# List of stateless societies

This is a non-exhaustive list of societies that have been described as examples of stateless societies.
There is no universally accepted definition of what constitutes a state, or to what extent a stateless group must be independent of the de jure or de facto control of states so as to be considered a society by itself.

## Historical societies

The following groups have been cited as examples of stateless societies by some commentators. But the classification of these societies as truly "stateless" is controversial.
| Society | Period | Notes |
| Essenes | 2nd century BCE – 1st century CE | Mystic Jewish sect with communal living practices. |
| Frisian freedom | 800–1523 | Territory notably not run under the feudal practices normal in Europe at the time. |
| Taborites | 1420–1452 | Hussite faction which maintained an independent Tábor. Arguably a prototypical anarcho-communist society. |
| Republic of Cospaia | 1440–1826 | Microstate created by historical anomaly, independent of bordering major powers. This territory lacked many state-like apparatuses. |

## Indigenous societies

Human society predates the existence of states, meaning that the history of almost any ethnic group would include pre-state organisation. The groups listed below have been identified as examples of stateless societies by various commentators, including discussions relating to anarchism.
| Society | Provisioning system | Homeland |
| Aboriginal Australians | Various | Australia |
| Imazighen | Agricultural | Maghreb |
| Andamanese | Hunter-gatherer | Andaman Islands |
| Anga | Horticultural | Jos Plateau |
| Anuak | Horticultural | Anuak Zone, Gambela |
| Bassa | Subsistence agriculture | Bassaland |
| Berom | Subsistence agriculture | Jos Plateau |
| Birifor | | Volta |
| Bobo | Subsistence agriculture | Bobo-Dioulasso |
| Croatan | Subsistence agriculture | Croatan Sound |
| Dan | Agricultural | Man |
| Dayak | Agricultural | Borneo |
| Dogon | Subsistence agriculture | Dogon country |
| Ekoi | Horticultural | Ekoi land |
| Gagu | Pastoral agriculture | |
| Grebo | | Grebo land |
| Hopi | Agricultural | Hopi Nation |
| Ibibio | Horticultural | Akwa Ibom |
| Idoma | Hunter-gatherer | Benue |
| Ifugao | Horticultural | Ifugao |
| Igbo | Horticultural | Igboland |
| Ijaw | Horticultural | Niger Delta |
| Inuit | Hunter-gatherer | Arctic |
| Kissi | Subsistence agriculture | Guinea Highlands |
| Konkomba | Horticultural | Northern Ghana |
| Kru | Fishing | Grand Kru County |
| Kusasi | | Kasaug Traditional Area |
| Lugbara | Subsistence agriculture | West Nile |
| Mamprusi | | East Mamprusi |
| Mano | Horticultural | Nimba County |
| Mapuche | Pastoral agriculture | Araucanía |
| Maragoli | | Vihiga County |
| Mbuti | Hunter-gatherer | Ituri Rainforest |
| Niitsitapi | Hunter-gatherer | Blackfeet Nation |
| Nubian | Agricultural | Nubia |
| Nuer | Pastoralism | Nuer Zone, Gambela |
| Pequot | Agricultural | Eastern Pequot Tribal Nation |
| Piaroa | Subsistence agriculture | Orinoco |
| Puliklah | Hunter-gatherer | Yurok Indian Reservation |
| Tallensi | Horticultural | Tallensi Traditional Area |
| Plateau Tonga | Subsistence agriculture | Binga |
| Quinnipiac | Hunter-gatherer | Quinnipiac River |
| Sami | Pastoralism | Sápmi |
| San | Hunter-gatherer | Central Kalahari |
| Santals | Agricultural | Jharkhand |
| Semai | Subsistence agriculture | Perak |
| Seminoles | Hunter-gatherer | Seminole Nation |
| Shona | Subsistence agriculture | Mashonaland |
| Tiv | Horticultural | Tivland |
| Urhbo | Subsistence agriculture | Niger Delta |
| Zomia | | |