businessinsider.com
Joshua Berlinger

AP

The United Kingdom formally announced on Mondaythat Scotland will hold a referendum in 2014 to determine whether it will leave the UK and become an independent nation.

Scotland is just one of many regions around the world where there is a growing separatist movement. The worldwide economic crisis has fueled the desire for independence in many culturally unique locales.

Some movements are marked by violence. A couple have been surprisingly peaceful recently. Some have been around for centuries, while others are quite new in the grand scheme of history.