The world map has stayed unchanged for the longest period in modern history.

The last country added to the UN recognized list of countries happened 14 years ago this month when South Sudan was created as an outcome of an agreement that ended a civil war. Previous to that Montenegro and Serbia split into 2 countries in 2006

The later half of the 20th century was a busy time for new nations with over 100 member nations added.

In the past several years, there have been minor name changes. Macedonia changed to North Macedonia, Burma changed to Myanmar, Swaziland changed to Eswatini, Czech Republic changed the country name to Czechia, Cape Verde is now Cabo Verde, and Turkey became Türkiye.

To put you back in time, in July 2011, Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows-Part 2 came out and the most popular song was “Rolling in the Deep” by Adele.

What is the next new country? Perhaps Kosovo which is already recognized by 97 countries. Or Bougainville, having voted for independence from Papua New Guinea in 2019, although not approved by Papua New Guinea.

While the world map hasn’t changed, all that lives or dwells upon it has certainly changed.