Maps & geography - Blog | Jesus Iniesta

All Country Border Changes in the 21st Century: Official, De Facto, and Partly Recognized

A source grounded guide to official, de facto and partly recognized country border changes since 2000, from Timor Leste and South Sudan to Crimea, Hans Island and maritime rulings.

Every Country Border Dispute in 2026: The World Map Is Less Settled Than It Looks

Stylized checkpoint scene with concrete barriers on a disputed frontier road.

Stylized aerial view of patrol vessels and a reef in contested maritime waters.

Stylized desert buffer zone with an observation post and a distant disputed boundary track.

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A region by region guide to the country borders, islands, maritime zones and occupied territories still disputed in 2026, from Ukraine and Kashmir to Essequibo and the South China Sea.

The Historical Borders Map That Makes Every Country Look Temporary

Four-panel historical borders map comparing the same region in 1000, 1500, 1914, and today.

Historic Borders Explorer with a callout inviting readers to compare their own region across years.

Diagram explaining that historical border lines can represent legal borders, occupation zones, frontier regions, or approximate control.

Move a year slider through 1000, 1500, 1914 and today and the world map stops looking fixed. A visual guide to why borders are snapshots, not destiny.

How Historic Border Maps Are Created: Their Strengths, Limits, and Hidden Choices

A practical guide to how historic border maps are made: source gathering, georeferencing, digitization, temporal modeling, uncertainty, and the strengths and limitations readers should keep in mind.

Latest writing

All Country Border Changes in the 21st Century: Official, De Facto, and Partly Recognized

Every Country Border Dispute in 2026: The World Map Is Less Settled Than It Looks

The Historical Borders Map That Makes Every Country Look Temporary

How Historic Border Maps Are Created: Their Strengths, Limits, and Hidden Choices