Historical world map · 1938
World map in 1938
A reconstruction on the eve of the Second World War in Europe. On 1 July, CShapes counts 69 independent states and 104 colonies and dependent territories. This sourced reconstruction contains 254 mapped geometries. 175 have source labels representing 171 distinct names; 79 have no usable source label.
- Mapped geometries
- 254
- Labeled geometries
- 175
- Distinct labels
- 171
- Data source
- Historical Basemaps borders
World map preview and interactive explorer for 1938
Static map preview for 1938
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 1938
Independence, new states, transfers between rulers, and border changes recorded in CShapes during 1938. The map above shows borders as of 1 July.
- Danzig ceases to exist as a separate entity.
- Bolivia loses about 105,299 km² of territory.
- Paraguay gains about 105,299 km² of territory.
- Czechoslovakia loses about 39,577 km² of territory in 2 separate changes during the year.
- Germany gains about 25,819 km² of territory.
- Hungary gains about 15,795 km² of territory.
Named in the source
Countries, territories, and regions mapped in 1938
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
- 171
- Unlabeled geometries
- 79
- Afghanistan
- Albania
- Algeria (France)
- American Samoa
- Andorra
- Angola (Portugal)
- Anguilla
- Antigua and Barbuda
- Argentina
- Armenia
- Australia
- Bahamas
- Barbados
- Belgian Congo
- Belgium
- Belize
- Bhutan
- Bolivia
- Botswana
- Brazil
- British Raj
- British Somaliland
- Brunei
- Bulgaria
- Burundi
- Cambodia
- Canada
- Ceylon
- Chile
- Chinese warlords
- Cochin China
- Colombia
- Congo (France)
- Costa Rica
- Cuba
- Czechoslovakia
- Denmark
- Dominica
- Dominican Republic
- Dominion of Newfoundland
- Dutch East Indies
- Ecuador
- Egypt
- El Salvador
- Emirate of Bin Shal'an
- Empire of Japan
- Equatorial Guinea
- Eritrea (Italy)
Show 123 more named labels
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
- 254
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
Historical boundary snapshots for countries and cultural regions, used through 2010. Coverage: 53 available snapshots from prehistory through 2010
Reuse terms: GPL-3.0 repository license. Check the original project for full attribution and reuse requirements.