The Fall of Empires: How 137 New Countries Were Born

In 1900, only 56 of today's 193 countries were independent. Most of the world was ruled by a handful of empires. Watch the map change year by year as those empires collapse: the end of the First World War, the partition of India, 1960's "Year of Africa", the end of the Portuguese empire, the break-up of the Soviet Union and Yugoslavia, all the way to South Sudan in 2011, the world's newest country. Then we count who they broke away from: more of today's countries became independent from Britain than from any other power. When did your country become independent? Tell us in the comments. CHAPTERS 0:00 Intro: 56 of 193 0:30 Chapter 1: An Age of Empires (1900–1918) 1:17 Chapter 2: Empires Collapse (1918–1945) 2:20 Chapter 3: Asia Breaks Free (1945–1959) 3:50 Chapter 4: The Year of Africa (1960–1969) 5:44 Chapter 5: The Last Colonies (1970–1989) 7:45 Chapter 6: The Last New Borders (1990–2024) 9:30 Chapter 7: Who did they break away from? 10:30 Then and now KEY NUMBERS Independent countries (of today's 193): 56 in 1900, 76 in 1945, 111 in 1960, 136 in 1969, 185 in 1991, 193 since 2011 1960, the "Year of Africa": 17 African countries became independent in a single year 59 of today's countries became independent from the United Kingdom, 27 from France and 14 from the Soviet Union (countries ruled jointly are counted for each power) Newest country: South Sudan (July 2011) HOW WE COUNTED The map shows today's 193 UN member states and the year each became independent as a separate state, using the date most commonly given as its independence day. Countries that were part of a larger independent state (for example, the republics of the Soviet Union and Yugoslavia, or Czechoslovakia) are shown as "part of another country" until they became independent on their own. Some countries lost their independence for a time and regained it: Korea (1910–1945), Ethiopia (1936–1941), Austria (1938–1945), the Baltic states (1940–1990/91), and Georgia, Armenia and Azerbaijan, which were independent from 1918 until 1920–21. Yemen is shown from North Yemen's independence in 1918 (South Yemen became independent in 1967; the two united in 1990). Taiwan, Palestine, Western Sahara, Kosovo, Northern Cyprus and Somaliland are shown in grey as territories with disputed status. Dates of independence can be defined in more than one way (declaration vs. recognition, dominion status vs. full sovereignty); where sources differ we used the most commonly cited date. Map data: Natural Earth. Flag icons: flag-icons (MIT licence). Music: original score. #History #Maps #Geography