As you know, maps are the second language of geography. They come in all shapes and sizes. The maps used in economic and social geography research differ from natural geographic maps in the nature of periodic variability. The political map plays an important role in covering the topics of "World Economic and Social Geography", which is the main subject of research in the countries and countries of the world.

A political map is a map that shows the location, borders, and capitals of states. It reflects the political and geographical changes in society, the emergence of new independent states, the merger or separation of existing states, the change in the status of the capital city.

As mentioned, the political map is flexible in nature. Every important event in the world can lead to qualitative and quantitative changes. Quantitative changes in the world political map are reflected in the following:

- addition of new lands (ancient);

- expansion or contraction of the territory as a result of various wars;

- mergers or divisions of states;

- transfer (or exchange) territories between states by agreement;

- Establishment of additional land in the sea (land withdrawal from the sea).

- Examples of qualitative changes include:

- historical exchange of forms of social management;

- Achieving political independence of the state;

- emergence of new forms of public administration;

- formation of interstate unions and organizations;

- The emergence or cessation of "hotspots" that cause interstate conflict.

The formation of the Republic of South Sudan in the south of the Republic of Sudan in 2011 is an example of a quantitative change in the world political map, the end of the former USSR in 1991 and the emergence of more than a dozen independent states that later became part of the CIS. will be. Quantitative and qualitative changes in the political map listed above have a significant impact on the number of objects contained in it, their territorial size, the characteristics of political, socio-economic development. Today, each object that appears on the political map can be recognized as a "product" of changes that are uniquely represented. It should be noted that qualitative changes in the political map, in turn, can lead to quantitative changes.

For example, the collapse of the socialist system in Eastern Europe (qualitative change) led to the emergence of new states within the countries of the region (quantitative development).

The political and geographical changes that take place on the map can be divided into three groups.

These are:

Evolution. Being sympathetic to the development of the state, that is, being able to express their views on domestic and foreign policy. Examples include the election process, referendums, public opinion polls, and public hearings on public administration legislation.

Revolutionary. It is manifested in the growing dissatisfaction with public administration, which, while positive for one group of the population, has a negative impact on others. Various coups, civil wars, various organized or unorganized social protests (strikes, clashes with law enforcement officers, demonstrations, etc.)

Military-Political. Although this type of political-geographical change is not often observed in the modern world, it has not lost its relevance. It is the military aggression of states against each other today (complete or partial occupation of various territories (lat. Occupatio - occupation, occupation) - in international law - the temporary occupation of enemy territory by the armed forces of the warring parties), annexation of territories (Latin : annectere - a policy of occupying the territory of another state in whole or in part or annexing it to one's own state), supporting regional armed conflicts, and participating in local wars.

In general, the formation of the world political map is a kind of long-lasting product of the life of society and economic, social, political and cultural-spiritual development that takes place in geographical space and time.

The four historical periods, which have their own characteristics, are of great importance in the formation of the modern political map. Each period is distinguished by its richness of economic, political, spiritual and cultural processes that are important for humanity.