It would be easier to get into the game if borders were real. Multiple countries don't even exist on the map right now.

Even if the game is not necessarily set in 2022, I always find it weird when borders are simplified to that point and not based on historic facts, but just on sujective choices from developers. I know that this may be due to gameplay and/or IA constraints, but I think it would be perfectly fine if all countries were there even though they wouldn't all have a specific gameplay or scenario line. For simplicity, those countries that are currently merged into one could just be cloned with the exception that their respective characters would have dfferent names and faces (possibly random), but the same choices and gameplay outcomes.

The simplified world makes it feel more shallow than it could be, and I believe players would root much more into the game and their strategic choices if the world was realistic, even more so for players who are from a country that was plain and simple deleted in the game.

I guess because this is (a) not the point of the game, (b) a complete PITA.

Real world borders are a matter of political perspective. There is not a single "true" map you can take and copy; however you draw the borders, it will offend some state or the other. Why expose yourself to this sort of trouble if the game is about close space anyhow?

I'm in the US and the regions for the US are fairly accurate for politices, influence, etc.. Maybe that is why they did that? And, we aren't a democracy but they did that anyway.

That is not factual. State borders exist if and only if they are defined and recognized by international law. Besides that, there are political claims from some states, justified or not, usually unilateral and clashing with unilateral justified or unjustified claims from other countries. From there, it is fairly straightforward which standard to follow to draw borders on a map, as there is only one way not to take sides politically, and it is a globally and legally acknowledged one. You will not offend people more by using legally established borders they see in any free world school book than by deciding to erase multiple countries in the middle of Europe or elsewhere without any scenaristic reason.

You're saying using realistic borders is a PITA and an inevitable source of disapproval, I'm fairly convinced that using a mix of real and fictitious borders is a far more questionable decision, because obviously those who feel their borders reflect history, were acquired in blood, and were acknowledged globally will wonder why this was all neglected. I'm not talking about whether the borders are accurate or not, no one will check that in the game and this is not the place, but multiple contemporary countries are missing while other borders look contemporary, which hardly adds up.

Let me emphasize that I am not defending a personal or political view here: I come from a country that actually is depicted realistically in the game; I'm just finding it hard to dive into the game because I don't recognize Europe's internal borders. Or just make "Europe" one single entity if this is the granularity we need for a game about close space.

OK, let's see you define the agreed-upon borders
* of China (checking Taiwan)
* between Israel and Palestine
* of Somaliland
* whom do the Kuril Islands belong do?
* whom do the Senkaku Islands belong to?
just for starters.

The developer though does pretty well on dealing with borders with the claim system. You can basically adjust the borders however you like, just control both countries and unite them :)