List of national border changes since World War I

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List of national border changes refer to changes in borders between nations during or since the twentieth century. This is a list of significant boundary changes with countries. This refers to where there have been changes in borders only, not necessarily including changes in ownership of a territory. For instance many European colonies in Africa became independent without any adjustment to their borders, although some did have changes.

1 Africa
2 Asia
3 Europe
4 North America
5 South America
6 Oceania
7 World maps showing borders

[edit] Africa

1953 August 1 - Federation of Rhodesia and Nyasaland established from the former British protectorates of Southern Rhodesia, Northern Rhodesia, and Nyasaland.
1956 December 13 - British Togoland joins with the Gold Coast before becoming the independent nation of Ghana in 1957.
1958 - French West Africa splits into Mauritania, Senegal, French Sudan (now Mali), French Guinea (now Guinea), Côte d'Ivoire, Niger, Upper Volta (now Burkina Faso) and Dahomey (now Benin); French Equatorial Africa splits into Gabon, Middle Congo (now the Republic of the Congo), Oubangui-Chari (or Ubangi-Shari, now the Central African Republic) and Chad
1960 1 July - State of Somaliland (formerly British Somaliland) joins with Italian Somaliland to form Somalia
1961 October 1 - the northern two-thirds of British Cameroons voted to join Nigeria; the southern third voted to join with the Republic of Cameroon to form the Federal Republic of Cameroon.
1962 July 1 - The Belgian colony of Ruanda-Urundi separated into Rwanda and Burundi.
1963 31 December - Federation of Rhodesia and Nyasaland split into Rhodesia, Zambia and Malawi
1964 Tanganyika unites with the island of Zanzibar to form Tanzania.
1977 South African Government reimposed direct rule on Walvis Bay
1993 May 24 - Eritrea breaks off from Ethiopia.
1994 28 February - Walvis Bay formally transferred by South Africa to Namibia.

[edit] Asia

1932 February 18 - Japan declares Manchukuo independent of China
1937 - The British split Burma off from the rest of India
1944 - USSR annexes Tannu Tuva
1947 - The Partition of India as India and Pakistan are given independence from Britain
1950 - the People's Republic of China enters Tibet, with a May 1951 treaty providing for PRC sovereignty.
1953 Following the Korean War, the boundary between North Korea and South Korea is the ceasefire line, which roughly follows the previous 38th parallel
1954 - Bands of Indian irregulars took over the Portugese enclaves of Dadra and Nagar Haveli
1961 December 19 - India takes over the Portugese colony of Goa.
1963 August 31 - Singapore, Sabah, Sarawak and Malaya join to form Malaysia
1965 August 9 - Singapore withdraws from Malaysia
1975 May 16 - Sikkim becomes part of India
1976 July 2 - South Vietnam and the North Vietnam were officially unified as Vietnam

Image:Cold War border changes.png

1990 May 22 - North Yemen unites with South Yemen. August 2 - Kuwait annexed by Iraq
1991 February 27 - Kuwait liberated from Iraq.
1997 1 July - Hong Kong transferred to People's Republic of China by Britain as a special administrative region
1999 December 20 - Macau transferred to People's Republic of China by Portugal as a special administrative region

[edit] Europe

Following the First World War, the Austro-Hungarian Empire and Ottoman Empire were divided into many other states, and new nations were created such as Czechoslovakia and the Kingdom of Serbs, Croats and Slovenes (later known as Yugoslavia). Simultaneously, Russian revolution of 1917 and the ensuing civil war led to the independence of Finland, Poland and the Baltic states.
1938 - March 12 - Austria annexed by Germany in the Anschluss
World War II - Many boundary changes occured during the Second World War as Germany and Japan re-divided the areas under their control. Following the war, the borders of Germany were moved west to the Oder-Neisse line, while the approximate boundary of the Curzon Line was used as the eastern border of Poland.
1947 Free Territory of Trieste set up (bordering Italy and Yugoslavia)
1949 Saar incorporated into the Federal Republic of Germany (Previously bordered Luxembourg, France and Germany)
1954 Free Territory of Trieste abolished and distributed between Yugoslavia and Italy
1990 October 3 - East Germany reunites with West Germany.
1991 With the collapse of the Soviet Union, the USSR split up into 15 independent states. Bosnia and Herzegovina, Croatia, Macedonia and Slovenia declare independence from the Yugoslavia which now comprises Serbia and Montenegro. (This was renamed "Serbia & Montenegro" in 2003)
1993. Czechoslovakia splits into Czech Republic and Slovakia
2006 Montenegro gains independence from Serbia & Montenegro. Thus Serbia also becomes an independent state.

[edit] North America

1949 Newfoundland and Labrador joins with Canada;

[edit] South America

1938 A ceasefire signed between Paraguay and Bolivia awards Paraguay three-quarters of the Chaco Boreal which it took over during the Chaco War (1932-35).
1941 - the Rio Protocol recognises Peru as having control of the territory it won in the Ecuadorian-Peruvian war HO HO HO

[edit] Oceania

1949 Territory of New Guinea joins with Papua (Australian territory) to form The Territory of Papua and New Guinea.

1976 July 17 - After being invaded the previous 100 years, East Timor is annexed by Indonesia
2002 May 20 - East Timor attained independence from Indonesia