List of territorial disputes

This is a dynamic list and may never be able to satisfy particular standards for completeness. You can help by adding missing items with reliable sources.

Territorial disputes have occurred throughout history, over lands around the world. Bold indicates one claimant's full control; italics indicates one or more claimants' partial control.

Disputed territories shown in red

Ongoing disputes between UN member/observer states

Africa

Territory	Claimants	Notes
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 the civil 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 the French Southern Territories.
Bassas da India, Europa Island and Juan de Nova Island	France  Madagascar[1]	De facto part of the French overseas territory of the French Southern Territories.
Ceuta,[2]Melilla, and other plazas de soberanía	Spain  Morocco	Melilla and Ceuta have been Spanish territories since 1497 and 1640 respectively. They have had the status of autonomous cities since 1995. After an incident on Perejil Island in 2002, both countries agreed to return to the status quo.[3]
Chagos Archipelago	United Kingdom  Maldives  Mauritius	The United Kingdom de facto administers the archipelago as the British Indian Ocean Territory. Mauritius and Maldives claims 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 and Doumeira Island	Eritrea  Djibouti	Basis of the Djiboutian–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 the French Southern Territories.
Hala'ib Triangle and Bir Tawil	Egypt  Sudan[8]	Previously under joint administration; Egypt now maintains full de facto control of the Hala'ib Triangle. The boundaries claimed by Egypt and Sudan both include the Hala'ib Triangle. The area of Bir Tawil close to the triangle is unclaimed by both countries.
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 and Ingwavuma	South Africa  Eswatini	Eswatini claims territories that it states were confiscated during colonial times.[12] The area claimed by Eswatini is the former bantustan of KaNgwane, which now forms the northern parts of Jozini and uMhlabuyalingana local municipalities in KwaZulu-Natal, and the southern part of Nkomazi, the southeastern part of Umjindi and the far eastern part of Albert Luthuli local municipalities in Mpumalanga.
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 with Togo.[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 (near Sipilou/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 near Logoba/Moyo District	South Sudan  Uganda	A 1914 British colonial order defined the international border based on the tribal boundary between the Kuku of Kajokeji (South Sudan) and the Ma'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 near Chiengi, Lunchinda-Pweto Province	Zambia DR Congo	Zambia and Congo have different interpretations of the borders set out in an 1894 treaty between British settlers and Leopold 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 of Pweto)[22]	DR Congo  Zambia
Mayotte	France  Comoros[1]	Under the 2009 referendum, the population supported becoming an overseas department of France, so Mayotte became one on 31 March 2011.
Islands in Mbamba Bay, Lake Nyasa	Tanzania  Malawi	Lundo Is. and Mbamba Is. are claimed as part of the lake, as Malawi has claims to the shore − based on the 1890 Anglo-German treaty. See Tanzania–Malawi dispute.
Several islands in the Congo River	Republic of the Congo DR Congo	Most of the boundary in the Congo River remains undefined.[23]
An island in the Ntem River	Cameroon  Equatorial Guinea	[24]
Several villages near the Okpara River	Benin  Nigeria
The Rufunzo Valley and Sabanerwa	Rwanda  Burundi	In 1965, the Akanyaru 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 the Semliki River valley	DR Congo  Uganda	The dispute is related to fishing rights in Lake Edward and Lake Albert.[26]
Sindabezi Island	Zambia  Zimbabwe[27]	Tourist island on the Zambezi River, west of the Victoria Falls
Tromelin Island	France  Mauritius  Madagascar	De facto a part of the French overseas territory of the French Southern Territories.
Wadi Halfa Salient	Egypt  Sudan	Most of the disputed territory comprised villages flooded by Lake Nasser after the construction of the Aswan Dam.[28]

America

North America

Territory	Claimants	Notes
Bajo Nuevo Bank and Serranilla Bank	Colombia  Honduras  United States	Jamaica and Nicaragua have recognized the sovereignty of Colombia; other claimants have not. On 19 November 2012, the International Court of Justice (ICJ) ruled that Colombia has sovereignty over Bajo Nuevo Bank and Serranilla.[29] Honduras implicitly recognized Colombian sovereignty in a 1999 maritime delimitation treaty, but continues to claim the two banks in its constitution.[30]
Conejo Island	Honduras  El Salvador
Navassa Island[1]	United States  Haiti	The U.S. has claimed the island since 1857, based on the Guano Islands Act of 1856.[31] Haiti's claim over Navassa goes back to the Treaty of Ryswick in 1697 that established French possessions in mainland Hispaniola, which were transferred from Spain by the treaty as well as other specifically named nearby islands.
Sapodilla Cayes	Belize  Guatemala  Honduras	Guatemala formally claims all of Belize; an International Court of Justice decision over the matter is pending.
Belizean-Guatemalan territorial dispute	Belize  Guatemala	The Guatemalan Ministry of Foreign Affairs has issued a statement in which Guatemala specifically claims territory between the Sibun and Sarstoon rivers, which makes up around half of Belizean-administered territory. However, Guatemala also claims all of Belize because its historical recognition of British Honduras was contingent on the construction of a road between Guatemala City and the Atlantic Ocean which was never built, an apparent violation of the Wyke-Aycinena Treaty. An International Court of Justice decision over the matter is pending.[32]
Archipelago of Puerto Rico	Dominican Republic  United States	Since 2007, the Dominican Republic in Hispaniola considers itself an archipelagic state, encroaching the long-established median or equidistance line dividing the EEZ of the Dominican Republic and Puerto Rico, and claiming portion of the EEZ claimed by the United States in relation to the archipelago of Puerto Rico, which is itself an unincorporated U.S. territory.[33] The United States does not accept the archipelagic status and maritime boundaries claimed by the Dominican Republic.[34] Victor Prescott, an authority in the field of maritime boundaries, argues that, as the coasts of both states are short coastlines with few offshore islands, an equidistance line is appropriate.
Machias Seal Island	Canada  United States	Main article: List of areas disputed by Canada and the United States Claimed by Canada as part of New Brunswick and by the United States as part of Maine
North Rock

South America

Territory	Claimants	Notes
Guyana–Venezuela territorial dispute (Guyana west of the Essequibo River) and Ankoko Island	Guyana  Venezuela	Approximately two-thirds of Guyana's sovereign territory is claimed by Venezuela. Following arbitration, a demarcated border was established in 1905 following the Arbitral Award of 1899 but was later contested by Venezuela in 1962 following the publication of the Mallet-Prevost memorandum. The crisis was renewed recently following the discovery of oil deposits.
Arroyo de la Invernada or Rincón de Artigas and Vila Albornoz	Brazil  Uruguay	Dispute in the 237 km2 (92 sq mi) Invernada River region near Masoller, over which tributary represents the legitimate source of the Quaraí River/Cuareim River. The UN does not officially recognize the claim.[clarification needed]
Falkland Islands and South Georgia and the South Sandwich Islands[1]	United Kingdom  Argentina	See Falkland Islands sovereignty dispute and South Georgia and the South Sandwich Islands sovereignty dispute.
French Guiana and Suriname involving the Maroni River	France  Suriname	The source or tributary of the Lawa River between Suriname and French Guiana is disputed but eventually follows to the tripoint with Brazil. The Netherlands, and now Suriname, contends that the boundary follows the Malani River to the east, while France asserts that the border follows the Litani River to the west.
New River Triangle (Tigri Area) involving the Courantyne River and the New River	Guyana  Suriname	The New River Triangle (also known as the Tigri Area) is a region within the Guiana Highlands that has been disputed by Suriname and Guyana since the 19th century. It involves the Courantyne River and the interpreted source of the river. In 1871, the New River was discovered, questioning the boundary between the two states.
Isla Brasilera/Ilha Brasileira	Brazil  Uruguay	Uruguayan officials claim that the island falls under their Artigas Department (the UN does not officially recognize the claim).
Isla Suárez/Ilha de Guajará-mirim	Bolivia  Brazil	An island in the river Rio 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 of Guajará-Mirim. Both countries signed a treaty in 1958 that keeps the island in a status quo.
Southern Patagonian Ice Field	Argentina  Chile	From Mount Fitz Roy to Cerro 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 in Amazon river near Colombian city of Leticia. 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 like Santa Rosa have emerged on the Colombian side of that dividing line.[35]

Antarctica

Further information: Territorial claims in Antarctica

The Antarctic Treaty, formed on 1 December 1959 and entered into force on 23 June 1961, is a key component for the management of Antarctica and helps provide administration for the continent, which is carried out through consultative member meetings.

Territory	Claimants	Antarctic territory
Area between 25°W and 53°W	Argentina United Kingdom	Argentine Antarctica British Antarctic Territory
Area between 53°W and 74°W	Argentina Chile United Kingdom	Argentine Antarctica Antártica Chilena Province British Antarctic Territory
Area between 74°W and 80°W	Chile United Kingdom	Antártica Chilena Province British Antarctic Territory

Asia

Territorial claims in the South China Sea

Map showing disputed territories of India

The final borders of the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict after the 1994 ceasefire was signed

Israel and the Israeli-occupied territories, including the Golan Heights, the West Bank and East Jerusalem

Territory	Claimants	Notes
Mazraat Deir al-Ashayer	Lebanon Syria	Mazraat Deir al-Ashayer is administered and controlled by Lebanon's Zahlé District, Beqaa Governorate, but claimed by Syria's Al-Zabadani District, Rif Dimashq Governorate.[36]
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 and Gilgit-Baltistan	Pakistan India	Administered by Pakistan and claimed by India. Part of the Kashmir conflict.
Jammu and Kashmir and Ladakh	India  Pakistan	Part of the Kashmir conflict. Both India and Pakistan claim the former independent princely state of Jammu and Kashmir (today consisting of Jammu and Kashmir and Ladakh administered by India, and Gilgit-Baltistan and Azad Kashmir administered by Pakistan), leading to the Indo-Pakistani war of 1947. 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 in 1965 and 1971. Following the latter war, the countries reached the Simla Agreement, agreeing on a Line of Control between their respective regions and committing to a peaceful resolution of the dispute through bilateral negotiations. An armed insurgency broke out in 1989 in the Indian administered part of Kashmir, demanding "independence". Pakistan has provided arms and training to the militants.[37][38][39][40]
Junagadh and Manavadar	India  Pakistan	India annexed Junagadh (located within Gujarat) in 1947, shortly after the partition of India. Junagadh was one of the many princely states that was contested between India and Pakistan; Manavadar was a vassal state of Junagadh, alongside Babariawad and Mangrol. The dispute fell into obscurity over the next few years due to the prioritisation of the Kashmir 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.[41][42]
David Gareja monastery complex boundary dispute	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 and Qit'at Jaradah	Bahrain  Qatar	These are island territories that are disputed between Qatar and Bahrain. Controlled by Bahrain, Qatar argues that the territories do not qualify as "islands" and hence are not covered by the International Court of Justice ruling (2001–2003) that handed them over to Bahrain.
Several areas in the Fergana Valley	Kyrgyzstan  Tajikistan  Uzbekistan	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 a de facto enclave only 1.5 km from the shifted main border.[43][44][45] (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.[46] 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.[47] Tajikistan: There are three Tajik exclaves, all of them in the Fergana Valley. One of them, the village of Sarvan, is surrounded by Uzbek territory, whereas the remaining two, the village of Vorukh and a small settlement near the Kyrgyz railway station of Kairagach, 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 of Sokh and Shakhimardan and the other two the tiny territories of Chon-Qora and Jani-Ayil. There may be a fifth Uzbek exclave inside of Kyrgyzstan.[48] Most of the border in the area is still not demarcated. See also National delimitation in Central Asia
Isfara Valley	Kyrgyzstan  Tajikistan	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.[49] 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 the Soviet Union and its republics, leading to tense relations between nations over said allocation of resources, namely water.
Ambalat	Indonesia  Malaysia
Golan Heights	Israel Syria	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.
Hatay Province	Turkey Syria	Annexed by Turkey in 1939, claimed by Syria.[50]
Shebaa Farms	Israel  Lebanon Syria
Israel within the Green Line	Israel Palestine	See Israeli–Palestinian conflict
West Bank and East Jerusalem	Israel Civilian rule by Israel proper applied in East Jerusalem Military occupation has jurisdiction over all matters in Area C and security-related matters in Area B  Palestine has jurisdiction over all matters in Area A and civil matters in Area B	See Israeli occupation of the West Bank
Kalapani region, the smaller Susta River dispute and Antudanda disputes	India  Nepal	Kalapani is administered by India while Susta is administered by Nepal. The few remaining border disagreements with Nepal since delineation was announced 98% complete in 2019.[51] See Territorial disputes of India and Nepal.
The exclave Artsvashen of the Gegharkunik province	Azerbaijan  Armenia	Azerbaijan and Armenia have controlled these areas as part of the wider Nagorno-Karabakh conflict.
Karki exclave of the Nakhichevan Autonomous Republic The three exclaves Barkhudarli, Sofulu and Yukhari Askipara of the Qazax District	Armenia  Azerbaijan
Korean Peninsula	North Korea  South Korea	The Democratic People's Republic of Korea administers North Korea, but Article 1 of the Constitution 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 the Constitution of South Korea reads: "The territory of the Republic of Korea shall consist of the Korean peninsula and its adjacent islands."
South Kuril/Chishima Islands (Northern Territories), Kuril/Chishima Islands, and South Sakhalin[1][52]	Russia  Japan	After the end of World War II, the Japanese government renounced its claims of the sovereignty over the Kuril Islands (except for a few islands in the south) and South Sakhalin in The Treaty of San Francisco.[53] However, since the Soviet 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 the Russian Federation).[54] 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 the Mekong 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.[55][56][57]
"Pedra Branca"; several islets at the eastern entrance to the Singapore Strait	Singapore  Malaysia	The International Court of Justice rendered its decision on 23 May 2008 that sovereignty over Pedra Branca belongs to Singapore; sovereignty over Middle Rocks belongs to Malaysia. It said sovereignty over South Ledge would remain disputed until the states could determine the ownership of the territorial waters in which it is located.[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 of Stung Treng Province)	Laos  Cambodia	[59]
Area near Preah Vihear Temple (Khao Phra Wihan)	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 continuing dispute over an additional 4.3 km2 immediately northwest of the 2013 ruling's area.
Part of Sabah (North Borneo)	Malaysia  Philippines	The Philippines retains a claim on the eastern part of Sabah (see North Borneo dispute) on the basis claimed by the Government of the Philippines that the territory is only leased by the former Sultanate of Sulu to British North Borneo Company, of which the Philippines argued that it should be the successor state of all Sulu past territories.[1]
Saudi Arabia–United Arab Emirates border dispute	Saudi Arabia  United Arab Emirates
Siachen Glacier and Saltoro Ridge area	India  Pakistan	Controlled by India after Operation Meghdoot in 1984.[60]
Sir Creek		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 of Three Pagodas Pass	Myanmar  Thailand
The islands of Ukatnyy, Zhestky and Malyy Zhemchuzhnyy[61]	Russia  Kazakhstan
Ungar-Too (Ungar-Tepa) mountain[62][63]	Uzbekistan  Kyrgyzstan
Eastern Ossetia (Truso Gorge, Ghuda Gorge, Kobi Plateau)	South Ossetia  Georgia South Ossetia is internationally recognized as a proxy of  Russia	Ossetia claims two gorges and their connecting plateau, all controlled by Georgia as part of the Kazbegi Municipality, as "historically eastern Ossetian lands." South Ossetia claims to have attempted to press these claims during the Russo-Georgian War, but was deterred by Russia, with the issue flaring again in 2018 and 2019.[64][65]

Europe

As of January 2023, Russian President Vladimir Putin cited recognition of Russia's sovereignty over the annexed territories (pictured) as a condition for peace talks with Ukraine.^[66]

Territory	Claimants	Notes
Crimea (including Sevastopol)	Russia  Ukraine	In 2014, Russia annexed the Crimean Peninsula in a disputed referendum. Russian ownership of Crimea is recognized by a minority of countries.[67] The General 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 a de facto subdivision of Russia as most of the control is in Russia's hands.[68] Russia and Ukraine both divide Crimea into two subdivisions, including a "republic" (Ukraine's Autonomous Republic and Russia's Republic) and the independent city of Sevastopol (Ukraine's "special city" and Russia's "federal city").
Donetsk Oblast	Ukraine Russia	See Russian invasion of Ukraine.
Kherson Oblast
Luhansk Oblast
Zaporizhzhia Oblast
Outer Kinburn Peninsula[69] (located within Mykolaiv Oblast)
Snihurivka's environs[69] (located within Ukraine's Mykolaiv Oblast)	Ukraine  Russia	This part of Mykolaiv was under Russia's control when Russian unilaterally annexed Kherson oblast, but Russia has since withdrawn during the Liberation of Kherson. During Russian control, a referendum was held in Snihurivka 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 and Pechorsky District/Petserimaa	Russia  Estonia	In 1917, the Autonomous Governorate of Estonia was formed by merging the governorates of Estonia 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.[70] The south-eastern border was based on old provincial borders, which lay west of the present border.[71] Under the 1920 Treaty of Tartu, the border of the newly established Republic of Estonia was set eastwards after border talks, incorporating the later-formed Petseri County. Estonia was occupied and annexed by the USSR in 1940. In 1944, decrees of the USSR Presidium of the Supreme Soviet, set the northeastern border along Narva 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 have de jure failed, as no border treaty has been ratified.[72] The unratified agreement does, however, renounce Estonian claims to these lands, in addition to acknowledgements of the de facto situation by heads of state and government at various points.[73][74]
Imia/Kardak	Greece  Turkey	Broad number of delimitation disputes about a.o. national airspace, territorial waters and exclusive economic zones. Includes Imia/Kardak dispute.
Mont Blanc summit dispute	France  Italy	France asserts that the principal peaks on the Mont Blanc massif—Dôme du Goûter, Punta Helbronner, and Mont Blanc lie in French territory, while Italy asserts that the summits are shared.[75]
Gibraltar	United Kingdom  Spain[1]	Dispute over the interpretation of the Treaty of Utrecht and the location of the border.
Rockall Bank dispute	Ireland  United Kingdom  Denmark  Iceland	Rockall is an uninhabited islet in the North Atlantic Ocean with disputed claims to its basin.[76]
Olivenza and Villareal (including the Municipality of Táliga)	Spain  Portugal	In 1801, during the War of the Oranges, Spain, with French military support, occupied the territory of Olivenza (in Portuguese Olivença). During the Vienna 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.
Croatia-Serbia border dispute	Croatia  Serbia	Limited areas along the Danube Parts of Osijek-Baranja and Vukovar-Syrmia Counties and West and South Bačka Districts.
Island of Šarengrad
Island of Vukovar
Military complex near Sveta Gera	Slovenia  Croatia	The complex is in the area of Žumberak/Gorjanci
Drina river[22]	Bosnia and Herzegovina Serbia	Sections along the Drina in dispute.
Prevlaka	Croatia  Montenegro
An area on the Dragonja River	Slovenia Croatia	Further information: Croatia–Slovenia border disputes

Oceania

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 maritime EEZ claim by Tonga under the rules of UNCLOS.
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

Ongoing disputes involving states with limited international recognition

Territorial claims around Greater China

See also: List of states with limited recognition

Territory	Claimants	Notes
Abagaitu Islet	Russia China[note 1]  Republic of China[note 1]	Generally held to have been resolved in October 2004 by the Complementary 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 the Argun as the basis of the Sino-Russian border there per the Treaty of Nerchinsk of 1689.[note 2]
Abkhazia	Abkhazia  Georgia	Further information: Abkhaz–Georgian conflict
Aksai Chin and Depsang Plains	China[note 1]  Republic of China[note 1]  India
Arunachal Pradesh	India China[note 1]  Republic of China[note 1]	Controlled by India but claimed by the PRC and ROC who dispute the validity of the McMahon 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 of Baekdu Mountain[82]	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 of Baekdu Mountain[82]	North Korea  South Korea  Republic of China[note 2]	Also formerly claimed by the PRC until 1962.
Beyul Khenpajong, the Menchuma Valley, and Chagdzom[83]	Bhutan China[note 1]  Republic of China[note 1]
Eastern part of Bhutan	Bhutan  Republic of China[note 2]
Bhutanese exclaves in western Tibet, 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	India China[note 1]  Republic of China[note 1]
Chumar, Gue, Kaurik, Shipki La, Tashigang, Barahoti, Lapthal, Jadhang, Nelang, Pulam Sumda and Sang	India China[note 1]  Republic of China[note 1]	Controlled by India but claimed by Zanda County, Ngari Prefecture, Tibet, China. Disputed areas located between Aksai Chin and Nepal.
3,700 square miles (9,600 km2) of territory surrounding the Siachen Glacier in Gilgit-Baltistan[84]	Pakistan India  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	Malaysia China[note 1]  Republic of China[note 1]	The Republic of China would claim its southernmost point to be at 4°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 of Heixiazi, and Macclesfield Bank	China[note 1]  Republic of China[note 1]	Main article: Cross-Strait relations
Moldovan-controlled area of Dubăsari district	Moldova Transnistria
Kokkina/Erenköy exclave	Northern Cyprus Cyprus	Northern Cyprus controls and administers Kokkina, an area separated from the rest of the main land on Northern Cyprus via the land controlled by the Republic of Cyprus.
Heixiazi / Bolshoy Ussuriysky Island (eastern half)	Russia  Republic of China[note 2]	Generally held to have been resolved in October 2004 by the Complementary 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 at 135°4′E.[note 2]
Jiangxinpo	Myanmar  Republic of China[note 2]	Northern parts of Sagaing Region and Kachin State, claimed by the Republic of China as part of Yunnan. Formerly claimed by the People's Republic of China until 1961.
537 km2 of territory on the China–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, the Bedel pass, and the Erkeshtam pass[86]	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[87][note 1] China[88][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 as Penghu, Kinmen, and Matsu, 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 latter declared independence on 17 February 2008, while Serbia claims it as part of its own sovereign territory. Its independence is recognized by 108 UN member states.
Kula Kangri and mountainous areas to the west of this peak, plus the western Haa District of Bhutan	Bhutan China[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.[89] 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 the Constitution 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 the Republic of China Marine Corps since 1986, which comprises Mainland China, Jiangxinpo, Outer Mongolia, Pamir Mountains, Tannu Uriankhai, etc.[90]
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.[91][note 2] However, the settlement is not recognized by the Republic of China, which would claim its westernmost point to be at 71°E along the Panj.[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.[92]
Parangcho[93]	South Korea China  Republic of China[note 2]
Rasu, Kimathanka, Nara Pass, Tingribode, and Mount Everest	Nepal  Republic of China[note 2]	Settled by Nepal and the PRC in 1960.[94] 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 the 2012 Scarborough Shoal standoff.
Sakteng Wildlife Sanctuary[95]	Bhutan China[note 1]  Republic of China[note 1]
Senkaku Islands (Diaoyu Tai or Diaoyu Dao)[1]	Japan China[note 1]  Republic of China[note 1]	Controlled by Japan but claimed by the PRC and ROC.[96]
Sixty-Four Villages East of the River	Russia  Republic of China[note 2]	The People's Republic of China renounced the area in the 1991 Sino-Soviet Border Agreement. Yet the Republic of China would claim the area per the 1858 Treaty of Aigun, affirmed as part of the 1860 Sino-Russian Convention 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 near Strovilia	United Kingdom Northern Cyprus	Northern Cyprus controls and administers the border checkpoint near Strovilia. UK's claim in regard to its Sovereign Base Areas. This also involves  Cyprus; the checkpoint is partially on UN-administered land, and Cyprus claims all of the island. (See: Europe)
Taiwan and Penghu	Republic of China[note 1] China[note 1]	In 1945, after the surrender of Japan, the Republic of China unilaterally annexed the islands of Taiwan and Penghu into its Taiwan Province, a move not recognized by the Allies. Shortly before the cessation of hostiles in the Chinese 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 the Treaty of San Francisco. The sovereignty of Taiwan has remained in question to this day. See also the Political status of Taiwan.
Trans-Karakoram Tract, including Shaksgam 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 (including Bender)	Transnistria  Moldova
Tannu Uriankhai	Russia  Republic of China[note 1]	Originally part of China during the Qing dynasty per the 1727 Treaty 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 at 53°57'N in the Sayan Mountains. But the claim is not actively pursued by the ROC government.
Tumen River (disputed sovereignty of certain islands)[1][note 3]	China[note 1]  North Korea  Republic of China[note 1][note 2]  South Korea	The Republic of China would consider the 1909 Gando Convention as the basis of the China–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 and Copanca	Moldova Transnistria
Eastern part of Wakhan 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 of the Great Game, although the Chinese and Afghans did not finally agree on the border until 1963.[97][98] The Kingdom of Afghanistan and the People's Republic of China demarcated their border in 1963.[97][99][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 its list of non-self-governing territories and considers the sovereignty issue as unresolved pending a final solution. To that end, the UN sent a mission in the territory to oversee a referendum on self-determination in 1991, but it never happened. Administration was relinquished by Spain in 1976.
Yalu River (disputed sovereignty of certain islands)[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 lower Yalu River, including Pidan and Sindo at the mouth.[100] 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]

Ongoing boundary disputes within a state

Territory	Country	Internal claimants	Notes
Several islands in the Paraná River	Argentina	Entre Ríos Santa Fe	Islands: Isla de los Mástiles/La Carlota, Isla Ingeniero Sabino Corsi Norte/Sur and Isla General Juan Pistarini.
As much as a 2,821 square kilometres (1,089 sq mi) area in and around the Ibiapaba mountain range	Brazil	Ceará Piauí	This dispute originated in an 1880 imperial decree. In 1920 a solution to the dispute was arbitrated 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 a supreme court decision, a referendum or a possible mutual agreement.[101]
Fernando de Noronha		Pernambuco Rio Grande do Norte	The dispute dates from the colonial period.[102]
The kebeles of Adaytu, Undufo, and Gedamaytu	Ethiopia	Afar Somali Region	Main article: Afar–Somali clashes The three towns have long been fought over by the Issa clan Somalis, backed by the Somali Region government, against the Afar 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.[103][104] Later in 2019, the Somali Region withdrew from the agreement, claiming the three areas again.[105] The conflict between the two people has also spilled over into Djibouti.[106]
Parts of the Baitarani River in Jharkhand	India	Jharkhand  Odisha	[107]
Small areas in Balasore district and Mayurbhanj district		Odisha West Bengal	[107]
Belgaum		Karnataka Maharashtra	Belgaum district was made a part of the Karnataka state following the States Reorganisation Act, 1956. However, Maharashtra claims the district and surrounding areas as predominantly Marathi-speaking and should be merged with Maharashtra.[108]
Golaghat district, Jorhat district, and Sibsagar district		Assam  Nagaland	[109]
Kotia villages in Koraput district		Odisha  Andhra Pradesh	[107]
Langpih, Borduar, Nongwah, Matamur, Deshdemoreah Block I and Block II, and Khanduli		Assam  Meghalaya	[110]
Lushai Hills		Assam  Mizoram	[111]
Villages in Nabarangpur and Jharsuguda districts		Odisha  Chhattisgarh	[107]
Phuldungsei		Tripura  Mizoram	[112]
Four small islands off the coast of Sumatra	Indonesia	Aceh  North Sumatra	Four small islands off the coast of Central Tapanuli Regency in North Sumatra were assigned to Aceh (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.[113][114]
Disputed territories of Northern Iraq	Iraq	Iraq proper Iraqi Kurdistan	Iraq's autonomous region of Iraqi Kurdistan claims and controls parts of the governorates of Nineveh, Erbil, Kirkuk and Diyala.
Put Point [es]	Mexico	Campeche Quintana Roo Yucatán	The three states claim three different borders between them.[citation needed]
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 (formerly FSM factory) remaining in Tychy was a condition of Bieruń's separation. In the 90s, Bieruń has regained the Homera osiedle which was part of the disputed area.[115]
Treviño enclave dispute	Spain	Province of Burgos Álava	The municipalities of Condado de Treviño and La Puebla de Arganzón are part of the Province of Burgos within the Castille and Léon community, whilst being completely surrounded by the Province of Álava within the Basque Country, being one of the few internal territorial discontinuities to survive the 1833 reorganization of Spanish internal divisions. The Basque claim the territory on cultural and territorial continuity grounds, while the Castillians argue for the status quo on historical grounds.
A wide section from the 35th 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 the Tennessee River and mitigate the impact of a severe drought.[116] See Tennessee–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 the 42nd parallel north as its de jure border, based on the 1819 Adams–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.[117] The border should follow the 42nd parallel straight west from the 120th 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.[118][119][120]
New Mexico–Texas Panhandle border		Texas New Mexico	The border was defined as the 103rd meridian but an 1859 survey marked it too far west, mistakenly putting present-day towns of Farwell, Texline, and a part of Glenrio in Texas. New Mexico's draft constitution used the 103rd meridian as intended. The New Mexico Senate passed a bill to file a lawsuit to recover the strip, but it has not become law.[121] The land and towns are administered by Texas.
Labrador-Quebec border dispute	Canada	Newfoundland and Labrador Quebec	On federal government maps, the border is drawn using Newfoundland and Labrador's claims.[122]

Historic disputes, subsequently settled

Africa

Territory	Former claimants	Dispute started	Dispute settled	Notes
Ghana-Cote d'Ivoire maritime border	Ghana Cote d'Ivoire	2007	2017	Dispute over maritime border.[123][124]
Agacher Strip	Burkina Faso  Mali	1960	1986	Following repeated military clashes between Burkina Faso and Mali over the Agacher Strip, the International Court of Justice resolved the conflict in 1986 by dividing the disputed area approximately equally between the two countries.[125]
Aouzou Strip, Libya–Chad Borderlands	Chad Libya	1973	1994	In 1994 the International Court of Justice decision found in favour of Chad sovereignty over the Aouzou Strip and the Libya–Chad Borderlands, and ended the Libyan claim.
Badme	Ethiopia  Eritrea	1993	2018	Basis of the Eritrean-Ethiopian War which began in 1998. The territory was handed over to Eritrea following a joint statement at the Eritrea–Ethiopia summit in 2018.
Bakassi	Cameroon  Nigeria	1913	2006	This area was handed over by Nigeria to Cameroon following an International Court of Justice ruling and the Greentree Agreement.
Bure	Ethiopia  Eritrea[126]	2002	2008	Eritrea has accepted the decision and no longer disputes this location.[127]
Burkina Faso–Niger border dispute	Burkina Faso  Niger	1960	2013	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.[128]
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 the Kahemba region	Angola Democratic 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.[129] The countries agreed to end the dispute in July 2007.[130]
Migingo Island vicinity, and, farther north, the vicinity of the islands of Lolwe, Oyasi, Remba, Ringiti and Sigulu [sw], all a maritime rights dispute in Lake Victoria.	Kenya Uganda	2008	2009	In 2009, Migingo Island became a disputed territory when Uganda raised its national flag. The dispute is related to fishing rights in Lake Victoria. Before 2004 the island was uninhabited, but it is now home to Kenyan and Ugandan fishermen.[131] A joint re-demarcation line of the border was launched on 2 June 2009 to recover and to place survey markers on land, making delineation of the boundary on the lake more precise, with results released in late July 2009 confirming that the island falls 510 metres (1,670 ft) on the Kenyan side of the line.[132]
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.[133]
Mbanie Island, Cocotiers and Congas Island	Gabon  Equatorial Guinea	2021	2025	Contested islands in Corisco Bay, valuable for their oil.[134][135]
Sedudu	Botswana  Namibia	1890	1999	In 1999 the International Court of Justice awarded Sedudu to Botswana, ending the Namibian claim.[136]
Tindouf Province	Algeria Morocco	1956	1970	Morocco (influenced by the Greater Morocco ideology) claimed that both Tindouf and Béchar historically belong to Morocco after they were annexed by France for the French 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 the Algerian 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 the Sand war which ended with no territorial changes.[137][138][139]
Tsorona-Zalambessa	Ethiopia  Eritrea[126]	2002	2008	Eritrea has accepted the decision and no longer disputes this location.[127]
Yenga (border hamlet), and left bank of Moa river	Sierra Leone  Guinea	1995	2013	The two heads of state settled this dispute in 2013.[140]

Americas

Territory	Former claimants	Dispute started	Dispute settled	Notes
Alaska boundary dispute	United States Canada	1821	1903	Disputed between the United States and Canada (then a British 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 the Alaska 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 the Yukon 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.
Aroostook War	United States British North America	1838	1842	Disputed border between the state of Maine and the provinces of New Brunswick and Lower Canada.
Aves Island	Venezuela  Dominica	1584	2007	Dominica abandoned the claim to the island in 2007, but continues to claim the adjacent seas, as do some neighboring states.
Atacama border dispute	Bolivia  Chile	1879	1904
Belén de Bajirá	Antioquia Chocó	2000	2017	The dispute between two Colombian departments began in 2000, when both Antioquia and Chocó claimed the corregimiento as part of their own respective municipalities. In 2014, amidst a rise of tensions between the claimants, the National Government under the Geographic Institute Agustín Codazzi (IGAC) formally started a process to find a solution for the dispute.[141] IGAC awarded Belén de Bajirá to Chocó by 2017.[142]
Guaíra Falls	Brazil  Paraguay	1872	1982	The disputed islands were submerged by the reservoir of Itaipú.
Chamizal dispute	United States Mexico	1898	1963	Disputed border within the El Paso/Ciudad Juárez region.
Cresap's War	Maryland Pennsylvania	1730	1767	Dispute over the northern border of the Province of Maryland and southern border of Province of Pennsylvania, particularly west of the Susquehanna River. Settled by the drawing of the Mason–Dixon line.
New Hampshire Grants/Vermont	New Hampshire New York Vermont	1749	1791	In 1664 King Charles II decided the west bank of the Connecticut River was the eastern boundary of New York, so that that province included all of what later became the state of Vermont. During 1749–64, Governor Benning 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's admission to the Union in 1791.
Delaware Wedge	Delaware Maryland Pennsylvania	1750s	1921	A gore 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 the Mason–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 the Narragansett Bay	Colony of Rhode Island and Providence Plantations Plymouth Colony (to 1691) Province of Massachusetts Bay (from 1691)	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 Line War	New York New Jersey	1701	1756	Dispute over the southern border of Province of New York and the northern border of the Province of New Jersey. Raiding parties kidnapped and burned crops.
Isla Martín García	Argentina  Uruguay	1879	1973	After the Conquest of the Desert was launched in 1879, many indigenous leaders captured were confined there. The island was transferred to Argentine 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 the Treaty 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
Cordillera of the Andes Boundary Case	Argentina  Chile	1881	1902	After the signature of the Boundary treaty of 1881 between Chile and Argentina differing interpretations on whether the highest Andean peaks (favouring Argentina) or the continental divide (favouring Chile) was to be considered the boundary.
Puna de Atacama dispute	Argentina  Chile	1889	1898
Clipperton Island	Mexico France	1897	1931	Disputed between France and Mexico. On 28 January 1931, King Victor Emanuel, selected as a neutral arbitrator, finally declared Clipperton to be a French possession, and it has remained relatively undisputed ever since.
Beagle conflict	Argentina  Chile	1898	1982
Río Encuentro-Alto Palena dispute [es]	Argentina  Chile	1913	1966
Pirara dispute [pt]	British Guiana  Brazil	1842	1904	See also: Brazil–Guyana border 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 King Victor Emmanuel III of Italy to resolve the Pirara Question, in which 19,630 square kilometres (7,580 sq mi) would be handed over to British Guiana, and 13,570 square kilometres (5,240 sq mi) would be returned to Brazil, thus defining the limits of the border.[143]
Laguna del Desierto	Argentina  Chile	1949	1994
Missouri	United States Confederate States	1861	1865	After the Missouri secession, the State of Missouri was claimed by both the United States and Confederate States until the defeat of the Confederacy in the American Civil War
Border of New Hampshire and Canada	United States  United Kingdom	1783	1842	Ill-defined terms of the Treaty of Paris at the end of the Revolutionary War left the boundary of the state of New Hampshire and Canada in doubt. The lack of a precise definition of the "northwesternmost head of the Connecticut River" as defined by the Treaty of Paris left the land that is now the town of Pittsburg, New Hampshire within the conflicting jurisdiction of both the United States and Great Britain. In 1832 residents of the area established the short-lived Republic of Indian Stream in the area; the minuscule population of the putative nation never exceeded about 300. The boundary was finally settled definitively by the Webster–Ashburton Treaty of 1842.
Southern edge of Labrador	Canada	Newfoundland and Labrador Quebec	1927	This was formerly an international dispute between Canada, which includes Quebec, and the Dominion 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 1928 Norway asserted its claim of sovereignty over the Sverdrup Islands. The islands are named after Norwegian explorer Otto Sverdrup, who explored and mapped them from 1898 to 1902 with the vessel Fram, although some were previously inhabited by Inuit. 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 island Jan Mayen and the Antarctic Bouvet Island. On 11 November 1930, Norway ceded the Sverdrup Islands to Canada, in exchange for British recognition of Norway's sovereignty over Jan Mayen.[144]
San Andrés and Providencia, Bajo Nuevo Bank, and Serranilla Bank	Colombia  Nicaragua  Jamaica	1886	2012[145]	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.[146] Honduras and the United States continue to dispute sovereignty over both banks.
Tacna–Arica compromise	Chile  Peru	1883	1929
Pacific Ocean Sea border	Chile  Peru	1985	2014[147]	Part of the broader territorial dispute.
Erik the Red's Land	Denmark  Norway  Iceland[148]	1931	1933[149]
Isla Portillos [es]	Costa Rica  Nicaragua	2010	2018	On 2 February 2018, the ICJ rendered a decision in a border dispute between Nicaragua and Costa Rica regarding Isla 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.[150]
Hans Island	Canada Denmark ( Greenland)	1972	2022	Claimed by both Canada and the Kingdom of Denmark (on behalf of Greenland). Resolved by treaty splitting the island between Canada and Greenland.[151]
Oyster Pond	Netherlands  France	2016	2023	Claimed by both The Kingdom of the Netherlands (on behalf of Sint Maarten) and France (on behalf of Saint Martin).[152][153][154][155] Resolved by agreement splitting the bay in the middle.[156]

Antarctica

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.[157]

Asia

Territory	Former claimants	Dispute started	Dispute settled	Notes
Israeli–Lebanese maritime border	Israel Lebanon	2010	2022
Katchatheevu	Sri Lanka  India	1921	1974	The dispute on the status of the island of Kachatheevu was settled in 1974 by an agreement between both countries.[158] But still some cases are ongoing in High Court of Madras which are filed earlier regarding this dispute stating as illegally issued to Sri Lanka.[159] Several actions were still taken by the union government of India to retrieve that island back to Indian territory once again.[160]
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 the Sindh province,[161] eventually launching an operation in the area in April 1965. Later the same year, Prime Minister of the United Kingdom Harold Wilson persuaded the combatants to end hostilities and establish a tribunal 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 awarded to India, although India claimed 100% of the region.
Tiran and Sanafir Islands	Saudi Arabia  Egypt  Israel	1906	2017	These islands were transferred to Saudi Arabia in 2017.
Arabi Island and Farsi 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 the UNCLOS. The Arbitration Tribunal delivered the ruling on 7 July 2014 and settled the dispute.[162]
Indo-Bangladesh enclaves, adverse possessions and undemarcated land boundaries	India  Bangladesh	1947	2015	Following Partition of Bengal (1947), the issues of adverse possessions, enclaves and unmarked boundary arose. Inside the main part of Bangladesh, 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.[163]
Muhurichar river island	India  Bangladesh	1974	2011	Historically controlled by India but claimed by Bangladesh, disputed from approximately 1974.[164] An agreement was reached on the demarcation of the border in the area in 2011,[165] and in 2019 the Indian government confirmed that it no longer had any outstanding boundary dispute with Bangladesh.[166]
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,[167] in the first decade of the 2000s. Though land disputes no longer exist, the maritime boundary was not settled until 2014.[168][169][170]
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 1855 Treaty 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 the Treaty of Saint Petersburg, Japan agreed to give up its claims on Sakhalin in exchange for undisputed ownership of the Kuril Islands. In 1905 under the Treaty of Portsmouth Japan gained Sakhalin to the 50th parallel, but lost it again in 1945.
Palmas Island (modern-day Miangas Island)	Philippines Dutch 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 the Island of Palmas case which decided that the Palmas Island belongs to the Netherlands. Palmas Island, now Miangas Island, is a part of modern Indonesia.
Trans-Karakoram Tract, including Shaksgam 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 the Six-Day War Israel claimed Sinai. It was returned in 1982 under the terms of the 1979 Egypt–Israel peace treaty.
Taba	Israel Egypt	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 and Thổ 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 of Khmer 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 the Cambodian–Vietnamese War in 1979. Cambodia dropped its claims to Phú Quốc in 1976.[171] 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 the People'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 the Turtle 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, including East Jerusalem	Israel Jordan	1967	1988	During the Six-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 and Sipadan	Malaysia  Indonesia	1969	2002	The 2002 International Court of Justice ruling awarded both islands to Malaysia, but left unsettled the maritime 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 and Qit'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 in Xinjiang[84]	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 the princely state of Kashmir.
Chumar[84]	Pakistan (still claimed by:  India  People's Republic of China[note 1]  Republic of China[note 1])	1947	1963	Claimed as part of the princely 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 in Gilgit-Baltistan, and the Siachen Glacier[84]	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 demarcation dispute	Saudi Arabia  Yemen	1934	2000	Settled by the Treaty of Jeddah (2000).
Limbang District	Malaysia Brunei	1967	2010	Limbang District was part of Brunei until it was forced to cede it to the Raj 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 the Brunei–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	Yemen Eritrea	1995	1999	In December 1995, Eritrea entered into a dispute 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 the 1975 Algiers Agreement. Reneged on by Iraq in 1980, but re-agreed to in 1988.
Makati–Taguig boundary dispute	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, the Court of Appeals Sixth Division ruled that Makati had legal jurisdiction over the area, thus invalidating Taguig's claim.[172] Taguig did not abandon its claims and petitioned the Court of Appeals to have the decision revoked.[173] 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.[174][175] The Supreme Court finally ruled in favor of Taguig in 2023,[176] and the ruling began to be implemented in that year's elections.
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 the Tatmadaw shooting Bangladeshi fishermen, the maritime dispute was solved in 2012 by an ITLOS ruling. Then, in 2018, a diplomatic incident occurred when the Burmese government released an official map depicting St. Martin's Island as Burmese territory.[177] Myanmar subsequently acknowledged Bangladeshi sovereignty over St. Martin's Island and finally removed it from its official map by 2019.[178]
Assam-Arunachal Pradesh border	Assam Arunachal Pradesh	1951	2023	The dispute between the two Indian states spanned 1,200 points[179] and contained 123 villages, dating as far back as a 1951 single-member commission land transfer recommendation when Arunachal Pradesh was the North-East Frontier Agency. In April 2023, both states signed a memorandum of understanding to jointly demarcate their border. By September 2023, 115 villages went to Arunachal Pradesh and 8 villages went to Assam.[180]
Kuwait-Saudi Arabia border, Qaruh, and Umm al Maradim	Kuwait  Saudi Arabia  Iraq United Kingdom	1913	2019	The dispute dates as far back as when the United Kingdom and Ottoman Empire signed the Anglo-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 no de facto control over any of the area, because the Sheikhdom of Kuwait was effectively a British protectorate, Najd Sanjak was occupied by the Emirate of Nejd and Hasa, and the signatories proceeded to fight against each other in World War I, which ended in the dissolution of the Ottoman Empire. From 1919–1920, the Saudis attempted to annex Kuwait in the Kuwait-Najd War, which ended in the Uqair 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 the de jure border but Saudi Arabia recognized it only as de facto, leaving the sovereignty of the northern half of the "neutral zone" in question. In 1990, Ba'athist Iraq invaded Kuwait; the Republic of Kuwait was declared and annexed into Iraq, causing the Gulf War. Kuwaiti and Coalition forces recaptured 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.[181]
Nagorno-Karabakh and Armenian-occupied territories surrounding Nagorno-Karabakh	Azerbaijan  Armenia Artsakh	1991	2024	Following the dissolution of the Soviet Union, internationally recognized as part of Azerbaijan[182] but controlled by the Republic of Artsakh, which was de facto supported by Armenia until it became a government-in-exile in 2024. Artsakh claimed a part of Goranboy District, which it lost during Operation Goranboy in 1993 during the First Nagorno-Karabakh War, as part of Shahumyan Province. Artsakh also claimed but did not control parts of Khojavend and Tartar districts as parts of Martuni and Martakert provinces, respectively. Azerbaijan captured the surrounding territories and the city of Shusha during the Second Nagorno-Karabakh War in 2020, then finally all of Nagorno-Karabakh proper during a 2023 offensive. The dispute ended after the dissolution of Artsakh

Europe

Territory	Former claimants	Dispute started	Dispute settled	Notes
Village of Aibga and surrounding area[183][184]	Republic of Abkhazia  Russia  Georgia	2011	2011	During the existence of the Soviet 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 the Georgian SSR, the claim on the village was dropped by Russia.[185]
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. When Finland 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 the League 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.[186]
Baltic Sea	Poland Denmark	1978	2018	Poland has decided to cede to Denmark 80 percent of the disputed territory[187]
Bessarabia and Northern Bukovina	Soviet Union Socialist Republic of Romania	1940	1989	On 13 November 1989, Nicolae Ceauşescu demanded the annulment of the Molotov–Ribbentrop pact, pursuant to which Bessarabia 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 the Communist Party of Romania, held later the same month. Ceauşescu was overthrown in the Romanian Revolution in December 1989 before the claim could be seriously pursued, and the post-revolutionary National Salvation Front abandoned it.
Bulgaria-Turkey riverine border	Bulgaria Turkey	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.
Graham Island	Two Sicilies Malta France 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 Sicily Malta	1800	1814	The island was controlled by British troops as a de 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, the Treaty of Sèvres with the defeated Ottoman Empire granted the island to Greece, who joined the war in Allies' side in May 1917. The new Turkish Government of Mustafa 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 the Turkish War of Independence ended in Greek defeat in Anatolia, and the fall of David Lloyd George and his Middle Eastern policies after the Carlton Club meeting, the western powers agreed to the Treaty 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 Kingdom Revolutionary Irish Republic	1919	1922	On 21 January 1919, the 69 Sinn Féin MPs elected in the 1918 United Kingdom general election in Ireland to the British House of Commons refused to take their seats in the British Parliament and instead assembled in a separate parliament in Ireland, which proclaimed Irish independence under a revolutionary Irish Republic, leading to the Irish War of Independence. In 1920, following the collapse of the British administration, the revolutionary republic established control over 21 of Ireland's 32 counties,[188] with only urban areas and what would later become Northern Ireland remaining under British control; however, by the Anglo-Irish treaty of 1921, which ended the war of independence, the revolutionary republic was replaced by the Irish Free State—a semi-independent Dominion of the British 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, thus de facto effecting the partition of Ireland into two regions, established de jure by the British Parliament's Government of Ireland Act 1920 on 23 December 1920. On 1 July 1937, the Irish Free State adopted a 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 Kingdom Ireland	1937	1998	Formerly disputed between Ireland and the United Kingdom since the Adoption of the Constitution of Ireland on 29 December 1937, it was settled by the Good Friday Agreement in 1998, when Ireland amended its constitution to withdraw its constitutional 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 of Vyshgorogok, the westernmost part of the Ostrov uyezd, Governorate of Pskov that was ceded from RSFSR to Latvia under the Treaty of Riga (1920) along with parishes of Kachanovo and Tonkovo. In 1940 Latvian Republic was annexed by the Soviet Union and Latvian SSR was established, encompassing the above named territories until 1944 when they were transferred to the district of Ostrov, Pskov Oblast, RSFSR.[189] Since 1991 reestablished Republic of Latvia disputed Russian jurisdiction over the region until the border treaty with Russia was signed in 2007.[190]
Black Sea and Snake Island	Ukraine Romania	2004	2009	In 2004 Romania filed a case to International Court of Justice claiming that Ukraine's Snake Island was an uninhabitable rock under UNCLOS 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 the Odesa Oblast. The maritime boundary issue was settled by the International Court of Justice in 2009, awarding Romania 80% of the disputed area.
Vilnius Region	Lithuania Poland	1920	1945	During the Polish–Soviet War Polish armies entered the Vilnius Region which was at the time part of the Soviet Lithuanian–Belorussian Soviet Socialist Republic. In 1920, Polish General Lucjan Żeligowski led a coup and established the Republic of Central Lithuania which was annexed to the Second Polish Republic after the war as part of the historic Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth and due to ethnic Poles in the region. Lithuania moved its capital to Kaunas while never giving up its claim to Vilnius. The Lithuanians found support in the Soviet Union for their cause signing the Soviet–Lithuanian Mutual Assistance Treaty in 1939. Following the Soviet invasion of Poland, the region came under Soviet control and became part of the Lithuanian SSR after World War II which was followed by a large number of ethnic Poles being deported two times. Following the fall of the Soviet Union and Act of the Re-Establishment of the State of Lithuania the Vilnius region became part of Lithuania again.
Passetto di Borgo in the vicinity of the Vatican City	Italy Holy See	1870	1991	Pope John Paul II recognized the sovereignty of Italy over the Passetto on 18 May 1991.[191][192]
Jan Mayen	Norway Iceland	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 minister Ólafur 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 mile Exclusive economic zone around Iceland.[193]

Disputes over territorial waters

Territory	Claimants	Notes
Part of the EEZ generated by the Natuna 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 the nine-dash line claim are traditional Chinese fishing grounds. The Republic of China on Taiwan also claims the area.[194]
Beaufort Sea	Canada USA
Northwest Territories
Dixon Entrance
Northwest Passage and some other Arctic waters		U.S. claims navigation rights
Strait of Juan de Fuca
Gulf of Venezuela and Los Monjes Archipelago surrounding waters	Colombia  Venezuela	Dispute regarding the undefined sea border between both countries.[195]
Aegean dispute	Greece  Turkey	Broad number of delimitation disputes about a.o. national airspace, territorial waters and exclusive economic zones.
Carlingford Lough and Lough Foyle boundary dispute	Ireland  United Kingdom	Lough Foyle divides County Donegal, Republic of Ireland, and County Londonderry, Northern Ireland. Carlingford Lough divides County Louth, Republic of Ireland, and County Down, Northern Ireland.[196][197]
Dollart Bay	Germany  Netherlands	The exact course of the border through this bay is disputed,[198] yet the countries have agreed to disagree by signing a treaty in 1960.[199]
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 Croatian Sabor 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.[200]
Algerian-Spanish-Italian maritime border dispute	Algeria Spain Italy	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 the Italian 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.

See also

• Demilitarized zone
• Dependent territory
• Frozen conflict
• List of administrative divisions by country
• List of border conflicts
• List of countries and territories by land and maritime borders
• List of internal boundary disputes in the Philippines
• List of sovereign states
• Lists of active separatist movements
• Neutral territory
• Territorial claims in the Arctic
• Territorial disputes in the Persian Gulf

Notes

1. Since the end of the Chinese Civil War in 1949, the de facto territories of the Republic of China (ROC) are limited to the Taiwan Area.^[78][79] Meanwhile, the People's Republic of China (PRC) controls mainland China, Hong Kong and Macau.^[78] Officially, both the ROC and the PRC claim de jure sovereignty over all of China (including Taiwan), and regard the other government as being in rebellion.^[78][80][81]
2. Relinquished by the People's Republic of China (PRC) but is still officially claimed by the Republic of China (ROC). Officially, both the PRC and the ROC claim de jure sovereignty over all of China (including Taiwan), and regard the other government as being in rebellion.^[78][80][81] Therefore, the ROC does not recognize any territorial dispute settlement entered into by the PRC.^[85]
3. The Democratic People's Republic of Korea (North Korea) and the Republic of Korea (South Korea) do not recognize each other.