List of countries that border only one other country
This is a list of countries that have a land border with only one other country. Some on this list have a maritime border with additional countries: for example Denmark "borders" by sea Sweden, Norway and Canada (between Greenland and Baffin Island); while, in addition to Denmark, Canada also has a sea boundary with France (between the island of Newfoundland and the territory of St. Pierre and Miquelon). Some countries, which are not listed here, have no land border but do have a maritime border with a single other country, such as Sri Lanka.
There are generally four arrangements by which a country would have a single land border:
- an island divided between two states, such as between Haiti and the Dominican Republic, or between Ireland and the United Kingdom.
- a peninsula or a semi-enclave, where one country has a land border with a neighbouring one but is otherwise surrounded by sea, while the neighbour borders other countries—examples are Portugal (neighbouring Spain), Denmark (neighbouring Germany), and Canada (neighbouring the United States).
- the three countries forming a landlocked true enclave, completely surrounded by a larger country: San Marino and Vatican City (within Italy) and Lesotho (within South Africa).
- a country surrounded by sea and another nation. Examples would be The Gambia surrounded by Senegal and Brunei surrounded by Malaysia. This applies to peninsulas, but also to non-peninsular nations like The Gambia and Brunei.
Territory leased or ceded by one country to another for perpetual use, but not in sovereignty, such as Guantanamo Bay Naval Base in Cuba, or memorials, such as the American Cemetery in France, do not constitute true territorial borders because the land occupied remains a formal part of the host country.
This list is based on the Correlates of War Direct Contiguity data set, with maritime causeways and bridges not being counted.[1]
Countries bordering only one other country
Landlocked
Country | Neighbour | Border length | Notes | |
---|---|---|---|---|
(km) | (mi) | |||
Lesotho | South Africa | 909 | 565 | Lesotho is an enclave which is entirely surrounded by South Africa |
San Marino | Italy | 39 | 24 | San Marino is an enclave entirely surrounded by Italy. |
Vatican City | Italy | 3.2 | 2.0 | The Vatican is an enclave entirely surrounded by Italy. |
With sea border
Country | Neighbour | Border length | Notes | |
---|---|---|---|---|
(km) | (mi) | |||
Brunei | Malaysia | 381 | 237 | Borders the Malaysian state of Sarawak on the island of Borneo. |
Canada | United States | 8,893 | 5,526 | The border around the area of Hans Island between Canada and Greenland (a constituent country of the Kingdom of Denmark) is disputed and undefined. Canada also shares a small maritime border with the French overseas collectivity of Saint Pierre and Miquelon. |
Denmark | Germany | 68 | 42 | Since 1999, Denmark is connected to Sweden via the Øresund Bridge, which was opened in the year 2000. The border around the area of Hans Island between Canada and Greenland (a constituent country of the Kingdom of Denmark) is disputed and undefined. |
Dominican Republic | Haiti | 360 | 220 | On the island of Hispaniola |
The Gambia | Senegal | 740 | 460 | The Republic of the Gambia is bordered to the north, south and east by Senegal. |
Haiti | Dominican Republic | 360 | 220 | On the island of Hispaniola |
Ireland | United Kingdom | 360 | 220 | The Republic of Ireland borders the United Kingdom's Northern Ireland region on the island of Ireland. |
Monaco | France | 4.4 | 2.7 | |
Papua New Guinea | Indonesia | 820 | 510 | On the island of New Guinea |
Portugal | Spain | 1,214 | 754 | |
Qatar | Saudi Arabia | 60 | 37 | The planned Qatar–Bahrain Friendship Bridge would connect Qatar to Bahrain. |
South Korea | North Korea | 238 | 148 | On the Korean Peninsula, at the Demarcation Line. The two countries are separated by a 4 km wide Demilitarized Zone. |
Timor-Leste | Indonesia | 228 | 142 | On the island of Timor. |
United Kingdom | Ireland | 360 | 220 | On the island of Ireland. The British Overseas Territories of Gibraltar and Akrotiri and Dhekelia border Spain and Cyprus respectively, but these territories are not part of the United Kingdom proper (see #Dependent territories section). |
Causeways, bridges, and tunnels
Often called fixed crossings or fixed links, transportation corridors constructed to cross bodies of water without any intermittent connections such as ferries or ships may be between different states. These may be considered artificial "persistent" borderpoints for land vehicles or pedestrians, but are not typically considered land borders given their need for continuous operation and maintenance, as well as their ease of volume control or closure by either state.
- Has a land border and an additional artificial borderpoint
- Denmark: in addition to its border with Germany, also has fixed link with Sweden across the Øresund Bridge.
- United Kingdom: in addition to its border with Ireland, has a fixed link with France in the Channel Tunnel.
- Has no land border, but has an artificial borderpoint
- Bahrain: although an island nation with no natural land borders, maintains persistent connection to Saudi Arabia by the King Fahd Causeway at Passport Island.
- Singapore: although an island nation with no natural land borders, maintains persistent connections to Malaysia by the Johor Causeway and the Malaysia–Singapore Second Link.
Dependent territories
In some cases, a dependent territory of one nation borders another nation.
- Akrotiri and Dhekelia: British sovereign base areas, border the Republic of Cyprus. Dhekelia also borders the Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus, but the latter is recognised only by Turkey.
- French Southern and Antarctic Lands: Adélie Land, France's (largely unrecognised) claim in Antarctica borders only the Australian Antarctic Territory. (It also touches other claims at the South Pole.)
- Gibraltar: a British overseas territory, occupies a small peninsula and has a 1.2 km (0.75 mi) land border with Spain.
- Greenland: a constituent country of the Kingdom of Denmark, has a border dispute with Canada regarding uninhabited Hans Island. The island is located in the centre of the Kennedy Channel of Nares Strait (between Canada's Ellesmere Island and northern Greenland), which constitutes the agreed maritime border. Both countries claim Hans Island and so at this point the border is not defined. One possible resolution, not necessarily a likely one, would be to divide Hans Island between them, creating a new land border for each country.
- Hong Kong: comprising a continental portion and more than 200 islands in the South China Sea, was formerly ceded and leased by Qing China to the British Empire. It was returned to the People's Republic of China in 1997, but has since then operated with its own political system as a special administrative region under the policy of "One Country, Two Systems". The land border and coastline, although no longer one between two states, are still controlled as though Hong Kong were an international exclave.
- Macau: comprises a peninsula and one island in the South China Sea, 60 km (37 mi) west of Hong Kong, and like Hong Kong was formerly administered by a colonial power (in this case, Portugal) but returned to the People's Republic of China in 1999. It too has its own judicial system and retains border and coastal controls similar to those of an exclave.
- Ross Dependency: New Zealand's (largely unrecognised) territorial claim in Antarctica borders only the Australian Antarctic Territory and the unclaimed Marie Byrd Land. (It also touches other claims at the South Pole.)
- / Saint Martin: The island is split between two island territories: the northern half, Saint-Martin, is a French overseas collectivity; the southern half, Sint Maarten, is a constituent country of the Kingdom of the Netherlands.
Historical
There were many countries that historically had only one neighbour. Some no longer exist while others now have either no land borders or borders with more than one nation due to border changes.
- Korea: bordered only China for several hundred years before 1860, after which a second international border with Russia appeared (approx. 17 km (11 mi) long), according to the Convention of Peking. Following the division of Korea in 1945 only North Korea now shares this border.
- Ciskei: one of the South African "independent" homelands created under apartheid, reincorporated on April 27, 1994.
- Venda: one of the South African "independent" homelands, was a true enclave bordering only South Africa and separated narrowly from Zimbabwe by the Madimbo corridor to the north; reincorporated on April 27, 1994.
- Newfoundland: with Canada, until March 31, 1949 when it became the Canadian province of Newfoundland (now named Newfoundland and Labrador).
- Scotland and England: bordered each other until 1707 when they were united as Great Britain by the Acts of Union, see Anglo-Scottish border.
- Japan: bordered Russia on the island of Sakhalin from 1905 until 1910, until Japan inherited the China–North Korea border and the North Korea–Russia border upon the Japanese annexation of Korea. Both Sakhalin and Korea were relinquished after Japan's defeat in World War II in 1945. (See Karafuto Prefecture and Empire of Japan).
- Weihaiwei: 1898–1930, British colony on a leased territory from China's Qing Dynasty. Transferred to the Republic of China in 1930.
- Tasmania: bordered only by the Colony of Victoria (on Boundary Islet), until the federation of the Commonwealth of Australia in 1901.
See also
Notes
References
- "Direct Contiguity Data, 1816-2016. Version 3.2". Correlates of War Project. Retrieved 12 December 2017.