Law
The Legal Challenges of Defining Statehood for Virtual Nations
Quick fact
In 2021, the virtual nation of Wirtland had over 3,000 citizens from 150 countries but controlled no physical territory — making it ineligible for statehood under the Montevideo Convention, which requires a defined territory as a fundamental criterion.
Why this is interesting
Imagine a country that exists only on the internet — its citizens scattered across the globe, its territory a collection of servers. Could it ever be recognized as a real nation?