According to study.com, there were around 78 independent countries in the year 1900. Today there are 196 UN members (including two observer states) with the latest internationally recognized country being South Sudan in 2011. So when and where will be the next independent universally recognized country?
There are a number of candidates who could be the next independent universally recognized country, but one of the leading contenders is Bougainville Island today part of Papua New Guinea.
What Is Bougainville?
Bougainville is a stunning tropical island part of the Solomon Islands rain forests ecoregion - it is mostly forested with a diverse tropical ecosystem. The island has a number of active, dormant, or inactive volcanoes with the tallest rising to 2,715 m (8907 feet). The main economy on the island has been copper mining.
- Bagana: Boungainville Active Volcano
Bougainville was once the main landmass of the North Solomons - part of the German Empire before World War One. After that war, it became part of the British Empire with Australia administering it up until 1975.
Bougainville Island is most famous to the West for the massive World War Two battles that raged there between the Allies and the Japanese.
- Current Status: The Autonomous Region of Bougainville of Papua New Guinea
- Size: 9,300 km2 (3,600 sq miles)
- Population: 300,000
Bougainvillean Quest For Independence
Even though Bougainville is the largest island on the Solomon Islands archipelago, it is not part of the country of the Solomon Islands - but rather Papua New Guinea.
"Many Bougainvilleans also say there are cultural and ethnic differences between their people and those on the mainland. Punghau says they identify as Solomon Islanders, "not Papua New Guinean."
NPR News
After years of unrest and insurgency, it was agreed that Bougainvillians would be able to hold a non-binding referendum on independence. That referendum was held between 23 November and 7 December 2019. The choice on the ballot was greater autonomy within Papua New Guinea or full independence. Bougainvilleans chose the latter overwhelmingly - 98.31% for independence.
- Vote: 98.31% For Independence (With 87.4 Voter Turnout)
- Independence Date: By 2027 - If It Is Ratified by Papua New Guinea
- Per-Capita GDP: $1,100 (With Heavy Reliance On Aid)
The vote is non-binding and Papua New Guinea still has the final say as to what happens to the island. If it is ratified by Papua New Guinea, Bougainville will become independent by 2027 - or within 5 years from now.
If Bougainville is to become independent, there is a long and difficult road ahead. It is a very poor region with pervasive poverty - even though it has the second-highest per capita income of PNG's 20 provinces, the highest life expectancy, lowest infant mortality, and second-lowest proportion of the population without any schooling according to NPR News.
But still, its small economy is devastated and has collapsed from the previous military blockade.
World War Two Relics In Bougainville
Like the neighboring Solomon Islands and the Guadalcanal, WW2 relics are one of the island's main attractions. But no relic is more famous than that of Admiral Yamamoto’s Mitsubishi bomber wreck. He was shot down over the Bougainville jungle and his wreck is still there to be seen in the jungle.
- Japanese Admiral Isoroku Yamamoto: Died on The Island After His Plane Was Attacked By US Fighter Planes (He Masterminded The Attack On Peril Harbor)
Other World War 2 relics include some tanks, airplanes, and offshore are sunken boats for those with diving equipment. But perhaps the best place to see America's retribution for Pearl Harbor is the sunken Japanese fleet at Chuuck (Truk) - see the much more devasting destruction that the Americans rained down on the Japanese than Pearl Harbor.
Visiting Bougainville
While there may be much potential for tourism to Bougainville, at the moment it is so far off the beaten track that tourism barely exists. This is not an easy destination to get to - or to explore once one gets there. If one does plan to go, check with the latest official travel advice first.
"...an island with vast untapped potential for tourism with magnificently rugged, jungled terrain and amazing coral reefs offshore."
There is (perhaps surprisingly) a tourist info office at the main settlement of Buka which can be contacted at info@bougainville.travel.
It is important to understand that Bougainville is struggling to recover from a very long and devasting civil war that claimed between 10,000-15,000 lives - a massive number for such a small place. The island is also very undeveloped - there are no sealed roads in Bougainville (but there is a gravel track connecting Arawa and Buin in the southeastern quarter on the main island).
Reportedly troop carriers left from the war are commonly used as public transit vehicles.
There are very few tours and operators to this island. One (perhaps the only specialist Bougainville tour operator) is Bougainville Adventure Tours. They offer a 7-day package tour to Bougainville.
- Contact: +675 973 9155, batmail@batvoyage.com.au
Another option is a 7-day tour offered by Young Pioneers Tours.
- Cost: $1465