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.

How Many Countries Are There in the World in 2025?

This article, originally from 2011, has been revised and updated to January 2025. You can view older versions of the article in our archives. No changes have been made to the country counts in this article since last year's update.

A world political map published by the US government.

One of the most basic questions for map-lovers is "How many countries are there in the world?" But anyone who just gives you a simple number isn't telling the whole truth. It actually depends a lot on how you define a "country". Here are six of the most common answers, each correct in its own way:

Parade of Nations: Which Countries Are (and Aren't) in the Olympics? (Paris 2024)

This is an updated version of an article first published in 2012. To see previous versions, view all Olympics articles on PolGeoNow.

Map of all countries in the Olympics and their regional associations. By Evan Centanni, modeled after this map.

The 2024 Summer Olympics are officially opening this Friday, July 26. This year they're officially hosted by the city of Paris, France, though events will be held all around the country. This is the sixth time France has hosted the games (including the Winter Olympics). It's also Paris's third time to host the Olympics, though it took a break for 100 years. The only other city to host three times is London, in the UK.

Of course, it wouldn't be an Olympic opening ceremony without the Parade of Nations. But how many countries are there in the games, and is everyone included? Read on for PolGeoNow's updated guide to the roster of Olympic Nations...

How Many Countries Were There in the World in 2024?

There are newer editions of this article available. To find the most recent, view all "How Many Countries in the World" updates!   

This article, originally from 2011, has been revised and updated to July 2024. You can view older versions of the article in our archives. The main update from last year is the surrender of the self-proclaimed Artsakh Republic (Nagorno-Karabakh), whose territory is now controlled by Azerbaijan.

A world political map published by the US government.

One of the most basic questions for map-lovers is "How many countries are there in the world?" But anyone who just gives you a simple number isn't telling the whole truth. It actually depends a lot on how you define a "country". Here are six of the most common answers, each correct in its own way:

Israel / Palestine Map: Who Controlled What Before the 2023 Hamas Invasion?

This article was originally published in July 2020, but has been revised and updated to October 2023. The design of the accompanying map has also been slightly revised, but there were no changes to territorial control between the previous edition and this one except for the reopening of the Gaza fishing zone.

This map shows the situation just before the current war began. For the war itself, check out our new map showing control at the height of the October 2023 Hamas invasion the next day.

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.)

Israel and Palestine Controlled Areas: Before the War

October 2023's surprise invasion of Israel by Palestinian fighters from the Gaza Strip has catapulted the area back to the top of world headlines, and the situation on the ground is now in flux. But what exactly was the situation just before this new chapter of the conflict started? This newly-revised version of PolGeoNow's Israel/Palestine explainer article answers all your questions about who's who and what the significance of each disputed zone is. 

The accompanying map has also been slightly revised and newly fact-checked to ensure that it shows the situation accurately as of October 6, 2023, the night before the Hamas-led invasion of Israel (the only change to control is that the Gaza Strip fishing zone was apparently open for most of this year, rather than closed as it was at the time of our 2021 update).

Note that this is a map of who actually controls what, not of who claims which areas. And it's definitely not supposed to imply that any particular party should or shouldn't control any particular area. As always, PolGeoNow takes no side in these disputes, and we have done our best to report only the facts.

Which Countries Use the Euro in 2023? (Map of the Eurozone)

July 2025 Note: The map is still correct today. We hope to publish a fully-reviewed and revised version of the article soon.

This map and explainer article, originally from 2016, have been updated to June 2023 to cover the recent addition of Croatia to the Eurozone. You can see previous versions of the map by viewing all Eurozone articles on PolGeoNow.

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

Article by Caleb Centanni and Staff Writer 

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, as their official money. The euro currency is managed 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, headquartered in Frankfurt, Germany, is in charge of regulating the currency and making euro coins and bills (bank notes).