At One Place

Which came first, India or the United States?

Which came first, India or the United States?
the United States
1776 — 171 years before India

the United States came first, by 171 years. The Declaration of Independence was adopted.

Side by side

India the United States
Year 1947 1776
Date 1947-08-15 1776-07-04
Category country country
What happened India became independent from British rule. The Declaration of Independence was adopted.

India

India became independent on 15 August 1947 and a republic on 26 January 1950, when the constitution took effect — which is why the country has two national days. It remained a dominion with the British monarch as head of state for those two and a half years. India as a civilisation is thousands of years older; India as a state with its present borders is younger than the ballpoint pen.

the United States

The date used here is the Declaration, 4 July 1776, which is the one people mean. Two others have equal claim: Britain recognised independence in 1783, and the Constitution took effect in 1789, so the current government is younger than the country by thirteen years. The United States is older as a state than Germany (1871), Italy (1861), Canada (1867) and modern Japan (1868).

Common questions

Which came first, India or the United States?
the United States, by 171 years — 1776 against 1947.
When did India start?
1947. India became independent from British rule.
When did the United States start?
1776. The Declaration of Independence was adopted.

Related pages

Sources

  1. Wikidata — Wikimedia Foundation (CC0 1.0)

How these figures are compiled and checked