Historical world map · 1908
World map in 1908
A CShapes frame of independent states, colonies, and dependent territories in a year when borders changed. On 1 July, CShapes counts 57 independent states and 96 colonies and dependent territories. This sourced reconstruction contains 153 mapped geometries with source labels representing 153 distinct names.
- Mapped geometries
- 153
- Labeled geometries
- 153
- Distinct labels
- 153
- Data source
- CShapes 2.1 borders
World map preview and interactive explorer for 1908
Static map preview for 1908
Load the interactive view only when you want place search, year comparison, point history, or detailed border inspection.
Border changes
What changed on the world map in 1908
Independence, new states, transfers between rulers, and border changes recorded in CShapes during 1908. The map above shows borders as of 1 July.
- Bosnia ceases to exist as a separate entity; its capital passes to Austria-Hungary.
- Herzegovina ceases to exist as a separate entity; its capital passes to Austria-Hungary.
- Austria-Hungary gains about 51,535 km² of territory.
Named in the source
Countries, territories, and regions mapped in 1908
Usable source labels can mix states, empires, dependencies, cultural regions, and other mapped entities. Wording follows the dataset rather than forcing every shape into a modern-country category.
- Distinct named labels
- 153
- Unlabeled geometries
- 0
Independent states (57)
- Argentina
- Australia
- Austria-Hungary
- Belgium
- Bolivia
- Brazil
- Bulgaria
- Canada
- Chile
- China
- Colombia
- Costa Rica
- Cuba
- Denmark
- Dominican Republic
- Ecuador
- El Salvador
- Ethiopia
- France
- Germany
- Greece
- Guatemala
- Haiti
- Honduras
- Iran (Persia)
- Italy
- Japan
- Korea (until 1945)
- Liberia
- Luxembourg
- Mexico
- Montenegro
- Morocco
- Nepal
- Netherlands
- New Zealand
- Nicaragua
- Norway
- Oman
- Orange Free State
- Panama
- Paraguay
- Peru
- Portugal
- Romania
- Russia
- Serbia
- Spain
- Sweden
- Switzerland
- Thailand
- Transvaal
- Turkey
- United Kingdom
- United States
- Uruguay
- Venezuela
Colonies and dependent territories (96)
- United Kingdom (44)
- Afghanistan, Bahamas, Barbados, Belize, Bhutan, Botswana, British Somaliland, Brunei, Cape Colony, Egypt, Federated Malay States, Fiji, Gambia, Ghana, Guyana, India, Jamaica, Kenya, Lesotho, Malawi, Maldives, Malta, Mauritius, Natal, Newfoundland, Northeastern Rhodesia, Northern Nigeria, North-Western Rhodesia, Territory of Papua, North Borneo, Sarawak, Sierra Leone, Solomon Islands, Southern Nigeria, Sri Lanka, Straits Settlements, Sudan, Eswatini, Trinidad and Tobago, Uganda, Unfederated Malay States, United Arab Emirates, Zanzibar, Zimbabwe
- France (24)
- Algeria, Benin, Cambodia, Central African Republic, Chad, Republic of the Congo, Côte d'Ivoire, Djibouti, French Guiana, French Polynesia, Gabon, Guadeloupe, Guinea, Laos, Madagascar, Mali, Martinique, Mauritania, New Caledonia and Dependencies, Niger, Reunion, Senegal, Tunisia, Vietnam
- Portugal (5)
- Angola, Cape Verde, East Timor, Guinea-Bissau, Mozambique
- United States (4)
- Alaska, Hawaii, Philippines, Puerto Rico
- Austria-Hungary (2)
- Bosnia, Herzegovina
- Japan (2)
- Southern Sakhalin Island, Taiwan
- Russia (2)
- Bokhara, Khiva
- Spain (2)
- Equatorial Guinea, Spanish West Africa
- Belgium (1)
- Democratic Republic of the Congo
Precision in the source
Not every border deserves the same confidence
Precision is inherited from the dataset when available. It describes how the line was encoded, not the overall certainty of every historical claim inside the polygon.
- Determined by international law
- 153
These precision categories cover all mapped geometries. Label coverage is reported separately above, so the two sets of counts should not be added together.
Source, license, and download
Sovereign-border dataset of independent states and colonies, dated to the day. It fills every year since 1886 in which state borders changed and covers 2011 through 2023 annually. It does not code wartime occupation. Coverage: Independent states and dependent territories, 1886–2023; each frame shows borders on 1 July
Reuse terms: CC BY-NC-SA 4.0. Check the original project for full attribution and reuse requirements.