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Aterritorial dispute is a disagreement over thepossession or control ofterritories (airspace,land, andwater) between two or morepolitical entities.
Bold indicates one claimant's full control;italics indicates one or more claimants' partial control.
| Territory | Claimants | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Al-Fashaga District |  Sudan Ethiopia | The Al Fushqa or Al Fashaga district is a disputed area betweenEthiopia andSudan, specificallyAl Qadarif andAmhara. |
| Northern Frontier District (NFD) |  Kenya Somalia | De facto controlled by Kenya. Somalia claims this region[citation needed], which is mainly inhabited by ethnic Somalis, based on a desire for a 'Greater Somalia'. The region was the site of theShifta War (1963–1967) following Kenya's independence. |
| Ogaden Region | Ethiopia Somalia | De facto controlled by Ethiopia (formally as the Somali Region). Somalia historically claimed this region for a 'Greater Somalia', leading to theOgaden War (1977–1978). A peace deal was reached in 2018 with the region's main separatist group (ONLF), but the territorial claim from Somalia[citation needed] remains a source of tension. |
| Abyei, Jordah,Kafia Kingi,Heglig, Bebnis, Jebel Megeinis and 14-mile area near Kiir river. | Sudan South Sudan | Both Sudan and South Sudan have claimed the area after thecivil war that led to South Sudan's independence.Heglig was controlled by South Sudan in mid-April 2012, but retaken by Sudan. |
| Banc du Geyser |  France Comoros Madagascar | Scattered Islands in the Indian Ocean, a district of theFrench Southern Territories. |
| Bassas da India,Europa Island andJuan de Nova Island | France Madagascar[1] | De facto part of the French overseas territory of theFrench Southern Territories. |
| Ceuta,[2]Melilla, and otherplazas de soberanía |  Spain Morocco | Melilla and Ceuta have been Spanish territories since 1497 and 1640 respectively. They have had the status ofautonomous cities since 1995. After anincident onPerejil Island in 2002, both countries agreed to return to thestatus quo.[3] |
| Chagos Archipelago |  United Kingdom Maldives Mauritius | The United Kingdomde facto administers the archipelago as theBritish Indian Ocean Territory. Mauritius and Maldivesclaims the islands. On 22 May 2025, Mauritius and the United Kingdom signed a deal to hand sovereignty over to Mauritius; the dispute between the two will end once the deal is ratified by both parties.[4] However, the Maldives opposed the negotiations.[5] |
| Doumeira Mountain,Ras Doumeira andDoumeira Island |  Eritrea Djibouti | Basis of theDjiboutian–Eritrean border conflict of 2008. Disputed territory occupied by Eritrea following withdrawal of Qatari peacekeepers in June 2017.[6][7] Alternatively transliterated as the Dumaira Mountains.[6] |
| Glorioso Islands | France Madagascar Comoros | De facto a part of the French overseas territory of theFrench Southern Territories.Formally claimed bySeychelles before 2001. |
| Hala'ib Triangle andBir Tawil |  Egypt Sudan[8] | Previously under joint administration; Egypt now maintains fullde facto control of the Hala'ib Triangle. The boundaries claimed by Egypt and Sudan both include the Hala'ib Triangle. The area ofBir Tawil close to the triangle is unclaimed by both countries. |
| Migingo Island and the vicinity of the islands ofLolwe,Oyasi, Remba,Ringiti andSigulu [sw] and the surrounding waters. | Kenya Uganda | |
| Ilemi Triangle | Kenya South Sudan | De facto controlled by Kenya. Ethiopian tribes used and made raids in the land, but the Ethiopian government has never made a claim to it, agreeing it was Sudanese in 1902, 1907, and 1972 treaties.[9][10][11] |
| KaNgwane andIngwavuma |  South Africa Eswatini | Eswatini claims territories that it states were confiscated during colonial times.[12] The area claimed by Eswatini is the formerbantustan ofKaNgwane, which now forms the northern parts ofJozini anduMhlabuyalingana local municipalities inKwaZulu-Natal, and the southern part ofNkomazi, the southeastern part ofUmjindi and the far eastern part ofAlbert Luthuli local municipalities inMpumalanga. |
| Koalou village and surrounding area |  Burkina Faso Benin | Burkina Faso and Benin retain a border dispute at this 7.75 km2 triangular area of land near the tripoint border withTogo.[13][14] In a 2008 meeting, it was declared that the territory was a neutral zone, neither Burkinabé nor Beninese.[13] According to the UN Refugee Agency in 2015, there were issues of children being born stateless in the area, however, a Beninese civil registration office has taken control of registering births in the area.[15] |
| Kpéaba village area (nearSipilou/Siquita) |  Ivory Coast Guinea | The Guinean military occupied this village for 1 month from January to February 2013, before withdrawing in preparation for talks.[16] In December 2016, Guinea soldiers and civilians attacked the village, killing 1 and wounding several others, before returning to their side of the border.[17] According to the Guinean Minister of Defence, the Guinean army had been asked not to send any soldiers to this area and had no involvement in this incident.[18] |
| Area nearLogoba/Moyo District | South Sudan Uganda | A 1914 British colonial order defined the international border based on the tribal boundary between theKuku of Kajokeji (South Sudan) and theMa'di of Moyo (Uganda). However, the border was never formally demarcated.[19] In 2014, a conflict was triggered by the Ugandan national census when Ugandan officials were detained by South Sudan authorities.[20] |
| Area nearChiengi,Lunchinda-Pweto Province |  Zambia DR Congo | Zambia and Congo have different interpretations of the borders set out in an 1894 treaty between British settlers andLeopold II,King of the Belgians. There have been incidents between the armies of both countries in 1996, 2006, and 2016. In March 2020, Zambia deployed troops on the Congolese side of the border.[21] |
| Right bank of the Lunkinda River (near the village ofPweto)[22] | DR Congo Zambia | |
| Mayotte | France Comoros[1] | Under the2009 referendum, the population supported becoming an overseas department of France, so Mayotte became one on 31 March 2011. |
| Islands inMbamba Bay andLake Nyasa |  Tanzania Malawi | Lundo Island and Mbamba Island are claimed as part of the lake, as Malawi has claims to the shore − based on the 1890 Anglo-German treaty. SeeTanzania–Malawi dispute. |
| Several islands in theCongo River |  Republic of the CongoDR Congo | Most of the boundary in the Congo River remains undefined.[23] |
| An island in theNtem River |  Cameroon Equatorial Guinea | [24] |
| Several villages near theOkpara River | Benin Nigeria | |
| The Rufunzo Valley and Sabanerwa |  Rwanda Burundi | In 1965, theAkanyaru River changed course due to heavy rains. Burundians point to Rwandan farmers for contributing to the change of course by rice-growing.[25] |
| Rukwanzi Island and theSemliki River valley | DR Congo Uganda | The dispute is related to fishing rights inLake Edward andLake Albert.[26] |
| Margherita Peak in theRwenzori mountains | DR Congo Uganda | Uganda rejects the DROC claim to Margherita Peak in the Rwenzori mountains and considers it a boundary divide.[27] |
| Sindabezi Island | Zambia Zimbabwe[28] | Tourist island on theZambezi River, west of the Victoria Falls |
| Tromelin Island | France Mauritius Madagascar | De facto a part of the French overseas territory of theFrench Southern Territories. |
| Wadi Halfa Salient | Egypt Sudan | Most of the disputed territory comprised villages flooded byLake Nasser after the construction of theAswan Dam.[29] |
| Namibia–South Africa border | South Africa | The governments of South Africa and Namibia have not signed or ratified the text of the 1994 Surveyor's General agreement placing the boundary in the middle of the Orange River. South Africa has always claimed that the northern bank of the Orange River is the border between the two countries, while Namibia’s constitution states that the border lies in the middle of the Orange River |
| Territory | Claimants | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Bajo Nuevo Bank andSerranilla Bank |  Colombia Honduras United States | Jamaica andNicaragua have recognized the sovereignty of Colombia; other claimants have not. On 19 November 2012, theInternational Court of Justice (ICJ) ruled that Colombia has sovereignty over Bajo Nuevo Bank and Serranilla.[30] Honduras implicitly recognized Colombian sovereignty in a 1999 maritime delimitation treaty, but continues to claim the two banks in itsconstitution.[31] |
| Conejo Island | Honduras El Salvador | |
| Navassa Island[1] | United States Haiti | The U.S. has claimed the island since 1857, based on theGuano Islands Act of 1856.[32] Haiti's claim over Navassa goes back to theTreaty of Ryswick in 1697 that established French possessions in mainlandHispaniola, which were transferred from Spain by the treaty as well as other specifically named nearby islands. |
| Sapodilla Cayes |  Belize Guatemala Honduras | Guatemala formallyclaims all of Belize; anInternational Court of Justice decision over the matter is pending. |
| Entirety of Belize/half of Belize | Belize Guatemala | The Guatemalan Ministry of Foreign Affairs has issued a statement in whichGuatemala specifically claims territory between theSibun andSarstoon rivers, which makes up around half of Belizean-administered territory. However, Guatemala also claims all of Belize because its historical recognition ofBritish Honduras was contingent on the construction of a road betweenGuatemala City and the Atlantic Ocean which was never built, an apparent violation of theWyke-Aycinena Treaty. An International Court of Justice decision over the matter is pending.[33] |
| Archipelago of Puerto Rico |  Dominican Republic United States | Since 2007, theDominican Republic inHispaniola considers itself anarchipelagic state, encroaching the long-established median orequidistance line dividing theEEZ of the Dominican Republic andPuerto Rico, and claiming portion of the EEZ claimed by the United States in relation to thearchipelago of Puerto Rico, which is itself anunincorporated U.S. territory.[34] The United States does not accept the archipelagic status and maritime boundaries claimed by the Dominican Republic.[35]Victor Prescott, an authority in the field ofmaritime boundaries, argued that, as the coasts of both states are short coastlines with few offshore islands, anequidistance line is appropriate. |
| Machias Seal Island |  Canada United States | Claimed by Canada as part ofNew Brunswick and by the United States as part ofMaine |
| North Rock | ||
| Guantanamo Bay Naval Base | United States Cuba | Sincetaking power in 1959, the Cuban government has consistently protested against the U.S. presence on Cuban soil, arguing that the base was imposed on Cuba by force and is illegal under international law. The U.S. claims only mutual agreement or U.S. abandonment of the base can terminate the lease.[1] In 2013, at theUnited Nations Human Rights Council, Cuba demanded the United States return the base.[36] |
| Territory | Claimants | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Guyana west of theEssequibo River andAnkoko Island |  Guyana Venezuela | Main article:Guyana–Venezuela territorial dispute Approximately two-thirds ofGuyana's sovereign territory is claimed byVenezuela. Following arbitration, a demarcated border was established in 1905 following theArbitral Award of 1899 but was later contested byVenezuela in 1962 following the publication of theMallet-Prevost memorandum. Thecrisis was renewed recently following the discovery of oil deposits. |
| Arroyo de la Invernada orRincón de Artigas andVila Albornoz |  Brazil Uruguay | Dispute in the 237 km2 (92 sq mi) Invernada River region nearMasoller, over which tributary represents the legitimate source of theQuaraí River/Cuareim River. The UN does not officially recognize the claim.[clarification needed] |
| Falkland Islands andSouth Georgia and the South Sandwich Islands[1] | United Kingdom Argentina | SeeFalkland Islands sovereignty dispute andSouth Georgia and the South Sandwich Islands sovereignty dispute. |
| French Guiana andSuriname involving theMaroni River | France Suriname | See also:France–Suriname border The source ortributary of theLawa River betweenSuriname andFrench Guiana is disputed but eventually follows to the tripoint with Brazil. The Netherlands, and now Suriname, contends that the boundary follows theMalani River to the east, while France asserts that the border follows theLitani River to the west. |
| New River Triangle (Tigri Area) involving theCourantyne River and theNew River | Guyana Suriname | The New River Triangle (also known as the Tigri Area) is a region within theGuiana Highlands that has been disputed by Suriname and Guyana since the 19th century. It involves theCourantyne River and the interpreted source of the river. In 1871, theNew River was discovered, questioning the boundary between the two states. |
| Isla Brasilera/Ilha Brasileira | Brazil Uruguay | Uruguayan officials claim that the island falls under theirArtigas Department (the UN does not officially recognize the claim). |
| Isla Suárez/Ilha de Guajará-mirim |  Bolivia Brazil | An island in the riverRio Mamoré that serves as a border between Bolivia and Brazil, alongside the other 80 islands that are not assigned to any country. Isla Suárez is geographically closer to Bolivia, however economically dependent on the Brazilian city ofGuajará-Mirim. Both countries signed a treaty in 1958 that keeps the island in a status quo. |
| Southern Patagonian Ice Field | Argentina Chile | FromMount Fitz Roy toCerro Murallón the border remains undefined, while in the zone of Murallón and Cerro Daudet both countries already defined a border in 1998, but their respective cartographies differ. |
| Isla Santa Rosa |  Peru Colombia | A small island inAmazon River near Colombian city ofLeticia. It emerged around 1970, and was administered by Peru since then. In 2025, Colombian government argued that the treaties set the boundary between the two countries at the deepest point of the Amazon River, and that islands likeSanta Rosa have emerged on the Colombian side of that dividing line.[37] |
TheAntarctic Treaty, formed on 1 December 1959 and entered into force on 23 June 1961, is a key component for the management ofAntarctica and helps provide administration for the continent, which is carried out through consultative member meetings.
| Territory | Claimants | Antarctic territory |
|---|---|---|
| Area between25°W and53°W | ArgentinaUnited Kingdom |  Argentine Antarctica British Antarctic Territory |
| Area between53°W and74°W | ArgentinaChileUnited Kingdom | Argentine Antarctica Antártica Chilena ProvinceBritish Antarctic Territory |
| Area between74°W and80°W | ChileUnited Kingdom | Antártica Chilena ProvinceBritish Antarctic Territory |
| Territory | Claimants | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Mazraat Deir al-Ashayer |  Lebanon Syria | Mazraat Deir al-Ashayer is administered and controlled by Lebanon'sZahlé District,Beqaa Governorate, but claimed by Syria'sAl-Zabadani District,Rif Dimashq Governorate.[38] |
| Abu Musa |  Iran United Arab Emirates | In 1971,the Iranian navy took control of Abu Musa, at the time part of the Emirate of Sharjah. The Emirate of Sharjah later joined the United Arab Emirates, who therefore inherited an official claim on Abu Musa. As of 2022, this is an ongoing dispute, with Iran in control of the island since its takeover in 1971. |
| Greater and Lesser Tunbs | Iran United Arab Emirates | Closely related to the dispute over Abu Musa, Iran had also around the same time seized control over the Greater and Lesser Tunbs while they were under control by the Emirate of Ras al-Khaimah. When Ras al-Khaimah joined the United Arab Emirates, the dispute was also inherited to the UAE. The dispute is still ongoing as of 2022. |
| Bukit Jeli |  Thailand Malaysia | |
| Azad Kashmir andGilgit-Baltistan |  Pakistan India | Administered by Pakistan and claimed by India. Part of theKashmir conflict. |
| Jammu and Kashmir andLadakh | India Pakistan | Part of theKashmir conflict. Both India and Pakistan claim the former independent princely state ofJammu and Kashmir (today consisting ofJammu and Kashmir andLadakh administered by India, andGilgit-Baltistan andAzad Kashmir administered by Pakistan), leading to theIndia–Pakistan war of 1947–1948. A UN-mediated ceasefire put a halt to the conflict in January 1949. The UN resolution called for both the countries to demilitarise the region, following which a plebiscite would be held. However, no demilitarisation plan acceptable to both the countries could be agreed. The countries fought two further wars in1965 and1971. Following the latter war, the countries reached theSimla Agreement, agreeing on aLine of Control between their respective regions and committing to a peaceful resolution of the dispute throughbilateral negotiations. Anarmed insurgency broke out in 1989 in the Indian administered part of Kashmir, demanding "independence". Pakistan hasprovided arms and training to the militants.[39][40][41][42] |
| Junagadh and Manavadar | India Pakistan | Indiaannexed Junagadh (located withinGujarat) in 1947, shortly after thepartition of India. Junagadh was one of the manyprincely states that was contested between India and Pakistan;Manavadar was avassal state of Junagadh, alongsideBabariawad andMangrol. The dispute fell into obscurity over the next few years due to the prioritisation of theKashmir conflict. In August 2020, Pakistan revived the decades-old dispute by highlighting "Junagadh and Manavadar" as a part of Pakistan in an official map on its "Survey of Pakistan" website. The dispute is largely symbolic in nature and is politically connected to the dispute over Kashmir, which is much more important to Pakistan.[43][44] |
| David Gareja monastery complex[45] |  Georgia Azerbaijan | Since the monastery complex is located on the border between Georgia and Azerbaijan, both parties have entered a dispute over which nation it belongs to. |
| Doi Lang |  Myanmar Thailand | |
| Fasht ad Dibal andQit'at Jaradah |  Bahrain Qatar | These are island territories that aredisputed between Qatar and Bahrain. Controlled by Bahrain, Qatar argues that the territories do not qualify as "islands" and hence are not covered by theInternational Court of Justice ruling (2001–2003) that handed them over to Bahrain. |
| Several areas in theFergana Valley |  Kyrgyzstan Tajikistan Uzbekistan | Most of the border in the area is still not demarcated.Kyrgyzstan: Barak is a tiny Kyrgyz village in the Fergana Valley region (where Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan and Uzbekistan meet). In August 1999, the area around Barak was occupied by Uzbekistan. Barak became ade facto enclave only 1.5 km from the shifted main border.[46][47][48] (Map) In August 2018, Kyrgyz and Uzbek authorities agreed to a land swap that would eliminate the exclave, claiming that the exchange process may take up to two years.[49] As of a February 2022 report, only 85 percent of the land was traded, and then work stopped, leaving only 15 families to preserve Barak.[50]Tajikistan: There are three Tajik exclaves, all of them in the Fergana Valley. One of them, the village ofSarvan, is surrounded by Uzbek territory, whereas the remaining two, the village ofVorukh and a small settlement near the Kyrgyz railway station ofKairagach, are each surrounded by Kyrgyz territory.Uzbekistan: There are four Uzbek exclaves, all inside Kyrgyz territory in the Fergana Valley. Two of them are the towns ofSokh andShakhimardan and the other two the tiny territories ofChon-Qora andJangail. There may be a fifth Uzbek exclave inside of Kyrgyzstan.[51]In April 2021, a violent disagreement broke out in Isfara Valley, supposedly over the installation of surveillance cameras by the Tajiks at a water intake station of a reservoir.[52] It escalated into an armed conflict that reached hundreds of civilian casualties. The area's dispute is mainly due to faulty allocation of resources during and after the breakup of theSoviet Union and its republics, leading to tense relations between nations over said allocation of resources, namely water.See alsoNational delimitation in Central Asia |
| Ambalat |  Indonesia Malaysia | |
| Golan Heights |  IsraelSyria | Syrian territory captured by Israel in 1967 (the Six-Day War), and unilaterally annexed by Israel in 1981. In 2008, a plenary session of the United Nations General Assembly voted by 161–1 in favor of a motion on the "occupied Syrian Golan" that reaffirmed support for UN Resolution 497; United Nations, 5 December 2008). During the Syrian civil war period, Syrian Arab Republic had lost direct control of the Eastern Golan areas and retreated from cease-fire line with Israel (in favor of various rebel and Jihadist groups), though did regain the area in 2018. |
| Shebaa Farms | Israel LebanonSyria | |
| Israel within theGreen Line | Israel Palestine | SeeIsraeli–Palestinian conflict; thePalestine Liberation Organization'srecognition of "the right of the State of Israel to exist in peace and security" is rejected by several Palestinian factions (such asHamas and thePIJ), including within the PLO itself (such as thePFLP andDFLP). |
| West Bank andEast Jerusalem | Israel
| SeeIsraeli occupation of the West Bank |
| Kalapani territory,Susta territory, part ofKuthi Valley and Antudanda[citation needed] | India Nepal | Main article:Territorial disputes of India and Nepal Kalapani is administered by India whileSusta is administered by Nepal. The few remaining border disagreements with Nepal since delineation was announced 98% complete in 2019.[53] |
| The exclaveArtsvashen of theGegharkunik province[45] | Azerbaijan Armenia | Azerbaijan and Armenia have controlled these areas as part of the widerNagorno-Karabakh conflict. |
| Karki exclave of theNakhichevan Autonomous Republic The three exclavesBarkhudarli,Sofulu andYukhari Askipara of theQazax District[45] | Armenia Azerbaijan | |
| Korean Peninsula |  North Korea South Korea | The Democratic People's Republic of Korea administers North Korea, but Article 1 of theConstitution of North Korea reads: "The Democratic People's Republic of Korea is an independent socialist State representing the interests of all the Korean people." The Republic of Korea administers South Korea, but Article 3 of theConstitution of South Korea reads: "The territory of the Republic of Korea shall consist of the Korean peninsula and its adjacent islands." |
| Kuril Islands |  Russia Japan | After the end ofWorld War II, theJapanese government renounced its claims of the sovereignty over theKuril Islands (except for a few islands in the south) and South Sakhalin in TheTreaty of San Francisco.[54] However, since theSoviet Union did not sign that treaty and the treaty did not explicitly approve Russian sovereignty over these areas, the Japanese government has stated that attribution of these regions has not yet been determined. Therefore, they do not recognize Soviet rule in those areas (current theRussian Federation).[55] For this reason, these lands are shown as No Man's Land in white color on most official maps in Japan. |
| Dokdo/Takeshima | South Korea North Korea Japan | See also:Liancourt Rocks dispute The Liancourt Rocks, known as Dokdo in Korean and Takeshima in Japanese, are a set of disputed islets in the Sea of Japan. Japan claims sovereignty over the islets, pointing out the fact that in the San Francisco Peace Treaty of 1951, Dokdo/Takeshima was not included among the territories to be renounced by Japan.South Korea currently maintains control over the territory, which it has administered since June 1954. The status of Dokdo/Takeshima remains a point of contention between the two countries. |
| Islands in theMekong river[22] |  Laos Thailand | |
| Noktundo | Russia South Korea | In 1990, the former Soviet Union and the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (North Korea) signed a border treaty which made the border run through the center of the Tumen river, leaving Noktundo as a former island in Russia. South Korea refused to acknowledge the treaty.[56][57][58] |
| "Point 20"; a small area of land reclaimed from the sea by Singapore |  Singapore Malaysia | Malaysia claims the land was reclaimed in its territorial waters. |
| O'Tangav area (claimed as part ofStung Treng Province) | Laos Cambodia | [59] |
| Preah Vihear and adjacent area | Thailand Cambodia | Temple complex awarded to Cambodia by an International Court of Justice ruling in 1962; "promontory" measuring 0.3 km2 immediately adjacent to temple awarded to Cambodia by ICJ ruling in 2013; both countries acknowledge continuingdispute over an additional 4.3 km2 immediately northwest of the 2013 ruling's area. |
| Part ofSabah (North Borneo) | Malaysia Philippines | The Philippines retains a claim on the eastern part of Sabah (seeNorth Borneo dispute) on the basis claimed by theGovernment of the Philippines that the territory is only leased by the formerSultanate of Sulu to British North Borneo Company, of which the Philippines argued that it should be thesuccessor state of all Sulu past territories.[1] |
| Saudi Arabia–United Arab Emirates border |  Saudi Arabia United Arab Emirates | |
| Siachen Glacier andSaltoro Ridge area | India Pakistan | Controlled by India after Operation Meghdoot in 1984.[60] |
| Sir Creek | India Pakistan | A dispute over where in the estuary the line falls; only small areas of marsh land are disputed, but significant maritime territory is involved. It is divided mid-creek. |
| Parts ofThree Pagodas Pass | Myanmar Thailand | |
| The islands ofUkatnyy,Zhestky andMalyy Zhemchuzhnyy[61] | Russia Kazakhstan | |
| Ungar-Too (Ungar-Tepa) mountain[62][63] | Kyrgyzstan Uzbekistan |
| Territory | Claimants | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Crimea (includingSevastopol) | Russia Ukraine | In 2014, Russiaannexed the Crimean Peninsula in adisputed referendum. Russian ownership of Crimea is recognized by a minority of countries.[65] TheGeneral Assembly Resolution 68/262 by votes 100 "in favor", 11 "against", 58 "abstained" and 24 abstentions noted that Crimea was part of Ukraine. Nonetheless, Crimea is practically ade facto subdivision of Russia as most of the control is in Russia's hands.[66] Russia and Ukraine both divide Crimea into two subdivisions, including a "republic" (Ukraine'sAutonomous Republic and Russia'sRepublic) and theindependent city of Sevastopol (Ukraine's "special city" and Russia's "federal city"). |
| Donetsk Oblast | UkraineRussia | SeeRusso-Ukrainian war (2022–present). |
| Kherson Oblast | ||
| Luhansk Oblast | ||
| Zaporizhzhia Oblast | ||
| ||
| Ukraine Russia | This part of Mykolaiv was under Russia's control when Russian unilaterally annexed Kherson oblast, but Russia has since withdrawn during theLiberation of Kherson. During Russian control, a referendum was held inSnihurivka and in the surrounding area in which it joined Russia's Kherson Oblast; this referendum, whilst recognised by Russia, is not recognised by Ukraine. |
| Ivangorod/Jaanilinn andPechorsky District/Petserimaa | Russia Estonia | In 1917, theAutonomous Governorate of Estonia was formed by merging the governorates ofEstonia and (parts of)Livonia. In the same year, a referendum was held in the midst of the Russian Revolution, joining Narva (and Ivangorod) to the governorate, which were previously part of Saint Petersburg Governorate.[68] The south-eastern border was based on old provincial borders, which lay west of the present border.[69] Under the 1920Treaty of Tartu, the border of the newly establishedRepublic of Estonia was set eastwards after border talks, incorporating the later-formed Petseri County. Estonia was occupied and annexed by theUSSR in 1940. In 1944, decrees of the USSR Presidium of the Supreme Soviet, set the northeastern border alongNarva river, re-ceding Ivangorod to Leningrad Oblast (but keeping Narva within the Estonian SSR) and select volosts/parishes of Petserimaa to Pskov Oblast. The Estonian constitution still references the 1920 treaty as the border. Repeated attempts to resolve the border dispute havede jure failed, as no border treaty has been ratified.[70] The unratified agreement does, however, renounce Estonian claims to these lands, in addition to acknowledgements of thede facto situation by heads of state and government at various points.[71][72] |
| Imia/Kardak |  Greece Turkey | Broad number of delimitation disputes about a.o.national airspace, territorial waters andexclusive economic zones. IncludesImia/Kardak dispute. |
| Akrotiri and Dhekelia | United Kingdom | Cyprus claims that the Sovereign Bases of Akrotiri and Dhekelia are a remnant of colonialism. On 30 June 2005 theHouse of Representatives of Cyprus unanimously adopted a resolution on the legal status of the base areas.[73][74] |
| Mont Blanc summit | France Italy | France asserts that the principal peaks on theMont Blanc massif—Dôme du Goûter,Punta Helbronner, andMont Blanc lie in French territory, while Italy asserts that the summits are shared.[75] |
| Gibraltar | United Kingdom Spain[1] | Dispute over the interpretation of theTreaty of Utrecht and the location of the border. |
| Rockall Bank |  Ireland United Kingdom Denmark Iceland | Rockall is an uninhabitedislet in the North Atlantic Ocean with disputed claims to its basin.[76] |
| Olivenza andVillareal (including theMunicipality of Táliga) | Spain Portugal | In 1801, during theWar of the Oranges, Spain, with French military support, occupied the territory of Olivenza (inPortugueseOlivença). During theVienna Treaty, the signatory powers (including Spain) agreed with the Portuguese arguments concerning its claim on Olivença but Spain never fulfilled its duty of giving the city of Olivença and its territory back to Portugal. |
| Sections of Croatia-Serbia border |  Croatia Serbia | Limited areas along theDanube Parts ofOsijek-Baranja andVukovar-Syrmia Counties andWest andSouth Bačka Districts. |
| Island of Šarengrad | Serbia Croatia | |
| Island of Vukovar | Serbia | |
| Military complex nearSveta Gera |  Slovenia Croatia | The complex is in the area ofŽumberak/Gorjanci |
| Sections along theDrina river[22] |  Bosnia and HerzegovinaSerbia | Sections along the Drina in dispute. |
| Mali Školj,Veliki Školj and the tip of theKlek peninsula | Bosnia and HerzegovinaCroatia | The temporary regime of the sea border betweenCroatia andBosnia and Herzegovina was determined in 1999. TheNeum Agreement on the temporary border was signed byFranjo Tuđman andAlija Izetbegović, and has not been ratified due to the emergence of the controversy surrounding the ownership of these two islands and the tip of theKlek peninsula. Croatia disputes the validity of the agreement and claims it as its own territory. |
| River island betweenHrvatska KostajnicaandKostajnica | Bosnia and HerzegovinaCroatia | Under Croatian control but is claimed by Bosnia and Herzegovina. A shared border crossing point has been built and has been functioning since 2003, and is used without hindrance by either party. |
| Prevlaka | Croatia Montenegro | |
| An area on theDragonja River | SloveniaCroatia | Further information:Croatia–Slovenia border disputes |
| Territory | Claimants | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Matthew Island and Hunter Island[1] | France ( New Caledonia) Vanuatu | |
| Minerva Reefs |  Tonga Fiji | Fiji claims that the entire reef is submerged at high tide, negating use of Minerva as a basis for any sovereignty or maritimeEEZ claim by Tonga under the rules ofUNCLOS. |
| Swains Island[1] |  United States Tokelau | Tokelau's claim is unsupported by New Zealand, of which Tokelau is a dependency. New Zealand recognises US sovereignty over Swains Island.[77][clarification needed] |
| Wake Island[1] | United States Marshall Islands |
| Territory | Claimants | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Abagaitu Islet | Russia China[note 1] Republic of China[note 1] | Generally held to have been resolved in October 2004 by theComplementary Agreement between the People's Republic of China and the Russian Federation on the Eastern Section of the China-Russia Boundary. However, the settlement is not recognized by the Republic of China, which would consider theArgun as the basis of theSino-Russian border there per theTreaty of Nerchinsk of 1689.[note 2] |
| Abkhazia |  Abkhazia Georgia | Further information:Abkhaz–Georgian conflict |
| Eastern Ossetia (Truso Gorge,Ghuda Gorge,Kobi Plateau) | Georgia | Ossetia claims two gorges and their connecting plateau, all controlled by Georgia as part of theKazbegi Municipality, as "historically easternOssetian lands." South Ossetia claims to have attempted to press these claims during theRusso-Georgian War, but was deterred by Russia, with the issue flaring again in 2018 and 2019.[78][79] |
| Aksai Chin andDepsang Plains | China[note 1] Republic of China[note 1] India | |
| Arunachal Pradesh | IndiaChina[note 1] Republic of China[note 1] | Controlled by India but claimed by the PRC and ROC who dispute the validity of theMcMahon Line. |
| Bạch Long Vĩ Island |  Vietnam Republic of China[note 2] | Transfer to Vietnam by the PRC in 1957. However, the settlement is not recognized by the Republic of China.[note 2] |
| Chinese side ofBaekdu Mountain[84] | China South Korea Republic of China[note 2] | Settled by the PRC and DPRK in 1962. However, the settlement is not recognized by the Republic of China,[note 2] and the Republic of Korea. |
| Korean side ofBaekdu Mountain[84] | North Korea South Korea Republic of China[note 2] | Also formerly claimed by the PRC until 1962. |
| Beyul Khenpajong, the Menchuma Valley, and Chagdzom[85] |  BhutanChina[note 1] Republic of China[note 1] | |
| Eastern part ofBhutan | Bhutan Republic of China[note 2] | |
| Bhutanese exclaves in westernTibet, namely Cherkip Gompa, Dho, Dungmar, Gesur, Gezon, Itse Gompa, Khochar, Nyanri, Ringung, Sanmar,Darchen,Doklam, and Zuthulphuk | China[note 1] Republic of China[note 1] Bhutan | |
| Demchok sector / Parigas region | IndiaChina[note 1] Republic of China[note 1] | |
| Chumar,Gue,Kaurik,Shipki La,Tashigang,Barahoti,Lapthal,Jadhang,Nelang,Pulam Sumda andSang | IndiaChina[note 1] Republic of China[note 1] | Controlled by India but claimed byZanda County,Ngari Prefecture, Tibet, China. Disputed areas located betweenAksai Chin andNepal. |
| 3,700 square miles (9,600 km2) of territory surrounding theSiachen Glacier inGilgit-Baltistan[86] | PakistanIndia Republic of China[note 1][note 2] | The People's Republic of China relinquished its claim to Pakistan. India and the Republic of China did not. |
| James Shoal | MalaysiaChina[note 1] Republic of China[note 1] | The Republic of China would claim its southernmost point to be at4°N. |
| North Cyprus |  Northern Cyprus Cyprus | Northern Cyprus (a state with limited recognition) controls and administers the northern part of the island. The Republic of Cyprus claims the whole island. |
| Mainland China, Hong Kong,Macau, western half ofHeixiazi, andMacclesfield Bank | China[note 1] Republic of China[note 1] | Main article:Cross-Strait relations |
| Moldovan-controlled area ofDubăsari district |  Moldova Transnistria | |
| Somaliland |  Somaliland | Somalia claims Somaliland as an integral part of its territory, considering it to be one of its federal member states, despite Somaliland being de facto independent. On 26 December 2025, Israel became the first country to recognise Somaliland.[87][88] |
| Kokkina/Erenköy exclave | Northern CyprusCyprus | Northern Cyprus controls and administers Kokkina, an area separated from the rest of the main land on Northern Cyprus via the land controlled by theRepublic of Cyprus. |
| Heixiazi /Bolshoy Ussuriysky Island (eastern half) | Russia Republic of China[note 2] | Generally held to have been resolved in October 2004 by theComplementary Agreement between the People's Republic of China and the Russian Federation on the Eastern Section of the China-Russia Boundary. However, the settlement is not recognized by the Republic of China, which would claim its easternmost point to be at135°4′E.[note 2] |
| Jiangxinpo | Myanmar Republic of China[note 2] | Northern parts ofSagaing Region andKachin State, claimed by theRepublic of China as part ofYunnan. Formerly claimed by the People's Republic of China until 1961. |
| 537 km2 of territory on theChina–Kazakhstan border | Kazakhstan Republic of China[note 1][note 2] | The Kazakh Government ceded 407 km2 to the PRC, and the PRC ceded 537 km2 to Kazakhstan in 1999. However, the settlement is not recognized by the Republic of China.[note 2] |
| Khan Tengri peak, the Boz-Tik site, theBedel pass, and theErkeshtam pass[90] | Kyrgyzstan Republic of China[note 1][note 2] | In an agreement signed in 1999, the Khan Tengri peak, the Boz-Tik site, the Bedel pass, and the Erkeshtam pass were ceded to the Kyrgyz government while the Uzongu-Kuush valley was ceded to the PRC. However, the settlement is not recognized by the Republic of China.[note 2] |
| Kinmen,Matsu,Pratas Island, and the Vereker Banks | Republic of China[91][note 1]China[92][note 1] | The government of the People's Republic of China claims the entire island of Taiwan, as well as a number of minor islands, such asPenghu,Kinmen, andMatsu, that are controlled by the Republic of China. See also:Anti-Secession Law,Political status of Taiwan. |
| Kosovo |  Kosovo Serbia | Kosovo is the subject of a territorial dispute between the Republic of Serbia and the de facto independent Republic of Kosovo. The latterdeclared independence on 17 February 2008, whileSerbia claims it as part of itsown sovereign territory. Its independence isrecognized by 108 UN member states. |
| Kula Kangri and mountainous areas to the west of this peak, plus the westernHaa District ofBhutan | BhutanChina[note 1] Republic of China[note 1] | |
| Kutuzov Island | Russia Republic of China[note 2] | |
| Namwan Assigned Tract | Myanmar Republic of China[note 2] | Settled by Myanmar and the PRC in the Sino-Burmese Boundary Treaty in 1960 and officially ceded to Myanmar in 1961.[93] However, the settlement is not recognized by the Republic of China.[note 2] |
| Outer Mongolia |  Mongolia Republic of China[note 1] | Main article:Taiwan-Mongolia relations The Republic of China briefly recognized Mongolia's independence between 1945 and 1952, and from 2002 onwards; however, under theConstitution of the Republic of China, the ROC claim on Mongolia cannot be withdrawn without recourse to a referendum. This claim is expressed by the map of China which appears in the flag of theRepublic of China Marine Corps since 1986, which comprisesMainland China,Jiangxinpo,Outer Mongolia,Pamir Mountains,Tannu Uriankhai, etc.[94] |
| Pamir Mountains | Tajikistan Republic of China[note 1][note 2] | The Tajik Government ceded 1,158 km2 to the PRC, while PRC relinquished its 73,000 km2 claim over the remaining territory with final ratification of a treaty in January 2011.[95][note 2] However, the settlement is not recognized by the Republic of China, which would claim its westernmost point to be at71°E along thePanj.[note 2] |
| Paracel Islands[1] | China[note 1] Republic of China[note 1] Vietnam | Entirely controlled by the People's Republic of China but claimed by the Republic of China and Vietnam.[96] |
| Provinces ofSool,Sanaag andCayn ofTogdheer region | North Eastern State | The dispute started in 1998, when Puntland was formed as an autonomous state of Somalia and declared the regions as part of its territory based on tribal affiliation of the locals.Puntland does not recognize the existence ofNorth Eastern State as it considers allDhulbahante-inhabited areas to be an integral part of its territory. |
| Rasu,Kimathanka, Nara Pass, Tingribode, andMount Everest | Nepal Republic of China[note 2] | Settled by Nepal and the PRC in 1960.[97] However, the settlement is not recognized by the Republic of China.[note 2] |
| Scarborough Shoal | China[note 1] Republic of China[note 1] Philippines | Controlled by the PRC since the2012 Scarborough Shoal standoff. |
| Sakteng Wildlife Sanctuary[98] | BhutanChina[note 1] Republic of China[note 1] | |
| Senkaku Islands (Diaoyu Tai or Diaoyu Dao)[1] | JapanChina[note 1] Republic of China[note 1] | Controlled by Japan but claimed by the PRC and ROC.[99] |
| Sixty-Four Villages East of the River | Russia Republic of China[note 2] | The People's Republic of China renounced the area in the1991 Sino-Soviet Border Agreement. Yet the Republic of China would claim the area per the 1858Treaty of Aigun, affirmed as part of the 1860 Sino-RussianConvention of Peking. |
| South Ossetia |  South Ossetia Georgia | Main article:Georgian–Ossetian conflict |
| Spratly Islands | China[note 1] Republic of China[note 1] Vietnam Philippines (part) Malaysia (part) Brunei (part) | Each of the claimant countries except Brunei controls one or more of the individual islands. |
| Border checkpoint nearStrovilia | United KingdomNorthern Cyprus | Northern Cyprus controls and administers the border checkpoint nearStrovilia. UK's claim in regard to itsSovereign Base Areas. This also involves Cyprus; the checkpoint is partially on UN-administered land, andCyprus claims all of the island. (See:Europe) |
| Taiwan andPenghu | Republic of China[note 1]China[note 1] | In 1945, after thesurrender of Japan, theRepublic of Chinaunilaterally annexed the islands ofTaiwan andPenghu into itsTaiwan Province, a move not recognized by the Allies. Shortly before the cessation of hostiles in theChinese Civil War, the ROC government withdrew to the island of Taiwan, which remained under military occupation. Japan formally relinquished the claims to Taiwan and Penghu in 1952 under theTreaty of San Francisco. The sovereignty of Taiwan has remained in question to this day. See also thePolitical status of Taiwan. |
| Trans-Karakoram Tract, includingShaksgam Valley | China[note 1] Republic of China[note 1] India | Pakistan was originally a party to the dispute but relinquished its claim and accepted Chinese sovereignty over the area in 1963. |
| Transnistria (includingBender) | Transnistria Moldova | |
| Tannu Uriankhai | Russia Republic of China[note 1] | Originally part of China during theQing dynasty per the 1727Treaty of Kyakhta but came under Russian influence in the 20th century. Sovereignty over the area has not been officially relinquished by the ROC, which would claim its northernmost point to be at53°57'N in theSayan Mountains. But the claim is not actively pursued by the ROC government. |
| Islands in theTumen River[1][note 3] | China[note 1] North Korea Republic of China[note 1][note 2] South Korea | The Republic of China would consider the 1909Gando Convention as the basis of theChina–North Korea border. |
| Tumen River mouth | North Korea South Korea Republic of China[note 2] | Navigation and control of the mouth of the river Tumen is disputed between the Republic of China and DPRK along with the Republic of Korea. |
| Varnita andCopanca | MoldovaTransnistria | |
| Eastern part ofWakhan Corridor |  Afghanistan Republic of China[note 2] | The border was established between Afghanistan and China in an agreement between the British and the Russians in 1895 as part ofthe Great Game, although the Chinese and Afghans did not finally agree on the border until 1963.[100][101] TheKingdom of Afghanistan and the People's Republic of China demarcated their border in 1963.[100][102][note 2] However, the settlement is not recognized by the Republic of China.[note 2] |
| Western Sahara | Morocco Sahrawi Republic | The United Nations keeps the Western Sahara in itslist of non-self-governing territories and considers the sovereignty issue as unresolved pending a final solution. To that end, the UN sent amission in the territory to oversee a referendum on self-determination in 1991, but it never happened. Administration was relinquished by Spain in 1976. |
| Island in theYalu River[1][note 3] | China[note 1] North Korea Republic of China[note 1][note 2] South Korea | Generally held to have been resolved in 2005. North Korea is allocated all of the large islands in the lowerYalu River, includingPidan andSindo at the mouth.[103] The river's maritime rights remain shared between North Korea and the PRC. However, the settlement is not recognized by the Republic of China.[note 2] |
| Territory | Claimants | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Part of the EEZ generated by theNatuna Islands | People's Republic of China[note 1] Republic of China[note 1] Indonesia | The People's Republic of China claims the water off the Natuna Islands that fall under thenine-dash line claim are traditional Chinese fishing grounds. The Republic of China on Taiwan also claims the area.[104] |
| EEZ in theYellow Sea | China | China and South Korea have overlapping claims for theirexclusive economic zones in the Yellow Sea. |
| Okinotori EEZ | Japan | Okinotori is an uninhabitedatoll in thePhilippine Sea. Japan claims that Okinotori is anislet, and accordingly claims a largeexclusive economic zone (EEZ) around the island under theUnited Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS). However, this classification has been contested byChina,Taiwan, andSouth Korea, who contend that Okinotori does not meetUNCLOS's criteria for an islet of being able to support human habitation, and thus that Japan cannot claim an EEZ around the strategically located atoll. |
| Aves Island maritime boundary | Venezuela
| Caribbean states and the United Kingdom disagree with Venezuela's claim that Aves Island, a large sandbar with some vegetation, sustains human habitation or economic life, the criteria under the UN Convention on the Law of the Sea, which would permit Venezuela to extend its EEZ over a large portion of the eastern Caribbean Sea.[27] |
| Caspian Sea | Kazakhstan | Russia, Kazakhstan, and Azerbaijan have bilateral agreements with each other based onmedian lines. However, Iran insists on a single, multilateral agreement among the five nations (aiming for a one-fifth share). Azerbaijan is at odds with Iran over some of the sea'soil fields. Occasionally, Iranian patrol boats have fired at vessels sent by Azerbaijan for exploration into the disputed region. There are similar tensions between Azerbaijan and Turkmenistan (the latter claims that the former has pumped more oil than agreed from a field, recognized by both parties as shared). |
| Beaufort Sea | CanadaUnited States | |
| Northwest Territories | ||
| Dixon Entrance | ||
| Northwest Passage and some otherArctic waters | U.S. claims navigation rights | |
| Strait of Juan de Fuca | ||
| Gulf of Venezuela andLos Monjes Archipelago surrounding waters | Colombia Venezuela | Dispute regarding the undefined sea border between both countries.[105] |
| Region of theAegean Sea | Greece Turkey | Broad number of delimitation disputes about a.o.national airspace, territorial waters andexclusive economic zones. |
| Carlingford Lough andLough Foyle boundary | Ireland United Kingdom | Lough Foyle dividesCounty Donegal, Republic of Ireland, andCounty Londonderry, Northern Ireland.Carlingford Lough dividesCounty Louth, Republic of Ireland, andCounty Down, Northern Ireland.[106][107] |
| Dollart Bay |  Germany Netherlands | The exact course of the border through this bay is disputed,[108] yet the countries haveagreed to disagree by signing a treaty in 1960.[109] |
| Lake Constance | Germany Austria Switzerland | Switzerland holds the view that the border runs through the middle of the lake.Austria is of the opinion that the contentious area belongs to all the states on its banks.Germany holds an ambiguous opinion. |
| Gulf of Piran | Slovenia Croatia | An agreement was signed (and ratified by Croatia's parliament on 20 November 2009) to pursue binding arbitration to both the land and maritime portions of this continuing dispute.In 2015 collusion between the Slovenian judge on the arbitration panel and a representative from the Slovenian government was uncovered. The CroatianSabor voted to withdraw from the arbitration, citing allegations of significant breaches of arbitration rules by Slovenia as the reason.Despite this the arbitration tribunal continued its work, issuing a ruling in 2017.[110] |
| Somalia-Kenya Indian Ocean boundary dispute | Kenya Somalia | In October 2021, the Somalia-Kenya Indian Ocean boundary dispute was decided by the International Court of Justice; the ruling adjusted the boundary slightly north of Somalia’s claim giving Somalia the majority of the contested maritime territory, which is believed to contain rich oil and natural gas deposits; while the decision is legally binding, it has no enforcement mechanism, and Kenya has said it will not abide by it |
| Algerian-Spanish-Italian maritime border |  AlgeriaSpainItaly | To benefit from the exclusive economic zone resources, especially the offshore hydrocarbons, Algeria decided to announce the later in March 2018 by Presidential Decree N° 18–96. But the differing viewpoints of the States with opposite coasts on the bases and rules used to draw the border line led to the overlap of the Algerian exclusive economic zone with the Spanish exclusive economic zone and theItalian ecological protection zone, which spawned a double border dispute. On the one hand, a dispute between Algeria and Spain. On the other hand, a dispute between Algeria and Italy.[citation needed] |
| Territory | Country | Internal claimants | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| Several islands in theParaná River | Argentina |  Entre Ríos Santa Fe | Islands:Isla de los Mástiles/La Carlota,Isla Ingeniero Sabino Corsi Norte/Sur andIsla General Juan Pistarini. |
| As much as a 2,821 square kilometres (1,089 sq mi) area in and around theIbiapaba mountain range | Brazil |  Ceará Piauí | This dispute originated in an 1880 imperial decree. In 1920 a solution to the dispute wasarbitrated but in practice it was never carried out. In 2008 there were new attempted negotiations, but they broke down in 2011, and as of 2013 it is pending either asupreme court decision, areferendum or a possible mutual agreement.[111] |
| Thekebeles of Adaytu, Undufo, and Gedamaytu | Ethiopia |  Afar Somali Region | Main article:Afar–Somali clashes The three towns have long been fought over by theIssa clanSomalis, backed by theSomali Region government, against theAfar Region and Afar-allied militants. In 2014, the border between the two regions was redrawn by the federal government, placing the three ethnic Somali towns inside the Afar region. In the same year, the presidents of the two regions signed an agreement recognizing the three kebeles as special kebeles within the Afar Region which was rejected by the local people.[112][113] Later in 2019, the Somali Region withdrew from the agreement, claiming the three areas again.[114] The conflict between the two people has also spilled over intoDjibouti.[115] |
| Parts of theBaitarani River in Jharkhand | India |  Jharkhand Odisha | [116] |
| Small areas inBalasore district andMayurbhanj district | Odisha West Bengal | [116] | |
| Belgaum |  Karnataka Maharashtra | Belgaum district was made a part of theKarnataka state following theStates Reorganisation Act, 1956. However,Maharashtra claims the district and surrounding areas as predominantlyMarathi-speaking and should be merged with Maharashtra.[117] | |
| Golaghat district,Jorhat district, andSibsagar district |  Assam Nagaland | [118] | |
| Kotia villages inKoraput district | Odisha Andhra Pradesh | [116] | |
| Langpih, Borduar, Nongwah, Matamur, Deshdemoreah Block I and Block II, and Khanduli | Assam Meghalaya | [119] | |
| Lushai Hills | Assam Mizoram | [120] | |
| Villages inNabarangpur andJharsuguda districts | Odisha Chhattisgarh | [116] | |
| Phuldungsei | Tripura Mizoram | [121] | |
| Four islands off the coast of Sumatra | Indonesia |  North Sumatra | Four small islands off the coast ofCentral Tapanuli Regency inNorth Sumatra were assigned toAceh (Aceh Singkil Regency) in an agreement between the province's governors in 1992. However, the island remained under North Sumatran administration due to their close proximity to the North Sumatran regency of Central Tapanuli. The dispute was resolved in June 2025 after Prabowo Subianto, the current Indonesian president, took control of the issue and reaffirmed the 1992 agreements between the two provinces regarding four small islands that indeed belong to Aceh province. However, it still needs legal instruments such as a presidential decree.[122][123] |
| Territories of Northern Iraq |  Iraq | Iraq proper Iraqi Kurdistan | Iraq's autonomous region ofIraqi Kurdistan claims and controls parts of the governorates ofNineveh,Erbil,Kirkuk andDiyala. |
| Areas south of Bonifacio Global City | Philippines | Pinagsama,Fort Bonifacio,Ususan,Western Bicutan | The area, which consists ofManila American Cemetery and villages south of it, are claimed by BarangayPost Proper Southside. Even after the barangay's transfer of jurisdiction fromMakati to Taguig in 2023 as a result of the Supreme Court ruling, the dispute persisted. The claimed area overlaps with Barangays Pinagsama, Ususan, Western Bicutan, and Fort Bonifacio. Post Proper Southside's de facto territory consists of multiple exclaves across the villages in Pinagsama, and the neighborhood along Consular Road inside BGC, where its Barangay Hall and Health Center are also located. On January 11, 2024, the barangay captain of Post Proper Southside had met with the captains of Pinagsama and Ususan as well asDILG Taguig to discuss the solution for this territorial dispute.[citation needed] |
| Baesa (Caloocan–Quezon City Boundary) | Caloocan | The boundary line in Baesa has yet to be resolved between the two cities.[124] | |
| Caloocan–San Jose del Monte Boundary | Caloocan | Portions of Pangarap Village and Bankers Village that are once part of Tala Estate are claimed by San Jose del Monte. The lack of jurisdiction of the Commission on Settlement of Land Problems (COSLAP) resulted to the nullification of its decision. No significant updates since it was docketed on October 23, 2006.[125] | |
| Bagac–Mariveles boundary | Bagac,Bataan Mariveles, Bataan | The boundary of two Bataan towns, Bagac and Mariveles has been the subject of a boundary dispute involving a 4 km2 (1.5 sq mi) plot of land. The land is situated between barangay Biaan of Mariveles and barangay Quinawan of Bagac. The private owner of the land reportedly pays taxes to the Mariveles local government.[126] | |
| Bangui–Vintar boundary | Bangui,Ilocos Sur Vintar, Ilocos Sur | The boundary between the two towns involves land covering an area of 10.4996 km2 (4.0539 sq mi). In 1995, a memorandum of agreement was signed between the two towns resolving the boundary dispute in favor of Bangui. However, Vintar officials later said that there were "discrepancies" during the signing of the agreement.[127] | |
| Benguet–Ilocos Sur boundary | Benguet Ilocos Sur | The provincial borders between the towns ofMankayan in Benguet andCervantes in Ilocos Sur are disputed which involves 1.47 km2 (0.57 sq mi) of overlapping land. The boundaries ofSugpon, Ilocos Sur and the Benguet towns ofBakun andKibungan are also contested.[128] | |
| Bucarot | Adams,Ilocos Norte | The sitio is currently administered by Adams, Ilocos Norte but is claimed by the neighboring town of Calanasan in Apayao. Calanasan has appointed its own set of officials for the sitio and has also funded infrastructure in the contested area.[129][130] | |
| Calumpang | Mabalacat,Pampanga | Barangay Calumpang in the Sacobia area is contested by the two towns. Voter residents of the area are registered in Mabalacat and pay taxes to the town. Bamban claims Calumpang as a sitio of its San Vicente barangay and that Calumpang falls on the Tarlac side of the Sacobia River.[131] | |
| Cavinti-Kalayaan-Lumban boundary | Cavinti,Laguna | The Barangay Map of Cavinti indicates that the northeastern portion of Cavinti extends to the areas claimed by the municipalities of Lumban and Kalayaan as part of Barangay Lumot. | |
| Elizabeth, Ferdinand, and portions of Cacafean | Marcos, Ilocos Norte Nueva Era, Ilocos Norte | The barangays of Ferdinand, Elizabeth, and parts of Cacafean are contested by the two Ilocos Norte towns. In 2017, Nueva Era laid claim to the disputed areas before the Sangguniang Panlalawigan of Ilocos Norte, which later ruled that the barangays are part of Nueva Era. This decision was supported by theSupreme Court. However the ruling of the decision is yet to be implemented as of February 2018.[132] | |
| Fort Bonifacio area (Bonifacio Global City andEmbo barangays) and Barangays Buting, San Joaquin and Kalawaan | Pasig | Pateros lays claim toBonifacio Global City and theEmbo barangays, which were disputed between Makati and Taguig but later ruled by the Supreme Court to be under the latter's jurisdiction. Pateros also claims the same area along with three barangays in Pasig, namely Buting, San Joaquin, and Kalawaan. Pateros was allowed to pursue its claim by the Supreme Court despite its ruling involving Makati and Taguig.[133] | |
| Liwagao Island | Caluya,Antique | Bulalacao claims that Liwagao is part of its territory as per Presidential Decree No. 1801 of then-President Ferdinand Marcos and that Caluya has only "borrowed" Liwagao which was pursuing fugitives hiding in the island. | |
| Malico | Santa Fe,Nueva Vizcaya | Boundary dispute between the two municipalities. Santa Fe claims the territory of barangay Malico in San Nicolas. boundary dispute was already resolved by NAMRIA survey but was not recognize by the PLGU of Pangasinan under leadership of Governor Guivo, but the PLGU of Nueva Vizcaya insisted the validity of NAMRIA survey.[134] TheNueva Vizcaya Provincial Board passed a resolution on September 21, 2022 urging San Nicolas officials to respect a memorandum of agreement between theNational Mapping and Resource Information Authority (NAMRIA), Pangasinan and Nueva Vizcaya about twenty years ago.[135] Both municipalities in both provinces have a barangay named Malico.[136] | |
| Saguitlang | Sison,Pangasinan | The sitio of Saguitlang spans an area of 15.6 km2 (6.0 sq mi).[137] | |
| Sitio Bagong Silang | Muntinlupa | The sitio of Bagong Silang occupies a former property ofNational Power Corporation spanning an area of 4.1 km2 (1.6 sq mi).[138] It is currently under the jurisdiction of BarangaySucat, Muntinlupa and is disputed with BarangayBF Homes, Parañaque.[139] | |
| Fiat Auto Poland factory and nearest areas |  Poland |  Tychy Bieruń | The territory has historically been a part of the town of Bieruń. In years 1975–1991 Bieruń was a part of Tychy. The Fiat Auto Poland (formerlyFSM factory) remaining in Tychy was a condition of Bieruń's separation. In the 90s, Bieruń has regained the Homeraosiedle which was part of the disputed area.[140] |
| Treviño enclave | Spain |  Province of Burgos Álava | The municipalities ofCondado de Treviño andLa Puebla de Arganzón are part of theProvince of Burgos within theCastille and Léon community, whilst being completely surrounded by theProvince of Álava within theBasque Country, being one of the few internal territorial discontinuities to survive the1833 reorganization of Spanish internal divisions. The Basque claim the territory on cultural and territorial continuity grounds, while the Castillians argue for thestatus quo on historical grounds. |
| Abu Jaradil | Sudan | Central Darfur | Administratively, Abu Jaradil was disputed betweenCentral Darfur andSouth Darfur. The dispute arose because the village was claimed by Salamat andTaʽisha tribes, thus causing unclear border demarcation between Central Darfur and South Darfur. |
| A wide section from the35th parallel north to 2 kilometres (1.2 mi) south. | United States |  Tennessee Georgia | Based on an inaccurate measurement in 1818, the Georgia–Tennessee border does not match the 35th parallel, which was defined as the border by Congress in 1796. Georgia's claim would give it access to theTennessee River and mitigate the impact of a severe drought.[141] SeeTennessee–Georgia water dispute. |
| California–Oregon border |  Oregon California | Location errors in an 1868–1870 survey to demarcate the California–Oregon border created a dispute between Oregon and California, which upon statehood had established the42nd parallel north as itsde jure border, based on the 1819Adams–Onís Treaty between the U.S. and Spain. The dispute continues to this day, as there are about 31,000 acres (13,000 ha) of disputed territory administered by Oregon, and about 20,000 acres (8,100 ha) administered by California.[142] The border should follow the 42nd parallel straight west from the120th meridian west to the Pacific. Instead it zigzags, and only one of the many surveyor's markers put down in 1868 actually is on the 42nd parallel.[143][144][145] | |
| New Mexico–Texas Panhandle border |  Texas New Mexico | The border was defined as the103rd meridian but an 1859 survey marked it too far west, mistakenly putting present-day towns ofFarwell,Texline, and apart of Glenrio inTexas. New Mexico's draft constitution used the 103rd meridian as intended. TheNew Mexico Senate passed a bill to file a lawsuit to recover the strip, but it has not become law.[146] The land and towns are administered by Texas. | |
| Labrador-Quebec border | Canada |  Newfoundland and Labrador Quebec | On federal government maps, the border is drawn using Newfoundland and Labrador's claims.[147] |
| Territory | Former claimants | Dispute started | Dispute settled | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Situngu Island |  Botswana | 1977 | 2018 | On 5 February 2018 a border treaty was signed between Botswana and Namibia which saw the island ceded to Botswana. |
| Ghana-Cote d'Ivoire maritime border |  Ghana | 2007 | 2017 | Dispute over maritime border.[148][149] |
| Agacher Strip | Burkina Faso Mali | 1960 | 1986 | Following repeated military clashes between Burkina Faso and Mali over the Agacher Strip, theInternational Court of Justice resolved the conflict in 1986 by dividing the disputed area approximately equally between the two countries.[150] |
| Aouzou Strip,Libya–Chad Borderlands |  Chad Libya | 1973 | 1994 | In 1994 the International Court of Justicedecision found in favour of Chad sovereignty over the Aouzou Strip and the Libya–Chad Borderlands, and ended the Libyan claim. |
| Badme | Eritrea | 1993 | 2018 | Basis of theEritrean-Ethiopian War which began in 1998. The territory was handed over to Eritrea following a joint statement at theEritrea–Ethiopia summit in 2018. |
| Bakassi | Cameroon Nigeria | 1913 | 2006 | This area was handed over byNigeria toCameroon following anInternational Court of Justice ruling and theGreentree Agreement. |
| Bure | Ethiopia Eritrea[151] | 2002 | 2008 | Eritrea has accepted the decision and no longer disputes this location.[152] |
| Burkina Faso–Niger border | Burkina Faso Niger | 1960 | 2016 | The International Court of Justice redefined the border between Burkina Faso and Niger in 2013. In 2015 the ruling was implemented by exchanging 18 towns between the two countries.[153] |
| Kagera Salient | Tanzania Uganda | 1978 | 1979 | In October 1978 Uganda invaded the Kagera Salient in northern Tanzania, initiating the Uganda–Tanzania War. The Ugandans met light resistance and in November President Idi Amin of Uganda announced the annexation of all Tanzanian land north of the Kagera River. The Tanzanians organised a counter-offensive later in November and successfully ejected the Ugandan forces from their country. |
| Part of theKahemba region |  AngolaDemocratic Republic of Congo | 2007 | 2007 | Following a March 2007 report on the disputed area on the joint border in the Kahemba region, the Congolese interior minister admitted the territory was in fact part of Angola and agreed to send a technical team to demarcate the border along colonial era lines.[154] The countries agreed to end the dispute in July 2007.[155] |
| Lété Island and nearby islands in the Niger River | Niger Benin | 1960 | 2005 | In 2005 the International Court of Justice awarded Lété and 15 of the other disputed islands to Niger, and the remaining nine islands to Benin.[156] |
| Mbanie Island, Cocotiers and Congas Island | Equatorial Guinea | 2021 | 2025 | Contested islands inCorisco Bay, valuable for their oil.[157][158] |
| Section of southern border andSedudu Island | Botswana Namibia | 1890 | 1999 | In 1999 the International Court of Justiceawarded Sedudu to Botswana, ending the Namibian claim.[159] |
| Parts ofTindouf Province andBéchar Province | AlgeriaMorocco | 1956 | 1989 | Morocco (influenced by theGreater Morocco ideology) claimed that bothTindouf andBéchar historically belong to Morocco after they were annexed by France for theFrench colony of Algeria.Algeria wasn't supporting the claims since one of the FLN's primary objectives was to prevent France from splitting the strategic Sahara regions from a future Algerian state. It was therefore disinclined to support Morocco's historical claims to Tindouf and Bechar or the concept of a Greater Morocco.King Hassan II of Morocco visited Algiers in March 1963 to discuss the undefined borders, but Algeria's President Ahmed Ben Bella believed the matter should be resolved at a later date. Ben Bella's fledgling administration was still attempting to rebuild the country after the enormous damage caused by theAlgerian War. Algerian authorities suspected that Morocco was inciting the revolt, while Hassan was anxious about his own opposition's reverence for Algeria, escalating tensions between the nations. These factors prompted Hassan to begin moving troops towards Tindouf leading to theSand war which ended with no territorial changes.[160][161][162] Morocco finally abandoned all claims to Algerian territory in 1972 with the Accord of Ifrane, though Morocco refused to ratify the agreement until 1989. |
| Tsorona-Zalambessa | Ethiopia Eritrea[151] | 2002 | 2008 | Eritrea has accepted the decision and no longer disputes this location.[152] |
| Yenga (border hamlet), and left bank ofMoa river |  Sierra Leone Guinea | 1995 | 2013 | The two heads of state settled this dispute in 2013.[163] |
| Territory | Former claimants | Dispute started | Dispute settled | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Gulf of Fonseca and the islands ofMeanguera,Meanguerita andEl Tigre Island. | Honduras | 1992 | The ICJ determined that the three countries were to share control of the Gulf of Fonseca. El Salvador was awarded the islands ofMeanguera and Meanguerita, and Honduras was awardedEl Tigre Island. | |
| Barbados-Trinidad and Tobago maritime border |  Barbados | 1990 | 2006 | In 1990,Venezuela and Trinidad and Tobago signed a maritime boundarytreaty. The treaty purported to assign to Trinidad and Tobago ocean territory that Barbados claimed as its own. In 2004, Barbados elected to force the issue intobinding arbitration. The tribunal's award was issued on 11 April 2006. The boundary was set nearly midway between the land of the two island countries. |
| Cayo Sur | Honduras | 2000 | 2007 | In 2001, the two countries signed an agreement to ease the conflict in the presence of anOrganization of American States ambassador; the case went before theInternational Court of Justice, which unanimously granted Honduras sovereignty over Cayo Sur and three othercays on 8 October 2007. |
| The islets of Pájaros,Pérez, and Chica |  Mexico | 1884 | 1894 | The islets of Pájaros, Pérez, and Chica were claimed by the U.S. under theGuano Islands Act in 1884. In response to a protest by Mexico, the U.S. claims were abandoned in 1894. |
| Cayo Arenas | Mexico | 1881 | 1894 | Claimed by the U.S. under theGuano Islands Act in 1881. In response to a protest by Mexico, the U.S. claims were abandoned in 1894. |
| Swan Islands | Honduras | 1863 | 1972 | U.S claim renounced in 1971 Treaty on the Swan Islands. The treaty entered into force on September 1, 1972. |
| Quita Sueño Bank,Roncador Bank andSerrana Bank | Colombia | 1981 | Claimed by the United States under the Guano Islands Act until the Vásquez-Saccio Treaty of 1972 was signed which was ratified by the U.S. Senate in 1981. | |
| Alaska-Canada border |  United States Canada | 1821 | 1903 | Disputed between the United States and Canada (then aBritish Dominion with its foreign affairs controlled from London). The dispute had been going on between the Russian and British Empires since 1821, and was inherited by the United States as a consequence of theAlaska Purchase in 1867. It was resolved by arbitration in 1903 with a delegation that included 3 Americans, 2 Canadians, and 1 British delegate that became the swing vote. By a 4 to 2 vote, the final resolution favored the American position. Canada did not get an outlet from theYukon gold fields to the sea. The disappointment and anger in Canada was directed less at the United States, and more at the British government for betraying Canadian interests in pursuit of a friendly relationship between Britain and the United States. |
| Border between the British colony ofNew Brunswick and the U.S. state ofMaine | United StatesBritish North America | 1838 | 1842 | Disputed border between the state of Maine and the provinces of New Brunswick andLower Canada. |
| Aves Island | Venezuela | 1865 | The Dutch authorities onCuraçao sat down with the Venezuelans and together decided to find a mutually acceptable sovereign to decide about the ownership of Aves Island. The Queen ofSpain was accepted by both parties, and in 1865Isabella II ruled on the issue, deciding in favor of the Venezuelans. | |
| Aves Island | Venezuela Dominica | 1584 | 2006 | Dominica abandoned the claim to the island in 2006, but continues to claim the adjacent seas, as do some neighboring states.[citation needed] |
| Atacama Desert border | Bolivia Chile | 1879 | 1904 | |
| Tarija | Bolivia Argentine Confederation | 1899 | In 1899,Argentina renounced its claims in exchange for thePuna de Atacama. | |
| Belén de Bajirá |  Chocó | 2000 | 2017 | The dispute between twoColombian departments began in 2000, when both Antioquia and Chocó claimed thecorregimiento as part of their own respective municipalities. In 2014, amidst a rise of tensions between the claimants, the National Government under theGeographic Institute Agustín Codazzi (IGAC) formally started a process to find a solution for the dispute.[164] IGAC awarded Belén de Bajirá to Chocó by 2017.[165] |
| Guaíra Falls | Brazil Paraguay | 1872 | 1982 | The disputed islands were submerged by thereservoir of Itaipú. |
| Section of US-Mexico border | United States Mexico | 1898 | 1963 | Disputed border within theEl Paso/Ciudad Juárez region. |
| Maryland and Pennsylvania border |  Maryland Pennsylvania | 1730 | 1767 | Dispute over the northern border of theProvince of Maryland and southern border ofProvince of Pennsylvania, particularly west of theSusquehanna River. Settled by the drawing of theMason–Dixon line. |
| Detroit Island,Plum Island,Rock Island andWashington Island |  Wisconsin | 1936 | The border between Wisconsin and Michigan was originally defined as "the most usual ship channel" intoGreen Bay fromLake Michigan but commercial routes existed both to the north and south of the island which led to a border dispute. In 1936, the U.S. Supreme Court decisionWisconsin v. Michigan found that the islands were part of Wisconsin. | |
| New Hampshire Grants/Vermont | Province of New Hampshire (to 1776) State of New Hampshire (from 1776) Province of New York (to 1783)  State of New York (from 1776) Vermont (from 1777) | 1749 | 1791 | In 1664King Charles II decided the west bank of theConnecticut River was the eastern boundary of New York, so that that province included all of what later became the state ofVermont. During 1749–64, GovernorBenning Wentworth of New Hampshire issued well over a hundred "grants", offering lands for sale west of the river in what would become Vermont. In 1764,King George III attempted to end the dispute by ruling that the region belonged to New York. But New York would not recognize the property claims of numerous settlers whose claims were based on Wentworth's grants, so local governments and militias resisted New York's rule. In 1777, the politicians of the disputed territory declared it independent of New York, Britain, and New Hampshire, calling it the State of Vermont. Vermont existed for 14 years as an unrecognized de facto independent country, considered by New York to be a district in rebellion. Negotiations between New York and Vermont in 1790 removed impediments to Vermont'sadmission to the Union in 1791. |
| Delaware Wedge |  DelawareMarylandPennsylvania | 1750s | 1921 | Agore created when the borders of the colonies Maryland, Delaware, and Pennsylvania were defined. Dispute over the borders between the three colonies dates to the foundation of each during the middle 17th century. A series of defined lines and arcs were laid out by statute to settle the disputes, the most famous of which was theMason–Dixon line. The Wedge was left out of all three colonies (and later U.S. states), and remained a matter of dispute until it was formally resolved to assign the Wedge to Delaware in 1921. |
| Eastern shore of theNarragansett Bay | Colony of Rhode Island and Providence Plantations (to 1776) State of Rhode Island and Providence Plantations (from 1776)Plymouth Colony (to 1691) Province of Massachusetts Bay (1691–1780)  Commonwealth of Massachusetts (from 1780) | 1636 | 1898 | Claimed by both Rhode Island and Plymouth Colony. Plymouth's claim was inherited by the newly created Province of Massachusetts Bay when the latter was created in 1691 from the merger of earlier Massachusetts Bay and Plymouth Colonies. A royal decree in 1746 assigned the land to Rhode Island, but Massachusetts continued to press its claim until 1898. |
| New York – New Jersey border | Province of New York Province of New Jersey | 1701 | 1756 | Dispute over the southern border ofProvince of New York and the northern border of theProvince of New Jersey. Raiding parties kidnapped and burned crops. |
| Isla Martín García | Argentina Uruguay | 1879 | 1973 | After theConquest of the Desert was launched in 1879, many indigenous leaders captured were confined there. The island was transferred toArgentine Navy jurisdiction in 1886. The island's distance from the Uruguayan territory is less than 3 km, and its jurisdictional status was formally established by theTreaty of Río de la Plata between Uruguay and Argentina on 19 November 1973. |
| Cordillera del Cóndor-Cenepa River | Peru Ecuador | 1828 | 1998 | |
| Caquetá-Putumayo | Peru Colombia | 1821 | 1934 | |
| Acre-Pando | Peru Bolivia | 1825 | 1909 | |
| Argentina and Chile border | Argentina Chile | 1881 | 1902 | After the signature of theBoundary treaty of 1881 between Chile and Argentina differing interpretations on whether the highest Andean peaks (favouring Argentina) or thecontinental divide (favouring Chile) was to be considered the boundary. |
| Plateau of Puna de Atacama | Argentina Chile | 1889 | 1898 | |
| Clipperton Island | France | 1897 | 1931 | Disputed between France and Mexico. On 28 January 1931, KingVictor Emanuel, selected as a neutral arbitrator, finally declared Clipperton to be a French possession, and it has remained relatively undisputed ever since. |
| Picton, Lennox and Nueva islands | Argentina Chile | 1898 | 1982 | Main article:Beagle conflict |
| Brazil–France border | Brazil | Main article:Amapá Question France did not recognize theOyapock river as the border betweenFrench Guiana and the Brazilian province ofAmapá. After the military confrontation, the territorial dispute was settled by an international court on 27 December 1897. The decision was favorable to Brazil, which maintained control over the disputed region. Walter Hauser, president of Switzerland, served asarbitrator. On 1 December 1900, Hauser issued a report favoring Brazil. | ||
| Section of the Argentina-Chile border | Argentina Chile | 1913 | 1966 | Río Encuentro-Alto Palena dispute [es] |
| Brazil-British Guiana border |  British Guiana Brazil | 1842 | 1904 | See also:Brazil–Guyana border See also:Pirara dispute [pt]In 1842, a Brazilian ambassador went to London to suggest that the dispute be submitted to neutral arbitration. The United Kingdom and Brazil signed a treaty on 6 November 1901, agreeing to arbitration to establish the boundary between northern Brazil and British Guiana. A decision was taken by KingVictor Emmanuel III of Italy to resolve the Pirara Question, in which 19,630 square kilometres (7,580 sq mi) would be handed over toBritish Guiana, and 13,570 square kilometres (5,240 sq mi) would be returned to Brazil, thus defining the limits of the border.[166] |
| Laguna del Desierto | Argentina Chile | 1949 | 1994 | |
| Missouri | United States Confederate States | 1861 | 1865 | After theMissouri secession, the State of Missouri was claimed by both the United States andConfederate States until the defeat of the Confederacy in theAmerican Civil War |
| Border of New Hampshire and Canada | United States United Kingdom | 1783 | 1842 | Ill-defined terms of theTreaty of Paris at the end of theRevolutionary War left the boundary of the state ofNew Hampshire and Canada in doubt. The lack of a precise definition of the "northwesternmost head of the Connecticut River" as defined by theTreaty of Paris left the land that is now the town ofPittsburg, New Hampshire within the conflicting jurisdiction of both the United States and Great Britain. In 1832 residents of the area established the short-livedRepublic of Indian Stream in the area; the minuscule population of the putative nation never exceeded about 300. The boundary was finally settled definitively by theWebster–Ashburton Treaty of 1842. |
| Southern edge of Labrador |  Dominion of Newfoundland Canada | 1763 | 1927 | This was formerly an international dispute between Canada, which includesQuebec, and theDominion of Newfoundland, then an independent country. The case came before the Judicial Committee of the Privy Council in London, which in March 1927 delivered a win for Newfoundland and granted it the disputed land. The decision was further recognized by the governments of Canada and of Newfoundland when the latter joined Confederation in 1949 as the tenth province of Canada.Quebec has never accepted the border. |
| Sverdrup Islands |  Norway United Kingdom | 1928 | 1930 | In 1928Norway asserted its claim of sovereignty over theSverdrup Islands. The islands are named after Norwegian explorerOtto Sverdrup, who explored and mapped them from 1898 to 1902 with the vesselFram, although some were previously inhabited byInuit. Sverdrup claimed the islands for Norway, but the Norwegian government did not pursue the claim until 1928. At that point, the Norwegian government raised the claim, primarily to use the islands as bargaining chips in negotiations with the United Kingdom over the status of the Arctic islandJan Mayen and the AntarcticBouvet Island. On 11 November 1930, Norway ceded the Sverdrup Islands to Canada, in exchange for British recognition of Norway's sovereignty overJan Mayen.[167] |
| San Andrés and Providencia,Bajo Nuevo Bank, andSerranilla Bank | Colombia Nicaragua Jamaica | 1886 | 2012[168] | Jamaica implicitly withdrew its claim by accepting the nautical chart affixed to a 1993 treaty that established a Joint Regime Area with Colombia, excluding Bajo Nuevo Bank and Serranilla Bank.[169] Honduras and the United States continue to dispute sovereignty over both banks. |
| Chile-Peru border | Chile Peru | 1883 | 1929 | See also:Treaty of Lima (1929) |
| Chile-Peru maritime border | Chile Peru | 1985 | 2014[170] | Part of the broaderterritorial dispute. |
| Erik the Red's Land | Denmark Norway Iceland[171] | 1931 | 1933[172] | |
| Isla Portillos [es] |  Costa Rica Nicaragua | 2010 | 2018 | On 2 February 2018, theICJ rendered a decision in a border dispute between Nicaragua and Costa Rica regardingIsla Portillos [es]. Nicaragua was left with just the Laguna Los Portillos and its short strip of beach. The court also decided that the sea just outside of the lagoon would be Costa Rican waters. The ICJ concluded that the whole beach is Costa Rican except for the part directly between the lagoon and the Caribbean Sea – now a tiny enclave of Nicaraguan territory separated from the rest of the country.[173] |
| Hans Island | CanadaDenmark ( Greenland) | 1972 | 2022 | Claimed by both Canada and theKingdom of Denmark (on behalf ofGreenland). Resolved by treaty splitting the island between Canada and Greenland.[174] |
| Oyster Pond | Netherlands France | 2016 | 2023 | Claimed by both TheKingdom of the Netherlands (on behalf ofSint Maarten) and France (on behalf ofSaint Martin).[175][176][177][178] Resolved by agreement splitting the bay in the middle.[179] |
| Territory | Former claimants | Dispute started | Dispute settled | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Bouvet Island | Norway United Kingdom | 1927 | 1929 | The United Kingdom claimed this Antarctic island as Lindsay/Liverpool Island based on sightings going back to 1808, but Norway landed there in 1927. In November 1929, Britain renounced its claim to the island.[180] |
| Territory | Former claimants | Dispute started | Dispute settled | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Israeli–Lebanese maritime border | IsraelLebanon | 2010 | 2022 | |
| Syngman Rhee Line | South Korea Japan | 1952 | 1965 | The Syngman Rhee Line was a marine boundary line established on January 18, 1952 proclaiming a wide area of maritime sovereignty around the entireKorean Peninsula. The proclamation asserted that the "Government of the Republic of Korea holds and exercises the national sovereignty" over the maritime area. Clarifications were made noting that the Proclamation stated it "does not interfere with the rights of free navigation on the high seas" so the Proclamation did not "mean extension of territorial waters into the high seas". The line was abolished in 1965 with the signing of a Japanese–South Korean fishing agreement. |
| Bahrain |  British Empire | 1971 | The claim ended with a resolution approved by thelower house on 14 May 1971 with 184 votes to 4, and unanimously approved by theupper house on 18 May 1971; and Iran recognizedBahrain as an independent sovereign state. | |
| Boston–Lingig boundary | Boston,Davao Oriental | 1992 | 2020 | Davao Oriental andSurigao del Sur settled a boundary dispute between their two towns; Boston (Davao Oriental) and Lingig (Surigao del Sur). The dispute was resolved through a common ordinance passed by the two provincial governments which delineate the boundaries between the two towns ceding territory in favor of Boston excluding existing build-up areas under Barangay Rajah Cabungsuan of Lingig, Surigao del Sur. 26 km2 (10 sq mi) out of the 60 km2 (23 sq mi) disputed territory is determined to be under Davao Oriental.[181][182] |
| Bagu–Cabiten boundary | Bagu,Bakun,Benguet Cabiten,Mankayan, Benguet | – | 2015 | Border dispute between the barangays of Bagu in Bakun town and Cabiten in Mankayan town. Both of the towns are part of Benguet province. Efforts to resolve the dispute date as early as 1999 during the tenures of Bakun Mayor Tico Dalmones of Bakun and Mankayan Mayor Manalo Galuten.[183] Five corners were identified in as demarcating points of the barangay borders. The dispute was resolved in 2015.[184] |
| Cabagsac–Pinpin boundary | Cabagsac,Pampanga Pinpin, Pampanga | – | 1700s | Two towns inPampanga province had a land dispute which was settled in court in favor of Cabagsac. Cabagsac was renamed as San Luis after the wife of the lawyer which represented the town in the land dispute. Pinpin is now known as Santa Ana.[185] |
| Caloocan–Malabon boundary | Libis Baesa,Caloocan Potrero,Malabon | 2001 | 2014 | Both the city governments of Caloocan and Malabon agreed to develop 80 hectares (200 acres) of disputed land, preempting any court decisions. This dispute began when Malabon became a highly urbanized city, taking over the lands formerly part of Caloocan.[186] |
| Sudipen–Tagudin boundary | Sudipen,La Union | – | 2015 | A century-old boundary dispute between the towns of Sudipen, La Union and Tagudin, Ilocos Sur was resolved in 2015. The towns agreed on a boundary established along the Amburayan River.[187] |
| Bicutan Market and Interchange (Parañaque–Taguig boundary) | San Martin de Porres, Parañaque North Daang Hari, Taguig | 2001 | 2001? | The area has been under thede facto administration ofParañaque since the dialogue.[188] |
| Cotabato City | Bangsamoro Cotabato City(claims not to be part of Bangsamoro) | 2019 | 2023 | Cotabato City MayorCynthia Guiani-Sayadi has opposed the inclusion of Cotabato City (formerly part of theSoccsksargen region) in the Bangsamoro after most of its residents favored to ratify theBangsamoro Organic Law in the2019 plebiscite which created the autonomous region. Guiani-Sayadi filed an electoral protest seeking to nullify the results claiming that residents who opposed the law were prevented to vote due to threats and intimidation from supporters and attempted to delay the turnover of the city to the Bangsamoro regional government.[189] Guiani-Sayadi lost to Bruce Matabalao in the 2022 mayoral elections.[190] The new city council under the Matabalao's administration formally affirmed Cotabato City's inclusion while the petition by the former city administration was pending.[191] The Supreme Court affirmed the city being part of the autonomous region in January 2023 and found insufficient evidence to support fraud which allegedly happened during the plebiscite.[192] |
| Fort Bonifacio area (Bonifacio Global City andEmbo barangays) | Taguig | 1993[193] | 2023 | Includes theBonifacio Global City and theEMBO (Enlisted Men's Barrio) barangays, which is recognized by the Supreme Court of the Philippines as part ofTaguig. |
Ambos Camarines-Tayabas Boundary (East Quezon)
| Santa Elena, Camarines Norte | 1930s | 2001 | In October 1991, Quezon Governor Eduardo Rodriguez and Calauag Mayor Julio Lim caused the removal of the marker. Throughout the proceedings, Government agencies including the Department of Budget and Management, COMELEC, and theNational Statistics Office recognized the jurisdiction of the town of Santa Elena, Camarines Norte over the 9 barangays. In 2000, Judge Regino held Governor Rodriguez and Mayor Lim guilty of contempt, with a maximum imprisonment of 6 months as well as a fine of ₱1,000 for the erection of a new boundary marker.[194] Gateway to Bicolandia Boundary Arch was constructed to replace the former boundary mark. |
| Katchatheevu |  Sri Lanka India | 1920 | 1974 | The dispute on the status of the island ofKachatheevu was settled in 1974 by an agreement between both countries.[195] But still some cases are ongoing inHigh Court of Madras which are filed earlier regarding this dispute stating as illegally issued toSri Lanka.[196] Several actions were still taken by theunion government of India to retrieve that island back to Indian territory once again.[197] |
| Great Rann of Kutch | India Pakistan | 1965 | 1968 | In January 1965, Pakistan claimed the area of the Great Rann of Kutch on the basis of theSindh province,[198] eventually launchingan operation in the area in April 1965. Later the same year,Prime Minister of the United KingdomHarold Wilson persuaded the combatants to end hostilities and establish atribunal to resolve the dispute. A verdict was reached in 1968 which saw Pakistan getting 10% of its claim of 9,100 square kilometres (3,500 sq mi). 90% was retained by India. |
| Middle Rocks |  Malaysia | 1993 | 2008 | Middle Rocks was a dispute that arose when Singapore claimed both islets in 1993. The matter was settled by theInternational Court of Justice in 2008, which ruled that Middle Rocks belonged to Malaysia. |
| Pedra Branca | Singapore | 1979 | 2018 | |
| Tiran andSanafir Islands | Saudi Arabia Egypt Israel (1967–1982) | 1906 | 2017 | These islands were transferred to Saudi Arabia in 2017. |
| Arabi Island andFarsi Island |  Iran Saudi Arabia | 1968 | 1968 | These islands were disputed between Iran and Saudi Arabia. In 1968 Iran and Saudi Arabia had an agreement that Farsi island be given to Iran and Arabi island be given to Saudi Arabia. |
| Bay of Bengal maritime boundary between Bangladesh and India | India Bangladesh | 1974 | 2014 | India and Bangladesh had engaged in eight rounds of bilateral negotiations starting 1974 but it remained inconclusive until 2009. In October 2009, Bangladesh served India with notice of arbitration proceedings under theUNCLOS.The Arbitration Tribunal delivered the ruling on 7 July 2014 and settled the dispute.[199] |
| Indo-Bangladesh enclaves, adverse possessions and undemarcated land boundaries | India Bangladesh | 1947 | 2015 | FollowingPartition of Bengal (1947), the issues of adverse possessions, enclaves and unmarked boundary arose. Inside the main part ofBangladesh, there were 111 Indian enclaves (69.45 km2), while inside the main part of India, there were 51 Bangladeshi enclaves (28.77 km2). In 1974 Bangladesh approved a proposed treaty, Land Boundary Agreement, to exchange all enclaves within each other's territories, but India did not ratify it. Another agreement was agreed upon in 2011 to exchange enclaves and adverse possessions. With respect to adverse possessions, India received 7,110.2 acres of land and transferred 17,160.63 acres to Bangladesh. India ratified the agreement by constitutional amendment in May 2015.[200] |
| Muhurichar river island | India Bangladesh | 1974 | 2011 | Historically controlled by India but claimed byBangladesh, disputed from approximately 1974.[201] An agreement was reached on the demarcation of the border in the area in 2011,[202] and in 2019 the Indian government confirmed that it no longer had any outstanding boundary dispute with Bangladesh.[203] |
| South Talpatti/New Moore/Purbasha Island | India Bangladesh | 1975 | 2010 | This former dispute over a small island never more than two meters above sea level was contested from the island's appearance in the 1970s to its disappearance, likely due to climate change,[204] in the first decade of the 2000s. Though land disputes no longer exist, the maritime boundary was not settled until 2014.[205][206][207] |
| North Sakhalin Island |  Russian Empire Empire of Japan | 1845 | 1875 | Japan unilaterally proclaimed sovereignty over the whole island in 1845, but its claims were ignored by the Russian Empire. The 1855Treaty of Shimoda acknowledged that both Russia and Japan had joint rights of occupation to Sakhalin, without setting a definite territorial demarcation. As the island became settled in the 1860s and 1870s, this ambiguity led to increasing friction between settlers. Attempts by the Tokugawa shogunate to purchase the entire island from the Russian Empire failed, and the new Meiji government was unable to negotiate a partition of the island into separate territories.In 1875 by theTreaty of Saint Petersburg, Japan agreed to give up its claims on Sakhalin in exchange for undisputed ownership of the Kuril Islands. In 1905 under theTreaty of Portsmouth Japan gained Sakhalin to the 50th parallel, but lost it again in 1945. |
| Palmas Island (modern-day Miangas Island) |  PhilippinesDutch East Indies | 1906 | 1928 | Dispute between the United States and the Netherlands over the Palmas island located south of the Philippines, which was then American territory. The Netherlands believed that the islands were part of the Dutch East Indies. The territorial dispute was solved through theIsland of Palmas case which decided that the Palmas Island belongs to the Netherlands. Palmas Island, now Miangas Island, is a part of modernIndonesia. |
| Trans-Karakoram Tract, includingShaksgam Valley | Pakistan (still claimed by: India People's Republic of China[note 1] Republic of China[note 1]) | 1947 | 1963 | Pakistan relinquished its claim to the People's Republic of China; India did not. |
| Sinai Peninsula | Israel Egypt | 1967 | 1982 | During theSix-Day War Israel claimed Sinai. It was returned in 1982 under the terms of the 1979Egypt–Israel peace treaty. |
| Taba | IsraelEgypt | 1979 | 1989 | When Egypt and Israel were negotiating the exact position of the border in preparation for the 1979 peace treaty, Israel claimed that Taba had been on the Ottoman side of a border agreed between the Ottomans and British Egypt in 1906 and had, therefore, been in error in its two previous agreements. Although most of Sinai was returned to Egypt in 1982, Taba was the last portion to be returned. The issue was submitted to an international commission. In 1988, the commission ruled in Egypt's favour, and Israel returned Taba to Egypt in 1989. |
| Phú Quốc island andThổ Chu Islands area | Vietnam Cambodia | 1939 | 1982 | In 1939, Governor General of Indochina, Jules Brévié, sent a letter to the Governor of Cochinchina about "the issue of the islands in the Gulf of Siam whose is a matter of controversy between Cambodia and Cochin-China". In this letter,"for administrative purposes", he drew a line which defined the border between the waters of Cambodia and Cochin-China: all the islands north of the line are under Cambodian sovereignty, all the islands south of the line are ruled by Cochin-China. As a result, Phú Quốc was under Cochinchina administration. In 1949, Cochin-China became part of Vietnam, an Associated State in the French Union within the Indochinese Federation. After the Geneva Accords, in 1954, its sovereignty was handed over to the State of Vietnam. In 1964, then Head of State Prince Norodom Sihanouk proposed to the Vietnamese a map aimed at settling the issue. Cambodia offered to accept the colonial “Brévié Line” as the maritime boundary, thus abandoning its claim. That position of Cambodia was confirmed by maps given to the mission sent by the UN Security Council after the Chantrea incidents. On 8 June 1967, the Vietnamese issued a declaration that accepted the “Brévié Line” as the maritime border. On 1 May 1975, a squad ofKhmer Rouge soldiers raided and took Phú Quốc, but Vietnam soon recaptured it. This was to be the first of a series of incursions and counter-incursions that would escalate to theCambodian–Vietnamese War in 1979. Cambodia dropped its claims to Phú Quốc in 1976.[208] But the bone of contention involving the island between the governments of the two countries continued, as both have a historical claim to it and the surrounding waters. A July 1982 agreement between Vietnam and thePeople's Republic of Kampuchea ostensibly settled the dispute; however, it is still the object of irredentist sentiments. |
| Turtle Islands | Philippine Islands North Borneo | 1930 | 1930 | Dispute between the United States and the United Kingdom over theTurtle Islands located south of the Philippines, which was then American territory. In a 1930 treaty the United Kingdom acknowledged American sovereignty over the islands and was agreed upon that the British would remain administering the island until the United States express interest to take over control over the islands after a one-year notice. When the Philippines gained full independence from the United States in 1946, the Philippines invoked the treaty and the British turned over the islands to the Philippines in 1947. |
| West Bank, includingEast Jerusalem | Israel Jordan | 1967 | 1988 | During theSix-Day War, Israel conquered these territories from Jordan. Jordan later renounced the claim on the territory, supporting instead its inclusion in a future Palestine. |
| Ligitan andSipadan | Malaysia Indonesia | 1969 | 2002 | The 2002 International Court of Justice ruling awarded both islands to Malaysia, but left unsettled themaritime boundary immediately southwest and west of the islands between Malaysia and Indonesia. |
| Hawar Islands | Qatar Bahrain | 1971 | 2001 | Formerly disputed between Qatar and Bahrain, it was settled by the International Court of Justice (ICJ) in The Hague. In the June 2001 decision, Bahrain kept the Hawar Islands andQit'at Jaradah but dropped claims to Janan Island and Zubarah on mainland Qatar, while Qatar retained significant maritime areas and their resources. The agreement has furthered the goal of definitively establishing the border with Saudi Arabia and Saudi-led mediation efforts continue. |
| Batek Island | Indonesia Timor-Leste | 2002 | 2004 | Ceded by Timor-Leste to Indonesia in August 2004. |
| 11,000 square miles (28,000 km2) of territory inXinjiang[86] | Pakistan (still claimed by: People's Republic of China[note 1] Republic of China[note 1]) | 1947 | 1963 | Pakistan relinquished its claim to the People's Republic of China. |
| Aksai Chin[22] | Pakistan (still claimed by: India People's Republic of China[note 1] Republic of China[note 1]) | 1947 | 1963 | Pakistan relinquished its claim to the People's Republic of China; India did not. |
| Demchok sector | Pakistan (still claimed by: India People's Republic of China[note 1] Republic of China[note 1]) | 1947 | 1963 | Claimed as part of theprincely state of Kashmir. |
| Chumar[86] | Pakistan (still claimed by: India People's Republic of China[note 1] Republic of China[note 1]) | 1947 | 1963 | Claimed as part of theprincely state of Kashmir. Pakistan relinquished its claim to the People's Republic of China; India did not. |
| 3,700 square miles (9,600 km2) of territory inGilgit-Baltistan, and theSiachen Glacier[86] | Pakistan People's Republic of China[note 1] Republic of China[note 1]) India | 1960 | 1963 | The People's Republic of China relinquished its claim to Pakistan. India and the Republic of China did not. |
| Saudi Arabia–Yemen border | Saudi Arabia Yemen | 1934 | 2000 | Settled by theTreaty of Jeddah (2000). |
| Limbang District | MalaysiaBrunei | 1967 | 2010 | Limbang District was part of Brunei until it was forced to cede it to theRaj of Sarawak in 1890. Since then Brunei is divided territorially into two. It was claimed by Brunei in 1967 to reconnect the country. It forms the main part of theBrunei–Malaysia border#Disputes. Malaysia claimed to settle the issue in 2009, however this was disputed by Brunei. Malaysia in 2010 ceded two hydrocarbon concession blocks to Brunei in exchange for Brunei dropping claims to Limbang.[22] |
| Hanish Islands | YemenEritrea | 1995 | 1999 | In December 1995, Eritrea entered into adispute with Yemen over claims to the Hanish Islands and fishing rights in the Red Sea. This dispute was resolved in 1999 when the islands were awarded to Yemen through international arbitration, and the Eritreans complied with the verdict. |
| Shatt al-Arab | Iran Iraq | 1936 | 1988 | Settled by the1975 Algiers Agreement. Reneged on by Iraq in 1980, but re-agreed to in 1988. |
| Makati–Taguig boundary | Taguig Makati Pateros | 1983 | 2023 | Taguig claimed more than 7.29 square kilometres (2.81 sq mi) of land in Fort Bonifacio, an area formerly administered by Makati. On 5 August 2013, theCourt of Appeals Sixth Division ruled that Makati had legal jurisdiction over the area, thus invalidating Taguig's claim.[209] Taguig did not abandon its claims and petitioned the Court of Appeals to have the decision revoked.[210] Pateros also claimed the area and filed a petition before the Taguig Regional Court Branch 271 in 2012 concerning its claim. Pateros reiterated its claims in 2013 following the decision of the Court of Appeals awarding Makati jurisdiction over the area.[211][212] TheSupreme Court finally ruled in favor of Taguig in 2023,[213] and the ruling began to be implemented in that year'selections. |
| Certain islands in the Naf River,St. Martin's Island | Bangladesh Myanmar | 1971 | 2019 | The dispute dates back to the independence of Bangladesh. The two countries agreed on Bangladeshi sovereignty over St. Martin's Island in 1974, but a maritime dispute continued. Marked by sporadic border violence, including theTatmadaw shooting Bangladeshi fishermen, the maritime dispute was solved in 2012 by anITLOS ruling. Then, in 2018, a diplomatic incident occurred when the Burmese government released an official map depicting St. Martin's Island as Burmese territory.[214] Myanmar subsequently acknowledged Bangladeshi sovereignty over St. Martin's Island and finally removed it from its official map by 2019.[215] |
| Assam-Arunachal Pradesh border |  AssamArunachal Pradesh | 1951 | 2023 | The dispute between the twoIndian states spanned 1,200 points[216] and contained 123 villages, dating as far back as a 1951 single-member commission land transfer recommendation when Arunachal Pradesh was theNorth-East Frontier Agency. In April 2023, both states signed amemorandum of understanding to jointly demarcate their border. By September 2023, 115 villages went to Arunachal Pradesh and 8 villages went to Assam.[217] |
| Kuwait-Saudi Arabia border,Qaruh, andUmm al Maradim |  Ottoman Empire(until 1918)United Kingdom(until 1961) Kuwait(1961–2019) Nejd(1919–1932) Saudi Arabia(1932–2019) Iraq(1990–1994) | 1913 | 2019 | The dispute dates as far back as when the United Kingdom and Ottoman Empire signed theAnglo-Ottoman Convention of 1913, defining the border in two phases: a formal boundary as well as a British "sphere of influence". This agreement was never ratified due to major complications: the Ottoman Empire had node facto control over any of the area, because theSheikhdom of Kuwait was effectively aBritish protectorate,Najd Sanjak was occupied by theEmirate of Nejd and Hasa, and the signatories proceeded to fight against each other inWorld War I, which ended in thedissolution of the Ottoman Empire. From 1919–1920, the Saudis attempted to annex Kuwait in theKuwait-Najd War, which ended in theUqair Protocol of 1922. The Protocol defined a "neutral zone" between the Sheikhdom of Kuwait and Sultanate of Nejd. The State of Kuwait inherited the United Kingdom's territorial claim when it gained independence in 1961. In 1965, a separation line was drawn halfway through the neutral zone; Qaruh and Umm al Maradim are north of the line. Kuwait interpreted as thede jure border but Saudi Arabia recognized it only asde facto, leaving the sovereignty of the northern half of the "neutral zone" in question. In 1990,Ba'athist Iraq invaded Kuwait; theRepublic of Kuwait was declared andannexed into Iraq, causing theGulf War. Kuwaiti and Coalition forcesrecaptured Qaruh and Umm al-Maradim in one of the first battles of the war, which ended in total Iraqi defeat and withdrawal of Iraq's territorial claim. Finally, in 2019, Kuwait and Saudi Arabia signed a memorandum of understanding in which Saudi Arabia recognized the separation line as a permanent international border.[218] |
| Nagorno-Karabakh andArmenian-occupied territories surrounding Nagorno-Karabakh[45] | Azerbaijan Armenia Artsakh | 1991 | 2024 | Following the dissolution of theSoviet Union, internationally recognized as part ofAzerbaijan[219] but controlled by theRepublic of Artsakh, which wasde facto supported byArmenia until it was dissolved on January 1, 2024. Artsakh claimed a part ofGoranboy District, which it lost duringOperation Goranboy in 1993 during theFirst Nagorno-Karabakh War, as part ofShahumyan Province. Artsakh also claimed but did not control parts ofKhojavend andTartar districts as parts ofMartuni andMartakert provinces, respectively. Azerbaijan captured the surrounding territories and the city ofShusha during theSecond Nagorno-Karabakh War in 2020, then finally all of Nagorno-Karabakh proper during a2023 offensive. The dispute ended after the dissolution of Artsakh |
| Hatay Province | TurkeySyria | 1939 | 2024 | Annexed by Turkey in 1939, claimed by Syria[220] until the fall of theBa'athist regime in 2024, as implied by the current logos of the SyrianMinistry of Information and theGeneral Security Service. |
| Territory | Former claimants | Dispute started | Dispute settled | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Cieszyn Silesia,Orava Territory,Spiš and areas around the cities ofKłodzko andRacibórz | Poland | 1918 | 1958 | Border conflicts betweenPoland andCzechoslovakia began in 1918 over the disputed areas ofCieszyn Silesia,Orava Territory andSpiš. AfterWorld War II they broadened to include areas around the cities ofKłodzko andRacibórz, which until 1945 had belonged toGermany. On 13 June 1958, inWarsaw, the two countries signed a treaty confirming the border at the line of 1 January 1938 (that is, returning to the situation before theNazi-imposedMunich Agreement transferred territory from Czechoslovakia to Poland) |
| Village ofAibga and surrounding area[221][222] | Republic of Abkhazia Russia Georgia | 2011 | 2011 | During the existence of theSoviet Union, the village of Aibga was divided into two; the southern part belonged to Georgia and the northern part to Russia. In March 2011 Russia laid claim to the southern area of Aibga. After the Abkhaz side proved that the southern part of Aibga belonged to theGeorgian SSR, the claim on the village was dropped by Russia.[223] |
| Islets and rocks in theMinquiers andEcrehos groups and the surrounding seas. | United KingdomFrance | 1953 | TheUnited Kingdom andFrance requested the ICJ to determine the country that held sovereignty over the islets and rocks in theMinquiers andEcrehos groups. France claimed sovereignty because it fished in the waters and it had historic sovereignty over the area from the 11th century'sDuchy of Normandy. The United Kingdom claimed thatJersey had historically exercised legal and administrative jurisdiction over them. The ICJ decided on 17 November 1953 that sovereignty over the islands belonged to the United Kingdom. | |
| Åland |  Finland Sweden | 1917 | 1921 | Sweden and Finland argued over the control of the Åland Islands (located between Sweden and Finland). The Åland movement (Ålandsrörelsen) wanted Åland to reunite with its old mother country Sweden (Finland and Åland belonged to Sweden before 1809). The movement gathered signatures from over 7000 inhabitants of legal age at the Åland Islands in 1917 (that was about 96% of the population) – they all supported a union with Sweden. WhenFinland became independent (6 December 1917) Sweden wanted a plebiscite about the future of the Åland Islands to solve the problem. Finland refused and argued that the Åland Islands had always been a natural part of Finland – even when Finland was under Swedish rule. Sweden appealed to theLeague of Nations referring to the right of the population to determine which country they should belong to. After studying the matter closely the League of Nations decided Finland should retain sovereignty over the province but that the Åland Islands should be made an autonomous territory. The Swedish Prime Minister said he didn't accept the verdict but he also said that Sweden was not going to use military force to get their claims.[224] |
| Baltic Sea | PolandDenmark | 1978 | 2018 | Poland has decided to cede to Denmark 80 percent of the disputed territory[225] |
| Bessarabia andNorthern Bukovina |  Soviet Union Socialist Republic of Romania | 1989 | 1989 | On 13 November 1989,Nicolae Ceauşescu demanded the annulment of theMolotov–Ribbentrop pact, pursuant to whichBessarabia and Northern Bukovina were occupied by the Soviet Union, and the return of these territories to Romania. This demand was officially adopted as party policy by 14th Congress of theCommunist Party of Romania, held later the same month. Ceauşescu was overthrown in theRomanian Revolution in December 1989 before the claim could be seriously pursued, and the post-revolutionaryNational Salvation Front abandoned it. |
| Bulgaria-Turkey riverine border |  BulgariaTurkey | 1990 | 1990 | The border at the Rezovo's mouth was the subject of a minor territorial dispute between Bulgaria and Turkey, which was settled in the 1990s. As a result of an agreement between the two countries of 6 May 1992 (ratified by Bulgaria in 1998), Bulgaria received a small land area of several square kilometres in the Rezovo Bay in return for water area in the continental shelf. |
| Couto Misto | PortugalSpain | 1976 | 2008 | As the three villages of theCouto Misto, an independent microstate which existed from the 10th century until 1868, are now separated in two different municipalities, the main reminder of the Couto Misto in the area are thecommon land community trusts that continue to function in each of the villages under the old system ofpopular assembly. All threecommons trusts were established in 1976, and incorporate 654 hectares (6.54 km2) forRubiás, 452 hectares (4.52 km2) forSantiago de Rubiás and 311 hectares (3.11 km2) forMeaus.[226] This common land represents most of the territory of the former Couto Misto. The trusts also maintain the claim of rights of common over the strip of land formerly part of the Couto Misto and now part of the Portuguese municipality ofMontalegre. Political moves regarding the Couto Misto have led to debates and resolutions in the Galician, Spanish and European Parliaments. In May 2007, a motion (Proposición no de ley) was discussed and approved (with 303 votes in favour) by theSpanish Parliament recognizing the singularity of the Couto Mixto as a historical and cultural enclave, and calling for measures that allow for the social and economic development of the territory.[227] At the same time, a similar motion was approved by theGalician Parliament, also recognizing the historical singularity of the Couto.[228] In 2008, a written question was presented at theEuropean Parliament regarding the European Union's contribution to the revival of the Couto Mixto, defined as an "institution which was politically and administratively independent of the Spanish and Portuguese crowns".[229] |
| Graham Island |  Two Sicilies MaltaFrance Spain | 1831 | 1831 | A dispute between the Kingdom of the Two Sicilies, the British Crown Colony of Malta, the Kingdom of France and the Kingdom of Spain occurred after the volcanic island appeared in 1831. The British were the first to claim the island as part of Malta, and they were followed by the Two Sicilies and France, while Spain expressed their ambitions to control the island. The island disappeared by December 1831 and the dispute stopped. A Sicilian flag was lowered over the now submerged island in 2000 to show Italian claims to the area. It is no longer disputed by Britain, France, Spain or Malta. |
| Lampedusa |  Kingdom of SicilyMalta | 1800 | 1814 | The island was controlled by British troops as ade facto part of the Malta Protectorate from 1800 onwards. After a British royal commission was sent there in 1812, the new Governor of Malta Sir Thomas Maitland withdrew British troops and the island was returned to Sicily. |
| Tenedos/Bozcaada | Turkey Greece | 1920 | 1923 | On 11 August 1920, following World War I, theTreaty of Sèvres with the defeatedOttoman Empire granted the island to Greece, who joined the war in Allies' side in May 1917. The new Turkish Government ofMustafa Kemal Atatürk, based in Ankara, which was not party to the treaty, overthrew the Ottoman government, which signed but did not ratify the treaty. After theTurkish War of Independence ended in Greek defeat in Anatolia, and the fall ofDavid Lloyd George and his Middle Eastern policies after theCarlton Club meeting, the western powers agreed to theTreaty of Lausanne with the new Turkish Republic, in 1923. This treaty made Tenedos/Bozcaada and Imbros part of Turkey, and it guaranteed a special autonomous administrative status there to accommodate the Greeks. |
| Island of Ireland | United KingdomRevolutionary Irish Republic | 1919 | 1922 | On 21 January 1919, the 69Sinn Féin MPs elected in the1918 United Kingdom general election in Ireland to the BritishHouse of Commonsrefused to take their seats in the British Parliament and instead assembled in aseparate parliament in Ireland, whichproclaimed Irish independence under a revolutionaryIrish Republic, leading to theIrish War of Independence. In 1920, following the collapse of the British administration, the revolutionary republic established control over 21 ofIreland's 32 counties,[230] with only urban areas and what would later becomeNorthern Ireland remaining under British control; however, by theAnglo-Irish treaty of 1921, which ended the war of independence, the revolutionary republic was replaced by theIrish Free State—a semi-independentDominion of theBritish Empire albeit separate from the United Kingdom itself—on 6 December 1922. A day later,Northern Ireland opted out of inclusion in the Irish Free State and returned to the UK, thusde facto effecting thepartition of Ireland into two regions, establishedde jure by the British Parliament'sGovernment of Ireland Act 1920 on 23 December 1920. On 1 July 1937, the Irish Free State adopteda new constitution, by which it declared itself a fully independent state simply called "Ireland"; this Constitution also declared a claim to Northern Ireland until 1998. |
| Northern Ireland | United KingdomIreland | 1937 | 1998 | Formerly disputed between Ireland and the United Kingdom since theAdoption of the Constitution of Ireland on 29 December 1937, it was settled by theGood Friday Agreement in 1998, when Ireland amended its constitution to withdraw itsconstitutional claim. Both countries acknowledged that the territory can join the rest of Ireland if separate referendums in both Northern Ireland and the Republic of Ireland approve of the former's cession. |
| Pytalovo (Abrene in Latvia) | Russia Latvia | 1991 | 2007 | Pytalovo was a village in the parish ofVyshgorogok, the westernmost part of theOstrov uyezd,Governorate of Pskov that was ceded fromRSFSR toLatvia under theTreaty of Riga (1920) along with parishes of Kachanovo and Tonkovo. In 1940 Latvian Republic was annexed by theSoviet Union andLatvian SSR was established, encompassing the above named territories until 1944 when they were transferred to the district of Ostrov,Pskov Oblast, RSFSR.[231] Since 1991 reestablished Republic of Latvia disputed Russian jurisdiction over the region until the border treaty with Russia was signed in 2007.[232] |
| Black Sea andSnake Island | Ukraine Romania | 2004 | 2009 | In 2004 Romania filed a case toInternational Court of Justice claiming that Ukraine's Snake Island was an uninhabitable rock underUNCLOS standards and thus not eligible to carry influence over determination of the maritime boundary between the two states. During the Soviet times the island was a small naval station with a lighthouse. In 2007 the Ukrainian parliament approved an establishment of a small settlement there,Bile, as part of theOdesa Oblast. The maritime boundary issue was settled by theInternational Court of Justice in 2009, awarding Romania 80% of the disputed area. |
| Vilnius Region |  LithuaniaPoland | 1920 | 1945 | During thePolish–Soviet War Polish armies entered the Vilnius Region which was at the time part of the SovietLithuanian–Belorussian Soviet Socialist Republic. In 1920, Polish GeneralLucjan Żeligowski leda coup and established theRepublic of Central Lithuania which was annexed to theSecond Polish Republic after the war as part of the historicPolish–Lithuanian Commonwealth and due toethnic Poles in the region. Lithuaniamoved its capital toKaunas while never giving up its claim to Vilnius. The Lithuanians found support in the Soviet Union for their cause signing theSoviet–Lithuanian Mutual Assistance Treaty in 1939. Following theSoviet invasion of Poland, the region came under Soviet control and became part of theLithuanian SSR after World War II which was followed by a large number of ethnic Poles being deportedtwotimes. Following thefall of the Soviet Union andAct of the Re-Establishment of the State of Lithuania the Vilnius region became part of Lithuania again. |
| Passetto di Borgo in the vicinity of theVatican City | Italy Holy See | 1870 | 1991 | Pope John Paul II recognized the sovereignty of Italy over the Passetto on 18 May 1991.[233][234] |
| Jan Mayen | NorwayIceland | 1979 | 1980 | Norway and Iceland argued over sovereignty of Jan Mayen from the period of 1979 to 1980. The island had been annexed by Norway in 1926, and was home of a Norwegian meteorological station. During a delegation to Iceland in April 1980, Icelandic foreign ministerÓlafur Jóhannesson cited statements from the late 1920s to point out how Iceland never officially recognised Norway's annexation of the island. He also indicated that, historically, the island had much closer ties to Iceland than it did to Norway. The Icelandic government never intended to seriously dispute the sovereignty of the island, but used these points to gain a bargaining position over the waters surrounding the island. On 28 May 1980, Iceland and Norway signed a treaty which gave Iceland most of what it wanted, including a recognition of the 200 nautical mileExclusive economic zone around Iceland.[235] |
| Norway–Russia border maritime border | NorwayRussia | 2011 | For decades there was a boundary dispute between Norway and Russia regarding the position of the boundary between their respective claims to the Barents Sea. The Norwegians favoured amedian line, based on theGeneva Convention of 1958, whereas the Russians favoured ameridian- based sector line, based on a Soviet decision of 1926. In 2010 Norway and Russia signed an agreement that placed the boundary equidistant from their competing claims. This was ratified and went into force on 7 July 2011. | |
| Erik the Red's Land | NorwayDenmark | 1933 | Erik the Red's Land was the name given byNorwegians to an area on the coast of easternGreenland occupied byNorway in the early 1930s. ThePermanent Court of International Justice ruled against Norway in theEastern Greenland Case in 1933, and the country subsequently abandoned its claims. | |
| Mažeikiai,Palanga andŠventoji | LatviaLithuania | 1919 | 1921 | In 1919, after the breakup of the Russian Empire,Mažeikiai,Palanga andŠventoji became a part ofLatvia. After unsuccessful negotiations it was decided to invoke an international arbitration. In 1921 the town was peacefully transferred toLithuania following a Lithuanian-Latvian treaty. |
| Territory | Former claimants | Dispute started | Dispute settled | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Islands ofFunafuti,Niulakita,Nukufetau andNukulaelae | British Empire(-1978)
| 1983 | Claimed by the United States under theGuano Islands Act until the Treaty of Friendship was signed in 1979 which was ratified by theU.S. Senate in 1983. | |
| Several islands, reefs and atolls | British Empire (-1979)
| 1983 | Claimed by the United States under theGuano Islands Act until theTreaty of Tarawa was signed in 1979 which was ratified by theU.S. Senate in 1983. | |
| Islands ofNukunonu andAtafu | British Empire (1889–1925) | 1860 | 1983 | Claimed by the United States under theGuano Islands Act until theTreaty of Tokehega was signed in 1980 which was ratified by the U.S. Senate in 1983. Britain claimed in 1899 and transferred to New Zealand's administration in 1925. |
| Manihiki,Penrhyn Island,Pukapuka andRakahanga. | British EmpireUnited States | 1983 | Claimed by the United States under theGuano Islands Act until theCook Islands–United States Maritime Boundary Treaty was signed in 1980 which was ratified by theU.S. Senate in 1983. | |
| Beveridge Island andPental Island |  Victoria | 1871 | 1873 | |
| South Australia–Victoria border | Victoria | 1914 | ||
| Timor Gap |  Australia
| 1970s | 2019 | Timor-Leste and Australia reached agreement on a treaty delimiting a permanent maritime boundary in March 2018; both countries ratified the treaty in August 2019. |
[Maldivian President Muizzu] said that given the documental evidence of the historical connections between Maldives and Chagos, Maldives has a greater claim over the territory than any other country.
Djibouti's foreign minister, Mahamoud Ali Youssouf, alleged in a televised address on 16 June that Eritrean forces had occupied the disputed Dumaira Mountains, immediately after Qatar withdrew a 500-strong contingent of peacekeepers without notification on 14 June.
{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)The Afghanistan–China boundary agreement, signed on November 22, 1963, was the fifth of these boundaries treaties initiated by the Chinese communists.
Preliminary studies indicate that, as the result of an 1870 surveying error, Oregon has about 31,000 acres of California, while California has about 20,000 acres of Oregon.
Available from: http://nrm.dfg.ca.gov/FileHandler.ashx?DocumentID=117182
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