About

A map that tells the truth about size and time

Scale Shift combines 49 snapshots of world borders, 104 curated territorial events and 19 present-day disputes into one map you can drag around. It is a free, non-commercial project for learners, teachers and anyone who likes maps.

Where the borders come from

2000 BCE to 2010: historical-basemaps by André Ourednik and contributors (GPL-3.0). Each feature carries a border-precision rating, which we show on the map as solid (precise) or dashed (approximate) lines. Our processed copies stay under the same licence (see the data licence).
Present day: Natural Earth 1:50m country boundaries (public domain), packaged by world-atlas. US states come from the US Census Bureau via us-atlas.
Population: World Bank, latest year available, shown for present-day countries only.
Events and disputes: written for this site from standard historical references. Each event records when control changed and when, or whether, it was formalized.

How the real-size math works

When you drag a shape, we rotate it around the globe, keeping its real shape and area, and then project it again. That is why Greenland shrinks as you pull it toward the equator. Areas are calculated on the sphere (radius 6,371 km) from the map outlines, so they can differ from official figures by a few percent. Official figures often include inland water and use more detailed coastlines.

Accuracy: what we fixed

We audited every large state in all 49 snapshots against well-documented dates and corrected the source wherever a name, ruler or outline was wrong for its year. 81 name and ruler fixes and 4 shape fixes are applied automatically every time the map data is built. Where we could not safely redraw a shape, the map shows a data note when you click it.

Shape fixes

1400: Split the 'Great Khanate' into the Ming Empire (outline from the 1492 snapshot) and the Northern Yuan. The Ming dynasty had ruled China since 1368; the source still drew the Mongol Yuan state.
1279–1920: Separated Svalbard from Norway / Denmark-Norway / Sweden–Norway. Svalbard belonged to no country until the 1920 Svalbard Treaty, which took effect in 1925.
Present: Separated Crimea from Russia as its own disputed shape. Russia has controlled Crimea since 2014, but most UN members recognize it as part of Ukraine.
All: Filled land the source leaves blank (for example Sumbawa in Indonesia) as 'not mapped in the source', so the map has no false sea. Islands and coasts missing from the historical outlines.

Name and ruler fixes

Snapshot	Source said	We show	Why
2000 BCE	Thai	Thai+ data note	An ethnic label stretched over regions it does not describe.
1878, 1880	Kingdom of Brazil	Empire of Brazil	Brazil was an empire from 1822 until the republic was proclaimed in November 1889.
1900	Kingdom of Brazil	Brazilno outside ruler	Brazil had been a republic since 1889, independent of Portugal since 1822.
1930	White Russia	USSR	The whole Soviet Union (about 19.5 million km²) was labelled 'White Russia', the old English name for Belarus.
1783	Luisiana	Louisiana (Spain)ruled by Spain	France ceded Louisiana to Spain in 1762; it went back to France secretly in 1800.
1500 BCE	Zhoa	Shang	The Shang dynasty ruled the Yellow River valley c. 1600–1046 BCE; the Zhou came later.
1000 BCE, 700 BCE	Zhoa	Zhou	Misspelling of Zhou (dynasty from 1046 BCE).
1000 BCE, 700 BCE	Hittites	Neo-Hittite states	The Hittite Empire collapsed around 1180 BCE; small Neo-Hittite kingdoms survived in Syria and Anatolia.
1500 BCE, 1000 BCE	Urartu	Urartu+ data note	Urartu appears centuries before it existed.
400 BCE	Xiongnu	Xiongnu+ data note	Xiongnu shown about 200 years early.
100 BCE	Kushan Empire	Yuezhi	The Kushan Empire was founded by the Yuezhi around 30 CE.
100 BCE	Mauryan Empire	Shunga Empire+ data note	Mauryan Empire shown about 85 years after it fell.
100 BCE	Seleucid Kingdom	Seleucid Kingdom+ data note	Outline far larger than Seleucid territory in 100 BCE.
300 CE	Parthian Empire	Sasanian Empire	The Sasanians overthrew the Parthians in 224 CE.
400 CE	Persia	Sasanian Empireno outside ruler	Persia in 400 CE was the Sasanian Empire.
200 CE, 300 CE, 400 CE	Suren Kingdom	Suren Kingdom+ data note	Kingdom shown long after it ended.
300 CE, 400 CE	Satavahanihara	Satavahanihara+ data note	Dynasty shown after it ended.
500 CE	Jin Empire	Southern Qi	The Jin dynasty ended in 420; southern China was ruled by the Southern Qi (479–502).
700 CE	Sui Empire	Tang Empire+ data note	The Sui dynasty ended in 618.
700 CE	Sasanian Empire	Umayyad Caliphate	The Sasanian Empire fell to the Arab conquests by 651.
700 CE	Sasanian dependencies	Sasanian dependencies+ data note	Shown as Sasanian after the empire fell.
700 CE	Western Gokturk Khaganate	Türgesh Khaganate	The Western Turkic Khaganate fell to the Tang in 657; the Türgesh dominated the region by 699.
700 CE	Koguryo	Balhae	Goguryeo fell in 668; Balhae was founded in its northern lands in 698.
900 CE	Yamato	Japan (Heian period)	The Yamato period ended in 710.
1000	Denmark-Norway	Denmark-Norway+ data note	Union shown centuries early.
1000	Xixia	Xixia+ data note	Western Xia shown before it was founded.
1200	Mongol Empire	Mongol tribes	Temüjin was proclaimed Genghis Khan, founding the Mongol Empire, in 1206.
1200	Liao	Liao+ data note	Liao shown 75 years after it fell; Jin missing.
1200	Fatimid Caliphate	Ayyubid Sultanate	Saladin ended the Fatimid Caliphate in 1171.
1200	Ghaznavid Emirate	Ghurid Sultanate	The Ghurids took the last Ghaznavid lands in 1186.
1200	Sultanate of Delhi	Ghurid Sultanate	The Delhi Sultanate was founded in 1206; in 1200 northern India was ruled by the Ghurids.
1200	Buwayhid Emirates	Buwayhid Emirates+ data note	Buyids shown long after they ended.
1400	Tibet	Tibetno outside ruler	Yuan (Mongol) control of Tibet ended in 1354.
1400	Novgorod	Novgorodno outside ruler	The Mongol Empire no longer existed as one state in 1400.
1600	Inca Empire	Viceroyalty of Peruruled by Spain	The last Inca state fell in 1572.
1600, 1650, 1700, 1715, 1783, 1800	Songhai	Songhai+ data note	Empire shown after its conquest.
1650	Vijayanagara	Vijayanagara+ data note	Empire shown after it ended.
1700	Dutch Brazil	Portuguese Brazilruled by Portugal	The Dutch were expelled from Brazil in 1654.
1650, 1700, 1715, 1783, 1800	Austrian Empire	Habsburg Monarchy	The Austrian Empire was only proclaimed in 1804.
1715	Dutch East Indies	Dutch East Indiesruled by Netherlands	Typo in the source ('Neterlands').
1783	Quebec	Province of Quebecruled by Great Britain	France ceded Canada to Britain in 1763.
1800	Quebec	Upper and Lower Canadaruled by Great Britain	British since 1763; split into Upper and Lower Canada in 1791.
1800	Luisiana	Louisianaruled by Spain+ data note	Spain still governed Louisiana in 1800.
1815	Canada	British North Americaruled by United Kingdom	Canada was only formed in 1867.
1815	United Provinces of the Río de la Plata	United Provinces of the Río de la Platano outside ruler	Self-governing since 1810; independence declared in 1816.
1914	Manchu Empire	Republic of China	The Qing (Manchu) dynasty abdicated in February 1912.
1492, 1500, 1715, 1783, 1800, 1878, 1880	Papua New Guinea	Papuan peoples	Papua New Guinea became a country in 1975.
1900, 1914	Papua New Guinea	New Guinea (British and German colonies)	Papua New Guinea became a country in 1975.
1920, 1930, 1945	Papua New Guinea	Papua and New Guinea (Australian territories)ruled by Australia	Papua New Guinea became a country in 1975.
1960	Papua New Guinea	Territory of Papua and New Guinearuled by Australia	Independence came in 1975.
1920	USSR	Soviet Russia (RSFSR)	The USSR was founded in December 1922.
1920	Far Eastern SSR	Far Eastern Republic	The buffer state's actual name (1920–1922).
1930	Far Eastern SSR	USSR	The Far Eastern Republic joined Soviet Russia in 1922.
1920, 1930	Iran	Persia	The country asked to be called Iran internationally in 1935.
1920, 1930	Zaire (Belgium)	Belgian Congoruled by Belgium	The name Zaire was used only from 1971 to 1997.
1945	Zaire	Belgian Congoruled by Belgium	The name Zaire was used only from 1971 to 1997.
1960	Zaire	Congo-Léopoldville	Independent as the Republic of the Congo in June 1960; Zaire only from 1971.
2000, 2010	Zaire	DR Congo	Renamed the Democratic Republic of the Congo in 1997.
1920, 1930, 1938, 1945	Tanzania, United Republic of	Tanganyika Territoryruled by United Kingdom	Tanzania was formed in 1964; this was the British mandate of Tanganyika.
1960	Tanzania, United Republic of	Tanganyikaruled by United Kingdom	Tanganyika became independent in December 1961.
1994, 2000, 2010	Tanzania, United Republic of	Tanzania	Shorter common name.
1920, 1930, 1960	Zambia	Northern Rhodesiaruled by United Kingdom	Zambia became independent in 1964.
1920, 1930, 1960	Zimbabwe	Southern Rhodesiaruled by United Kingdom	Zimbabwe became independent in 1980.
1945	Rhodesia	Southern Rhodesia	Official name of the colony.
1914, 1920, 1930, 1938, 1945, 1960	Botswana	Bechuanaland Protectorateruled by United Kingdom	Botswana became independent in 1966.
1920, 1930, 1938, 1945	Malaysia	British Malayaruled by United Kingdom	Malaysia was formed in 1963.
1960	Malaysia	Federation of Malaya	Malaysia was formed in 1963.
1930	Hejaz	Kingdom of Hejaz and Nejd	Ibn Saud conquered the Hejaz in 1925.
1938	Hejaz	Saudi Arabia	Part of Saudi Arabia since 1932.
1930	Chinese Warlords	Republic of China	The Nationalist government reunified most of China in 1928.
1938	Chinese warlords	Republic of China+ data note	The Nationalist government ruled China in 1938.
1945	India	British Rajruled by United Kingdom	India and Pakistan became independent in August 1947.
1945	Pakistan	British Rajruled by United Kingdom	Pakistan was created in August 1947.
1945, 1960	Namibia	South West Africaruled by South Africa	Namibia became independent in 1990.
1945	Central African Republic	Ubangi-Shariruled by France	Independent as the Central African Republic in 1960.
1945	Burkina Faso	Upper Volta+ data note	Renamed Burkina Faso in 1984.
1960	Burkina Faso	Upper Volta	Renamed Burkina Faso in 1984.
1945	Mali	French Sudanruled by France	Mali became independent in 1960.
1945, 1960	Western Sahara	Spanish Sahararuled by Spain	Spain held the territory until 1975–76.
1960	Tibet	Tibetruled by China+ data note	Shown as independent in 1960.
1960	Vietnam	Vietnam+ data note	Shown as one country in 1960.

Known limitations

Before about 1800 the source marks every border as approximate. Many peoples had no fixed borders, so those lines are scholarly estimates of zones of control.
The map shows snapshots, not every year. Changes between two snapshots appear at the next one; use the event timeline for exact dates.
The 1500 BCE, 1000 BCE and 700 BCE snapshots share most of their shapes in the source, so little changes between them on the map.
Names follow the source dataset and can change spelling between snapshots (for example 'Castile' and 'Castille'). Shapes with different names are linked where we know they are the same state.
Some shape changes between snapshots reflect better mapping rather than real history, especially before 1500.
Where the source leaves real land blank (mostly small islands), the map fills it in a neutral sand colour labelled as not mapped, rather than inventing an owner.
Present-day borders come from Natural Earth and show who controls the land. Disputes appear at the top of a country's card when you click it; active front lines are not drawn.
Areas are calculated from the map outlines and can differ from official figures by a few percent (official figures often include inland water).

Found something wrong? Report a border error. Every report is read, and fixes go into the corrections table above.

Questions

Why do countries change size when I drag them?

Web maps use the Mercator projection, which stretches areas more and more toward the poles (by 1/cos² of the latitude). When you drag a shape, we move it across the globe and redraw it, so you see how big it really is at its new latitude.

How accurate are the historical borders?

Borders after about 1815 are mostly fixed by treaties and are reasonably precise. Before about 1800, the source marks every border as approximate. Many peoples had no fixed borders at all, so those lines are scholarly estimates of zones of control.

What do 'taken' and 'made official' mean?

'Taken' is when control on the ground changed: an army arrived, a flag went up, or a declaration was made. 'Made official' is when it was formalized by a treaty, a purchase, or recognition by the former owner or other states. Some took decades, and some never happened.

How do you draw disputed territories?

The present-day map shows who actually controls the land. Places where control and international recognition differ are marked separately with who controls them, since when, who claims them, and their formal status.

Credits

Inspired by Kai Krause's 2010 graphic "The True Size of Africa" and the many drag-and-compare map tools it led to. Map rendering uses d3-geo. Scale Shift is an independent project and is not affiliated with The True Size (thetruesize.com) or any other map tool.