Historical world map · 2020

World map in 2020

An annual CShapes frame of independent states and dependent territories. On 1 July, CShapes counts 174 independent states and 7 colonies and dependent territories. This sourced reconstruction contains 199 mapped geometries with source labels representing 199 distinct names.

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Mapped geometries
199
Labeled geometries
199
Distinct labels
199
Data source
CShapes 2.1 borders

World map preview and interactive explorer for 2020

Static map preview for 2020

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 2020

Independence, new states, transfers between rulers, and border changes recorded in CShapes during 2020. The map above shows borders as of 1 July.

Border history by country

CShapes records no change to state borders during 2020.

Named in the source

Countries, territories, and regions mapped in 2020

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
199
Unlabeled geometries
0

Independent states (174)

Colonies and dependent territories (7)

France (6)
French Guiana, French Polynesia, Guadeloupe, Martinique, New Caledonia and Dependencies, Reunion

Small states and territories added from 2010 (18)

CShapes does not map these microstates and small territories, so their shapes come from the 2010 Historical Basemaps frame.

  • American Samoa
  • Andorra
  • Anguilla
  • Antigua and Barbuda
  • Dominica
  • Greenland
  • Grenada
  • Liechtenstein
  • Montserrat
  • Niue
  • Saint Barthelemy
  • Saint Kitts and Nevis
  • Saint Lucia
  • Saint Martin
  • Saint Vincent and the Grenadines
  • Samoa
  • Turks and Caicos Islands
  • United States Virgin Islands

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
199

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.