SinceWorld War I, there have been many changes inborders betweennations, detailed below. For information on border changes from the end of the Napoleonic Wars to 1914, see thelist of national border changes (1815–1914). Cases are only listed where there have been changes in borders, not necessarily including changes in ownership of a territory. For instance, many European colonies in Africa became independent without any adjustment to their borders, although some did have many changes. Also mentioned are some de facto changes, not recognized by the international community, such asCrimea, andSouth Ossetia.
1919–1922 — TheTreaty of Versailles divides Germany's African colonies into mandates of the victors (which largely become new colonies of the victors). Most of Cameroon becomes a French mandate with a small portion taken by the British and some territory incorporated into France's previously existing colonies;Togo is mostly taken by the British, though the French gain a slim portion;German East Africa was separated betweenBelgium (Rwanda andBurundi), Portugal (theKionga Triangle) and theUnited Kingdom (Tanganyika, later merging withZanzibar to formTanzania); andGerman South-West Africa (Namibia) becomes a mandate ofSouth Africa. In September, France settles its African colonial borders with Italian Libya. On September 8, following the signing of the Anglo-French Convention of September 8, 1919, the borders of ItalianLibya and FrenchChad are settled to the present-day boundaries.[5] A few days later, the borders of western and southwestern Libya are extended to their current boundaries after French concessions with the Franco-Italian Arrangement of 12 September 1919.[6]
1925 May 15 — TheTangier International Zone is established after France and Spain end their control over parts of the city.
1925 — The eastern borders of Libya and British Egypt are changed to their present boundaries, with the exception of parts of present-day southern Libya still remaining part ofBritish Sudan.[5]
1934 — The borders of Libya are changed to their present-day boundaries after the Italo-British-Egyptian Agreement, British Sudan cedes northern territory to Libya.[5]
1940 – 1943 — With the outbreak of World War II, war arrives in Africa in 1940, with Italy joining the war, initially British forces inBritish Somaliland are defeated by the Italians coming from Italian East Africa and the territory is taken. However, by 1941, the British retake lost territory and take over Italian East Africa. In North Africa, after a period of retreat into Libya, Italian forces receive vital aid from the German army and the Germans move deep into Egypt by 1942, before beginning to lose ground. By 1943, The German and Italian forces retreat from Libya and captureTunisia from France prior to fleeing to Sicily.
1953 August 1 —Federation of Rhodesia and Nyasaland established from the British self-governing colony of Southern Rhodesia and the British protectorates of Northern Rhodesia, and Nyasaland.
1 April 1958 — With theTreaty of Angra de Cintra, Spain relinquishes its protectorate in the Southern Zone (Cape Juby) ofSpanish Morocco, which joins the independent nation ofMorocco. Much (though not all) of the area of the Territory ofIfni is effectively ceded by Spain as well.
1961 May 31 — the northern two-thirds of BritishCameroons joinsNigeria; October 1 — the southern third of British Cameroons joins with the Republic of Cameroon to form the Federal Republic of Cameroon. This year also the tiny Portuguese outpost ofSão João Baptista de Ajudá was annexed byDahomey (nowBenin)
1966 September 30Bechuanaland becomes an independent Commonwealth republic asBotswana.
1967 May 30 — The break-away state ofBiafra is formed from southernNigeria. Officially Biafra receivesde jure acknowledgement of existence by only a few nations, but has thede facto support of France, Israel, Portugal, and South Africa which provide arms to the state in its war of independence against Nigeria.
2024 April 1 —Puntland announces its temporary independence fromSomalia until constitutional disputes and internal issues are to be resolved. It has no other formal recognition.
World War II — In the early stages of World War II in the Pacific, Japan made steady gains against the Allies. In 1940, with the collapse of France in Europe, the newVichy regime allows Japan to annex French Indochina. After theattack on Pearl Harbor, Japan proceeds to occupyWake Island, thePhilippines,British Malaya, theDutch East Indies, northernNew Guinea and a number of pacific islands. Also Japan begins attacks against British-held Burma and India, and creates a puppet regime in Burma. From 1943 to its defeat, Japan steadily loses territory in the Pacific to the Allies and in 1945, Japan surrenders, abolishing its remaining puppet regimes in Manchukuo and Mengjiang, and abandoning its hold onKorea
1945 — Following the war, theSoviet Union annexes the Southern Sakhalin and Kuril Islands from Japan according to the Yalta Conference, andKorea is divided into the two countries,South Korea andNorth Korea.
1948 — TheState of Israel is created after the 1947United Nations General AssemblyResolution 181 called for the partition of the British-ruledPalestine into a Jewish state and an Arab state. The resolution is accepted by the Jews in Palestine, but rejected by the Arabs in Palestine and the Arab states.
1960 —Cyprus declares its independence from the United Kingdom; theSovereign Base Areas ofAkrotiri and Dhekelia are established on the island by the United Kingdom under the latter's control.
1961 December 19 —India takes over the Portuguese colony ofGoa, Daman and Diu, which becomes a singleUnion Territory of India. In 1987,Goa is elevated to full statehood, withDaman and Diu remaining a Union Territory.
1962 August 16 — India officially absorbs the French enclaves ofPuducherry.
2005 August 1 —Israel dismantles its settlements in theGush Katif region of theGaza Strip, and the remainder of the Gaza Strip, most of which had already been transferred to Palestinian rule in 1994, becomes administered by thePalestinian Authority, until 2007 when the territory is seized by the military wing ofHamas in a violent coup d'état.
2020 — WhileNagorno-Karabakh remained an internationally recognised territory ofAzerbaijan, the four UN Security Council resolutions, adopted in 1993 and demanding immediate withdrawal of theArmenian occupying forces from all occupied regions of Azerbaijan, remained unfulfilled until 2020. In 2020, anew war erupted in the region, which saw Azerbaijan retake control of most of southern Karabakh (Fuzuli, Jabrayil, Zangilan, Qubadli, Hadrut districts) and parts of north-eastern Karabakh (Talish, Madagiz). A trilateral ceasefire agreement signed on 10 November 2020, ended the war and forced Armenia to return control of all of the remaining territories surrounding Nagorno-Karabakh.
1921 — As a result of winning awar against Soviet Russia,Poland gains territories east of theCurzon Line, inhabited essentially by Lithuanians, Belarusians, Poles, and Ukrainians.
1923 — The Treaty of Sèvres is superseded by theTreaty of Lausanne under which Greece loses its earlier territorial gains and the borders of modernTurkey are established.Western Thrace is ceded byBulgaria toGreece, a decision earlier agreed upon in the 1919Treaty of Neuilly-sur-Seine. On the Baltic sea, Lithuania annexes the Memel territory without plebiscite. Italian military forces take control of the Greek island ofCorfu.
1924 February 22 — TheTreaty of Rome comes into effect, ending the existence of the Free State of Fiume and the Italo–Yugoslav border dispute. The treaty assigns Fiume (Rijeka) to Italy andSušak to Yugoslavia, with joint port administration. On March 16, Italy formally annexes Fiume.
1926 — Albania cedes territory to the Kingdom of Slovenes, Croats and Serbs.
1938 April 25 — The United Kingdom agrees to return its threeTreaty Ports to Ireland as part of theAnglo-Irish Trade Agreement over the course of the next several months.
1938 November 2 — Hungary is awarded southern Slovakia and parts of the Subcarpathian Rus' in theFirst Vienna Award. Shortly after, Poland seizessmall border regions.
1939 March 14 — The Slovak part of Czechoslovakiadeclares independence with German support.
1939 September 1 — Fall of Poland — With thelast battle over, the Polish territory is divided between Germany, Slovakia, the Soviet Union and Lithuania.
1939 November 1 and 2 — The remaining Polish lands are incorporated into theUkrainian SSR and theByelorussian SSR, following the approval of rigged election results by their respectiveSupreme Soviets.[23]
1940 June 28 — Romania is forced to give upBessarabia to the Soviet Union with German pressure to fulfilltheir Ultimatum.
1940 August 30 — Hungary is awarded Northern Transylvania from Romania as part of theSecond Vienna Award.
1940 August 2 — Luxembourg and the area ofAlsace-Lorraine are put undercivil administration and attached to adjacentReichsgaue. While never formally incorporated, these areas were increasingly put under German Laws and are widely considered to have been fully annexed.[27]
1941 April 10 — While the invasion is still ongoing, theIndependent State of Croatia is proclaimed bySlavko Kvaternik. The country remains under partial joint Italian-German occupation.
1941 April 14 — The German-occupied parts of Slovenia are put undercivil administration and attached to adjacent Reichsgaue. Similarly to Luxembourg and Alsace-Lorraine, these areas were never fully annexed, instead being set up in preparatation for eventual integration.[28]
1941 April 24 — The Bulgarian Occupation zone and the territory to be annexed into Italian Albania is agreed upon after multiple meetings with Germany.[29]
1941 May 3 — Italy issues a Royal Degree, annexing parts of Slovenia as theProvince of Ljubljana.[30]
1941 May 14 — Bulgaria annexes the occupied areas of Greece.[31]
1941 May 18 — The mainTreaty of Rome of 1941 settles theDalmatian territory annexed by Italy from the Independent State of Croatia. Later treaties define their borders in Ljubljana and Italian-occupied Montenegro.
1941 June 30 — Bulgaria fully incorporates its occupied territories in Yugoslavia.[32] As the war continues, Germany allows Bulgarian troops to occupy more territory to free up forces for theEastern Front.
1941 August 1 — FollowingOperation Barbarossa, theBialystok District is formed and put under Civil Administration, being attached to an adjacent Reichsgau, again in preparation for eventual annexation. It's expanded to include the city ofGrodno three months later.
1941 December 9 — Finland re-integrates the territories lost in the Moscow Peace Treaty during theContinuation War.[35]
1942 November 11 —Case Anton is executed, ending the nominal independence ofVichy France and placing the entire country under German-Italian military administration.
1943 September 10 — In response to theItalian surrender, Germany executesOperation Achse and invades their former ally, setting up apuppet state in northern Italy. In addition to taking over all territories previously under Italian occupation, Germany splits apart lands from the Italian Social Republic, forming the Operational Zones of theAdriatic Littoral and of theAlpine Foothills in northeastern Italy and attaching them to adjacent Reichsgaue.
1944 September 19 — TheMoscow Armistice is signed between Finland and the Soviet Union, ending hostilities between the two countries. Finland is forced to return all territory previously ceded with theMoscow Peace Treaty in addition toPetsamo and a lease onPorkkala.
1945 — End of the War — With the total defeat of Germany, the war is finally over. All territorial changes made by the Axis Powers are fully reverted, with the notable exception of Bulgaria keepingSouthern Dobruja.
1948 — Following the signing of theMoscow Protocol of 1948, the Soviet Union formally annexes some Danubian islands and theSnake Island in the Black Sea from Romania.
1955 April 23 — Italy and Switzerland modify the border in the zone ofLago di Lei[38]
1955 June 27 — TheAustrian State Treaty comes into force, establishing an independentAustrian state from the four occupation zones of the Allied powers.
1961 — An adjustment to the Meuse river betweenThe Netherlands andBelgium results in three small packages of land being exchanged between the two countries.[39]
1963 — The 1949 Dutch acquisitions of West German territory are almost completely reverted; theDuivelsberg remains permanently with the Netherlands.
12 February 1986 —France and theUnited Kingdom sign theTreaty of Canterbury, defining a land frontier between the two countries. This border becomes physical with the breakthrough of theChannel Tunnel on 1 December 1990.
1990 — East Germanyunites with West Germany on October 3.Transnistria declares independence from theMoldavian SSR but is not recognised by any country.
2003 —Lithuania's share ofLake Vištytis increases to about 383 ha (about 22% from 2.2%) from a new border treaty withRussia.[42]
2006 June 3 — The State Union of Serbia and Montenegro is dissolved followinga referendum;Montenegro andSerbia each become independent states.
2008 February 17 —Kosovo unilaterallydeclares independence fromSerbia. The declaration is strongly opposed by Serbia andrecognised by just over half (101 out of 193) of UN member states.
2016 November 28 —Belgium andthe Netherlands swap land nearLanaye andOost-Maarland over the discovery of a headless body several years prior, which the Belgian authorities could not access without crossing Dutch territory. Theborder has been straightened out and now runs down the centre of theMeuse River.[39] The change took effect on 1 January 2018.
Regions of Ukraine annexed by Russia since 2014 (Crimea) and 2022 (Donetsk,Kherson,Luhansk andZaporizhzhia), with a red line marking the area of actual control by Russia on 30 September 2022.
2022 September 30 — Russiaunilaterally declares the annexation of the Ukrainian oblasts of Luhansk, Donetsk, Zaporizhzhia, and Kherson. Similar to the annexation of Crimea in 2014, this border change is not recognised internationally.
1927 April 1 — TheImperial Privy Council of the United Kingdom establishes the boundaries of theDominion of Newfoundland and Canada, in particular, the province ofQuebec, which affirmed that territories claimed by Quebec were part of Newfoundland. Previous maps showed the disputed territory as undefined.
1949 March 31 — The Dominion of Newfoundland joins Canada. The territory is now calledNewfoundland and Labrador.
1962 August 6 —Jamaica gains independence from the United Kingdom.
1962 August 31 —Trinidad and Tobago gains independence from the United Kingdom.
1966 November 30 —Barbados gains independence from the United Kingdom.
1973 July 10 — The Commonwealth ofThe Bahamas gains independence from the United Kingdom.
1974 February 7 —Grenada gains independence from the United Kingdom.
1999 —Panama Canal Zone returns fromjoint US–Panamanian control toPanamanian control. A previous important development was the 1979 change from US control to joint US–Panama control, with plans for full Panamanian sovereignty at some point after that.
2023 May 26 —The Netherlands andFrance make an agreement to clarify the border inSint-Maarten after a dispute in 2016;[43] the treaty is not yet in effect.
1949 July 1 — TheTerritory of New Guinea joins with the AustralianTerritory of Papua to form The Territory of Papua and New Guinea.[44] The union is an administrative one only and does not affect the separate position of the Territory of New Guinea as a territory governed by Australia as a United Nations trust territory.
1974 — Areferendum is held in the British colony of theGilbert and Ellice Islands. Per the results of the referendum, the colony was divided into two.
1975 September 16 — TheTerritory of New Guinea and theTerritory of Papua which were in an administrative union under Australian governance with the name Papua New Guinea are unified as a single sovereign country called the Independent State of Papua New Guinea.
1979 — TheMarshall Islands leaves the Trust Territory of the Pacific Islands, becomes an independent country while also anassociated state with the U.S.
1979 — TheFederated States of Micronesia formed from part of the Trust Territory of the Pacific, also independent as an associated state with the U.S.
1938 — A ceasefire signed betweenParaguay andBolivia awards Paraguay three-quarters of the Chaco Boreal which it took over during theChaco War (1932–35).
^Manning, Patrick (1990).Slavery and African Life: Occidental, Oriental, and African Slave Trades. London: Cambridge University Press.
^Lovejoy, Paul E. (2012). Transformations of Slavery: A History of Slavery in Africa. London: Cambridge University Press.
^Martin Klein, "Slave Descent and Social Status in Sahara and Sudan", inReconfiguring Slavery: West African Trajectories, ed. Benedetta Rossi (Liverpool:Liverpool University Press, 2009), 29.
^"Vatican City turns 91".Vatican News. 11 February 2020. Retrieved24 July 2024.The world's smallest sovereign state was born on February 11, 1929, with the signing of the Lateran Treaty between the Holy See and the Kingdom of Italy
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