The world in October 2026
Wars, de facto states, disputed land and claims at the start.A contemporary starting state for the whole world. Statistics use the latest available sources (see dataNotes); political relationships reflect the author’s knowledge as of mid-2026 and are assumptions where noted.
Wars
Russia against Ukraine. Full-scale invasion since 24 February 2022 (conflict since 2014). Assumed still active on the reference date.
Rapid Support Forces against Sudan. War between the Sudanese Armed Forces and the Rapid Support Forces since 15 April 2023. Assumed still active on the reference date.
Claims
| Claimant | Provinces | Note |
|---|---|---|
| Russia | 23 | Russia claims annexation of Crimea (2014) and four oblasts (2022); not recognised by the UN General Assembly. |
| Georgia | 1 | Georgia regards Abkhazia as occupied Georgian territory. |
| Moldova | 1 | Moldova regards Transnistria as part of Moldova. |
| Cyprus | 1 | The Republic of Cyprus claims the whole island. |
| Serbia | 7 | Serbia does not recognise Kosovo’s independence. |
| Spain | 1 | Spain claims Gibraltar. |
| China | 7 | The People’s Republic of China claims Taiwan. |
| Argentina | 1 | Argentina claims the Falkland Islands (Islas Malvinas). |
| Somalia | 1 | Somalia regards Somaliland as part of Somalia. |
| Pakistan | 6 | Pakistan claims Indian-administered Jammu and Kashmir. |
| India | 2 | India claims Pakistan-administered Kashmir. |
| Venezuela | 3 | Venezuela claims the Essequibo region of Guyana. |
| South Korea | 10 | Both Korean states claim the whole peninsula. |
| North Korea | 9 | Both Korean states claim the whole peninsula. |
| United States | 5 | The United States has sought to acquire Greenland (2019, and repeatedly since January 2025), not ruling out force; Denmark and Greenland reject it. Modelled as a claim. |
| China | 3 | China claims Arunachal Pradesh as “Zangnan” (South Tibet). |
| Japan | 2 | Japan claims the southern Kuril Islands (the Northern Territories). |
| Morocco | 2 | Morocco claims the Spanish cities of Ceuta and Melilla. |
| Guatemala | 1 | Guatemala claims about half of Belize; the case is before the International Court of Justice. |
| Bolivia | 2 | Bolivia’s constitution asserts an “unrenounceable” right to the sea lost to Chile in 1879–84. |
| Philippines | 1 | The Philippines maintains a dormant claim to Sabah. |
| Afghanistan | 13 | No Afghan government has recognised the Durand Line; Afghanistan claims the Pashtun lands east of it. |
| Sudan | 17 | The Sudanese government regards Darfur as rebel-held Sudanese territory. |
| Libya | 14 | Each Libyan administration claims to govern the whole country. |
| Eastern Libya | 8 | Each Libyan administration claims to govern the whole country. |
| Yemen | 11 | The recognised government claims the Houthi-held north-west. |
| Ansar Allah | 8 | The Houthis claim to be the government of all Yemen. |
Disputed territories
Owner: Ukraine (internationally recognised). Controller: Russia, as wartime occupation in an active war. Crimea is treated the same way. The occupied area is an approximate line of contact defined in pipeline/scenario/frontline.mjs and is NOT a verified map.
Owner: Northern Cyprus (de facto administration, recognised only by Türkiye). Cyprus holds a claim. The UN buffer zone is not modelled.
Owner: Abkhazia (de facto). Georgia holds a claim. South Ossetia cannot be separated at this map resolution and remains inside Shida Kartli (owned by Georgia) — a known simplification.
Owner: Transnistria (de facto). Moldova holds a claim.
Owner: Kosovo. Serbia holds a claim.
Owner: Morocco, which administers most of the territory. The Sahrawi Arab Democratic Republic (Polisario Front) claims it and controls a strip east of the berm; SADR is not modelled in this version. Subdivisions follow the geoBoundaries Morocco dataset and do not imply recognition.
Owner: Palestine. Israeli military control over parts of both territories, and the internal Palestinian division, are not modelled.
Not a separate unit at this resolution; boundaries follow Natural Earth’s default representation.
Owner: United Kingdom. Spain holds a claim.
Owner: Taiwan (Republic of China), which governs it. The People’s Republic of China holds a claim.
Ownership follows the de facto lines of control in Natural Earth: India, Pakistan and China each hold the part they administer; India and Pakistan hold claims on each other’s part.
Owner: Somaliland (de facto). Somalia holds a claim. Boundaries with Puntland follow Natural Earth.
Owner: United Kingdom. Argentina holds a claim.
Owner: Guyana. Venezuela holds a claim.
Owner: Rapid Support Forces (de facto), at war with the Sudanese government, which holds a claim. All five Darfur states are assigned to the RSF; its positions in Kordofan, and the army’s remaining pockets in Darfur, are not modelled.
Owner of the west: the Government of National Unity (Tripoli). Owner of Cyrenaica and the Fezzan: Eastern Libya (Haftar’s Libyan National Army). The 2020 ceasefire holds; each side claims the other’s land. District lines are approximate.
Owner of the north-west: Ansar Allah (the Houthis). Owner of the rest: the recognised government. Front lines in Marib, Taiz and Al Bayda are simplified to whole governorates.
Owner: Denmark (Greenland is a self-governing part of the Kingdom). The United States holds a claim, reflecting its stated aim to acquire the island.
Owners follow the Line of Actual Control: India holds Arunachal Pradesh (claimed by China); China holds Aksai Chin, which India claims but which is not a separate unit at this resolution.
Owner: Russia. Japan holds a claim. The islands may be part of a larger province at this map resolution.
After the start the world evolves only through the simulation; it is never synchronised with real events.