A boldly painted youth cheers for independence in front the national flag in Wagah, a Pakistani town near India. At midnight on 15 August 1947, the Indian Independence Act unseated the British Raj and established the two countries in one fell swoop. Islamic Pakistan now celebrates its freedom on 14 August, which is also a Muslim holy day.

Schoolgirls pose in traditional dress for celebrations at the Zocalo, a plaza at the heart of Mexico City where people have gathered since the days of the Aztecs. This 16 September, Mexico will celebrate 203 years since the legendary priest Dolores Hidalgo sounded "El Grito de la Independencia" - a cry for freedom that set in motion the Mexican War of Independence from Spain.

Following Spain's defeat in the Mexican War of Independence, an emboldened Guatemala declared all of Central America free on 15 September 1821. Here a student taking part in an Independence Day parade wears an exotic headdress meant to evoke the brightly plumed quetzal bird, an apt emblem for the Land of Eternal Spring.

The Proclamation of Indonesian Independence on 17 August 1945 catapulted the country into four years of war with the Netherlands, which Indonesia won in 1949. Celebratory customs include the release of hundreds of green turtles into the ocean from Bali's Kuta Beach, and panjat pinang, a game in which a pole is erected, greased with oily clay and hung with bicycles, televisions and other prizes. Whoever climbs all the way to the top wins, though people often collaborate to split the loot.

The Chilean revolution was sparked in 1810 after its people grew tired of Spanish rule under a governor so corrupt he once tried to steal smuggled goods from a ship docked in Chilean waters. Chilean soldiers finally defeated the Spanish in 1818, and handmade kites are now flown every 18 and 19 September to commemorate their bravery.

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Rather than celebrating their 1991 deliverance from 70 years of Soviet rule, Belarusians instead memorialise the liberation of their capital, Minsk, from Nazi occupation on 3 July 1944. Pictured here, soldiers wearing World War II-era uniforms ride military vehicles in an Independence Day parade