of the United States, with its residents officially being given the title of U.S. citizens in 1917.