Map of European Union Member Countries Before Brexit (2014-2020)

There are newer editions of this map available. To see the most recent, visit our European Union explainer article.

The UK is still part of the EU for now, since the vote to leave hasn't been implemented yet.
Map by Evan Centanni, from blank map by Ssolbergj. License: CC BY-SA

EU Member Countries Pre-Brexit

This is an archived version of our map of European Union (EU) member and candidate countries, from before the UK's departure (known as "Brexit"). It's accurate for the period from June 2014, when Albania was recognized as an EU candidate country, to January 31, 2020, when the United Kingdom (UK) officially left the organization. The most recent country to join as a full member was Croatia in 2013.

For the current edition of this map, check out our updated feature article: Which Countries are in the European Union, Which Aren't, and Which Want to Join?

UK Votes to Quit EU: Map of How Britain Voted in the Brexit Referendum

By Evan Centanni

Map of election results in the UK's "Brexit" referendum. Modified by Evan Centanni from Wikimedia map by Mirrorme22, Nilfanion, TUBS, and Sting (CC BY-SA).

Brexit by Constituency

The results are in for yesterday's referendum on UK membership in the European Union, and the winner is "Leave". Brits voted by a margin of 52% to 48% in favor of exiting the European Union, making a "Brexit" (British exit from the EU) more or less guaranteed in the coming years. Britain will become the first member country ever to leave the EU, and the British overseas territory of Gibraltar is expected to get pulled out with it.

Learn More: Brexit: 9 Geography Facts You Should Know About the Referendum and Britain's EU Membership

Who Voted to Stay

Voter tendencies varied a lot from place to place. Support for the "Remain" side was strong across Scotland, culturally Irish parts of Northern Ireland, the London area, and a handful of other cities in England (led by Cambridge, Oxford, and Brighton).

By far the greatest show of support for Remain was a win by 96% in Gibraltar - which isn't even in the UK proper, but got to vote because of its unique status as a British external territory that's in the EU.

Brexit: 9 Geography Facts You Should Know About the Referendum and Britain's EU Membership

(Subscribers click here to view this article in the members area.)

By Evan Centanni 

The European Union. Click for full map and list of members.

Today the UK is voting on whether to leave the European Union. If you've been paying attention to the news, you've probably heard about the intense debate over whether Brits should vote "Leave" or "Remain". But if you're like me and mainly in this for the geography trivia, here are some fun facts you might not know about the so-called "Brexit":

On the Ground: Gibraltar and the "Brexit" Referendum

This is the first installment of PolGeoNow's On the Ground, a new series of exclusive photo essays on what political geography looks like in the real world. Whether it's borders, nationalism, or other geopolitical phenomena, we'll bring the on-the-ground situations to your screen in vivid detail.

Update 2016-06-24: Gibraltar on Thursday voted in favor of the UK staying in the European Union, by an incredible margin of  96% to 4%. However, the UK as a whole voted to leave the EU, meaning that Gibraltar can expect to get pulled out with it, against the wishes of the Gibraltarians.
 

Subscribers click here to view this article in the ad-free members area. Not a member yet? Learn about PolGeoNow subscriptions!

Right: Map of Gibraltar by Eric Gaba (source; CC BY-SA)
Left: Gibraltar's location in Europe (based on this Wikimedia Commons map by TUBS; CC BY-SA)

Gibraltar prepares to vote on whether UK should leave European Union
Last month, PolGeoNow's Evan Centanni and Meihsing Kuo visited the small British territory of Gibraltar (pronounced "jih-BRALL-ter"), one month ahead of the UK's referendum on whether to leave or remain in the European Union (EU).

Gibraltar, a tiny peninsula connected to Spain - and claimed by the Spanish government - is the only British overseas territory that's part of the EU. It's also the only external territory whose residents are eligible to vote in the so-called "Brexit" referendum without living in the UK proper. ("Brexit" is an abbreviation for "British exit" from the EU.)

Map of Temporary Border Controls in the Schengen Area, March 2016

There are newer versions of this map available. To see them, view all Schengen Area articles.

In the companion to this article, we explain in plain English what the Schengen Area is, and which countries are part of it. Here, we present a map of the area's current crisis, showing where border checks have been reintroduced. Details and explanation in the article below.

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

Subscribers click here to view this article in the ad-free members area. Not a member yet? Learn about PolGeoNow subscriptions!

Article by Evan Centanni

Borders Re-emerging Inside the Schengen Area

Over the past months, concern has been rising that Europe's border-free travel zone, known as the Schengen Area, is falling apart. As unprecedented numbers of refugees and other migrants enter the Schengen Area, individual member countries have begun to re-start border checks in the places where they abolished them decades ago. Read on to learn the why, how, and where of the Schengen Area's new border controls!

Map of the Schengen Area in March 2016

This is an older version of PolGeoNow's Schengen Area map, preserved for historical reference. To see the latest version, visit our updated Schengen Area explainer article.

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

Map: Kazakhstan Joins WTO

Premium members click here to view this article in the ad-free members area. Not a member yet? Learn about our subscription service!

Member and observer states of the World Trade Organization (WTO). Map by Evan Centanni, starting from public domain blank map (license: CC BY-NC-SA).

African Union Suspends Burkina Faso, Then Reinstates it Again (Map)

Map by Evan Centanni, from this blank map by Eric Gaba. License: CC BY-SA

Premium members click here to view this article in the ad-free members area. Not a member yet? Subscribe now!

Article by Evan Centanni

Coup Crisis
On September 18, Burkina Faso was suspended from the African Union (AU) by the organization's Peace and Security Council. The action was in response to a government takeover by soldiers loyal to the country's former president Blaise Compaore, who was pushed out in a popular uprising a year ago.

New Olympic Nation: South Sudan (Map)

Paid subscribers click here to view this article in the ad-free members area. Not a member yet? Subscribe now!

Map of all nations in the Olympics, and their regional associations. Two newest Olympic nations labeled.
Map by Evan Centanni, starting from this blank map and modeled after this map.

Map: Another Country Joins the "Eurasian Union" (May 2015)

The Eurasian Economic Union's five current member countries, plus disputed Crimea, claimed to be part of Russia. Map by Evan Centanni, starting from this map by Keverich2. License: CC BY-SA

Premium members click here to view this article in the ad-free members area. Not a member yet? Subscribe now!

Map: Seychelles Join WTO

Paid subscribers click here to view this article in the ad-free members area. Not a subscriber yet? Subscribe now!

Member and observer states of the World Trade Organization (WTO). Map by Evan Centanni, starting from public domain blank map (license: CC BY-NC-SA).

What is the "Eurasian Union"? (Map)

The Russia-led Eurasian Economic Union, sometimes simply called the "Eurasian Union", was officially launched at the beginning of this year. Read on for a brief introduction to this major new regional organization, which you can expect to hear a lot more about in the coming months and years!

The Eurasian Economic Union's four current member countries, plus disputed territories officially or unofficially included in the common market. Map by Evan Centanni, starting from this map by Keverich2. License: CC BY-SA

Premium members click here to view this article in the ad-free members area. Not a member yet? Subscribe now!

Article by Karina Barquet

Map: ALBA Has 2 New Member Countries

Subscribers click here to view this article in the ad-free members area. Not a member yet? Subscribe now!

The Bolivarian Alliance for the Peoples of Our America (ALBA). Map by Evan Centanni.

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

Premium members click here to view this article in the ad-free members area. Not a member yet? Subscribe now!

Kosovo Becomes an Olympic Nation

Premium members click here to view this article in the ad-free members area. Not a member yet? Subscribe now!

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.

Portuguese Community Admits New Member & Observer Countries (Map)

Map by Evan Centanni, starting from public domain blank map (license: CC BY-NC-SA).

Premium members click here to view this article in the ad-free members area. Not a member yet? Subscribe now!

Map: "Eurasian Union" Gets New Member

The Eurasian Economic Union's four member countries, plus disputed territories that might be officially or unofficially included. Map by Evan Centanni, starting from this map by Keverich2. License: CC BY-SA

Premium members click here to view this article in the ad-free members area. Not a member yet? Subscribe now!

Latvia Joins the Eurozone (map)

This article was originally published as "Map: Which Countries Use the Euro? (Plus: This Year's New Addition)". To see newer versions of the map, view all Eurozone articles on PolGeoNow.

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

Premium members click here to view this article in the ad-free members area. Not a member yet? Subscribe now!

African Union Reinstates Egypt and Guinea-Bissau (Map)

The African Union as of July 2014. Map by Evan Centanni, from this blank map by Eric Gaba.
License: CC BY-SA

Premium members click here to view this article in the ad-free members area. Not a member yet? Subscribe now!

Map: Yemen Joins WTO

Premium members click here to view this article in the ad-free members area. Not a member yet? Subscribe now!

Member and observer states of the World Trade Organization (WTO). Map by Evan Centanni, starting from public domain blank map (license: CC BY-NC-SA).