Top 10 Countries That Have Never Lost A War

Top 10 Countries That Have Never Lost A War

The world has been marked by so many wars throughout its history, that it’s almost impossible to believe some that some countries have never lost a single one. Yet, here are the 10 Countries That Have Never Lost A War

10 Countries That Have Never Lost A War The world has been marked by so many wars from it’s very beginning that it’s almost impossible to believe some countries have never lost. Yet, here are the 10 Countries That Have Never Lost A War...Before we go though, remember to share this with your friends! Got it? Let's go!

10. Switzerland

Yeah, I know… “Of course, Switzerland has never lost a war. It’s a neutral country!” Actually, despite their modern custom of neutrality, the Swiss did have a military tradition. During the 16th century, Swiss mercenaries were the most requested and feared troops in Europe. But yes, it’s been a while since Switzerland officially joined a war. The Swiss army fought for the last time in 1847, during the Blunderbuss, a short civil war. Since then, Swiss troops had been mobilised only against possible invasions, such as the threat of Prussia in 1856-57, and the approaching of the Franco-Prussian War to their borders in 1870-71. It goes without saying that on both occasions the Swiss army defeated the invaders. Since then, Switzerland maintained its impartial stance throughout WWI and WWII, since which it has taken a more active role in international affairs by aiding with humanitarian initiatives. Still, it has never joined NATO, and only joined the United Nations in 2002. Despite its neutrality, the country still maintains an army for defense purposes and requires part-time military service from all males between 18 and 34 years old.

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9. Brazil

If we exclude all the internal wars and reprisals the country is still facing, Brazil is one of the biggest world countries with the least war involvement. Since its independence from Portugal in 1824, Brazil has taken part in 12 wars, and one global war with World War Always on the winning side, there’s only one exception to the country’s collection of victories: the Cisplatine War of 1825. The war, also known as the Argentine-Brazilian War, lasted a few years. It was an armed conflict over the territories between east of the Uruguay River and north of Río de la Plata, known as Banda Oriental. The same area that now comprises the modern state of Uruguay. Competing for the region were the United Provinces of the Río de la Plata, basically Argentina, and the Empire of Brazil. The war ended in 1828 with a stalemate, caused by the inability of the Argentine and Uruguayan land forces gain territory, and the lack of manpower for a full-scale Brazilian offensive. Not really a victory, but not a defeat either.

8. Angola

Angola, officially the Republic Of Angola, is a country on the west coast of Southern Africa. The territory of Angola has been inhabited since the Paleolithic Era, hosting a wide variety of ethnic groups, tribes and kingdoms. However, like many African countries, Angola was originated and subjected to colonization for centuries. The most widespread colonization was led by Portugal, which is why Portuguese is still the most spoken language in the country even today.

After a protracted anti-colonial struggle, Angola reached independence in 1975 as the Marxist–Leninist People's Republic of Angola, supported by the Soviet Union and Cuba. In recent years, the state has become a relatively stable unitary, presidential constitutional republic. In fact, since its independence, Angola faced a total of only 8 WARS! With two still active conflicts, the Cabinda War and the Séléka Rebellion, five victories, and only one stalemate - of the Second Congo War - Angola has never officially lost.

7. North and South Korea

Wait...if there was a war that actually saw North and South Korea fighting, how can neither of them ever be undefeated?

I’ll tell you how; in just a sec...

At the beginning of the 20th, Korea became the object of imperial interests and, in 1905, Japan became the predominant power. At least until the end of WWII, when Korea was divided into two parts after the Japanese surrender. The Soviet Union occupied North, and the United States the South until 1948 when two ideologically opposed countries were established: The Republic Of Korea (South Korea) and the Democratic People’s Republic Of Korea (North Korea). Troubles started when North Korea claimed reunification under communist rule. And so, in 1950, the Korean War began. On one side, China and the Soviet Union in support of the communist regime, on the other, the US and, basically all their historical allies, against communism. The war ended in 1953 with the Korean Armistice Agreement, that reconfirmed the original division and left no winner.

Officially, both the two Korea's have never participated in other wars. Hence, they couldn’t lose any war.

6. Vietnam

Let’s stay in Asia... Like Korea, Vietnam has been a pole of attraction in South Asia for centuries. Of course, the Vietnamese weren’t too pleased international forces were fighting over their land, so a series of battles occurred. But it was with the Geneva Accords, at the end of the First Indochina War in July 1954, that Vietnam was officially divided into two military zones. All Viet Minh forces were to withdraw north to North Vietnam, and all French and Associated State of Vietnam troops were to remain south-South Vietnam.

Then, with assistance from the Soviet Union and China, the government in the north embarked on an ambitious program of socialist industrialization. South Vietnam wasn’t really into socialism and so a second war began: The Vietnam War. North Vietnam was supported by the Soviet Union and China, while the US and their allies supported South Vietnam. The War ended with the North Vietnamese victory and the reunification of the two Vietnam's into the Socialist Republic Of Vietnam. So, in a way, it wasn’t really a loss for the north, since the whole country was brought back together.

5. Israel

The history of Israel has been characterized by so many conflicts that it seems insane to believe they have never lost a war. Yet, if we consider that Israel’s long history of tensions dates back to ancient times and is still ongoing today, can we really consider the conflict done? In the late 19th and early 20th century, an organized religious and political Jewish movement, known as Zionism, emerged. They wanted to reestablish a Jewish homeland in Palestine and a massive number of people immigrated to the ancient holy land to build settlements.

Then, during the Nazi reign, many Jews found refuge in Palestine and embraced Zionism. On the contrary, Arabs in Palestine resisted Zionism and, as a consequence, they developed Arab nationalist movements. With the end of WWII, in May 1948, Israel was officially declared an independent state. Since then, the state has fought eight recognized wars and a series of armed fights in the Arab-Israeli conflict, such as the Six-Day War of 1967 and the Yom Kippur War of 1973, without ever losing.

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4. Canada

Here’s one of the most friendly countries in the world… In fact, even if Canada is well known for its nice welcoming spirit, it didn’t make it less involved in the wars the world has been facing for centuries, and never lost one. Even in the worst scenarios, they managed to make it out unbeaten. The Canadian Siberian Expeditionary Force during the Russian Civil War, for example, saw little fighting and withdrew during the spring of 1919, before anyone could win or lose. Still, the Allied countries, such as Canada, won. Something similar happened when roughly 30 thousand Canadians fought in the US military during the Vietnam War: the Great White North, retreated before their allies were defeated.

Aside from that, every other military conflict has seen Canada on the winning side, including notably the War of 1812, Second Boer War, World War I, World War II, and the Gulf War. The Korean War was a tie so, no one really won or lost, whereas the outcome of the Afghanistan war has yet to be decided.

3. Australia

Like Canada, the Land Down Under took part in most of the World’s major conflicts, such as the Sudan War, Boer War, the Boxer Rebellion in China. It also joined the Allied side in WWI and in WWII.

Given its strategic position in the Pacific Ocean, the Australian army was a precious help to western countries, such as the UK and the US for many of the combats settled on the South-Eastern Hemisphere. Therefore, they sided the US in the Korean War, the Indonesian Confrontation, the Vietnam War - like other allies they withdrew before the war ended - and the two Gulf Wars. However, it’s worth mentioning that there is actually one war Australia lost: just not against humans. The Great Emu War was a wildlife management military operation undertaken by the Australian army during 1932. The goal of the mission was to address public concern over several emus, reportedly running amok in the Champion district of Western Australia.

Yet, while a number of the birds were killed, the emu population persisted and continued to cause crop destruction.

2. Botswana

Formerly the British protectorate of Bacchanalian, Botswana adopted its name after becoming independent within the Commonwealth in September 1966. Before its independence, the country was one of the poorest and least-developed states in the world. From 1969 Botswana began to play a more significant role in international politics, as a liberal democratic alternative to South African apartheid. In 1974, the country teamed up with Zambia, Tanzania and later Mozambique and Angola and became the “Frontline States”. In 1992, the organization became the Southern African Development Community and, the idea behind it was to build a better future for the region by coordinating disparate economies and promoting development in each of the member countries.

Benefiting from a rapidly expanding economy in the 1970s and ’80s, Botswana was able to extend basic infrastructure for mining development and basic social services for its population. Now, Botswana is a representative republic, with a consistent record of uninterrupted democratic elections and the lowest number of war interventions in Africa. In fact, the only war Botswana took part in was the Southern African Development Community intervention of 1998-1999 in Lesotho and they won it.

1. Costa Rica

As a Central American country, with a fragile economic system, Costa Rica has surprisingly been involved in a very small number of conflicts: three Civil Wars in 1823, 1835 and 1948, and six other external wars, such as WWI and WWII. And of course, since we're at the top of the 10 Countries That Have Never Lost A War list it was on the winning side of all of them. But, what’s so fascinating about this tropical country, apart from its ecologically friendly policies, is that is Military free since 1948. With the end of the last civil war, President José Figueres Ferrer dissolved the army.

Some believed his action was to prevent any future military coup against him. But, whatever his motive was, after 72 years, Costa Rica is still a democratic nation, that has used the savings from defense spending to improve education, health care and a durable social safety net. Costa Rica's experiment seems to work. The country remains a peaceful nation despite the continuing violence in neighboring countries, leading the Latin American and Caribbean region in health and primary education.