--- title: "Which came first, India or the United States?" description: "India vs the United States: the United States came first, by 171 years — 1776 against 1947. What happened in each case." url: https://atoneplace.net/which-came-first/india-vs-united-states/ site: "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 - [sharks or the United States?](https://atoneplace.net/which-came-first/sharks-vs-united-states/) - [Tyrannosaurus rex or the United States?](https://atoneplace.net/which-came-first/t-rex-vs-united-states/) - [the Great Pyramid of Giza or the United States?](https://atoneplace.net/which-came-first/great-pyramid-vs-united-states/) - [Germany or the United States?](https://atoneplace.net/which-came-first/germany-vs-united-states/) - [Germany or India?](https://atoneplace.net/which-came-first/germany-vs-india/) - [Pakistan or the United States?](https://atoneplace.net/which-came-first/pakistan-vs-united-states/) - [India or Pakistan?](https://atoneplace.net/which-came-first/india-vs-pakistan/) - [India or television?](https://atoneplace.net/which-came-first/india-vs-television/) - [India or LEGO?](https://atoneplace.net/which-came-first/india-vs-lego/) - [India or Samsung?](https://atoneplace.net/which-came-first/india-vs-samsung/) - [India or McDonald's?](https://atoneplace.net/which-came-first/india-vs-mcdonalds/) - [pizza or the United States?](https://atoneplace.net/which-came-first/pizza-vs-united-states/) ## Sources - Wikidata — Wikimedia Foundation (https://www.wikidata.org/) [CC0 1.0]