Historical world map · 1961
World map in 1961
A CShapes frame of independent states, colonies, and dependent territories in a year when borders changed. On 1 July, CShapes counts 112 independent states and 53 colonies and dependent territories. This sourced reconstruction contains 165 mapped geometries with source labels representing 165 distinct names.
- Mapped geometries
- 165
- Labeled geometries
- 165
- Distinct labels
- 165
- Data source
- CShapes 2.1 borders
World map preview and interactive explorer for 1961
Static map preview for 1961
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 1961
Independence, new states, transfers between rulers, and border changes recorded in CShapes during 1961. The map above shows borders as of 1 July.
- Kuwait becomes an independent state.
- Sierra Leone becomes independent from United Kingdom.
- Tanzania becomes independent from United Kingdom.
- British Cameroons ceases to exist as a separate entity; its capital passes to Cameroon.
- Cameroon gains about 41,678 km² of territory.
- Nigeria gains about 45,992 km² of territory.
Named in the source
Countries, territories, and regions mapped in 1961
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
- 165
- Unlabeled geometries
- 0
Independent states (112)
- Afghanistan
- Albania
- Argentina
- Australia
- Austria
- Belgium
- Benin
- Bhutan
- Bolivia
- Brazil
- Bulgaria
- Burkina Faso
- Cambodia
- Cameroon
- Canada
- Central African Republic
- Chad
- Chile
- China
- Colombia
- Republic of the Congo
- Democratic Republic of the Congo
- Costa Rica
- Côte d'Ivoire
- Cuba
- Cyprus
- Czechoslovakia
- Denmark
- Dominican Republic
- Ecuador
- Egypt
- El Salvador
- Ethiopia
- Finland
- France
- Gabon
- East Germany
- Germany
- Ghana
- Greece
- Guatemala
- Guinea
- Haiti
- Honduras
- Hungary
- Iceland
- India
- Indonesia
- Iran (Persia)
- Iraq
- Ireland
- Israel
- Italy
- Japan
- Jordan
- North Korea
- South Korea
- Kuwait
- Laos
- Lebanon
- Liberia
- Libya
- Luxembourg
- Madagascar
- Malaysia
- Mali
- Mauritania
- Mexico
- Mongolia
- Morocco
- Myanmar
- Nepal
- Netherlands
- New Zealand
- Nicaragua
- Niger
- Nigeria
- Norway
- Oman
- Pakistan
- Panama
- Paraguay
- Peru
- Philippines
- Poland
- Portugal
- Romania
- Russia
- Saudi Arabia
- Senegal
- Sierra Leone
- Somalia
- South Africa
- Spain
- Sri Lanka
- Sudan
- Sweden
- Switzerland
- Syria
- Taiwan
- Thailand
- Togo
- Tunisia
- Turkey
- United Kingdom
- United States
- Uruguay
- Venezuela
- Vietnam
- Vietnam, Republic of
- Yemen
- Yugoslavia
Colonies and dependent territories (53)
- United Kingdom (29)
- Aden, Bahamas, Barbados, Belize, Botswana, British Cameroons, Brunei, East Aden Protectorate, Federation of Rhodesia and Nyasaland, Fiji, Gambia, Guyana, Jamaica, Kenya, Lesotho, Maldives, Malta, Mauritius, Qatar, North Borneo, Sarawak, Singapore, Solomon Islands, Eswatini, Tanzania, Trinidad and Tobago, Uganda, United Arab Emirates, Zanzibar
- France (9)
- Algeria, Comoros, Djibouti, French Guiana, French Polynesia, Guadeloupe, Martinique, New Caledonia and Dependencies, Reunion
- Portugal (5)
- Angola, Cape Verde, East Timor, Guinea-Bissau, Mozambique
- Netherlands (2)
- Suriname, Dutch New Guinea
- Spain (2)
- Equatorial Guinea, Spanish Sahara
- Belgium (1)
- Rwanda-Urundi
- 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
- 165
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.