List of military occupations

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This article presents a list of military occupations, both historic and contemporary, but only those that have taken place since the customary laws of belligerent military occupation were first clarified and supplemented by the Hague Convention of 1907.[1]

As currently understood in international law, "military occupation" is the effective military control by a power of a territory outside of said power's recognized sovereign territory.[2] The occupying power in question may be an individual state or a supranational organization, such as the United Nations.

Ongoing occupations

Military occupations in Europe, North Africa, and West Asia (for colouring correspondence, see below), as of February 2026.
More information Territory, Since ...
Territory Since Occupied state/territory Occupying state Occupier's declared state/territory Status
Transnistria 1992 Moldova Russia Transnistria Occupied by an armed group under the influence of a foreign power[a]
Abkhazia 2008 Georgia Abkhazia Occupied by an armed group under the influence of a foreign power[3][b]
South Ossetia South Ossetia
Crimea[4][5] 2014 Ukraine[c] Russia Federal subjects of Russia Occupied and annexed by a foreign power[3]
Significant parts of Donetsk, Kherson, Luhansk, and Zaporizhzhia Oblasts
Negligible parts of Kharkiv and Mykolaiv Oblasts		 2014[d]
2022[e]		 Russia Federal subjects of Russia[f]
Donetsk, Kherson, Luhansk, Zaporizhzhia Oblasts:
  • DPR & LPR: Occupied by an armed group under the influence of a foreign power (2014–2022)[3][6]
  • Four oblasts: Occupied and annexed by a foreign power (2022)[i]

Kharkiv Oblast:

  • Occupied by a foreign power; territory mostly recaptured by Ukraine

Mykolaiv Oblast:

  • Occupied and partially annexed by a foreign power; territory mostly recaptured by Ukraine
Parts of Southern Lebanon[7] 2024 Lebanon Israel N/a Occupied by a foreign power
East Jerusalem[8][9][10][11] 1967 Palestinian territories;
Palestine (since 1988 declaration)[j]		 Israel Part of the Jerusalem District (effectively annexed in 1980) Occupied and annexed by a foreign power[3][16][k]
West Bank[17] Israel Judea and Samaria Area Occupied by a foreign power,[18][l] with de facto partial annexation in the West Bank[3]
Gaza Strip[m] N/a
Golan Heights[25][26][27] Syria Israel Part of the Northern District (effectively annexed in 1981) Occupied and annexed by a foreign power.[3][16][n] Recognized by only the United States as part of Israel.[28]
Parts of Southern Syria[29] 2024 N/a Occupied by a foreign power
Northern Cyprus[30] 1974 Cyprus Turkey Northern Cyprus Occupied by an armed group under the influence of a foreign power[3][6][o]
Sofulu, Barxudarlı and Karki[31] 1992 Azerbaijan Armenia Armenia Part of the Tavush and Ararat Provinces Occupied and de facto annexed by a foreign power
Artsvashen[32] Armenia Azerbaijan Azerbaijan Part of the Gadabay Rayon
Portions of Syunik, Vayots Dzor, and Gegharkunik Provinces 2021[p]
2022[q]		 N/a Occupied by a foreign power,
Majority of Western Sahara[33] 1975 Sahrawi Arab Democratic Republic (declared in 1976) Morocco Morocco Southern Provinces
(annexed between 1976-79)		 Occupied and annexed by a foreign power[3][16][r]
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Historical occupations

Events before the Hague Convention of 1907 are out of scope.

1907–1919 (miscellaneous)

More information Occupied territory, Years ...
Occupied territory Years Occupied state Occupying state Event Part of war(s) Subsequently annexed?
Korea 1905–1910 Korea Japan Japan–Korea Treaty of 1905 Aftermath of Russo-Japanese War Yes
Cuba 1906–1909 Cuba United States Second occupation of Cuba Banana Wars No
Libya 1911–1912 Ottoman Empire Italy Invasion of Libya Italo-Turkish War Yes
Albania 1912–1913[34] Albania Serbia Occupation of Albania Balkan Wars No
Nicaragua 1912–1933 Nicaragua United States Occupation of Nicaragua Banana Wars
Veracruz 1914 Mexico Occupation of Veracruz Mexican Revolution
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World War I and immediate aftermath

More information Occupied territory, Years ...
Occupied territory Years Occupied state Occupying state Event Part of war(s) Subsequently annexed?
Albania 1916–1918[35] Albania Austria-Hungary Occupation of Albania World War I No
Eastern Galicia 1914–1915 Austria-Hungary Russia Occupation of Eastern Galicia
Belgium 1914–1918 Belgium Germany Occupation of Belgium
Kelmis 1914-1915 Neutral Moresnet German capture of Moresnet Yes
Northeastern France 1914–1918 France Invasion of Northeastern France No
Luxembourg Luxembourg Occupation of Luxembourg
Congress Poland Russia
Invasion of Russian Poland
Parts of the Baltic governorates and Vilna Governorate-General 1914–1919 Germany Invasion of Baltic Russia
German South West Africa 1914–1915 Germany South Africa South West Africa campaign Yes
Governorate of Serbia 1915–1918 Serbia
Occupation of Serbia No
Serbia Germany Invasion of Serbia
Eastern Serbia Bulgaria Occupation of Eastern Serbia
Serbian Macedonia Occupation of Serbian Macedonia Yes
Albania 1915–1917[35] Albania Occupation of Albania No
Montenegro 1916–1918 Montenegro Austria-Hungary Occupation of Montenegro
Haiti 1915–1934 Haiti United States Occupation of Haiti Banana Wars
Dominican Republic 1916–1924 Dominican Republic Occupation of the Dominican Republic
Cuba 1917–1922 Cuba Sugar Intervention
Northeast Italy 1917–1918 Italy Austria-Hungary Invasion of Northeastern Italy World War I
 1918–1925[s] Russian SFSR
Soviet Union
Allied intervention in the Russian Civil War Russian Civil War
Constantinople 1918–1923 Ottoman Empire
Occupation of Constantinople Aftermath of World War I
Smyrna 1919–1922 Greece Occupation of Smyrna
Western Armenia (Kars, Ardahan, Surmalu) 1920 First Republic of Armenia Turkey Turkish invasion of Armenia Yes
Rhineland 1918–1930  Germany  France
United Kingdom
Belgium
United States

Siam

 Occupation of the Rhineland No
Eastern Galicia 1918–1919 West Ukrainian People's Republic  Poland Polish–Ukrainian War Yes
Volhynia Ukrainian People's Republic Partial
Ukraine 1918–1920 Russian SFSR Ukrainian–Soviet War Yes
Dalmatia 1918–

1921

 Kingdom of Serbs, Croats, and Slovenes
Allied occupation of eastern Adriatic Partial
Transylvania, part of Banat, part of Carpathian Ruthenia, Tiszántúl, Danube–Tisza Interfluve, Budapest, Northwest Transdanubia 1918–1920
 Romania Revolutions and interventions in Hungary (1918–1920) Partial
Slovakia, Carpathian Ruthenia, part of Northeast Hungary[36]

inc. Sátoraljaújhely (to 1920)

  Czechoslovakia
part of Banat, Szeged France No
Prekmurje, Međimurje, Voivodina, part of Banat, Baranya, Bácska 1918–1921 Kingdom of Serbs, Croats, and Slovenes Partial
Tyrol 1918–1920 German-Austria

Austria

 Italy
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1920–1946 (miscellaneous)

More information Occupied territory, Years ...
Occupied territory Years Occupied state Occupying state Event Part of war(s) Subsequently annexed?
Transcaucasia 1920 Armenia Russia Invasion of Armenia Russian Civil War Yes
1920 Azerbaijan Invasion of Azerbaijan
1921 Georgia Invasion of Georgia
Ruhr 1923–1924 Germany
Occupation of the Ruhr Aftermath of World War I No
Manchuria / Manchukuo 1931–1945 China Japan Invasion of Manchuria Second Sino-Japanese War
Xinjiang 1934 Soviet Union Invasion of Xinjiang Kumul Rebellion
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World War II: build up and immediate aftermath

More information Occupied territory, Years ...
Occupied territory Years Occupied state Occupying state Event Part of war(s) Subsequently annexed?
Ethiopia 1935–1941 Ethiopia Italy Invasion of Ethiopia Second Italo-Ethiopian War Yes
Parts of China 1937–1945 China Japan Second Sino-Japanese War World War II No
Shanghai
Austria 1938 Austria Germany Anschluss Events preceding World War II in Europe Yes
Sudetenland[37] Czechoslovakia Munich Agreement
Bohemia and Moravia 1939–1945 Occupation of Czechoslovakia No
Memel Territory Lithuania Occupation of Memel Yes
Albania Albania Italy Invasion of Albania No
Poland  Poland Germany Invasion of Poland World War II Partial
Eastern Poland 1939–1941 Soviet Union Annexation of Polish territories Partial
Parts of Finland 1939–1940 Finland Winter War Partial
British Somaliland 1940–1941 United Kingdom Italy Italian invasion of British Somaliland Yes
Belgium 1940–1945 Belgium Germany Invasion of Belgium No
Denmark Denmark Invasion of Denmark
Faroe Islands United Kingdom Occupation of the Faroe Islands
Greenland
Greenland in World War II
Hankoniemi 1940–1941 Finland Soviet Union Winter War
Iceland[t] 1940–1945 Kingdom of Iceland United Kingdom Occupation of Iceland
United States[u]
Northern France[v][w] 1940–1944 France Germany Invasion of Northern France
Southeastern France[x] 1940–1943 Italy Italian invasion of France
Vietnam 1940–1945 Japan Invasion of French Indochina
Baltic states 1940–1941[y][z] Estonia Soviet Union Soviet occupation of the Baltic states Yes
Latvia
Lithuania
Luxembourg 1940–1945 Luxembourg Germany Occupation of Luxembourg No
Netherlands Netherlands Invasion of the Netherlands
Norway Norway Invasion of Norway
Bessarabia, Northern Bukovina and the Hertsa region 1940 Romania Soviet Union Occupation of Bessarabia and Northern Bukovina Yes
Channel Islands 1940–1945 United Kingdom Germany Occupation of the Channel Islands No
Cambodia 1941–1945 France Japan Invasion of Cambodia
Greece 1941–1944 Greece
Occupation of Greece
Iran 1941–1946 Iran
Anglo-Soviet invasion of Iran
Byelorussia 1941–1944 Soviet Union Germany Occupation of Byelorussia
Ukraine Occupation of Ukraine
Baltic states Occupation of Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania (de jure independent, de facto under Soviet rule)
Parts of European Russia Eastern Front
Eastern Karelia Finland Continuation War
Guam United States Japan Occupation of Guam
Transnistria Soviet Union Romania Operation Barbarossa
Borneo 1941–1945 United Kingdom Japan Occupation of British Borneo
Hong Kong Occupation of Hong Kong
Malaya Occupation of Malaya
Yugoslavia Yugoslavia
Military operations in the territory of Yugoslavia
New Caledonia 1942–1945 France United States New Caledonia during WWII
New Guinea Australia Japan New Guinea campaign
Nauru
Occupation of Nauru
Andaman Islands British Raj Occupation of the Andaman Islands
Dutch East Indies Netherlands Occupation of Dutch East Indies
Philippines Philippines Occupation of the Philippines
Portuguese Timor Portugal Battle of Timor
Burma (Myanmar) United Kingdom Occupation of Burma
Singapore Occupation of Singapore
Kiska 1942–1943 United States Occupation of Kiska
Attu Occupation of Attu
Italian Libya 1943–1951 Libya
Allied occupation of Libya
Italy 1943–1945 Italy Germany Occupation of Italy, Italian campaign
Hungary 1944–1945 Hungary Occupation of Hungary
Italy 1943–1945 Italy
Occupation of Italy, Italian campaign
France 1944–1946 France
Liberation of France
Baltic states 1944–1991[y][z] Estonia Soviet Union 1944 Soviet re-occupation,
Baltic states under Soviet rule		 Yes
Latvia
Lithuania
Bulgaria 1944–1947 Bulgaria Occupation of Bulgaria No
Romania 1944–1958 Romania Occupation of Romania
Poland 1944–1956[aa] Poland Soviet presence in Poland
Hungary 1944–1949[ab] Hungary Occupation of Hungary
Porkkalanniemi 1944–1956 Finland Continuation War
Carpathian Ruthenia 1944–1945 Czechoslovakia Annexation of Carpathian Ruthenia Yes
Northern part of East Prussia/Kaliningrad Oblast 1945 Germany East Prussian offensive
Manchuria 1945–1946 Manchukuo Soviet–Japanese War No
Austria 1945–1955 Austria
Allied-occupied Austria Aftermath of World War II
East Germany, incl. East Berlin 1945–1949 Germany Soviet Union Allied-occupied Germany
West Germany
West Berlin 1945–1990
Saarland 1945–1957 France Saar Protectorate
Northern Iran 1945–1946 Iran Soviet Union Iran crisis of 1946
Japan (mainland) 1945–1951 Japan United States Occupation of Japan
Tokara Islands 1945–1952
Amami Islands 1945–1953
Ogasawara archipelago 1945–1968
Daitō Islands and Ryukyu Islands[ac] 1945–1972
Taiwan, Pescadores, and Itu Aba 1945–1952[40] Japan[40] China History of Taiwan since 1945
Korea 1945–1948 Korea
Occupation of Korea
Southern Vietnam and Saigon[41] 1945–1946 France United Kingdom War of Vietnam
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1947–1959

More information Occupied territory, Years ...
Occupied territory Years Occupied state Occupying state Event Part of war(s) Subsequently annexed?
Junagadh 1947–1948  Junagadh  India Annexation of Junagadh N/a Yes
West Bank[j] 1948–1967[42] Post-Mandate Palestine Jordan Jordanian annexation of the West Bank 1948 Arab–Israeli War
Gaza Strip[j] 1948–1956
1957–1967[ad]		 Egypt Occupation of the Gaza Strip by Egypt No
Hyderabad 1948  Hyderabad  India Annexation of Hyderabad N/a Yes
Sikkim 1949[43]–1950  Sikkim Intervention in Sikkim No
Tibet 1949–1951  Tibet China Annexation of Tibet Yes
Northern Jordan Valley[44] 1949-1967  Israel Syria 1949 Armistice Agreements 1948 Arab–Israeli War No
Dadra and Nagar Haveli 1954–1974 Portugal India Annexation of Dadra and Nagar Haveli N/a Yes
Suez Canal Zone 1956 Egypt
Suez Crisis Arab–Israeli conflict No
Sinai 1956–1957 Israel
Gaza Strip All-Palestine
Hungary 1956 Hungary Soviet Union Hungarian Uprising Hungarian Revolution of 1956
Laos 1959–1975 Laos North Vietnam Invasion of Laos Laotian Civil War
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1960–1979

More information Occupied territory, Years ...
Occupied territory Years Occupied state Occupying state Event Part of war(s) Subsequently annexed?
Goa, Daman and Diu 1961–1974 Portugal India Annexation of Goa N/a Yes
Aksai Chin 1962 India China Sino-Indian War
Arunachal Pradesh 1962 No
Dominican Republic 1965–1966 Dominican Republic United States Invasion of the Dominican Republic Dominican Civil War
Sinai 1967–1982[ae] Egypt Israel Six-Day War Arab–Israeli conflict
Czechoslovakia 1968–1989[af] Czechoslovakia
Invasion of Czechoslovakia Prague Spring
East Pakistan
(became Bangladesh)		 1971 Pakistan India Indo-Pakistani War of 1971 Bangladesh Liberation War
Southern half of Vietnam 1975–1976 South Vietnam North Vietnam 1975 spring offensive Vietnam War Yes
Parts of Angola Angola South Africa South African invasion of Angola South African Border War No
Tiris al-Gharbiyya 1975–1979 Western Sahara Mauritania Battles of La Güera and Tichla Western Sahara War
East Timor 1975–1999 East Timor Indonesia Invasion of East Timor Indonesian occupation of East Timor Yes
Aouzou Strip 1976–1987 Chad Libya Occupation of the Aouzou Strip Chadian–Libyan War No
Parts of Lebanon 1976–2005 Lebanon Syria Syrian occupation of Lebanon Lebanese Civil War
Kagera Region 1978 Uganda Tanzania Ugandan invasion of Kagera Uganda–Tanzania War
Southern Lebanon 1978–1982 Lebanon Free Lebanon State 1978 Lebanon war Lebanese Civil War
March 1978 Israel
Cambodia 1978–1989  Kampuchea Vietnam Invasion of Kampuchea Cambodian–Vietnamese War
Parts of Vietnam 1979 Vietnam China Invasion of Vietnam Sino-Vietnamese War
Afghanistan 1979–1989  Afghanistan Soviet Union Invasion of Afghanistan Afghan–Soviet War
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1980–1999

More information Occupied territory, Years ...
Occupied territory Years Occupied state Occupying state Event Part of war(s) Subsequently annexed?
Falkland Islands 1982 United Kingdom Argentina Occupation of the Falkland Islands Falklands War No
South Lebanon 1982–2000 Lebanon Israel Israeli occupation of South Lebanon 1982 Lebanon War
Grenada 1983 Grenada
Invasion of Grenada Grenadian Revolution
Northern Province 1987–1990 Sri Lanka India Indian intervention in the Sri Lankan Civil War Sri Lankan Civil War
Maldives 1988 Maldives 1988 Maldives coup d'état N/a
Panama 1989–1990 Panama United States Invasion of Panama War on drugs
Kuwait 1990–1991 Kuwait Iraq Invasion of Kuwait Gulf War Yes
Seven districts surrounding Nagorno-Karabakh 1992–2020 Azerbaijan
First Nagorno-Karabakh War Nagorno-Karabakh conflict Yes (by Artsakh)
Bağanıs Ayrım, Aşağı Əskipara, Xeyrimli and Ghizilhajili[45] 1992–2024 Armenia No
Haiti 1994–1995 Haiti
Operation Uphold Democracy 1991 Haitian coup d'état
Lesotho 1998–1999 Lesotho
Operation Boleas Lesotho general election riots
Parts of the Democratic Republic of the Congo 1998–2002[46] Democratic Republic of the Congo
Foreign support to the DR Congo Second Congo War
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2000–2019

More information Occupied territory, Years ...
Occupied territory Years Occupied state Occupying state Event Part of war(s) Subsequently annexed?
Gash-Barka, Southern, Northern Red Sea and Southern Red Sea
regions of Eritrea		 2000–2018 Eritrea Ethiopia Regions were seized at the end of the Eritrean–Ethiopian War in 2000, and subsequently delimited[47] and demarcated[48] by the Permanent Court of Arbitration at the Hague to be Eritrean territory.

Eritrea recaptured the lands during the Tigray war.

 Eritrean–Ethiopian War No
Afghanistan[ag] 2001–2002 Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan
United States invasion of Afghanistan War in Afghanistan (2001–2021)
Iraq[ah] 2003–2004 Iraq
Iraq War
Parts of Somalia 2006–2009[52] Somalia Ethiopia Somalia War (2006–2009) Somali Civil War
Gori and Poti 2008 Georgia Russia Occupation of Gori and Poti Russo-Georgian War
Perevi 2008–2010 Occupation of Perevi
Al-Tanf 2016–2026[53] Syrian Interim Government US Al-Tanf offensive (2016), Fall of the Assad regime Syrian Civil War
Azaz, al-Bab and Jarabulus Districts[54][55] 2016–2025[56] Turkey Turkish military intervention in Syria
Afrin District[57] 2018–2025[56] Turkish involvement in the Syrian civil war and Kurdish–Turkish conflict (2015–present)
Tell Abyad and Ras al-Ayn Districts 2019–2025[56]
Socotra 2018 Yemen United Arab Emirates Takeover of Socotra Yemeni Civil War
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2020–present

More information Occupied territory, Years ...
Occupied territory Years Occupied state Occupying state Event Part of war(s) Subsequently annexed?
 2022–2024 Ukraine Russia Russian invasion of Ukraine Russo-Ukrainian War No[am]
Parts of Bryansk Oblast, Belgorod Oblast and Kursk Oblast 2023–2025 (uncontinuous) Russia Ukraine 2023 Bryansk Oblast raid, 2023 Belgorod Oblast incursions, March 2024 western Russia incursion, Kursk campaign Russo-Ukrainian War No
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See also

Footnotes and references

Bibliography

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