World Map

Map of the World 2023

Above we have a new world map for 2023. Not much has changed since 2019. Brexit is destined to happen now that Boris Johnson won a thumping majority in the UK parliament. However that does not affect the borders marked on this map at all. The United States Department of State recognizes 195 independent countries but not all are shown on this map because some are to small for the scale of the map.

This is not a terrain relief map it is a political map of the world. So it does not show all the different topography that some of our other maps shop. This world map was designed a quick and easy reference to all the major countries in the world. It also references all the populated continents including Europe, Asia, North America, South America and Australasia (Australia).

As a political map it shows all the current boundaries for the countries represented and shows comparative size of the countries in question. Some distortion may occur as the earth is a sphere and this map of the world is a flat representation. Most distortion will occur around the equator as that is where the earth bulges due to its rotation.

If there is a change in borders during the year 2023 we do one of two possible procedures. The map above will be replaced by a new map or we will add the changed map into the page as it stands.

Above we have a World Map with continents and Regions in different colors. Here at Map of Europe we realized that many users coming to our site wanted to look at a map of the world and the continents and regions.

World Map with Countries

World Map with Continents and Countries 2023 — World Map with Continents and Countries

We have a Political World Map below with countries outlined but we have been asked many times to breakout the continents in the map to make them more obvious. We have done this above and this image will become the foundation of our “World Map 2020”. The year 2019 has not ended so the final layout for the chart above has not been finalized. The above image is an easy to use learning guide for schools and colleges. This page will become a repository for all future maps of the world from now on.

Continental borders are a little ambiguous and fluid at the moment and we tried to cater for this by adding some regions.

Below is a list continental border anomalies.

Western Russia is marked as being part of Asia even though generally it is considered part of Europe. We did this because we felt there was room on the web for a simpler version of a world map, one that ignored some of the border ambiguities.
We have added the Middle East as a region. This was due to many users emailing us and asking how does the middle east relate to the rest of the world.
Australasia is marked in aqua and this region is sometimes referred to as Oceania. This is not strictly accurate but like we said above these matters are somewhat ambiguous. Strictly speaking the content is generally referred to as just Australia.
Egypt is marked as Part of Africa above. While this is strictly correct it could have also fallen in under the region of the Middle East.

This map is not meant to be a definitive or even strictly accurate depiction of the world. As we said earlier that tends to be fluid anyway. This map is meant to be a quick reference guide for students and teachers to use when doing geography or cartography on the fly.

Political Map of the World

A world map is usually a map of the surface of the Earth, which is often made utilizing any one of a variety of map projections. Maps of the world in most cases are either ‘physical’ or ‘political’, but there are exceptions to this rule. The goal of the physical map is usually to demonstrate attributes of geography like mountains, soil variety or even land utilization.
The most crucial function of the political map is to demonstrate territorial borders and political boundaries. These are not always clear cut but most political maps of the world will try and give you a best match fora certain point in history. Geological maps demonstrate not just the physical surface area, but attributes of the underlying rock, fault lines, and sub surface structures.

When travelling the world and taking advantage of cheap flights, it is important to get travel insurance. It will give you that extra peace of mind, knowing that even if you luggage doesn’t make it. You will not be left out in the cold. There are many types of travel insurance, so pick the right one for you. Some of the types that are most commonly used are Medical Travel insurance, Trip Protection, Luggage and Car Rental Protection and Delay coverage.

World Map for 2019.

Has much changed since we added World Map 2018 ? Not really. There are still wars raging in the middle east that threaten to change the face of the world map but borders have not been redrawn as yet.

There is still Putin’s Russia pressurising the Ukraine, which has potential to change the face of the world map and redraw some borders in Europe.

Africa is surprisingly stable for now and not much has changed on that continent.

China’s military is becoming more recalcitrant in the the South China Sea and some of the islands and atolls it has squatted on have the potential to change China’s borders but with an increasingly aggressive president in the USA, we might see some flash points in this area.

Here at Europe map, we now have a Europe Map for 2019.

This is possibly the best and most easily read political map of Europe

Click above – World Map for 2018.

It is basically a political world map although it does not use the traditional political map colors. Those colors are so 1995 anyway.

In this world map we include all the countries of the world and their related capital cities. It is a relatively large map at 2908 pixels by 1467 pixels. Also, it shows the relationship between the new Europe map and the other continents in the world. Another good reference for world maps is this page on Wikipedia.

Another thing that makes this map of the world stand out is that it includes all the little island archipelagos of the world. So if you are going to one of those remote holiday destinations like the Canary Islands. On this map you will be able to see where it relates to the rest of the world.

If you want to enlarge the map click on it and then click on the little “x” in the top right corner to get the biggest possible version of the map. You will have to scroll around it as it generally to large for most computer screens.

One of the new countries it lists is South Sudan, which is probably Africa’s most recent country. other non European countries that are listed are New Zealand, Mexico, Thailand and North Korea.

Some European countries that are listed are France, Germany, Iceland, Croatia and Denmark.

Enjoy the free use of this map of the world and we hope to bring you guys more in the near future.

We kept the Old World Map below:

World Map with Continents

A simple World Map — Click on the World Map above to zoom in

List of Countries in the World and the Capital Cities ordered by population

Country	Capital	Population	Area (km²)
China	Beijing	1,444,216,107	9,596,961
India	New Delhi	1,393,409,038	3,287,263
United States	Washington, D.C.	331,002,651	9,525,067
Indonesia	Jakarta	273,523,615	1,904,569
Pakistan	Islamabad	225,199,937	796,095
Brazil	Brasília	213,993,437	8,515,767
Nigeria	Abuja	211,400,708	923,768
Bangladesh	Dhaka	166,303,498	147,570
Russia	Moscow	145,912,025	17,098,242
Mexico	Mexico City	130,262,216	1,964,375
Japan	Tokyo	126,476,461	377,915
Ethiopia	Addis Ababa	114,963,588	1,104,300
Philippines	Manila	112,610,042	300,000
Egypt	Cairo	102,334,404	1,002,450
Vietnam	Hanoi	97,338,579	331,210
Germany	Berlin	83,783,942	357,022
Turkey	Ankara	84,339,067	783,356
Iran	Tehran	83,992,949	1,648,195
Democratic Republic of the Congo	Kinshasa	89,561,403	2,344,858
Thailand	Bangkok	69,799,978	513,120
France	Paris	65,273,511	551,695
United Kingdom	London	67,886,011	242,500
Italy	Rome	60,461,826	301,340
South Africa	Pretoria (executive), Cape Town (legislative), Bloemfontein (judicial)	59,308,690	1,219,090
Tanzania	Dodoma	59,734,218	947,303
Myanmar	Naypyidaw	54,409,800	676,578
Kenya	Nairobi	53,771,296	580,367
South Korea	Seoul	51,269,185	100,210
Colombia	Bogotá	50,882,891	1,141,748
Spain	Madrid	46,754,778	505,990
Uganda	Kampala	45,741,007	241,550
Argentina	Buenos Aires	45,376,763	2,780,400
Ukraine	Kyiv	44,209,733	603,550
Algeria	Algiers	43,851,044	2,381,741
Sudan	Khartoum	43,849,260	1,861,484
Iraq	Baghdad	40,222,493	438,317
Afghanistan	Kabul	38,928,346	652,230
Poland	Warsaw	37,846,611	312,696
Canada	Ottawa	37,742,154	9,984,670
Morocco	Rabat	36,910,560	446,550
Saudi Arabia	Riyadh	34,813,871	2,149,690
Uzbekistan	Tashkent	33,469,203	448,978
Peru	Lima	32,971,854	1,285,216
Angola	Luanda	32,866,272	1,246,700
Malaysia	Kuala Lumpur	32,776,194	330,803
Mozambique	Maputo	31,255,435	801,590
Ghana	Accra	31,072,940	238,533
Yemen	Sana’a	29,825,964	527,968
Nepal	Kathmandu	29,136,808	147,516
Venezuela	Caracas	28,435,940	916,445
Madagascar	Antananarivo	27,691,018	587,041
Cameroon	Yaoundé	26,545,863	475,442
Côte d’Ivoire	Yamoussoukro (official), Abidjan (economic)	26,378,274	322,463
North Korea	Pyongyang	25,778,816	120,538
Australia	Canberra	25,203,198	7,692,024
Niger	Niamey	24,206,644	1,267,000
Sri Lanka	Sri Jayawardenepura Kotte (official), Colombo (executive and commercial)	21,413,249	65,610
Burkina Faso	Ouagadougou	20,903,273	274,200
Mali	Bamako	20,250,833	1,240,192
Romania	Bucharest	19,237,691	238,397
Malawi	Lilongwe	19,129,952	118,484
Chile	Santiago	19,116,201	756,096
Kazakhstan	Nur-Sultan	18,776,707	2,724,900
Zambia	Lusaka	18,383,955	752,618
Guatemala	Guatemala City	17,915,568	108,889
Ecuador	Quito	17,643,054	283,561
Syria	Damascus	17,500,658	185,180
Netherlands	Amsterdam (official), The Hague (seat of government)	17,134,872	41,543
Senegal	Dakar	16,743,927	196,722
Chad	N’Djamena	16,425,864	1,284,000
Somalia	Mogadishu	15,893,222	637,657
Zimbabwe	Harare	14,862,924	390,757
Guinea	Conakry	13,132,795	245,857
Rwanda	Kigali	12,952,218	26,338
Benin	Porto-Novo (official), Cotonou (seat of government)	12,123,200	114,763
Burundi	Bujumbura	11,890,784	27,834
Tunisia	Tunis	11,818,619	163,610
Bolivia	Sucre (constitutional), La Paz (administrative)	11,673,021	1,098,581
Belgium	Brussels	11,589,623	30,528
Haiti	Port-au-Prince	11,402,528	27,750
Cuba	Havana	11,326,616	109,884
South Sudan	Juba	11,193,725	644,329
Dominican Republic	Santo Domingo	10,847,910	48,671
Czech Republic	Prague	10,708,981	78,866
Greece	Athens	10,423,054	131,957
Jordan	Amman	10,203,134	89,342
Portugal	Lisbon	10,196,709	92,090
Azerbaijan	Baku	10,139,177	86,600
Sweden	Stockholm	10,099,265	450,295
Hungary	Budapest	9,660,351	93,028
United Arab Emirates	Abu Dhabi	9,890,400	83,600
Belarus	Minsk	9,449,323	207,600
Honduras	Tegucigalpa	9,904,607	112,492
Israel	Jerusalem (internationally unrecognized)	9,053,300	20,770
Papua New Guinea	Port Moresby	8,947,024	462,840
Togo	Lomé	8,278,724	56,785
Serbia	Belgrade	8,737,371	77,474
Switzerland	Bern	8,654,622	41,290
Sierra Leone	Freetown	8,153,936	71,740
Hong Kong	Hong Kong	7,474,600	1,104
Laos	Vientiane	7,275,560	236,800
Paraguay	Asunción	7,132,538	406,752
Bulgaria	Sofia	6,948,445	110,879
Lebanon	Beirut	6,825,445	10,452
Libya	Tripoli	6,871,292	1,759,540
El Salvador	San Salvador	6,486,201	21,041
Nicaragua	Managua	6,624,554	130,373
Kyrgyzstan	Bishkek	6,524,195	199,951
Turkmenistan	Ashgabat	6,031,200	488,100
Singapore	Singapore	5,896,686	728
Denmark	Copenhagen	5,792,202	42,916
Finland	Helsinki	5,540,720	338,424
Slovakia	Bratislava	5,459,642	49,035
Norway	Oslo	5,421,241	323,802
Eritrea	Asmara	3,546,421	117,600
Costa Rica	San José	5,094,118	51,100
Central African Republic	Bangui	4,829,767	622,984
Ireland	Dublin	4,937,786	70,273
New Zealand	Wellington	4,822,233	270,467
Oman	Muscat	4,974,986	309,500
Country	Capital	Population (2021)	Area (km²)
Croatia	Zagreb	4,105,267	56,594
Kuwait	Kuwait City	4,270,571	17,818
Panama	Panama City	4,314,767	75,420
Georgia	Tbilisi	3,989,167	69,700
Mongolia	Ulaanbaatar	3,329,289	1,564,116
Armenia	Yerevan	2,963,243	29,743
Lithuania	Vilnius	2,722,289	65,300
Jamaica	Kingston	2,961,167	10,991
Qatar	Doha	2,881,053	11,586
Namibia	Windhoek	2,540,905	825,615
Lesotho	Maseru	2,142,249	30,355
Slovenia	Ljubljana	2,078,654	20,273
Latvia	Riga	1,886,198	64,589
Botswana	Gaborone	2,351,627	581,730
Gambia	Banjul	2,416,668	10,689
Guinea-Bissau	Bissau	1,968,001	36,125
Gabon	Libreville	2,225,734	267,668
Mauritania	Nouakchott	4,649,658	1,030,700
Trinidad and Tobago	Port of Spain	1,399,488	5,131
Estonia	Tallinn	1,326,535	45,227
Eswatini	Mbabane (administrative), Lobamba (legislative, royal)	1,160,164	17,364
Timor-Leste	Dili	1,318,445	14,919
Cyprus	Nicosia	1,207,359	9,251
Djibouti	Djibouti	988,000	23,200
Fiji	Suva	896,445	18,272
Guyana	Georgetown	786,508	214,969
Bhutan	Thimphu	771,608	38,394
Comoros	Moroni	869,601	1,861
Solomon Islands	Honiara	686,884	28,896
Macao	Macao	649,335	32
Montenegro	Podgorica	628,066	13,812
Luxembourg	Luxembourg City	634,814	2,586
Western Sahara	Laayoune	597,339	266,000
Suriname	Paramaribo	586,632	163,820
Cape Verde	Praia	555,987	4,033
Malta	Valletta	441,543	316
Brunei	Bandar Seri Begawan	437,479	5,765
Bahamas	Nassau	393,244	13,878
Belize	Belmopan	397,628	22,966
Maldives	Malé	540,544	298
Iceland	Reykjavík	366,130	103,000
Vanuatu	Port Vila	307,145	12,189
Barbados	Bridgetown	287,375	430
São Tomé and Príncipe	São Tomé	219,159	964
Samoa	Apia	198,414	2,842
Saint Lucia	Castries	183,627	617
Kiribati	South Tarawa	119,449	811
Grenada	St. George’s	112,523	344
Saint Vincent and the Grenadines	Kingstown	110,940	389
Tonga	Nuku’alofa	105,695	747
Micronesia	Palikir	115,023	702
Seychelles	Victoria	98,347	455
Antigua and Barbuda	St. John’s	97,929	442
Andorra	Andorra la Vella	77,265	468
Dominica	Roseau	71,986	751
Marshall Islands	Majuro	59,190	181
Saint Kitts and Nevis	Basseterre	53,192	270
Monaco	Monaco	39,242	2
Liechtenstein	Vaduz	38,128	160
San Marino	San Marino	33,931	61
Palau	Ngerulmud	18,169	459
Nauru	Yaren (de facto)	10,756	21
Tuvalu	Funafuti	11,792	26
Vatican City	Vatican City	825	0.44

Map of NATO 2023

In 2023, Finland finds itself at a crossroads in its foreign policy. For decades, the country has remained neutral, seeking to balance its relationship with both Russia and the West. However, recent events in the region have sparked renewed discussion about Finland’s potential membership in NATO, a move that would fundamentally alter the country’s strategic position.

Map of European Member States of NATO as of April 2023

European memebers of NATO (as of April 2023)

The impetus for Finland’s potential shift towards NATO membership comes from the increasingly aggressive behavior of Russia under the leadership of President Vladimir Putin. The annexation of Crimea in 2014 and subsequent destabilization of eastern Ukraine has alarmed many in the region, particularly those countries with Russian minorities or historical ties to the former Soviet Union. For Finland, which shares a 1,300 kilometer border with Russia, the threat of aggression is particularly acute.

Moreover, Russia’s recent military exercises and the increased frequency of Russian military flights over the Baltic Sea have raised concerns about the potential for accidents or incidents in the region. The close proximity of Finland to these activities means that the country is particularly vulnerable to any escalation of tensions.

North American Member States as of April 2023

North American member states of NATO (as of 2023)

For these reasons, many in Finland have begun to seriously consider the benefits of joining NATO. Membership in the alliance would provide the country with a clear security guarantee, allowing it to benefit from the collective defense capabilities of the organization. It would also send a strong signal to Russia that any aggression against Finland would be met with a strong response from the international community.

However, there are also significant drawbacks to joining NATO. Perhaps most importantly, it would likely further inflame tensions with Russia, potentially leading to a more aggressive stance from Moscow. It would also complicate relations with other neighbors who have chosen to remain outside the alliance, such as Sweden and Finland’s other Baltic neighbors.

Complete list of the 31 Nato Nations (as of April 2023)

Country	Membership Year
Belgium	1949
Canada	1949
Denmark	1949
France	1949
Iceland	1949
Italy	1949
Luxembourg	1949
The Netherlands	1949
Norway	1949
Portugal	1949
The United Kingdom	1949
The United States	1949
Greece	1952
Turkey	1952
Germany	1955
Spain	1982
Czechia	1999
Hungary	1999
Poland	1999
Bulgaria	2004
Estonia	2004
Latvia	2004
Lithuania	2004
Romania	2004
Slovakia	2004
Slovenia	2004
Albania	2009
Croatia	2009
Montenegro	2017
North Macedonia	2020
Finland	2023

The possibility of Sweden joining NATO is also a topic of discussion in 2023. Like Finland, Sweden has long maintained a policy of neutrality, but recent events have caused some in the country to reconsider this stance. In particular, the 2022 Russian invasion of Estonia, Latvia, and Lithuania has raised concerns about the vulnerability of the Baltic region and the potential for Russian aggression against Sweden.

However, unlike Finland, Sweden is not geographically contiguous with NATO member states, which makes joining the alliance a more complicated proposition. It would require significant investment in military infrastructure and capabilities, as well as a shift in the country’s foreign policy priorities. Sweden would also need to navigate the complicated politics of NATO membership, including the potential for opposition from other Nordic countries, particularly Finland.

Which European nations are not in NATO?

Andorra
Armenia
Austria
Azerbaijan
Belarus
Bosnia and Herzegovina
Cyprus
Georgia
Ireland
Kosovo
Liechtenstein
Malta
Moldova
Monaco
Russia
San Marino
Serbia
Sweden
Switzerland
Ukraine
Vatican City

The possibility of both Finland and Sweden joining NATO in the near future has significant implications for the broader security landscape of the region. It would bring two new countries into the alliance, increasing its size and capabilities. It would also further isolate Russia, potentially leading to a more aggressive stance from Moscow. Moreover, it could complicate relations between NATO and other countries in the region, particularly those with historic ties to Russia.

At the same time, there are significant risks associated with both countries joining NATO. It could further inflame tensions with Russia, potentially leading to a more dangerous security environment. It could also complicate relations between Nordic countries, particularly if Finland and Sweden have different perspectives on the benefits and risks of NATO membership.

Ultimately, the decision of whether to join NATO is a complex one for both Finland and Sweden. It requires careful consideration of both the benefits and risks of membership, as well as an assessment of the broader security landscape in the region. In 2023, the debate over NATO membership in these countries is likely to continue, with significant implications for the future of the region.

Some experts have suggested that Finland and Sweden could potentially seek a form of hybrid or associate membership in NATO, which would allow them to benefit from the security guarantees provided by the alliance while maintaining some degree of independence in their foreign policy. However, this approach could also be seen as a half measure, leaving these countries vulnerable to potential aggression from Russia without the full protection of the alliance.

Another factor that could influence the decision of both Finland and Sweden is the evolving political landscape in Europe and the United States. The rise of populist and nationalist movements in many European countries, as well as the increasingly isolationist stance of the United States under the Trump administration, has led to questions about the continued viability of NATO and other international institutions. This could create a sense of uncertainty and instability that could make it more difficult for these countries to commit to NATO membership.

Despite these challenges, there are strong arguments in favor of Finland and Sweden joining NATO. The alliance remains the most powerful military organization in the world, with the ability to deter potential adversaries and respond to threats quickly and effectively. Moreover, NATO membership would bring Finland and Sweden into closer alignment with the values and interests of other Western democracies, creating new opportunities for collaboration and cooperation.

In the end, the decision of whether to join NATO will likely come down to a calculation of risk versus reward. Finland and Sweden must weigh the potential benefits of membership against the potential costs, taking into account the complex political, economic, and security factors at play in the region. The decision will be difficult and may be influenced by a range of internal and external factors, but it is clear that the debate over NATO membership will continue to be a major topic of discussion in the region for years to come.

Time Zone World Map

Why Do We Need a Time Zone World Map

The planet earth is broken up into regions we call time zones. They basically follow the cycle of the sun as the earth spins and different parts of the world face the sun. Humans need to sleep and we generally do this activity at night time. In this era of transcontinental corporations and business enterprises, time zones are more important than ever.

The world timezone map begins and ends at Greenwich a suburb of London in the UK. The map is based around what was formerly known as Greenwich mean time but is now known as Coordinated Universal Time. The World Map we have above is centred in Greenwich and to the left and right are the farthest points away from this line and are -11 hours away from Coordinated Universal Time. The countries in this furthest timezone are territories like American Samoa and the Jarvis Islands. Interestingly it is these tiny little countries that are the first to celebrate new years every year.

Each timezone is one hour in length so there are 24 separate time zones as there are twenty four hours in a day. You can see that the each timezone on the world map above is not straight. This is because time zones only apply to landmasses above the oceans and will generally try to take sovereign territories into account. Islands are generally included with the large landmasses that are nearby although in cases like Indonesia that is one big archipelago there are multiple time zones spread across the country.

How Many Time Zones Are There In Europe?

There are 4 time zones in Europe. The UK, Portugal, Ireland and Iceland are grouped together in the 0 UTC. Norway, Sweden, Denmark, The Netherlands, Belgium, Spain, Italy Germany, Luxembourg, Czech Republic, Slovakia, Austria, Switzerland Poland, Hungary, Slovenia, Croatia, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Serbia, Montenegro, Kosovo, Albania and Macedonia are all grouped together in +1 UTC. Finland, Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania, Ukraine, Moldova, Roumania, Bulgaria and Greece are grouped together in +2 UTC. Finally we have Russia, Belarus and Turkey grouped together in +3 UTC, although it is still debatable if Turkey is considered part of Europe.

There have been arguments to increase the length of each time zone to 2 or 3 hours. Pundits feel this would simplify things as it would reduce the number of time zones and countries like the USA would only have 1 time zone and just use daylight saving to adjust for daylight hours. Realistically this would actually just make things more difficult for individuals even if business would probably applaud the innovation.

Speaking of business and time zones. There are places around the world like Adelaide in Australia that should technically be 1 hour behind the large and influential cities of Sydney and Melbourne but have agreed to adjust the time zone purely for commercial reasons. So instead of being +9 UTC, for all intense and purposes Adelaide is +9.5 UTC.

The International Space Station is travelling at 17,500 mph (28,000 km/h) and can do 16 revolutions of the earth in a day. It is therefore passing through multiple time zones a day. Astronauts aboard the ISS log events against GMT/UTC just to simply procedures.

Pokemon Go Regional Exclusives Map

Pokemon Go has swept the world by storm. We here at Map of Europe all play the game. In pokemon Go there are pokemon that can only be found in certain regions. These are called regional exclusives and here we have a map that will help Pokemon Go traveler work out what regional exclusive is likely to be caught in the area that they are in.

The 6 regional exclusive pokemon are as follows:

Tauros – found in North America, mostly in the USA.
Heracross – Found in South America, although it can be found in southern parts of the USA like Florida.
Mr Mime – Found in Western and Central Europe.
Kangaskan – Found in Australasia, mainly in Australia.
Farfetch’d – Found in East Asia. Countries like Japan, North and South Korea.
Corsola _ This pokemon is interesting as far as we can tell it is found in a band that stretches across the whole globe. The band is roughly between between the latitudes of 31 North and 26 South.

So there you go Pokemon Trainers, get out there and catch those rare Pokemon.

Russia Loves Donald Trump

Most other G20 countries around the world favor Clinton over Trump but not Russia. looking at the image above you can see that Clinton has a lead over Trump in almost every other G20 country. unsurprisingly Clinton has the biggest lead in Mexico, the country that the Donald wants to wall of from the USA. Even china prefers Clinton over Donald but not Russia.

I guess the Russians love their flamboyant, over the top, strongman heads of state. In some ways the Donald is like America’s version of Putin and so it makes sense that the Russians would gravitate towards him.

One interesting point is that Canada is near the bottom of approving of Hillary over Trump. Being 3rd from the bottom is probably showing that Canada is not totally won over by the Clinton marketing machine and is more conservative than they are given credit for.