The First 8 Countries to Recognise Indonesia's Independence

All Indonesians are celebrating the 81st anniversary of independence today, 17 August 2026. In truth, Indonesia’s independence was not achieved without recognition from a number of friendly countries, particularly those that agreed to acknowledge Indonesia’s independence.

As a country that had become independent and formed the Unitary State of the Republic of Indonesia (NKRI), Indonesia first had to fulfil constitutive elements and declarative elements. The constitutive elements consist of territory, people, and a sovereign government, while the declarative element is the existence of countries that recognise Indonesia’s independence.

The first country to recognise Indonesia’s independence was Egypt on 22 March 1946. Egypt then established the Committee for the Defence of Indonesian Independence, comprising Egyptian, Arab, and Islamic figures. The Egyptian government also agreed to cover the living costs of Indonesians in Egypt. Each month they were given money in lieu of debts that had been decided by the Dutch embassy at the time.

Egypt’s example was followed by other countries. One of them was the Catholic authority in the Vatican, which supported recognition of Indonesia’s independence on 6 July 1947. The Vatican’s support was marked by the opening of a Vatican embassy called the Apostolic Delegate.

However, long before Egypt and other countries recognised Indonesia’s independence, Palestine was the first country to support Indonesia’s freedom from the colonialists in 1944, a year before independence. This was conveyed by Zein Hassan in the book Diplomacy of the Indonesian Revolution Abroad.

The following is a list of countries that recognised Indonesia’s independence:

1. Egypt (22 March 1946 de facto, 10 June 1947 de jure)

2. Syria (2 July 1947)

3. Lebanon (29 July 1947)

4. Vatican (6 July 1947)

5. Iraq (16 July 1947)

6. Afghanistan (23 September 1947)

7. Saudi Arabia (24 November 1947)

8. Yemen (3 May 1948)