Mapped: Every Country That Gained Independence Since WWII
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Key Takeaways:
- More than half (54%) of today’s sovereign states gained independence between 1945 and 1994.
- Britain and France together account for 62 of the 81 countries shown, reflecting the scale of postwar decolonization.
- Two years stand out on the timeline: Africa’s “Year of Independence” in 1960 and the breakup of the Soviet Union in 1991.
Today’s political map is far younger than many people realize. The borders of dozens of modern states were established during the second half of the 20th century as colonial empires dissolved and multinational states fragmented.
This visualization, created by Julie R. Peasley using data consolidated from Wikipedia’s List of National Independence Days, maps every country that gained independence after 1945 and identifies the governing power from which it separated.
The Countries That Gained Independence Since WWII
The table below lists every country included in the visualization, along with its year of independence and the governing power from which it separated.
| Country | Year | Independence from |
|---|---|---|
| Palau | 1994 | U.S. |
| Armenia | 1991 | Soviet Union |
| Azerbaijan | 1991 | Soviet Union |
| Belarus | 1991 | Soviet Union |
| Estonia | 1991 | Soviet Union |
| Georgia | 1991 | Soviet Union |
| Kazakhstan | 1991 | Soviet Union |
| Kyrgyzstan | 1991 | Soviet Union |
| Latvia | 1991 | Soviet Union |
| Lithuania | 1991 | Soviet Union |
| Moldova | 1991 | Soviet Union |
| Tajikistan | 1991 | Soviet Union |
| Turkmenistan | 1991 | Soviet Union |
| Ukraine | 1991 | Soviet Union |
| Uzbekistan | 1991 | Soviet Union |
| Micronesia | 1986 | U.S. |
| Brunei | 1984 | UK |
| St Kitts and Nevis | 1983 | UK |
| Antigua and Barbuda | 1981 | UK |
| Belize | 1981 | UK |
| Vanuatu | 1980 | UK |
| Kiribati | 1979 | UK |
| Marshall Islands | 1979 | U.S. |
| St Lucia | 1979 | UK |
| St Vincent and the Grenadines | 1979 | UK |
| Dominica | 1978 | UK |
| Solomon Islands | 1978 | UK |
| Tuvalu | 1978 | UK |
| Djibouti | 1977 | France |
| Seychelles | 1976 | UK |
| Angola | 1975 | Portugal |
| Cape Verde | 1975 | Portugal |
| Comoros | 1975 | France |
| Mozambique | 1975 | Portugal |
| São Tomé and Príncipe | 1975 | Portugal |
| Suriname | 1975 | Netherlands |
| Timor-Leste | 1975 | Portugal |
| Grenada | 1974 | UK |
| Guinea-Bissau | 1974 | Portugal |
| Bahamas, the | 1973 | UK |
| Bahrain | 1971 | UK |
| Qatar | 1971 | UK |
| United Arab Emirates | 1971 | UK |
| Fiji | 1970 | UK |
| Tonga | 1970 | UK |
| Equatorial Guinea | 1968 | Spain |
| Eswatini | 1968 | UK |
| Mauritius | 1968 | UK |
| Nauru | 1968 | UK |
| Yemen | 1967 | UK |
| Barbados | 1966 | UK |
| Botswana | 1966 | UK |
| Guyana | 1966 | UK |
| Lesotho | 1966 | UK |
| Gambia, The | 1965 | UK |
| Maldives | 1965 | UK |
| Malawi | 1964 | UK |
| Malta | 1964 | UK |
| Zambia | 1964 | UK |
| Kenya | 1963 | UK |
| Algeria | 1962 | France |
| Burundi | 1962 | Belgium |
| Jamaica | 1962 | UK |
| Rwanda | 1962 | Belgium |
| Trinidad and Tobago | 1962 | UK |
| Uganda | 1962 | UK |
| Kuwait | 1961 | UK |
| Sierra Leone | 1961 | UK |
| Tanzania | 1961 | UK |
| Benin | 1960 | France |
| Burkina Faso | 1960 | France |
| Cameroon | 1960 | France |
| Central African Republic | 1960 | France |
| Chad | 1960 | France |
| DR Congo | 1960 | Belgium |
| Congo, Republic of the | 1960 | France |
| Côte d'Ivoire | 1960 | France |
| Cyprus | 1960 | UK |
| Gabon | 1960 | France |
| Madagascar | 1960 | France |
| Mali | 1960 | France |
| Mauritania | 1960 | France |
| Niger | 1960 | France |
| Nigeria | 1960 | UK |
| Senegal | 1960 | France |
| Somalia | 1960 | Italy |
| Togo | 1960 | France |
| Guinea | 1958 | France |
| Ghana | 1957 | UK |
| Malaysia | 1957 | UK |
| Egypt | 1956 | UK |
| Morocco | 1956 | France/Spain |
| Sudan | 1956 | UK |
| Tunisia | 1956 | France |
| Cambodia | 1953 | France |
| Libya | 1951 | Italy |
| Israel | 1948 | UK |
| Myanmar | 1948 | UK |
| Sri Lanka | 1948 | UK |
| India | 1947 | UK |
| Pakistan | 1947 | UK |
| Jordan | 1946 | UK |
| Syria | 1946 | France |
| Indonesia | 1945 | Netherlands |
| Vietnam | 1945 | France |
Postwar Decolonization in Britain and France
Of the 81 countries shown, 36 gained independence from the United Kingdom, making Britain the largest governing power represented in the dataset. France follows with 26 former colonies, while the Soviet Union accounts for 14 republics that became independent following its dissolution in 1991.
Far fewer countries separated from Portugal (5), Belgium (3), the United States (3), Italy (2), the Netherlands (2), and Spain (1).
These figures reflect the immense geographic reach of the British and French empires, which at their peaks controlled territories across Africa, Asia, and the Middle East. The British Empire became the largest empire in history by land area, covering nearly one-quarter of Earth’s land surface at its height.
Why Africa Became the Epicenter of Independence
The year 1960 is often called the “Year of Africa,” and the visualization shows why. Eighteen countries achieved independence that year, including Nigeria, Chad, Senegal, Mali, Madagascar, and Cameroon. Seventeen of the 18 were in Africa.
African independence movements accelerated after World War II as European powers faced mounting economic pressures, growing nationalist movements, and increasing international support for self-determination.
Countries followed different paths to independence, ranging from negotiation to prolonged conflict, but collectively reshaped the continent within a few decades.
The Soviet Union’s Collapse Created Another Wave
The second major spike occurred in 1991, when the dissolution of the Soviet Union produced 14 newly independent states stretching from the Baltic Sea to Central Asia.
Unlike the gradual decolonization of Africa and Asia, countries including Ukraine, Kazakhstan, Armenia, Georgia, and the Baltic states emerged within a single year as one multinational political union fragmented into sovereign republics.
While historians continue to debate whether the Soviet Union functioned as a colonial power in the traditional sense, its breakup redrew international borders and substantially increased the number of independent states.
The Lasting Legacy of Decolonization
Independence reshaped borders, but it did not erase the influence of empire. Many newly sovereign countries inherited colonial-era borders, export-oriented economies, legal systems, and administrative institutions.
Some transitions to independence were also accompanied by political instability or armed conflict, underscoring the challenges of state formation. These legacies continue to influence governance, trade, language, migration, cultural identity, and geopolitical relationships across former empires.
Learn More on the Voronoi App
To explore more visualizations on geopolitics and how countries are governed today, check out Types of Government: A Population-Adjusted Breakdown on the Voronoi app.