2016 Year in Review: Country & Border Changes

Inside this Review of 2016:

Map of election results from the UK's "Brexit" referendum on leaving the European Union

• Country name, capital, and flag changes
• Border changes and disputed territories 
• Separatist states and proposed new countries
• Recognition of disputed countries 
• Countries joining (and leaving) international organizations
• Sea borders and seabed claims
• New states and provinces within countries
• Changes to countries' coastal contours and official languages

And in companion articles:
Rebel Control Around the World in 2016 
Time Zones that Changed in 2016 

It's PolGeoNow's mission to track changes to the world's countries, borders, and territories, whether it's happening formally on the books or unofficially on the ground. When new countries appear, borders change, and territorial disputes arise or are settled, you'll hear about it here. With 2016 now concluded, here's our look back at the events of the year!

(For extra coverage of geography events in 2017, follow @PolGeoNow on Twitter!)

2016 Year in Review: Rebel Control Around the World

The rebel control maps in this article were produced for PolGeoNow's professional conflict map subscription service. Full-size versions of all PolGeoNow conflict maps, along with territorial control timelines, are accessible to subscribers. You can learn more about our map subscriptions here. Non-subscribers can also view our collection of free sample control map reports.

Syria in February 2016

Syria in December 2016

The Year in Territorial Control Changes

For the past three years, PolGeoNow has published a "Year in Review" article to summarize all the political geography news that's happened in the past 12 months. The 2014 and 2015 articles included news about changing territorial control in conflict zones, but because this is a major topic of its own, we've chosen to split these events into a separate article for 2016. So read on for a concise summary of last year's rebel control changes...

See Also: 2016 Year in Review: Country & Border Changes 
 

Syria, Iraq, and the "Islamic State"

The Syrian Civil War continued to be the biggest armed conflict in the world through 2016, as well as a prominent example of a country whose territory isn't all controlled by the recognized government. During the past year, pro-government forces scored some major victories against the rebels, recapturing the country's second largest city and gradually increasing control in areas around the capital.

Interactive Maps: Which Places Switched Time Zones in 2016?

This article is a spin-off from our popular yearly review of political geography events. For more on changes to countries and borders in 2016, check out our main 2016 year in review article! 

Free map of world time zones from Wikimedia Commons, up-to-date for the beginning of 2017. See the close-ups below for interactive, before-and-after illustrations of time zone changes during 2016.

Article and additional graphics work by Evan Centanni
 

Who Controls Time Zones?

The system of dividing the world into time zones is accepted all around the world, in principle. It's an organized way of letting clocks in each part of the world hit noon around the middle of daylight hours, even if it's midnight on the other side of the world. But surprisingly, there's actually no international organization that determines time zones. Except for in the open ocean, where time zones are standardized by a loose agreement between fleets and ship operators, the dividing lines are set independently by each country's government, or even by local governments below the national level.

2015: The Year in Political Geography Changes

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Rival government and "Islamic State" (ISIS) control in Libya, August 2015 (click for free full-size map and article)

Inside this Review of 2015:

• New countries, breakaway states, and micronations
• Country name, capital, and flag changes
• Border changes and disputed territories
• Countries joining international organizations
• Recognition of disputed countries
• Rebel control in conflict zones
• Sea borders and seabed claims
• New states and provinces
• Currency changes
• World time zone changes

It's PolGeoNow's mission to track changes to the world's countries, borders, and territories, whether it's happening formally on the books or unofficially on the ground. When new countries appear, borders change, and territorial disputes arise or are settled, you'll hear about it here. With 2015 now concluded, here's our look back at the events of the year!

(For extra coverage of political geography events in 2016, follow us on Twitter!)

2014: The Year in Political Geography Changes

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Scotland said "NO" to independence in a close vote last September.

Inside this Review of 2014:

• New countries & breakaway states
• Membership in international organizations
• Recognition of disputed countries
• Territorial disputes
• Rebel control
• Sea borders and seabed claims
• New states and provinces
• Changes to world time zones
• And more!

PolGeoNow's mission is tracking changes to the world's countries, borders, and territories, whether it's happening formally on the books or unofficially on the ground. When new countries appear, borders change, and territorial disputes arise or are settled, you'll hear about it here. With 2014 now concluded, here's our look back at the major events of the year!

(Note: For extra coverage of political geography events in 2015, follow us on Twitter!)

2013: The Year in Political Geography Changes

By Evan Centanni

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 Although popular for maps of territorial control in conflict zones, PolGeoNow's original mission is tracking formal changes to the world's political geography. When new countries appear, borders change, and territorial disputes arise or are settled, you'll hear about it here. As 2013 draws to a close, here's our look back at the major events of the year:

"State of Palestine"

Country Name Changes
This year didn't see the creation of any new countries (unless you count the failed bid of the Bangsamoro Republik), but there were a few changes to country names. In October, the African island country of Cape Verde chose to change its official English name to "Cabo Verde", with the long form being "Republic of Cabo Verde". This brings it in line with the name in Portuguese, the country's official language. Meanwhile, in January, Libya established its full name as "State of Libya," after more than a year of going without an official long-form name. Since the 2011 revolution, the new government had been calling the country anything but Muammar Gaddafi's preferred "Great Socialist People's Libyan Arab Jamahiriya".