Historical world map · 1954

World map in 1954

A CShapes frame of independent states, colonies, and dependent territories in a year when borders changed. On 1 July, CShapes counts 86 independent states and 83 colonies and dependent territories. This sourced reconstruction contains 169 mapped geometries with source labels representing 169 distinct names.

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Mapped geometries
169
Labeled geometries
169
Distinct labels
169
Data source
CShapes 2.1 borders

World map preview and interactive explorer for 1954

Static map preview for 1954

Load the interactive view only when you want place search, year comparison, point history, or detailed border inspection.

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Border changes

What changed on the world map in 1954

Independence, new states, transfers between rulers, and border changes recorded in CShapes during 1954. The map above shows borders as of 1 July.

Border history by country

  1. Vietnam becomes an independent state.
  2. Vietnam, Republic of becomes an independent state.
  3. Laos becomes independent from France.
  4. Vietnam ceases to exist as a separate entity; its capital passes to Vietnam, Republic of.

Named in the source

Countries, territories, and regions mapped in 1954

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
169
Unlabeled geometries
0

Independent states (86)

Colonies and dependent territories (83)

Spain (3)
Equatorial Guinea, Spanish Morocco, Spanish West Africa
United States (3)
Alaska, Hawaii, Puerto Rico
Netherlands (2)
Suriname, Dutch New Guinea
Egypt (1)
Gaza
Jordan (1)
West Bank
South Africa (1)
Namibia

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
169

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.