An order is a visible honour awarded by a sovereign state, monarch, dynastic house or organisation to a person, typically in recognition of individual merit, that often comes with distinctive insignia such as collars, medals, badges, and sashes worn by recipients.
In the contemporary era, 96% of the world's states – 196 out of a sample of 204 polities, which includes sovereignty-claiming entities like Abkhazia – were found to use Orders to bestow them upon their own citizens and, as a diplomatic tool, upon foreigners.
Only Switzerland, Micronesia, Libya, the Marshall Islands, Nauru, Palau, and the Seychelles do not seem to confer official civil orders of merit.
[4] By the time of the Renaissance, most European monarchs had either acquired an existing order of chivalry, or created new ones of their own, to reward loyal civilian and especially military officials.
[5] In 1802 Napoleon created the Legion of Honour (Légion d'honneur),[6] which could be awarded to any person, regardless of status,[7] for bravery in combat or for 20 years of distinguished service.
After the collapse of the Soviet Bloc in the 1990s, most Eastern European countries reverted to the Western-style orders originally established before the rise of communism.
This practice has become common across the globe (albeit other countries usually issue a general prohibition to accept foreign orders, allowing for generous exceptions).
[9] Australia, for instance, bans the acceptance of honors from other sovereigns unless the honorific order comes from a list of countries specified in a regulation.
In 1995 the regulation was altered, allowing the monarch to bestow the two remaining active orders to members of the Swedish royal family.
[12] Modern orders are usually open to all citizens of a particular country, regardless of status, sex, race or creed; there may be a minimum age for eligibility.