Yemen Control Map & Report: Height of Southern Separatist Control - Dec. 30, 2025 (Subscription)

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(To see other maps in this series, view all Yemen articles on PolGeoNow.) 

Map and timeline by Djordje Djukic and Evan Centanni.

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Yemen's separatist Southern Transitional Council (STC) recently upended more than two years of territorial stability in Yemen's simmering civil war, sweeping across the east in a matter of days and nearly completing its control of all territories once governed by independent South Yemen. 

This map shows Yemen at the height of STC control near the end of 2025, while the similarly-massive reversals of early 2026 will be covered in a later edition. 

Included in this report is a timeline chronicling key conflict events in the years since our March 2023 Yemen control map report, including the 2023-2025 war waged by northern Yemen's internationally-unrecognized "Houthi" government against Israel and the US.

This map and report are premium content available to paid subscribers of the PolGeoNow Conflict Mapping Service.

Want to see before you buy? Check out our most recent FREE SAMPLE Yemen map report!

Exclusive report includes:

• Up-to-date map of territorial control in the Yemeni Civil War, color-coded for the UAE-backed separatist Southern Transitional Council (STC) and allies; Saudi-aligned factions of the Presidential Leadership Council (PLC) government (includes Islah and National/Homeland Shield Force); forces of the unrecognized "Houthi" government; and Al Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula (AQAP) 
• Detailed indication of town-by-town control, including provincial boundaries, all major cities, and many smaller locations
• Markers for places recently appearing in the news, including Seiyun, Tarim, the PetroMasila oil facilities, and Khasha'a in Hadramawt province; Nishtun, Ghaydah, and Shahan in Mahra province; Perim Island and Ras Issa on the Red Sea; and many more
• Concise, beginner-friendly summary of the current situation and key events and trends from mid-2023 to present
• Detailed timeline of changes to control and other major events since March 6, 2023, with links to sources. Includes extensive coverage the Houthis' conflict with Israel, the US, and the UK.

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Can I purchase just this map?
This map and report are not available for automated purchase to non-subscribers. If you need access or republication rights for only this map report, contact service@polgeonow.com for options.

Israel / Palestine Catchup: Map of Control Just Before Lebanon Ceasefire - Nov. 26, 2024 (Subscription)

PolGeoNow's series of control maps for the Israel/Palestine area is back after a one-year hiatus. We've prepared a group of reports mapping the situation at important points up to today, and will be publishing them one at a time with the idea of catching up over a relatively short period.  

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(To see more maps in this series, view all Israel articles or Palestine articles on PolGeoNow.)

Map by Evan Centanni, timeline by Djordje Djukic with Evan Centanni

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One year ago, Israel's invasion of neighboring Lebanon was roughly at its peak, just before a ceasefire with Lebanese group Hezbollah that would lead the Israeli troops to gradually withdraw from most of the areas they had advanced into. 

Meanwhile, Israeli operations would continue in the Gaza Strip, with the siege of Jabalia and neighboring towns, while both Israeli and Palestinian operations would target Hamas-allied militias in the West Bank.

See all this and more in the latest update to PolGeoNow's widely-acclaimed map of territorial administration in the Israel/Palestine area. In addition to the updated map, the report also includes a detailed chronicle of changes and events since October 6, 2024, the date illustrated by our previous Israel/Palestine control map.

This map and report are premium content, available to paid subscribers of the PolGeoNow Conflict Mapping Service.

Want to see before you subscribe? Check out our most recent FREE SAMPLE Israel/Palestine map report!

Exclusive map report includes:

• Up-to-date illustration of current territorial control across all areas claimed by either Israel or Palestine, including Hamas and Israeli military control in the Gaza Strip (not in extreme detail), as well as UN peacekeeper deployments just outside the region and areas of Israeli operations within Lebanon during war against Hezbollah
• Closer-up inset map showing the divisions in the West Bank: Israeli military control ("Area C", including Israeli settlements), PLO-affiliated (Fatah) Palestinian jurisdiction ("Area A"), zones of shared administration ("Area B"), and the (annexed) area of Israeli civilian control in East Jerusalem
• Lines illustrating the pre-1967 ceasefire boundaries separating Israel proper from the Palestinian-claimed Gaza Strip and West Bank, as well as the Syria-claimed Golan Heights
  
• Labels for contentious areas, like the Gaza Strip, West Bank, Golan Heights, Shebaa Farms, and "no man's land"
• Illustration of which parts of Israel proper are subject to the greatest restrictions by military decree under current war powers: the "Gaza Envelope" in the south and the "Confrontation Line" in the north, and now much of northern Israel and the Golan Heights.
  
• Detailed indication of city-by-city control, including key towns and other locations important to current events, including in the West Bank and contested towns across the border in Lebanon
• Locations of recent control changes and other important events, including Jabalia, Yaroun, Alma El Chaab, Tubas, Nur Shams, Tammun, Madama, Dura, Al-Khader, and more, as well as the so-called Philadelphi Corridor and Netzarim Corridor in the Gaza Strip
  
• Detailed timeline of important events and changes to territorial control since October 6, 2024, with links to sources.

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Can I purchase just this map?
This map and report are not available for automated purchase to non-subscribers. If you need access or republication rights for only this map report, contact service@polgeonow.com for options.

2020-2025 Expansion of Europe's Free-travel "Schengen Area" (And What's Next)

This is an article for those interested in what's changed in the map of the Schengen Area since our previous update in 2020. From now on, you can always find the latest version of this map in our Schengen zone explainer article.

Three southeastern European countries - Croatia, Romania, and Bulgaria - have joined the Schengen Area in recent years. 
Map by Evan Centanni, from blank map by Ssolbergj. License: CC BY-SA

2025 Map of the Schengen Area, Europe's Border-free Travel Zone

What is the "Schengen Area"? What's the difference between Schengen and the EU? And which countries does Schengen include? Read on for all the answers, explained in plain English! 

Map by Evan Centanni, from blank map by Ssolbergj. License: CC BY-SA

Article by Evan Centanni

Originally published in March 2016, this article has been updated to July 2025, showing the addition of Croatia, Romania, and Bulgaria to the Schengen Area. We've also overhauled the styling of the map to avoid using the color blue for land areas, which some readers say they find confusing. To find older versions, you can view all Schengen Area articles on PolGeoNow. Our European Union map and explainer article has also been updated to July 2025.

What is the Schengen Area?

If you've traveled in Europe anytime in the last few decades, you probably know that many of Europe's countries have open borders, without any kind of customs or ID check required to cross from one country to another. That's because of the Schengen Agreement, a 1985 treaty that's since been expanded and made into a law of the European Union (EU).

Map: Which Countries are in the European Union in 2025, Which Aren't, and Which Want to Join?

This map and article have been revised and updated to July 2025. No new countries have joined the EU since our last update in 2023, but Georgia has been added as an official candidate for membership. Our Schengen Area map and explainer article has also been updated to July 2025.

Map by Evan Centanni, from blank map by Ssolbergj. License: CC BY-SA

What is the European Union?

Europe's continental union is probably most famous to outsiders for its euro currency and Schengen free-travel area. But it's actually much more than that: After all, the UK, whose exit from the EU in 2020 created a massive political storm, was never part of the Schengen Area or euro currency zone to begin with.