The 10 Most Obscure Countries on the Planet

The Empire of Adammia is a secret country which has four separate provinces and is led by a charismatic emperor, Adam I. The country has a website and an online presence, yet its geographic location is kept a secret. However it is known that this micronation Adammia is located “on the island of Great Britain in the Yorkshire area”.

The country has its own flag, constitution, political system and it even has its own brewery and technology program with rocket launches and helicopter flights being organised. Wine, beer and cider is also produced in the country. Adammia also issues its own postage stamps and the national flag hangs daily in the capital city, The Imperial City.

Borders – England, United Kingdom
Formed – 2013
Population – 22
Currency – The British Pound
Capital – The Imperial City
Website – The Empire of Adammia

Adding to the craze of micronations in Great Britain is the Empire of Austenasia. This quirky country seceded from the United Kingdom back in 2008, adapting its own flag and borders.

By 2015 the country had attracted its first tourist and there was a royal wedding in 2017. It is different to Adammia because the exact location of the country is known to the public. It can be accessed by bus from the English town of Carshalton in Surrey.

Borders – England, United Kingdom
Formed – 2008
Population – 75
Currency – The British Pound
Capital – Wrythe
Website – The Empire of Austenasia

Królestwo Dreamlandu is a virtual country formed in the Polish seaside city of Gdynia in 1998. The country’s name translates as “Dreamland Kingdom” and as such is a country of peace where members and citizens mingle online. No visa is needed to become a member and you can gain a residence permit for Dreamland through their website. The current head of state is King Alfred and the country claim their main products are text, words and websites. To fit with the country’s theories, the capital city is known as Dreamopolis and the currency is the Dream. You can apply to become a member by posting on the forum here.

Borders – Poland
Formed – 1998
Active Population – 25
Currency – Dream
Capital – Dreamopolis (though government and king reside in Ekorre)
Website – Królestwo Dreamlandu

Situated deep in the German countryside is a country that claims to be “the world’s smallest kingdom”. The Kingdom of Romkerhall (Königreich Romkerhalle) is a country housed in an old-school mountainside chalet five kilometres south of the German village of Oker. This elegant building is the country’s capital and they also lay claim to the land and waterfalls in the vicinity. Inside the Kingdom of Romkerhall you can get a visa (you need this even to go to the toilet), visit the souvenir shop (they sell coins and gifts), get a guided tour and eat and drink in the excellent restaurant and bar. For those wanting to experience a night in the world’s smallest kingdom, you can book a room in the upstairs hotel.

Borders – Germany
Formed – 1988
Population – Under 50
Currency – 1 Königsthaler (equals 2,5 Euros)
Capital – Romkerhall
Website – Königreich Romkerhall

A country formed as some kind of joke during a BBC Television show, ‘Lovely’ was the brainchild of English comedian Danny Wallace. In a series called “How to Start Your Own Country“, Wallace attempted to invade Eel Pie Island on the River Thames in London before visiting 10 Downing Street to tell then Prime Minister Tony Blair that ‘Lovely’ was seceding from the UK. Through subscription to the website, Lovely built up a population of almost 60,000 residents, a few hundred of whom turned up at a demonstration in London’s Leicester Square. When the series ended, Wallace had become king of the country, but has since continued his career as a comedian. For those interested, you can tour the main sights of Lovely on a whistle stop day trip to London.

Borders – England
Formed – 2005
Population – 58,165
Currency – Interdependent Occupational Unit (IOU)
Capital – Danny’s flat in Bow
Website – The Kingdom of Lovely

One of the most unusual looking ‘countries’ in the world, the Republic of Kugelmugel is a large sphere in a public park which has put up its own border notice and claimed independence from Austria. Its creator and ruler, Edwin Lipburger was arrested during the country’s reign and he died in 2015. However, the building and even the border signs have been maintained by the Austrian government and reopened as a tourist sight.

Borders – Austria
Formed – 1976
Population – 650 members
Currency – Austrian Franc, later Euro
Capital – Kugelmugel
Website – Kugelmugel

Simon Stewart declared independence from Northern Ireland and the United Kingdom back in 2010, when he became the leader of the People’s Republic of Podjistan.

Occupying land in the Northern Irish county of Down, this is a country that has its own capital, a national flag, a national sport, a national stadium and some strict regulations. For example, Buckfast Tonic Wine is illegal in the country and commercial drinks such as Coca Cola should be declared on the customs form at the border check. The country’s esteemed leader Simon Stewart has played in the world championships of Subbuteo, and as such it is the national sport. You can get your passport stamped at the border as long as you have arranged a guided tour of the country in advance.

Borders – Northern Ireland, United Kingdom
Formed – 2010
Population – Less than 10
Currency – The Geordie Best fiver
Capital – The People’s Palace
Website – The People’s Republic of Podjistan

Ladonia (officially the Royal Republic of Ladonia) is the most artistic country on this list and indeed is a country without any electricity. Formed on rocks on the coast of Sweden, the country has a queen, a flag, its own stamps and an artistic approach to life.

You can visit by walking through a park area in the Swedish coastal town of Ängelholm. Once you arrive at the rocks by the North Sea, you will notice two main structures that make up Ladonia – the wooden structure is known as Nimis and the rock structure is known as Arx. Nobody permanently lives here but the country claims to have 17,000 members through its website.

Borders – Sweden
Formed – 1996
Population – 17,000 members
Currency – Örtug
Capital – Nimis
Website – Ladonia

Eyebrows were raised in the English city of Portsmouth in 2005 when a school teacher called Louis Robert Harold Stephens proclaimed himself Grand Duke of three islands in a pond. His claim had some justification as a 1938 United Kingdom Act had failed to recognise these three tiny islands as UK territory. Stephens declared them his own and set up a flag, a currency and a website. The Lagoan Isles have been uninhabited for a few years now and in theory are still an unclaimed land, which you can visit easily via a park in Portsmouth.

Borders – England, United Kingdom
Formed – 2005
Population – 30
Currency – Lagoan Edney Dollar
Capital – Beeney St. Georges
Website – The Lagoan Isles

On the Japanese archipelago, Hideyuki Yoshida has claimed his own territory, declaring himself as the leader of Woodland Patchwork. Yoshida claims ownership of 2.5 million acres of abandoned woodlands on the bounds of a clause in the Japanese governmental laws. He claimed the land, named it Woodland Patchwork (nicknamed “The Patch”) and declared independence from Japan on 23 October 2013. Officially though, it’s still under Japanese rule and any tourists visiting would be hard pressed to find one of the country’s 7 residents on an island that houses over 100 million people.

Borders – Japan
Formed – 2013
Population – 7
Currency – Gift Economy and Bitcoin
Capital – Yakozue
Website – Woodland Patchwork