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As others have noted: there are very few countries in the world which have been established as long as the US, with the same governmental structures and (substantially) similar borders. There are cultures which are older, but many of these have existed under multiple different governments. Nations such as Italy, Germany, the Netherlands, Czecheslovakia (since rendered into the states of Slovakia and the Czech Republic), much of the Balkans and Baltic countries, etc., simply didn't exist as national entities at the beginning of the 19th Century. Neither did the states of the Middle East (Ottoman Empire), Africa (colonies, prior to which: native tribal regions not structured as we'd consider modern nations), the Americas, etc. Yes, you'll find England, Spain, and France in much their modern form dating to ~ 1000 - 1400 AD, but only just. There are a few modern countries which have occupied much the same area (though with different governmental forms) more or less continuously: Persia/Iran, Vietnam, Japan, and China, with as I recall Vietnam being the oldest as I recall. But no, "nations" as such really aren't all that permanent. |