Bulgaria and Croatia Enter Eurozone "Waiting Room" (ERM II)

This article covers the latest changes to PolGeoNow's map of which countries use the euro.

The Eurozone, European Union, and other countries using the euro.
Map by Evan Centanni, from blank map by Ssolbergj. License: CC BY-SA

Croatia and Bulgaria preparing to adopt the euro

The southeastern European countries of Bulgaria and Croatia have been approved by the European Union's central bank to take the next step towards joining the Eurozone - the organization of countries that officially use the euro as their shared currency. As new participants in the "European Exchange Rate Mechanism II" (ERM II or ERM-2), Croatia and Bulgaria are on track to adopt the euro after a 2-3 year waiting period - likely on January 1, 2024.

Which Countries Used the Euro in 2020? (Map of the Eurozone)

There's a newer version of this map and article available. You can always find the latest version at this link: Which Countries Use the Euro Today? (Map of the Eurozone)

This is the archived 2020 version of our Eurozone map and explainer article, which itself was updated from an article originally published in June 2016, with the earliest version of the map appearing in a 2014 news post.

The Eurozone, European Union, and other countries using the euro.
Map by Evan Centanni, from blank map by Ssolbergj. License: CC BY-SA

Article by Caleb Centanni, with additional content by Evan Centanni 

What is the Eurozone?

Officially called the "euro area", the Eurozone is a nickname for the group of countries in Europe that share a single currency, called the euro. The euro currency is administered by the European Union (EU), but many countries in the EU don't use the euro, and some countries outside the EU do use it. The European Central Bank, the governing financial body of the Eurozone, is headquartered in Frankfurt, Germany. Germany, along with eleven other EU countries, became a founding member of the Eurozone in 1999.

NAFTA Replaced With USMCA/CUSMA

CUSMA/USMCA replaces NAFTA as the new free trade area made up of Mexico, the US, and Canada. Map by Wikimedia user Heraldry (source; CC BY-SA)

NAFTA is No More

On July 1, the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) - a much-talked-about free trade area including Mexico, the United States, and Canada - was formally retired. The arrangement, in place since 1994, has been replaced by a similar deal, technically called the "Agreement Between the United States of America, the United Mexican States, and Canada". The change was agreed upon last year, but didn't take effect until this month.

USMCA or CUSMA?

The short name of the deal depends on who you ask. In the US, it's called the United States-Mexico-Canada Agreement (USMCA), but in Canada it's the Canada-United States-Mexico Agreement (CUSMA). In French (Canada's other official language) the acronym is ACEUM - also placing "Canada" first - and in Mexico it's known by the Spanish acronym T-MEC (placing "Mexico" first).

US State of Mississippi Now Has No Flag

Update: On November 3, 2020, Mississippi voted to approve a replacement flag, which was then officially adopted on January 11, 2021.

Former official flag of Mississippi state (2001-2020)

The Mississippi Flag is No More

Last Tuesday the elected governor of Mississippi, one of the 50 states of the United States of America, signed a new law stripping official status from the state's controversial flag.

Mississippi's was the only remaining state flag to include the Confederate battle emblem, a symbol of the separatist Confederate States of America who fought to preserve slavery in the country's 1860s civil war.

Though citizens are not banned from flying the flag - a right protected by the US Constitution - it has been taken down from both the state government building and the US Capitol in Washington, DC. Several city governments and universities in Mississippi had already stopped flying the state flag.

Israel / Palestine Map: Who Controlled What in 2020?

This is the original version of PolGeoNow's Israel/Palestine administrative control map, as published in July 2020. An improved version is now available as of May 2021 (there have been no changes to the lines of control).

Click to enlarge. Map by Evan Centanni, incorporating base map by Koen Adams of onestopmap.com and data from B'Tselem's interactive mapping project. (Contact us for permission to use this map.)

The explanatory article accompanying this map has been revised and updated, and can now be found at the following link: Israel / Palestine Map: Who Controls What in May 2021?