What happens to TLDs when their country stops existing? (2022)

When a country ceases to exist, the fate of its top-level domains (TLDs) is largely determined by the entity that administered them. If the country was governed by a stable authority, such as with .de and .pl, the TLD typically remains in use under the new nation's administration. Conversely, if the nation was dissolved into constituent states with separate governments like Yugoslavia, each new state inherited the original TLD.

As for TLDs associated with territories or partially recognized states, their future is more uncertain. For example, .hk, .tw, and .ua are currently managed by local organizations but may face termination if their countries undergo significant political changes, as is the case with .hk and the potential annexation of Taiwan by China and Ukraine by Russia.