Allan
Definitely great news. I hope that the next years see positive transformations in such a war-ravaged country. Looking forward for those Somali WHS.

Updates in bold:

1) Not in Unesco (12):
Liechtenstein, Kosovo (1 WHS), Northern Cyprus (Cyprus), Taiwan (China), Western Sahara (one T-site) (Morocco), Transnistria (Moldova), Abkhazia (Georgia), South Ossetia (Georgia), Somaliland (Somalia), Nagorno-Karabakh (Azerbaijan), Luhansk (Ukraine), Donezk (Ukraine).

2) Unesco members which didn't sign the WH convention (2):
Tuvalu, Nauru.

3) Member states and special territories with no T-list (12):
Somalia, Timor Leste, Sao Tome, Equatorial Guinea, Niue, Cook Islands, Brunei, French Guyana (France), Faroe (Denmark), Falkland and Southern Georgia (UK), Chagos (UK), Tokelau (NZ).

4) Member states and special territories with T-list but no sites proposed (19):
Tonga, Bahamas, Swaziland, Burundi, Samoa, Bhutan, Trinidad Tobago, Grenada, St Vincent, Maldives, Liberia, Sierra Leone, Djibouti, South Sudan, Comoros, Kuwait, British Caribbean (UK), Jan Mayen and Svalbard (Norway), Marianas and Guam (USA).

5) Member states and special territories with sites proposed but none inscribed not currently pursuing nomination (1):
Guyana.

6) Member states and special territories with sites proposed but none inscribed currently pursuing nomination (4):
Rwanda (2019), Monaco (2019), Guinea Bissau (2013), French Caribbean (2022).

7) Member states and special territories with only one site inscribed and no tentative list (3):
Belize, Puerto Rico (USA), New Caledonia (France) (Singapore, Kiribati, Luxemburg).

8) Member states and special territories with only one site inscribed with a tentative list not pursuing further nominations (23):
Barbados, St. Kitts and Nevis, Vanuatu, Solomons, Mozambique, El Salvador, Andorra, Haiti, Togo, PNG, St. Helena (UK), Fiji, Qatar, Guinea, Congo (Rep), Lesotho, Dominica, Antigua Barbuda, Micronesia, French Polynesia (2024), Angola, Eritrea, Dutch Caribbean, Cape Verde.

9) Member states and special territories with only one site inscribed with further sites proposed not currently pursuing further nominations (7):
Gabon (Ref 2005), Paraguay (Rej 2005), Marshalls (Incompl 2010), Palau (Incompl 2010), Macedonia (Withd 2012), Zambia (Def 2014), Moldova (withd 2017).

10) Member states and special territories with only one site inscribed currently pursuing further nominations (3):
UAE (2019), Jamaica (2019), Dominican Rep. (2021)

I find it disappointing how little progress has been made in increasing the representation of smaller countries on the list. Some of them (could) have deserving candidates with New Caledonia, Guyana, Maldives, Marianas, Chagos, Sao Tome and Principe, South Sudan - to name a few.

I do think these 3 could show up any year, even 2024 or 2025.

Historical Sultanates of the Comoros (Comoros) 2020 *article discussing the work being done on the nomination file

Abraj Al-Kuwait (Kuwait) 2020 *article discussing the work being done on the nomination file

Coral Mosques of the Maldives (Maldives) 2022 *WMF Official webpage highlighting recent efforts to support the Maldives in developing a nomination file 2021 *India has also provided aid to repair the "Friday Mosque"

Assif
Excellent update.

Just two observations:

The Congo Republic proposed the Massif Forestier d'Odzala-Kokoua for this year.


Macedonia (thanks to its beech forests), now has 2 WHS. Of course, the nomination of Kokino (after the withdrawal) seems to be dormant.

Thanks for the corrections. Here the corrected version. Updates in bold:

1) Not in Unesco (12):
Liechtenstein, Kosovo (1 WHS), Northern Cyprus (Cyprus), Taiwan (China), Western Sahara (one T-site) (Morocco), Transnistria (Moldova), Abkhazia (Georgia), South Ossetia (Georgia), Somaliland (Somalia), Nagorno-Karabakh (Azerbaijan), Luhansk (Ukraine), Donezk (Ukraine).

2) Unesco members which didn't sign the WH convention (2):
Tuvalu, Nauru.

3) Member states and special territories with no T-list (12):
Somalia, Timor Leste, Sao Tome, Equatorial Guinea, Niue, Cook Islands, Brunei, French Guyana (France), Faroe (Denmark), Falkland and Southern Georgia (UK), Chagos (UK), Tokelau (NZ).

4) Member states and special territories with T-list but no sites proposed (16):
Tonga, Bahamas, Swaziland, Burundi, Samoa, Bhutan, Trinidad Tobago, Grenada, St Vincent, Liberia, Sierra Leone, Djibouti, South Sudan, British Caribbean (UK), Jan Mayen and Svalbard (Norway), Marianas and Guam (USA).

5) Member states and special territories with sites proposed but none inscribed not currently pursuing nomination (1):
Guyana.

6) Member states and special territories with sites proposed but none inscribed currently pursuing nomination (7):
Rwanda (2019), Monaco (2019), Guinea Bissau (2013), French Caribbean (2022), Comoros (2024-2025), Kuwait (2024-2025), Maldives (2024-2025).

7) Member states and special territories with only one site inscribed and no tentative list (3):
Belize, Puerto Rico (USA), New Caledonia (France) (Singapore, Kiribati, Luxemburg).

8) Member states and special territories with only one site inscribed with a tentative list not pursuing further nominations (21):
Barbados, St. Kitts and Nevis, Vanuatu, Solomons, Mozambique, El Salvador, Andorra, Haiti, Togo, PNG, St. Helena (UK), Fiji, Qatar, Guinea, Lesotho, Dominica, Antigua Barbuda, Micronesia, Angola, Eritrea, Dutch Caribbean, Cape Verde.

9) Member states and special territories with only one site inscribed with further sites proposed not currently pursuing further nominations (6):
Gabon (Ref 2005), Paraguay (Rej 2005), Marshalls (Incompl 2010), Palau (Incompl 2010), Zambia (Def 2014), Moldova (withd 2017).

10) Member states and special territories with only one site inscribed currently pursuing further nominations (5):
UAE (2019), Jamaica (2019), Dominican Rep. (2021), Congo Rep. (2021), French Polynesia (2024).

Would Bashkortostan (0 WHS) be applicable to any categorization identified here?

Now that Russia will temporarily annex Kherson and Zaporizhzhia region, should those regions be included here?

I don't see why Bashkortostan would merit any special categorisation, as it is 'only' a republic within the Russian Federation. Otherwise all republics or autonomous provinces within all countries would need to be included.

Bashkortostan and its neighbor Tatarstan seemed highly autonomous (though less so recently) and within the parameters of "special territories", but I was not sure. I was reading that Tatarstan and Bashkortostan are two republics that have a unique constitutional arrangement granting them considerable autonomy in comparison to other Republics in Russia.

What about the so-called Autonomous Republic of Crimea or the Autonomous Administration of North and East Syria? When do we differentiate disputed territories such as the Kuril Islands with Independent nations (though internationally unrecognized) like Taiwan?

Assif has maintained this "Missing Countries" list for quite some time and it includes places like Puerto Rico, Transnistria, and Nagorno-Karabakh. I've never viewed this list as a confirmation of any national agenda or political viewpoint. However, I am wondering what criteria is generally used to formulate such a list and should we be more precise?

Maybe we should use the TCC list

https://travelerscenturyclub.org/countries-and-territories

Countries and territories without WH:

Abkhazia
Ajman
Aland Islands (Mariehamn)
Andaman-Nicobar Islands
Anguilla
Argentine (Palmer Peninsula)
Aruba
Ascension
Austral Islands
Bahamas
Bhutan
Bismark Archipelago (New Ireland, New Britain, Bougainville, Admiralty Islands)
Bonaire
British Antarctica (Graham Land, South Shetland, South Orkney)
British Indian Ocean Territory (Chagos Archipelago, Diego Garcia)
Brunei
Burundi (Urundi)
Cabinda
Cayman Islands
Chatham Islands
Chilean (Palmer Peninsula)
Christmas Island
Cocos Islands (Keeling)
Comoro Islands (Anjouan, Moheli, Grand Comoro)
Cook Islands (Rarotonga, Aitutaki, Penrhyn)
Crete
Cyprus, British Sovereign Base Areas of Akrotiri & Dhekelia
Cyprus, Turkish Fed. State
Djibouti (French Somaliland, Affars & Issas)
Dubai
Equatorial Guinea (Bioko, Fernando Poo)
Equatorial Guinea (Rio Muni)
Eswatini (Swaziland)
Falkland Islands
Faroe Islands
French Guiana
Fujeirah
Grenada & Deps. (Carriacou, Grenadines)
Guadeloupe & Deps. (Marie Galante)
Guam
Guernsey & Deps (Alderney, Herm, Sark, Channel Islands)
Guinea-Bissau (Port. Guinea)
Guyana (British Guiana)
Hainan Island
Hong Kong
Isle of Man
Jersey (Channel Islands)
Juan Fernandez Islands (Robinson Crusoe Is.)
Kalimantan (Indonesian Borneo)
Kashmir
Kiribati (Gilberts, Tarawa, Ocean Island)
Kuwait
Lakshadweep
Lampedusa
Liberia
Liechtenstein
Maldive Islands
Maluku Islands
Marquesas Islands
Martinique
Mayotte (Dzaoudzi)
Monaco
Montserrat
Morocco, Spanish (Ceuta, Melilla)
Nakhichevan
Nauru
Nevis
New Zealand (Ross Dependency)
Niue
Northern Marianas (Saipan, Tinian)
Norwegian (Queen Maud Land, Bouvet)
Nueva Esparta (Margarita Island)
Prince Edward Island
Ras Al Khaimah
Rodrigues Island
Rwanda (Ruanda)
Saba & Sint Eustatius
Saint-Barthélemy
Saint-Martin (France)
Samoa, American (Pago Pago)
Samoa, Western (Apia)
San Andres & Providencia
Sao Tome & Principe
Sharjah
Sierra Leone
Sint Maarten (Netherlands)
Somalia (Italian Somaliland)
Somaliland (British)
South Georgia & the South Sandwich Islands
South Ossetia
South Sudan
Spitsbergen (Svalbard, Bear Island)
Srpska
St. Helena
St. Pierre & Miquelon
St. Vincent & Deps. (Bequia, Canouan, Grenadines)
Sulawesi (Celebes, Indonesia)
Taiwan. R.O.C.
Timor Leste
Tokelau Islands (Fakaofu, Atafu, Union)
Tonga (Nukualofa)
Trans Dniester
Trinidad & Tobago
Turks & Caicos Islands
Tuvalu (Ellice Island, Funafuti, Vaitapu)
Umm Al Qaiwain
Virgin Islands, British (Tortola, etc.)
Virgin Islands, U.S. (St. Croix, St. John, St. Thomas)
Wake Island
Wallis & Futuna Islands
Western Sahara (Spanish Sahara)

I've always found that a very silly list. Jersey and Guernsey separate countries? Come on! (I know where it comes from, but thousands of places around the world have some kind of odd status)