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A government-in-exile is a group of people who claim they are the real government of a country, but who live in another country. These were common during World War II. The Germans took over several countries, and the leaders of those countries went to England for refuge. When the war ended, most were able to return to their home countries.

Today, there are some governments-in-exile. They include:

• Sahrawi Arab Democratic Republic (SADR) in the Tindouf region in Algeria
• the government of the Belarus National Republic exiled since 1920 and currently led by Ivonka Survilla in Canada
• the government of the Dalai Lama in India, claiming to be the real leaders of Tibet, which was taken over by the Chinese
• the former provinsional Bangladeshi government was exiled, claiming to be the real leaders of East Bengal province, which was taken over by the Pakistani military.
• the former provinsional Afghan government was ousted by the Taliban, claiming to be the real leaders of Afghanistan#History, which was taken over by the American military, after they left in 2021 in the War on Terror.

Few countries recognize (accept) these groups.