Independent and Sovereign Republic of Kiribati Independence Day In 1979 Kiribati gained it's independence from Great Britain. An island nation in the south pacific straddling the equator it is also the furthest east of all the countries as it is next to the International Date line. Actually prior to 1995 it straddled the IDL so that government offices could only work with other offices 4 days a week since it was the weekend in the eastern most part when the western part was Friday. Happy Independence Day Kiribati! Democratic Republic of São Tomé and Príncipe Independence Day In 1975 this small island nation in the Gulf of Guinea, near the equator, received it's independence from Portugal. One of the first African nations to embrace democratic reform in the 1990s. Originally uninhabited till their discovery by Portuguese sailors, the islands first became an area to grow sugar and then as a stopping point for the international slave trade. It is now a self ruling nation with the descendants of those who were forced there against their will to work for the landowners taking ownership of their country. Happy Independence Day São Tomé and Príncipe
Fun side note, as São Tomé and Príncipe is in the Gulf of Guinea, which is has the Prime Meridian going through it, and near the equator and Kiribati straddling the equator and at one point the International Date Line, these two countries are almost exactly opposite each other on the globe.