PolGeoNow

#WorldCup2026: For those who have been waiting, we present: Our updated and heavily-revised explainer on which countries are and aren't in #FIFA! polgeonow.com/2026/06/world-… #geography #football #soccer #independence #geographyteacher #WorldCup #FIFAWorldCup

@McCrotchety__ @KeanuNazari @haravayin_hogh Enough of them to put it on bilingual propaganda posters that they wanted outsiders to see.

@KeanuNazari @haravayin_hogh Interesting that some of them are in English! Did Chinese people know English during this era?

I got thousands of rare Cultural Revolution-era photos from a historical archive here in China. I believe some of these have never been posted online, or only exist behind extremely expensive licenses. So here they are, for free. Open the thread for more.

The report that goes with that interactive map also has some nice static maps in it - especially one with a lot of detail on weapons supply corridors for #CentralAfricanRepublic's various armed groups: centralafrica.globalinitiative.net/conflict-and-c… #cartography #Centrafrique #geography #armstrade

Would love to pick back up our own mapping of #CentralAfricanRepublic one day! Our last update was in 2022: polgeonow.com/2022/06/centra… #cartography #maps #geography #Africa #geopolitics

Pretty nifty interactive map of conflict, control, and mining in #CentralAfricanRepublic from @GI_TOC and @issafrica. Territorial control as of Sep 2025, sources unclear. centralafrica.globalinitiative.net/conflict-and-c… #Centrafrique #conflictmapping #conflictmap #geography #geopolitics #borderlands

@EUAsylumAgency Should mention that data from @ACLEDINFO - reviewed line-by-line on our end - has increasingly been a big help in researching these maps, as they've grown their network of on-the-ground informants who can contribute information not covered by news media.

Map we made for @EUAsylumAgency based on the same research stream that we use to produce our in-house reports.

@PythonMaps Confused at how to interpret two apparently contradictory color scales in the legend...

Forest Loss. This map shows forest loss since 2000 in Asia. Defined as a stand-replacement disturbance, or a change from a forest to non-forest state. For those who care - projection is EPSG:27703 is WGS 84 / Equi7 Asia

Bored with the same old list of world countries playing #soccer/#football matches? @CONIFAOfficial is a thing. #worldcup #FIFA #geography #geopolitics #defacto

Thanks @Robe_Org for sharing!

Hi, it's Evan. The money PolGeoNow brings in is probably a lot less than you think, and we're struggling a bit for funding right now. If you've ever wanted to support our work with a donation, large or small, it's now easy to do that at our Ko-fi page: ko-fi.com/polgeonow

@hornaristocrat @HangingByA @HoehneVirgil @AAGA_CAWLAN101 Yes, that sounds generally correct, and matches what I illustrated on this map (notice that the diagonal lines represent "mixed/unclear"). Al Shabaab does seem to have stable positions at Ceel Garas and Ceel Lahelay south of Dhuusamareeb though (or at least did as of April).

@PolGeoNow @HangingByA @HoehneVirgil @AAGA_CAWLAN101 Anything south of Dhusamareb is messy and hard to understand, large parts of Jubaland aren't even inhabited or properly controlled by anyone, but Shabab patrols there sometimes.

"Somalia - Approximate Territorial Control, 31 March 2026" EUAA COI May 2026: Somalia: Security Situation p. 20. Depicting the political complexities beyond political narratives.

@husavia61225 That's a good point - there are ways to estimate population by satellite imagery now. But is that where your ChatGPT numbers came from? I've never seen a web page with such estimates for anywhere in Somalia/Somaliland.

There’s modern ways of using satellite data and population projections to determine the sizes of rural areas and towns Anyone with a computer and internet connection can tell daroods are a very small minority within the borders of The Republic of Somaliland

@HoehneVirgil @husavia61225 @warsamohamed84 @mustafaadam Voter turnout could be low, couldn't it? Especially among independence-skeptical or clan-embittered demographics. But I hear you about there being no reliable numbers, and thanks for the additional history.

Population numbers across Somali territories are notoriously unreliable. Since the times of Mohamed Siyad Barre (regarding the Ogadeen refugees in the 1980s) population numbers are shamelessly inflated. The last census in Somalia is from the mid-1980s and its results were never published. This also goes for Somaliland. Numbers are politics. Hargeysa had maybe 100-150.000 inhabitants in 1988; Burco maybe 50.000. Berbrra maybe 30.000 back then. Today SLanders would claim that during the bombardments and the atrocities of the regime in the late 1980s 200-250.000 people had been killed. How would that be even possible? In 2005, during the well-monitored parlamentary elections, across SL some 500.000 votes were cast. Now, if this included all above 18 years (including all parents) and you would add the underage children, you could arrive at a total population number of maybe 2,5 million back then. Yet official sources quickly jumped to 3,5, then 4, then 6 million (for SL alone). On which basis? Its just political rhetoric...

@husavia61225 @HoehneVirgil @warsamohamed84 @mustafaadam I'm not sure there's enough recent information available for AI tools to even have the possibility of reliably telling you numbers like this. These are probably from old UN estimates.

@HoehneVirgil @PolGeoNow @warsamohamed84 @mustafaadam Erigaabo ~106,000- 200,000 lush/ green Caynaba ~57,500 arid/ semi dessert Gabiley 164,000- 220,000 lush/ green Badhan ~35,000-55,000 dusty tuulo Las qoray ~15,000 coastal tuulo Xudun 25,500 dusty tuulo The age of misinformation is over AI crushes darood propaganda

@curlyaram @Hoanya0 @LaguThegan68045 @recognizeSL @AJEnglish That is, unless you're counting the Cal Madow mountain range in the north of Sanaag, which North East State claims but doesn't have much influence over. Al Shabaab definitely has forces there.

@curlyaram @Hoanya0 @LaguThegan68045 @recognizeSL @AJEnglish We researched this and wrote in article about this last year. Claims of Al Shabaab operational presence in North East State/SSC-Khaatumo (beyond small number of covert operatives) are not well-evidenced and don't seem to be very convincing.: polgeonow.com/2025/06/al-sha…

Heavy gunfire has broken out in central Mogadishu as Somalia’s former PM Hassan Ali Khaire says he has been attacked by gov't forces before planned anti-gov't protests aje.news/4ymfmu

@liam_karr @criticalthreats @mikedeangelo25 Yes, I've seen your other maps, and I realize you understand the distinction. Maybe the main point is that a map (unless it also shows localized control) isn't a helpful way to illustrate the alignment of the different administrations. Some other kind of chart would be better.

@PolGeoNow @criticalthreats @mikedeangelo25 For those, see here: criticalthreats.org/analysis/al-sh… and more recent static updates here: criticalthreats.org/analysis/afric…. Our area of operations graphics use US military tradecraft standards and clearly depict that most areas, aside from major cities, are outside full govt control.

NEW | Over a dozen countries, including the United States, called for the Federal Government of Somalia (FGS) and the leading Somali Future Council (SFC) opposition coalition to return to dialogue amid an intensifying constitutional and electoral dispute. The FGS’s attempts to consolidate political control across Somalia have put it on a collision course with the SFC and alienated even formerly pro-FGS Federal Member States. 🧵⬇️

@EUAsylumAgency We're happy to have contributed the territorial control maps featured and cited in the Somalia Security Situation report! Readers interested in more details can find them on our site (though our 2026 report is still forthcoming): polgeonow.com/search/label/s…

@hSrVp463iG52538 @HoehneVirgil Nope, just the actual truth in 2026 based on reading the news carefully (plus some other researchers' work).

@HoehneVirgil 2008 map ?