List of countries that border only one other country
This is a list of countries that have a land border with only one other country. Some on this list have a maritime border with additional countries: for example Denmark "borders" by sea Sweden, Norway and Canada ; while, in addition to Denmark, Canada also has a sea boundary with France. Some countries, which are not listed here, have no land border but do have a maritime border with a single other country, such as Sri Lanka. There are generally four arrangements by which a country would have a single land border:
a peninsula or a semi-enclave, where one country has a land border with a neighbouring one but is otherwise surrounded by sea, while the neighbour borders other countries—examples include Portugal, Denmark, and Canada
a country forming a landlocked true enclave is completely surrounded by a larger country, such as Vatican City and Lesotho
a country surrounded by sea and another nation. Examples would be The Gambia surrounded by Senegal and Brunei surrounded by Malaysia. Peninsulas have this rule, but this also applies to non-peninsular nations like The Gambia and Brunei
Territory leased or ceded by one country to another for perpetual use, but not in sovereignty, such as Guantanamo Bay Naval Base in Cuba, or memorials, such as the American Cemetery in France, do not constitute true territorial borders because the land occupied remains a formal part of the host country. This list is based on the Correlates of War Direct Contiguity data set, with maritime causeways and bridges not being counted.
Countries bordering only one other country
Causeways, bridges, and tunnels
Often called fixed crossings or fixed links, transportation corridors constructed to cross bodies of water without any intermittent connections such as ferries or ships may be between different states. These may be considered artificial "persistent" borderpoints for land vehicles or pedestrians, but are not typically considered land borders given their need for continuous operation and maintenance, as well as their ease of volume control or closure by either state. ;Has a land border and an additional artificial borderpoint
: a constituent country of the Kingdom of Denmark, has a border dispute with Canada regarding uninhabited Hans Island. The island is located in the centre of the Kennedy Channel of Nares Strait, which constitutes the agreed maritime border. Both countries claim Hans Island and so at this point the border is not defined. One possible resolution, not necessarily a likely one, would be to divide Hans Island between them, creating a new land border for each country.
: comprising a continental portion and more than 200 islands in the South China Sea, was formerly ceded and leased by Qing China to the British Empire. It was returned to the People's Republic of China in 1997, but has since then operated with its own political system as a special administrative region under the policy of "One Country, Two Systems". The land border and coastline, although no longer one between two states, are still controlled as though Hong Kong were an international exclave.
: comprises a peninsula and one island in the South China Sea, west of Hong Kong, and like Hong Kong was formerly administered by a colonial power but returned to the People's Republic of China in 1999. It too has its own judicial system and retains border and coastal controls similar to those of an exclave.
Ross Dependency: New Zealand's territorial claim in Antarctica borders only the Australian Antarctic Territory and the unclaimed Marie Byrd Land.
There were many countries that historically had only one neighbour. Some no longer exist while others now have either no land borders or borders with more than one nation due to border changes.
: bordered only China for several hundred years before 1860, after which a second international border with Russia appeared, according to the Convention of Peking. Following the division of Korea in 1945 only North Korea now shares this border.
: one of the South African "independent" homelands, was a true enclave bordering only South Africa and separated narrowly from Zimbabwe by the Madimbo corridor to the north; reincorporated on April 27, 1994.
