43 countries
Map of Asia in 1945
Asia at the end of the Second World War
Asia at the end of 1945: Japan had just surrendered, Korea was split into two zones of occupation, and the colonial empires, worn down by the war, were starting to fall apart.
- Korea, Japanese since 1910, was divided at the 38th parallel: the Soviets in the north, the Americans in the south.
- British India still took in today's Pakistan and Bangladesh; independence and partition would come in 1947.
- Indonesia proclaimed independence on 17 August 1945 and Vietnam on 2 September, but the Netherlands and France tried to take back their colonies.
- China got Taiwan back, but its government was still in Chongqing, the wartime capital, and civil war would soon return.
- The Soviet Union had taken southern Sakhalin and the Kurils. The population figures on this map are estimates of the time: the quiz only uses them to compare.
How it is made: the coasts are today's, and the borders follow today's divisions where they match those of the time and, where they do not, lines drawn by hand, good to about 10 km. Shapes: Natural Earth (public domain). Compare with today's Asia →
Facts: the map of Asia in 1945
- On the map
- 43 countries · 13 are so small they show as a dot (complete level)
- Largest country
- Soviet Union (≈ 22,400,000 km²)
- Smallest country
- Portuguese Macau (≈ 30 km²)
- Most populous country
- Republic of China (≈ 460,000,000 people)
- Least populous country
- Qatar (British protectorate) (≈ 30,000 people)
- Northernmost capital
- Moscow (Soviet Union)
- Southernmost capital
- Dili (Portuguese Timor)
- Most neighbours
- British India and Republic of China: 10
- No land border with another country on the map
- Bahrain (British protectorate), British Cyprus, Ceylon, Japan (Allied occupation), Maldives (British protectorate), and Philippines (US Commonwealth)
Fun facts: Map of Asia in 1945
- Korea was divided at the 38th parallel into a Soviet zone and an American one.
- Japan signed its surrender on 2 September 1945, aboard the battleship Missouri in Tokyo Bay.
- British India still took in today's Pakistan and Bangladesh.
- Indonesia proclaimed independence on 17 August 1945; the Netherlands only recognised it in 1949.
- Taiwan returned to China in October 1945, after half a century of Japanese rule.
- Ho Chi Minh proclaimed Vietnam's independence in Hanoi on 2 September 1945.
- Palestine and Transjordan were still British mandates.
- Syria, Lebanon, Iraq, Iran, Saudi Arabia and the Philippines were founding members of the UN in 1945.
Test yourself
Which was the largest country of Asia in 1945?
Soviet Union.
Which was the most populous country of Asia in 1945?
Republic of China.
Which was the smallest country of Asia in 1945?
Portuguese Macau.
Which was the least populous country of Asia in 1945?
Qatar (British protectorate).
More maps
Asia in 191436 countriesAsia in 192443 countriesAsia48 countriesEurope in 188027 countriesEurope in 191426 countriesEurope in 193836 countriesEurope in 194536 countriesEurope in 198935 countriesAfrica in 191444 countriesAfrica in 196052 countriesLatin America in 181017 countriesLatin America in 182517 countries
The countries on the map of Asia in 1945, and what they are today
Today's countries that cover a good part of its land, largest share first.
Show the map with the names (to revise)
Show the table (43)
| Country | Capital | Today part of |
|---|---|---|
| Aden Protectorate | Aden | Yemen |
| Afghanistan | Kabul | Afghanistan |
| Bahrain (British protectorate) | Manama | Bahrain |
| Bhutan | Thimphu | Bhutan |
| British Burma | Rangoon | Myanmar |
| British Cyprus | Nicosia | Cyprus |
| British Hong Kong | Victoria | China |
| British India | New Delhi | India, Pakistan, Bangladesh |
| British Malaya | Singapore | Malaysia |
| British North Borneo | Sandakan | Malaysia |
| Brunei (British protectorate) | Brunei Town (Bandar Seri Begawan) | Brunei |
| Ceylon | Colombo | Sri Lanka |
| French India | Pondicherry | India |
| French Indochina | Hanoi | Vietnam, Laos, Cambodia |
| Indonesia (Dutch East Indies) | Batavia (Jakarta) | Indonesia |
| Iran | Tehran | Iran |
| Japan (Allied occupation) | Tokyo | Japan |
| Kingdom of Iraq | Baghdad | Iraq |
| Kingdom of Yemen | Sana'a | Yemen |
| Korea (American zone) | Seoul | South Korea, North Korea |
| Korea (Soviet zone) | Pyongyang | North Korea, South Korea |
| Kuwait (British protectorate) | Kuwait City | Kuwait |
| Lebanon | Beirut | Lebanon |
| Maldives (British protectorate) | Malé | Maldives |
| Mandatory Palestine | Jerusalem | Israel, Palestine |
| Mongolian People's Republic | Ulaanbaatar | Mongolia |
| Muscat and Oman | Muscat | Oman |
| Nepal | Kathmandu | Nepal |
| Philippines (US Commonwealth) | Manila | Philippines |
| Portuguese India | Nova Goa (Panaji) | India |
| Portuguese Macau | Macau | China |
| Portuguese Timor | Dili | Timor-Leste |
| Qatar (British protectorate) | Doha | Qatar |
| Republic of China | Chongqing | China, Taiwan |
| Sarawak | Kuching | Malaysia |
| Saudi Arabia | Riyadh | Saudi Arabia |
| Soviet Union | Moscow | Russia, Kazakhstan, Ukraine, Turkmenistan, Uzbekistan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, Azerbaijan, Georgia, Moldova, Armenia |
| Syria | Damascus | Syria |
| Thailand | Bangkok | Thailand |
| Tibet | Lhasa | China |
| Transjordan (British mandate) | Amman | Jordan |
| Trucial States | Sharjah | United Arab Emirates |
| Turkey | Ankara | Turkey |