Made up primarily of Greek and Turkish communities, the nation of Cyprus has been unable to agree on a unilateral national anthem since gaining independence from Britain in 1960. The Greek national anthem was adopted nationally in 1966, though Turkish communities recognize the anthem of Turkey instead. In 2004, a wordless unified anthem was proposed, though it was ultimately rejected by voters.

"Jana Gana Mana" is India's national anthem, and officially it should take exactly 52 seconds to perform. A shortened version takes only 20 seconds, though that rendition is rarely played. The song was written by Nobel laureate Rabindranath Tagore in 1911 in the Bengali language, and assumed its official anthem status on January 24, 1950.

With a history of having banded together against the Austro-Hungarian Empire, Italy and Poland pay homage to one another with mentions in each of their respective anthems. The Polish anthem contains the translated line, "March, march Dąbrowski / From the Italian lands to Poland," whereas the Italian anthem sings the somber lyrics, "The Italian blood, the Polish blood."

With music and lyrics by George Wilberforce Kakoma, "Oh Uganda, Land of Beauty" is among the shortest national anthems in the world, featuring just eight bars of music. It was officially adopted on October 9, 1962, and is often repeated during public performances to extend the length of the song.

Andorra's "El Gran Carlemany" is a presentation of the country's history in the first-person narrative. The song is sung from the perspective of a princess being protected by the people, whom she refers to as her princes. It was adopted as the Andorran anthem on September 8, 1921, to commemorate the feast of Our Lady of Meritxell (Andorra's patron saint).

"Te Atua Mou E" — translating to "To God Almighty" — is the national anthem of the Cook Islands. Prime Minister Sir Tom Davis composed the music, and his wife Pa Tepaeru Terito Ariki provided the lyrics. The song was adopted as the national anthem in 1982.

Japan’s national anthem "Kimigayo" has just four lines, a grand total of 32 characters, and only 11 measures of music. The song also happens to be one of the world’s oldest national anthems — its title translates to "His Imperial Majesty's Reign,” a phrase that dates back to a Japanese waka poem written sometime between the eighth and 12th centuries.

Though it represents more than just a single nation, the official anthem of the European Union uses the melody from the "Ode to Joy" portion of Ludwig Van Beethoven's Ninth Symphony, originally written in 1823. The song was adopted by the Council of Europe in 1972 and later by the European Union in 1985.

"Deutschlandlied" has served as the national anthem of Germany (from 1922 to 1945), West Germany (from 1950 to 1990), and a reunified Germany (since 1990). Joseph Haydn composed the music in 1796, and it was originally performed for the birthday of Holy Roman Emperor Francis II. New lyrics were later written by professor August Heinrich Hoffmann von Fallersleben in 1841.

Bhutan often calls itself "Druk Yul," which means "land of the thunder dragon," and its national anthem reflects that moniker. The short, six-line anthem was composed by Aku Tongmi with lyrics by Dasho Gyaldon Thinley, and extols the virtues of the kingdom and its king. As the anthem concludes, its final line expresses hope that "the people shine like the sun of peace and happiness!"

In 1853, Mexico announced a contest to create a new national anthem. Poet Francisco González Bocanegra was reluctant to enter, but his fiancée believed in his talents and locked him in a room to push him to complete the song. Bocanegra ultimately won the lyrical portion of the contest, and his words were combined with the music of composer Jamie Nunó to form the "Himno Nacional Mexicano."

Known as both the "Hymn to Liberty" and "Hymn to Freedom," Greece's national anthem originally contained 158 stanzas, making it the world's longest by text length. The poem was written by Dionysios Solomos in 1823 and set to music by Nikolaos Mantazaros. It was adopted as Greece’s national anthem in 1865, though it was later cut down to just two stanzas.

Legend has it that the Austrian national anthem, "Land der Berge, Land am Strome," takes its tune from Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart's final complete work before his death in 1791. Some scholars and historians, however, believe that Mozart didn't actually compose the melody, and instead it was added to his composition after he died. They believe the tune was actually written by Mozart’s contemporary Johann Holzer.

Penned by lyricist Samuel Francis Smith, "My Country 'Tis of Thee" shares its melody with the U.K.'s national anthem, "God Save the Queen." Throughout history, that same melody has been repurposed for the Prussian anthem ("Heil dir im Siegerkranz") and the national anthems of Denmark and Liechtenstein, in addition to those of several other countries.

"Kimigayo" is the world's shortest national anthem, with a length of just 32 Japanese characters. Written around 1000 CE, the lyrics are also the oldest of any national anthem. The poem honors the emperor of Japan with the words, "May your reign continue for a thousand, eight thousand generations, until the tiny pebbles grow into massive boulders lush with moss." And that’s the entire anthem.

Sung in five different languages, "The Call of South Africa" reflects South Africa's colonial history, which combined many peoples and languages together under one government. The national anthem includes verses in Xhosa, Zulu, Sesotho, Afrikaans, and English — five of the country’s 11 official languages.

"March of the Volunteers" was composed by Nie Er with lyrics written by Tian Han as the theme song of the movie "Sons and Daughters in a Time of Storm." The war film tells of the Northeastern Chinese who fought the Japanese in the 1930s. It proved so powerful that, in 1949, its theme became the provisional national anthem of the People's Republic of China, which officially adopted it in 1982.

Upon Czechoslovakia's formation in 1918, the country created a national anthem combining a verse from the Czech opera "Fidlovačka" with a Slovak folk song called "Kopala studienku." When the country split in 1993, the first verse formed the new Czech national anthem ("Kde domov můj"), and Slovakia claimed the second verse ("Nad Tatrou sa blýska").

"The Star-Spangled Banner" became the official anthem of the United States on March 3, 1931. At the time, the song was already regarded as the de facto national anthem by the U.S. armed forces, and Woodrow Wilson had issued an executive order declaring it such in 1916. However, it wasn't until 1931 that Congress confirmed Wilson's order and Herbert Hoover signed it into law.

Though not officially adopted until 1932, "Wilhelmus" was written between 1569 and 1572 and is considered to be the world's oldest national anthem. This Dutch song contains 15 verses, with the first letter of each verse forming an acrostic to spell out Willem van Nassov (the "Father of the Nation" for whom the song is named).

"O Canada,” which was proclaimed the official Canadian national anthem in 1980, begins with the lyrics, "O Canada! Our home and native land! True patriot love in all of us command. / With glowing hearts we see thee rise, the True North, strong and free!" The song is written in both English and French, the official languages of Canada.

Spain's "Marcha Real" is one of four national anthems without lyrics, joining the countries of Kosovo, San Marino, and Bosnia and Herzegovina. Composed in 1761 by Manuel de Espinosa de los Monteros as a military march, the tune has officially remained wordless ever since. At sporting events, the audience generally hums along while players stand in silence.

French army officer and composer Claude-Joseph Rouget de Lisle wrote the French national anthem "La Marseillaise" on the night of April 24, 1792, during the French Revolution. He penned the anthem by request of the mayor of the city of Strasbourg for a marching song for French troops. The song came to be known as "La Marseillaise" because of its popularity with volunteer troops located in the city of Marseille.

While watching Fort McHenry being bombarded by the British during the War of 1812, Francis Scott Key wrote a poem that would become America's national anthem. The lyrics to "The Star-Spangled Banner” describe Key's feelings when seeing the American flag waving over the fort. The melody comes from an old English drinking tune called "To Anacreon in Heaven."

"God Save the Queen" — also known as "God Save the King," depending on the gender of the reigning monarch — was first publicly performed in London in 1745. It was later adopted as the U.K. national anthem at the start of the 19th century. The tune has been used in the compositions of around 140 composers, including Beethoven, Haydn, and Brahms.