Countries by land border lengthAntarctica and countries in purple are those without any land border.
This list gives the number of distinct land borders of each country or territory, as well as the neighboring countries and territories. The length of each border is included, as is the total length of each country's or territory's borders.[1]
Countries or territories that are connected only by man-made structures such as bridges, causeways or tunnels are not considered to have land borders. However, borders along lakes, rivers, and other internal waters are considered land borders for the purposes of this article.
Due to the coastline paradox, it is not always possible to determine border lengths, especially where borders are marked by rivers and coastlines, as the resulting measurements are highly dependent on the resolution at which the borders are recorded. For instance, the more accurately you measure the nooks and crannies of a given beach, the longer the border will inevitably become.
Country or territory
(Territories without full sovereignty in italics)[a]
Total length of land borders
No. of distinct land borders
No. of distinct land neighbours
Land border neighbours and border length
(Territories without full sovereignty in italics) [a] (#) = No. of distinct land boundaries with that country or territory
In addition to the above number of land borders per country, some countries have a man-made bridge, causeway or tunnel between each other without having any proper land border. These artificial land borders are usually less than 50 metres (160 ft) long.
^ abThe concept of state sovereignty is somewhat imprecise and there are disagreements about whether certain territories are sovereign. There are currently 195 states that are generally regarded as "fully" sovereign: this includes the 193 member states of the United Nations plus Vatican City and Palestine. Some of these states have under their jurisdiction territories, dependencies, or collectivities that are clearly non-sovereign geographical areas. These territories are generally regarded as being subsumed within the overarching sovereignty of the governing state. For example, the United Kingdom holds sovereignty over the territory of Gibraltar, even though Gibraltar is not considered to be part of the United Kingdom. There are a few territories in the world that are neither clearly sovereign nor clearly subsumed under another state's sovereignty. Often, these territories have declared themselves to be sovereign, but they are either not widely recognized as such or lack some of the necessary conditions for sovereign statehood. In these cases, explanatory footnotes indicate how the territory is treated for the purposes of this list.
^Land border lengths will vary depending on the scale by which they are measured, and therefore these figures without a source accompanied by an explanation of how they were measured and at what scale makes comparisons impossible; for more information see coastline paradox.
^ abcdeIf Kosovo is considered part of Serbia, some numbers in the table would be reduced by one (e.g., when a state borders both Serbia and Kosovo). Other numbers would remain the same (e.g., when a state borders Kosovo but not Serbia).
^ ab225 km (140 mi) via Angola's discontiguous Cabinda Province.
^ ab5,150 km (3,200 mi) via the long continental border and 150 km (93 mi) via the border on Tierra del Fuego.
^ abc566 km (352 mi) with Azerbaijan-proper and 221 km (137 mi) with the Nakhchivanenclave. Additionally, in Armenia, there exist three Azerbaijani enclaves: Barxudarlı, Yuxarı Əskipara and Karki (located north of the region of Nakhchivan) Reciprocally, there exists one Armenian enclave, a village called Artsvashen in north-western Azerbaijan. This makes a total of 6 separate borders, including the 2 major borders.
^On the India-Bangladesh border in the Indian district of Cooch-Behar, before 1 August 2015, there were 92 Bangladeshi exclaves, with a total area of 47.7 km2 (18.4 sq mi). Similarly, there were 106 Indian exclaves inside Bangladesh, with a total area of 69.5 km2 (26.8 sq mi). Twenty-one of the Bangladeshi exclaves were within Indian exclaves, and three of the Indian exclaves were within Bangladeshi exclaves. The largest Indian exclave, Balapara Khagrabari, surrounded a Bangladeshi exclave, Upanchowki Bhajni, which itself surrounded an Indian exclave called Dahala Khagrabari, of less than one hectare. These 198 exclave borders plus the main border gave a total of 199 sections of border. Today the only remaining exclave is the Bangadeshi exclave of Dahagram-Angarpota. ("The end of the enclaves". The Economist. September 7, 2011.)
^ abcGermany has a group of 5 enclaves created by the Vennbahn railway trackbed between the towns of Roetgen and Monschau (south of Aachen) that was granted Belgian sovereignty. Belgium therefore has 5 borders with these exclaves and one border with the rest of Germany.
^ abcdThe town of Baarle in the southern Netherlands is made up of the municipality of Baarle-Hertog, a group of 22 Belgian enclaves within the Netherlands; and of the Dutch municipality of Baarle-Nassau, which itself has one enclave in the main body of Belgium and 7 counter-enclaves inside two of the Belgian enclaves. There are therefore 30 separate enclave border sections, plus the main border for a total of 31 distinct sections.
^ abThis territory is not sovereign but is an overseas department and an overseas regionofFrance. As such, it is sovereign French territory that is an integral part of the French Republic.
^For information on the Republic of China, see the listing in this table under "Taiwan".
^ abcCuba has a 29 km (18 mi) border with the United States Naval Base at Guantanamo Bay. However, the naval base is sovereign Cuban territory and subject to a 1903 treaty is leased perpetually by the U.S. government; therefore, this does not constitute an international border.
^ abcdAkrotiri shares one border with Cyprus. Dhekelia shares one main boundary with Cyprus, but there are three separate enclaves of Cyprus within the main Dhekelia–Cyprus border, which creates three additional borders.
^This territory is not sovereign but is a British Overseas Territory. Its territory constitutes part of the sovereign territory of the United Kingdom but strictly speaking is not part of the United Kingdom itself.
^ abcdeIn 1988, the Palestinian Liberation Organization declared as sovereign the State of Palestine. Palestinian sovereignty is recognized by 135 countries, and it has observer status at the United Nations. The State of Palestine consists of the West Bank and the Gaza Strip. In this list, for purposes of counting bordering states, Palestine is considered to be a single sovereign entity.
^ abcThe town of Llívia is a Spanish exclave situated inside French territory. France has one border with it and two sections of border with the rest of Spain (separated by Andorra).
^Hong Kong is not sovereign but since 1997 has been a Special Administrative Region of the People's Republic of China. Hong Kong has a high degree of autonomy, including separate passports and a defined international boundary within China, but it is not considered a separate sovereign state for the purposes of this list.
^ abCampione d'Italia is enclaved in the canton of Ticino, Switzerland, although in practice it is administered as part of Switzerland. It is part of Swiss customs, uses the Swiss franc, its inhabitants have to pay income tax to Italy, though in a reduced measure, and it is under Italian sovereignty. Switzerland therefore has one border with it and one border with the rest of Italy.
^ abThe Tajik village of Vorukh, along with another small piece of land near Kairagach are embodied in Kyrgyz land. There are therefore 3 sections of border between the two countries.
^ abBarak, a small Kyrgyz village, is surrounded by Uzbekistan. Reciprocally, the Uzbek towns of So'x (39°58′N71°08′E / 39.967°N 71.133°E / 39.967; 71.133) and Shohimardon as well as the two tiny territories of Qal'acha and Khalmion (north of So'x) are all surrounded by Kyrgyz territory. There are therefore 5 enclave borders in addition to the main Kyrgyz/Uzbek border for a total of 6.
^Macau is not sovereign but since 1999 has been a Special Administrative Region of the People's Republic of China. Macau has a high degree of autonomy, including separate passports and a defined international boundary within China, but it is not considered a separate sovereign state for the purposes of this list.
^This territory is not sovereign but is an autonomous regionofPortugal. Its territory constitutes a constituent part of the sovereign territory of Portugal.
^In May 1992, South Ossetia declared independence from Georgia. This declaration is only recognized by 3 UN member countries. In April 2008, the United Nations Security Council unanimously passed Resolution 1808 that reaffirmed "the commitment of all Member States to the sovereignty, independence and territorial integrity of Georgia within its internationally recognized borders".
^ abThe Tajik village of Sarvan is in Uzbek territory. Uzbekistan has one border with it, and another with the rest of Tajikistan.
^The irregular border on Märket is 420 m (1,380 ft). Artificial land borders such as the 0.1 m (4 in) border poles in the water at Tornio are not counted.