List of enclaves and exclaves


In political geography, an enclave is a piece of land that is totally surrounded by a foreign territory. An exclave is a piece of land that is politically attached to a larger piece but not physically conterminous with it because of surrounding foreign territory. Many entities are both enclaves and exclaves.

Enclaves that are also exclaves

Each enclave listed in this section has the equivalent administrative level as the one other entity that entirely surrounds it. Each enclave is also a part of a main region; hence, it is an exclave of that region.

National level

First-order subnational level

Other subnational

Each enclave listed in this section has a legal status equivalent to the one other entity that entirely surrounds it. None of the enclaves has a separate main region of which it is a part.

National level

Some enclaves are sovereign states, completely surrounded by another one, and therefore not exclaves. Three such sovereign countries exist:
NameArea Enclaved withinCoordinatesNotes
30,355
61.2
0.44

First-order subnational level

Other subnational

An exclave must always be grouped with a main region of which it is a legal part. In the case of international waters, the main region consists of all international waters not in EEZs. All potential paths of travel from the exclave to its main region must cross one or more different administrative-territorial regions having the equivalent legal level. Each exclave listed in this section borders on more than one other region.

National level

First-order subnational level

Other subnational

is divided into three non-contiguous areas.
is divided into three non-contiguous areas.
Semi-enclaves and semi-exclaves are areas that, except for possessing an unsurrounded sea border, would otherwise be enclaves or exclaves. Semi-enclaves can exist as independent states that border only one other state. Vinokurov declares, "Technically, Portugal, Denmark, and Canada also border only one foreign state, but they are not enclosed in the geographical, political, or economic sense. They have vast access to international waters. At the same time, there are states that, although in possession of sea access, are still enclosed by the territories of a foreign state." Therefore, Vinokurov applies a quantitative principle: the land boundary must be longer than the coastline. Thus he classifies a state as a sovereign semi-enclave if it borders on just one state, and its land boundary is longer than its sea coastline. Vinokurov affirms that "no similar quantitative criterion is needed to define the scope of non-sovereign semi-enclaves/exclaves."

Sovereign semi-enclaves

A pene-exclave is a part of the territory of one country that can be approached conveniently — in particular by wheeled traffic — only through the territory of another country. Such areas are enclaves or exclaves for practical purposes, without meeting the strict definition; hence they are also called functional enclaves or practical enclaves. Many pene-exclaves partially border their own territorial waters. A pene-enclave can also exist entirely on land, such as when intervening mountains render a territory inaccessible from other parts of a country except through alien territory. Thus, a pene-exclave has land borders with other territory but is not completely surrounded by the other's land or territorial waters. They can exhibit continuity of state territory across territorial waters but, nevertheless, a discontinuity on land, such as in the case of Point Roberts. Along rivers that change course, pene-enclaves can be observed as complexes comprising many small pene-enclaves. Attribution of a pene-enclave status to a territory can sometimes be disputed, depending on whether the territory is considered to be practically inaccessible from the mainland or not.

National level

National level

Sometimes land is ceded temporarily to another country as a form of legal fiction.