---
title: "Which came first, Germany or Pakistan?"
description: "Germany vs Pakistan: Germany came first, by 76 years — 1871 against 1947. What happened in each case, and why the dates are often given differently."
url: https://atoneplace.net/which-came-first/germany-vs-pakistan/
site: "At One Place"
---

# Which came first, Germany or Pakistan?

**Which came first, Germany or Pakistan?: Germany**

1871 — 76 years before Pakistan

Germany came first, by 76 years. The German Empire was proclaimed at Versailles.

## Side by side

|  | Germany | Pakistan |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Year | 1871 | 1947 |
| Date | 1871-01-18 | 1947-08-14 |
| Category | country | country |
| What happened | The German Empire was proclaimed at Versailles. | Pakistan became independent at midnight, one day before India. |

## Germany

Germany as a unified state dates from 1871, which makes it younger than the United States, Canada, Italy and the bicycle. It then ceased to exist as a single state in 1949 and was reunified on 3 October 1990, so the current Federal Republic in its present borders is younger than the personal computer. Nintendo, founded in 1889, is older than most people's mental image of Germany allows.

## Pakistan

Pakistan and India were created by the same act of parliament, but Mountbatten had to attend both ceremonies, so he took the Pakistani one in Karachi on 14 August and the Indian one in Delhi on the 15th. Pakistan is therefore one day older than India in the sense the question means. Independence in both cases took effect at the same instant: midnight between the two dates.

## Common questions

### Which came first, Germany or Pakistan?

Germany, by 76 years — 1871 against 1947.

### When did Germany start?

1871. The German Empire was proclaimed at Versailles.

### When did Pakistan start?

1947. Pakistan became independent at midnight, one day before India.

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## Sources

- Wikidata — Wikimedia Foundation (https://www.wikidata.org/) [CC0 1.0]