The Earliest Known Governments
Understand the earliest known governments: what the measure counts, how to read it and where to check the source.
The age of a government depends on what continuity means. A modern constitution, an enduring state tradition and the earliest organised settlement are different starting points. Regime changes and shifting borders complicate a single oldest-to-newest list. Historical comparisons are more useful when they explain the institution being dated instead of assigning every country one uncontested birthday.
About the data
Ancient polities are not the same as modern states. “Earliest organised government” has no consistent comparable start date; the saved ranking cannot be verified as written.
The Country10s question
Countries by date of earliest known organized government
Reading the source
Ancient polities are not the same as modern states. “Earliest organised government” has no consistent comparable start date; the saved ranking cannot be verified as written.
The original source edition for this saved game was not retained. The link is a reference for understanding the measure, not proof that the saved answer order is a current world ranking. No unverified top-ten table is presented here.