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. 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—an example is Portugal (neighbouring Spain).
* 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.

Countries bordering only one other country

Landlocked

With coast

Dependent territories

In some cases, a dependent territory of one nation borders another nation.

Historical

There were many countries that historically had only one neighbor. 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. 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 Bantustans of South Africa; created under apartheid, reincorporated on April 27, 1994.
* Venda: another Bantustan, Venda 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.
* Until 2022, Canada and Denmark each only bordered one country—the United States and Germany, respectively. In a treaty, they officially agreed to create a land border on Hans Island, ending a longstanding dispute over its ownership.

See also

* Island country
* List of countries and territories by land borders
* Landlocked country
* List of countries and territories by land and maritime borders
* List of divided islands
* List of enclaves and exclaves
* List of island countries
* List of political and geographic borders

References

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