National anthems of the world

From the oldest to the youngest, from the longest to the shortest, the world's national anthems are here, at a glance.

Featured anthem

France – La Marseillaise

Originally titled "War Song for the Army of the Rhine", the Marseillaise was written and composed by Claude Joseph Rouget de Lisle in 1792 and adopted in 1795 as the French anthem.

The anthem gets its name from the fact that it was first sung by volunteers on the streets of Marseille during the French Revolution. It is one of the first examples of the "European march" anthemic style of national anthem, and a variation was also briefly used as the national anthem of Russia.

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Shortest anthems in the world

The shortest national anthem in the world, by text length, is the Japanese anthem, Kimigayo, which is comprised of 32 kanji…