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!)

Lithuania Joins the Eurozone (map)

Even as doubts persist about the future of the euro, and talk is in the air about a possible exit for Greece, other countries have still moved forward with adopting the currency. One such country joined the Eurozone just last week.

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

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Kosovo Becomes an Olympic Nation

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Kosovo controversially claims independence from Serbia (Northern Kosovo is under partial pro-Serbian control). Map by Evan Centanni, based on these two blank maps by Nord-NordWest. License: CC BY-SA

By Evan Centanni

Next Stop: Rio 2016
Disputed country Kosovo has become the 205th member of the International Olympic Committee (IOC), making it an official Olympic Nation and allowing it to field a team at the 2016 Olympics in Brazil. Its full acceptance came at an IOC meeting in Monaco on December 9, after being granted "provisional recognition" in October.

Kosovo's admission process has been ongoing for five years, and the self-proclaimed country was denied the chance to participate in the London Olympics of 2012. However, one Kosovan athlete attended the games with the team from Albania, a neighboring country with close cultural ties to Kosovo.

Disputed Status
Located in southeastern Europe, Kosovo controversially declared independence from Serbia in 2008, while under the control of UN peacekeepers. Since then, it has been recognized as independent by over half of the world's countries, including the US and most of the European Union. However, Russia, China and many other countries still consider it to be rightfully part of Serbia.

Ukraine War Rebel Control Map: December 2014 (Premium)

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Research by Djordje Djukic, with additional reporting by Evan Centanni

Control lines have begun to solidify in Ukraine's civil war, with government forces on one side and the fighters of the self-proclaimed Donetsk People's Republic, Lugansk People's Republic, and Federation of Novorossiya on the other side. 

PolGeoNow presents our district-by-district map of control in eastern Ukraine, updated for December 2014, including a timeline of major events and changes to territorial control since our previous Ukraine map update in September.

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• Detailed, updated map of Donetsk and Luhansk regions, showing both past and current rebel control
• Indication of which districts and cities have had their administrations occupied by separatists
• Timeline of changes to territorial control since September, and summary of major trends

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Map: Which Countries Recognize Palestine in 2014?

(Keep up with changes to Palestine's situation: view all Palestine updates.)

Countries recognizing the State of Palestine in green, with most recent addition highlighted. Palestine in magenta (circled). Click to enlarge. Map by Evan Centanni, modified from public domain graphic (source).

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