Countries That No Longer Exist: A Guide to Vanished Nations

Borders feel permanent on a printed map, but the twentieth century alone erased dozens of countries. Understanding what vanished — and what replaced it — makes modern geography, and modern news, much easier to follow.

The Soviet Union (1922–1991)

At its peak the USSR covered a sixth of the Earth's land surface. Its collapse in 1991 created fifteen new countries overnight: Russia, Ukraine, Belarus, Kazakhstan, Uzbekistan, Turkmenistan, Tajikistan, Kyrgyzstan, Armenia, Azerbaijan, Georgia, Moldova, and the Baltic states of Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania. Few single events have ever redrawn so much of the map so fast.

Yugoslavia (1918–1992, unravelling through 2006)

The Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia broke apart violently through the 1990s, eventually producing seven countries: Slovenia, Croatia, Bosnia and Herzegovina, North Macedonia, Serbia, Montenegro and, later, Kosovo (whose status remains disputed). A single national football team from the 1990 World Cup would today represent seven different national teams.

Czechoslovakia (1918–1992)

In stark contrast to Yugoslavia, Czechoslovakia split peacefully in what is called the Velvet Divorce. On January 1, 1993, it became two countries — Czechia (the Czech Republic) and Slovakia — without a single shot fired, the result of a negotiated agreement between political leaders.

East and West Germany (1949–1990)

Divided after World War II into the capitalist Federal Republic of Germany (West) and the communist German Democratic Republic (East), the two reunified in 1990 following the fall of the Berlin Wall in 1989. Berlin, once split by a literal wall, became the united capital again.

North and South Yemen (until 1990)

The Yemen Arab Republic (North) and the People's Democratic Republic of Yemen (South) merged in 1990 to form the single Republic of Yemen — though the country's subsequent civil wars show how fragile that unification remains today.

Empires that dissolved into many countries

Beyond single splits, entire empires dissolved into dozens of modern states over the twentieth century: the Ottoman Empire gave rise to Turkey and much of the modern Middle East; the Austro-Hungarian Empire fragmented after World War I into Austria, Hungary, Czechoslovakia and parts of several neighbouring countries; and European colonial empires in Africa and Asia produced most of today's UN member states between the 1940s and 1970s.

Why this history matters today

Many current news stories — border disputes in the Balkans, tension in Central Asia, questions over Kosovo's recognition — trace directly back to how these older countries split. Knowing the "parent" country behind a modern nation often explains its language, its alliances and its conflicts in a single sentence.

Quiz yourself

Next time you spin a country from Eastern Europe or Central Asia, ask: what larger country did this used to belong to, and when did it become independent? The answer is usually one of the four break-ups above.