Thailand7.17 deaths/1,000 population (2008 est.)
Timor-Leste6.02 deaths/1,000 population (2008 est.)
Togo9.48 deaths/1,000 population (2008 est.)
TokelauNA (2008 est.)
Tonga5.12 deaths/1,000 population (2008 est.)
Trinidad and Tobago10.93 deaths/1,000 population (2008 est.)
Tunisia5.17 deaths/1,000 population (2008 est.)
Turkey6.02 deaths/1,000 population (2008 est.)
Turkmenistan6.11 deaths/1,000 population (2008 est.)
Turks and Caicos Islands4.16 deaths/1,000 population (2008 est.)
Tuvalu6.98 deaths/1,000 population (2008 est.)
Uganda12.32 deaths/1,000 population (2008 est.)
Ukraine15.93 deaths/1,000 population (2008 est.)
United Arab Emirates2.13 deaths/1,000 population (2008 est.)
United Kingdom10.05 deaths/1,000 population (2008 est.)
United States8.27 deaths/1,000 population (2008 est.)
Uruguay9.12 deaths/1,000 population (2008 est.)
Uzbekistan5.3 deaths/1,000 population (2008 est.)
Vanuatu7.61 deaths/1,000 population (2008 est.)
Venezuela5.1 deaths/1,000 population (2008 est.)
Vietnam6.18 deaths/1,000 population (2008 est.)
Virgin Islands6.55 deaths/1,000 population (2008 est.)
Wallis and FutunaNA (2008 est.)
West Bank3.7 deaths/1,000 population (2008 est.)
Western Sahara11.74 deaths/1,000 population (2008 est.)
World8.23 deaths/1,000 population (2008 est.)
Yemen7.83 deaths/1,000 population (2008 est.)
Zambia21.35 deaths/1,000 population (2008 est.)
Zimbabwe17.29 deaths/1,000 population (2008 est.)
This page was last updated on 18 December 2008
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@2068 Dependent areas
AustraliaAshmore and Cartier Islands, Christmas Island, Cocos(Keeling) Islands, Coral Sea Islands, Heard Island and McDonaldIslands, Norfolk Island, Macquarie Island
FranceClipperton Island, French Polynesia, French Southern andAntarctic Lands, Mayotte, New Caledonia, Saint Barthelemy, SaintMartin, Wallis and Futunanote: the US does not recognize claims to Antarctica; New Caledoniahas been considered a "sui generis" collectivity of France since1999, a unique status falling between that of an independent countryand a French overseas department
NetherlandsAruba, Netherlands Antilles
New ZealandCook Islands, Niue, Tokelau
NorwayBouvet Island, Jan Mayen, Svalbard
United KingdomAnguilla, Bermuda, British Indian Ocean Territory,British Virgin Islands, Cayman Islands, Falkland Islands, Gibraltar,Montserrat, Pitcairn Islands, Saint Helena, South Georgia and theSouth Sandwich Islands, Turks and Caicos Islands
United StatesAmerican Samoa, Baker Island, Guam, Howland Island,Jarvis Island, Johnston Atoll, Kingman Reef, Midway Islands, NavassaIsland, Northern Mariana Islands, Palmyra Atoll, Puerto Rico, VirginIslands, Wake Islandnote: from 18 July 1947 until 1 October 1994, the US administeredthe Trust Territory of the Pacific Islands; it entered into apolitical relationship with all four political units: the NorthernMariana Islands is a commonwealth in political union with the US(effective 3 November 1986); the Republic of the Marshall Islandssigned a Compact of Free Association with the US (effective 21October 1986); the Federated States of Micronesia signed a Compactof Free Association with the US (effective 3 November 1986); Palauconcluded a Compact of Free Association with the US (effective 1October 1994)
This page was last updated on 18 December 2008
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@2070 Disputes - international
AfghanistanPakistan has built fences in some portions of its borderwith Afghanistan which remains open in some areas to foreignterrorists and other illegal activities
Albaniathe Albanian Government calls for the protection of therights of ethnic Albanians in neighboring countries, and thepeaceful resolution of interethnic disputes; some ethnic Albaniangroups in neighboring countries advocate for a "greater Albania,"but the idea has little appeal among Albanian nationals; the massemigration of unemployed Albanians remains a problem for developedcountries, chiefly Greece and Italy
AlgeriaAlgeria, and many other states, rejects Moroccanadministration of Western Sahara; the Polisario Front, exiled inAlgeria, represents the Sahrawi Arab Democratic Republic; Algeria'sborder with Morocco remains an irritant to bilateral relations, eachnation accusing the other of harboring militants and arms smuggling;Algeria remains concerned about armed bandits operating throughoutthe Sahel who sometimes destabilize southern Algerian towns; dormantdisputes include Libyan claims of about 32,000 sq km still reflectedon its maps of southeastern Algeria and the FLN's assertions of aclaim to Chirac Pastures in southeastern Morocco
American SamoaTokelau periodically asserts claims to AmericanSamoa's Swains Island (Olohega), such as in its 2006 draftindependence constitution
Andorranone
AngolaCabindan separatists continue to return to the Angolanexclave from exile in neighboring states and Europe since the 2006ceasefire and peace agreement
Anguillanone
Antarcticathe Antarctic Treaty freezes, and most states do notrecognize, the land and maritime territorial claims made byArgentina, Australia, Chile, France, New Zealand, Norway, and theUnited Kingdom (some overlapping) for three-fourths of thecontinent; the US and Russia reserve the right to make claims; noclaims have been made in the sector between 90 degrees west and 150degrees west; the International Whaling Commission created asancturary around the entire continent to deter catches by countriesclaiming to conduct scientific whaling; Australia has established asimilar preserve in the waters around its territorial claim
Antigua and Barbudanone
Arctic Oceanthe littoral states are engaged in various stages ofdemonstrating the limits of their continental shelves beyond 200nautical miles from their declared baselines in accordance withArticle 76, paragraph 8, of the United Nations Convention on the Lawof the Sea; record summer melting of sea ice in the Arctic hasrestimulated interest in maritime shipping lanes and sea floorexploration
ArgentinaArgentina continues to assert its claims to theUK-administered Falkland Islands (Islas Malvinas), South Georgia,and the South Sandwich Islands in its constitution, forciblyoccupying the Falklands in 1982, but in 1995 agreed no longer toseek settlement by force; territorial claim in Antarctica partiallyoverlaps UK and Chilean claims; unruly region at convergence ofArgentina-Brazil-Paraguay borders is locus of money laundering,smuggling, arms and illegal narcotics trafficking, and fundraisingfor extremist organizations; uncontested dispute between Brazil andUruguay over Braziliera/Brasiliera Island in the Quarai/CuareimRiver leaves the tripoint with Argentina in question; in 2006,Argentina went to the ICJ to protest, on environmental grounds, theconstruction of two pulp mills in Uruguay on the Uruguay River,which forms the boundary; both parties presented their pleadings in2007 with Argentina's reply in January and Uruguay's rejoinder inJuly 2008; the joint boundary commission, established by Chile andArgentina in 2001 has yet to map and demarcate the delimitedboundary in the inhospitable Andean Southern Ice Field (Campo deHielo Sur)
ArmeniaArmenia supports ethnic Armenian secessionists inNagorno-Karabakh and since the early 1990s, has militarily occupied16% of Azerbaijan - Organization for Security and Cooperation inEurope (OSCE) continues to mediate dispute; over 800,000 mostlyethnic Azerbaijanis were driven from the occupied lands and Armenia;about 230,000 ethnic Armenians were driven from their homes inAzerbaijan into Armenia and Nagorno-Karabakh; Azerbaijan seekstransit route through Armenia to connect to Naxcivan exclave; borderwith Turkey remains closed over Nagorno-Karabakh dispute; ethnicArmenian groups in Javakheti region of Georgia seek greaterautonomy; Armenians continue to emigrate, primarily to Russia,seeking employment
Arubanone
Ashmore and Cartier Islandsas the closest Australian territory toIndonesia, these islands became the target of human traffickers forthe landing of illegal immigrants; in 2001, the Australiangovernment removed these islands from the Australian Migration Zonemaking illegal arrivals ineligible for temporary visas and entryinto Australia
Atlantic Oceansome maritime disputes (see littoral states)
AustraliaTimor-Leste and Australia agreed in 2005 to defer thedisputed portion of the boundary for fifty years and to splithydrocarbon revenues evenly outside the Joint Petroleum DevelopmentArea covered by the 2002 Timor Sea Treaty; dispute with Timor-Lestehampers creation of a revised maritime boundary with Indonesia inthe Timor Sea; regional states continue to express concern overAustralia's 2004 declaration of a 1,000-nautical mile-wide maritimeidentification zone; Australia asserts land and maritime claims toAntarctica; in 2004 Australia submitted its claims to Commission onthe Limits of the Continental Shelf (CLCS) to extend its continentalmargins covering over 3.37 million square kilometers, expanding itsseabed roughly thirty percent more than its claimed exclusiveeconomic zone; since 2003, Australia has led the Regional AssistanceMission to the Solomon Islands (RAMSI) to maintain civil andpolitical order and reinforce regional security
Austriawhile threats of international legal action nevermaterialized in 2007, 915,220 Austrians, with the support of thenewly elected Freedom Party, signed a petition in January 2008,demanding that Austria block the Czech Republic's accession to theEU unless Prague closes its nuclear power plant in Temelin,bordering Austria
AzerbaijanArmenia supports ethnic Armenian secessionists inNagorno-Karabakh and since the early 1990s has militarily occupied16% of Azerbaijan; over 800,000 mostly ethnic Azerbaijanis weredriven from the occupied lands and Armenia; about 230,000 ethnicArmenians were driven from their homes in Azerbaijan into Armeniaand Nagorno-Karabakh; Azerbaijan seeks transit route through Armeniato connect to Naxcivan exclave; Organization for Security andCooperation in Europe (OSCE) continues to mediate dispute;Azerbaijan, Kazakhstan, and Russia have ratified Caspian seabeddelimitation treaties based on equidistance, while Iran continues toinsist on an even one-fifth allocation and challenges Azerbaijan'shydrocarbon exploration in disputed waters; bilateral talks continuewith Turkmenistan on dividing the seabed and contested oilfields inthe middle of the Caspian; Azerbaijan and Georgia continue todiscuss the alignment of their boundary at certain crossing areas
Bahamas, Thedisagrees with the US on the alignment the northernaxis of a potential maritime boundary; continues to monitor andinterdict drug dealers and Haitian and Cuban refugees in Bahamianwaters
Bahrainnone
Bangladeshdiscussions with India remain stalled to delimit a smallsection of river boundary, exchange territory for 51 smallBangladeshi exclaves in India and 111 small Indian exclaves inBangladesh, allocate divided villages, and stop illegal cross-bordertrade, migration, violence, and transit of terrorists through theporous border; Bangladesh protests India's fencing and walling offhigh-traffic sections of the porous boundary; a jointBangladesh-India boundary commission resurveyed and reconstructed 92missing pillars in 2007; dispute with India over New Moore/SouthTalpatty/Purbasha Island in the Bay of Bengal deters maritimeboundary delimitation; after 21 years, Bangladesh resumes talks withBurma on delimiting a maritime boundary
BarbadosBarbados and Trinidad and Tobago abide by the April 2006Permanent Court of Arbitration decision delimiting a maritimeboundary and limiting catches of flying fish in Trinidad andTobago's exclusive economic zone; joins other Caribbean states tocounter Venezuela's claim that Aves Island sustains humanhabitation, a criterion under the UN Convention on the Law of theSea (UNCLOS), which permits Venezuela to extend its EEZ/continentalshelf over a large portion of the eastern Caribbean Sea
BelarusBoundary demarcated with Latvia and Lithuania in 2006; 1997boundary delimitation treaty with Ukraine remains unratified overunresolved financial claims, preventing demarcation and diminishingborder security
Belgiumnone
BelizeOAS-initiated Agreement on the Framework for Negotiations andConfidence Building Measures saw cooperation in repatriation ofGuatemalan squatters and other areas, but Guatemalan land andmaritime claims in Belize and the Caribbean Sea remain unresolved;the Line of Adjacency created under the 2002 Differendum serves inlieu of the contiguous international boundary to control squattingin the sparsely inhabited rain forests of Belize's border region;Honduras claims Belizean-administered Sapodilla Cays in itsconstitution but agreed to a joint ecological park under theDifferendum
Beninin September 2007, Economic Community of West African States(ECOWAS) intervened to attempt to resolve the dispute over twovillages along the Benin-Burkina Faso border that remain from 2005ICJ decision; much of Benin-Niger boundary, including tripoint withNigeria, remains undemarcated; in 2005, Nigeria ceded thirteenvillages to Benin, but border relations remain strained by rivalcross-border gang clashes; talks continue between Benin and Togo onfunding the Adjrala hydroelectric dam on the Mona River
Bermudanone
BhutanBhutan cooperates with India to expel Indian Nagalandseparatists; lacking any treaty describing the boundary, Bhutan andChina continue negotiations to establish a common boundary alignmentto resolve territorial disputes arising from substantialcartographic discrepancies, the largest of which lie in Bhutan'snorthwest and along the Chumbi salient
BoliviaChile and Peru rebuff Bolivia's reactivated claim to restorethe Atacama corridor, ceded to Chile in 1884, but Chile offersinstead unrestricted but not sovereign maritime access through Chilefor Bolivian natural gas and other commodities; an accord placed thelong-disputed Isla Suárez/Ilha de Guajará-Mirim, a fluvial island onthe Río Mamoré, under Bolivian administration in 1958, butsovereignty remains in dispute
Bosnia and Herzegovinasections along the Drina River remain indispute between Bosnia and Herzegovina and Serbia; discussionscontinue with Croatia on several small disputed sections of theboundary related to maritime access that hinder final ratificationof the 1999 border agreement
BotswanaBotswana still struggles to seal its border from thousandsof Zimbabweans who flee economic collapse and political persecution;Namibia has long supported, and in 2004 Zimbabwe dropped objectionsto, plans between Botswana and Zambia to build a bridge over theZambezi River at Kazungula crossing, thereby de facto recognizingthe short, but not clearly delimited, Botswana-Zambia boundary
Bouvet Islandnone
Brazilunruly region at convergence of Argentina-Brazil-Paraguayborders is locus of money laundering, smuggling, arms and illegalnarcotics trafficking, and fundraising for extremist organizations;uncontested boundary dispute with Uruguay over Isla Brasilera at theconfluence of the Quarai/Cuareim and Invernada rivers, that form atripoint with Argentina; the Itaipú Dam reservoir covers over a oncecontested section of Brazil-Paraguay boundary west of Guaira Fallson the Rio Parana; an accord placed the long-disputed IslaSuárez/Ilha de Guajará-Mirim, a fluvial island on the Río Mamoré,under Bolivian administration in 1958, but sovereignty remains indispute
British Indian Ocean TerritoryMauritius claims the ChagosArchipelago including Diego Garcia; in 2001, the former inhabitantsof the Chagos Archipelago, evicted in 1967 and 1973 and now residingchiefly in Mauritius, were granted UK citizenship and the right torepatriation; in May 2007, the UK Court of Appeals upheld the May2006 High Court of London judgment reversing the UK government's2004 Orders of Council that banned habitation on the islands; asmall group of Chagossians visited Diego Garcia in April 2006;repatriation is complicated by the exclusive US military lease ofDiego Garcia that restricts access to the largest viable island inthe chain
British Virgin Islandsnone
BruneiBrunei and Malaysia agreed in September 2008 to resolve theiroffshore and deepwater seabed dispute, resume hydrocarbonexploration, and renounce any territorial claims on land; Bruneiestablished an exclusive economic fishing zone encompassing LouisaReef in the southern Spratly Islands in 1984, but makes no publicterritorial claim to the offshore reefs; the 2002 "Declaration onthe Conduct of Parties in the South China Sea" has eased tensions inthe Spratly Islands but falls short of a legally binding "code ofconduct" desired by several of the disputants
Bulgarianone
Burkina Fasoin September 2007, Economic Community of West AfricanStates (ECOWAS) intervened to attempt to resolve the dispute overtwo villages along the Benin-Burkina Faso border that remain from2005 ICJ decision; in recent years citizens and rogue securityforces rob and harass local populations on both sides of thepoorly-defined Burkina Faso-Niger border; despite the presence ofover 9,000 UN forces (UNOCI) in Cote d'Ivoire since 2004, ethnicconflict continues to spread into neighboring states who can nolonger send their migrant workers to work in Ivorian cocoaplantations
Burmaover half of Burma's population consists of diverse ethnicgroups who have substantial numbers of kin in neighboring countries;Thailand must deal with Karen and other ethnic refugees, asylumseekers, and rebels, as well as illegal cross-border activities fromBurma; Thailand is studying the feasibility of jointly constructingthe Hatgyi Dam on the Salween River near the border with Burma;citing environmental, cultural, and social concerns, China isreconsidering construction of 13 dams on the Salween River butenergy-starved Burma with backing from Thailand remains intent onbuilding five hydro-electric dams downstream, despite identicalregional and international protests; India seeks cooperation fromBurma to keep Indian Nagaland separatists, such as the UnitedLiberation Front of Assam, from hiding in remote Burmese Uplands;after 21 years, Bangladesh resumes talks with Burma on delimiting amaritime boundary in January 2008
BurundiBurundi and Rwanda dispute sections of border on theAkanyaru/Kanyaru and the Kagera/Nyabarongo rivers, which havechanged course since the 1960s, when the boundary was delimited;cross-border conflicts among Tutsi, Hutu, other ethnic groups,associated political rebels, armed gangs, and various governmentforces persist in the Great Lakes region
CambodiaCambodia and Thailand dispute sections of boundary withmissing boundary markers and claims of Thai encroachments intoCambodian territory; maritime boundary with Vietnam is hampered byunresolved dispute over sovereignty of offshore islands; Thailandaccuses Cambodia of obstructing inclusion of Thai areas near PreahVihear temple ruins, awarded to Cambodia by ICJ decision in 1962, aspart of a planned UN World Heritage site
CameroonJoint Border Commission with Nigeria reviewed 2002 ICJruling on the entire boundary and bilaterally resolved differences,including June 2006 Greentree Agreement that immediately cededsovereignty of the Bakassi Peninsula to Cameroon with a fullphase-out of Nigerian control and patriation of residents in 2008;Cameroon and Nigeria agree on maritime delimitation in March 2008;sovereignty dispute between Equatorial Guinea and Cameroon over anisland at the mouth of the Ntem River; only Nigeria and Cameroonhave heeded the Lake Chad Commission's admonition to ratify thedelimitation treaty, which also includes the Chad-Niger andNiger-Nigeria boundaries
Canadamanaged maritime boundary disputes with the US at DixonEntrance, Beaufort Sea, Strait of Juan de Fuca, and the Gulf ofMaine including the disputed Machias Seal Island and North Rock;Canada, the US, and other countries dispute the status of theNorthwest Passage; US works closely with Canada to intensifysecurity measures for monitoring and controlling legal and illegalmovement of people, transport, and commodities across theinternational border; sovereignty dispute with Denmark over HansIsland in the Kennedy Channel between Ellesmere Island andGreenland; commencing the collection of technical evidence forsubmission to the Commission on the Limits of the Continental Shelfin support of claims for continental shelf beyond 200 nautical milesfrom its declared baselines in the Arctic, as stipulated in Article76, paragraph 8, of the United Nations Convention on the Law of theSea
Cape Verdenone
Cayman Islandsnone
Central African Republicperiodic skirmishes over water and grazingrights among related pastoral populations along the border withsouthern Sudan persist
Chadsince 2003, Janjawid armed militia and the Sudanese militaryhave driven hundreds of thousands of Darfur residents into Chad;Chad remains an important mediator in the Sudanese civil conflict,reducing tensions with Sudan arising from cross-border banditry;Chadian Aozou rebels reside in southern Libya; only Nigeria andCameroon have heeded the Lake Chad Commission's admonition to ratifythe delimitation treaty, which also includes the Chad-Niger andNiger-Nigeria boundaries
ChileChile and Peru rebuff Bolivia's reinvigorated claim to restorethe Atacama corridor, ceded to Chile in 1884, but Chile has offeredinstead unrestricted but not sovereign maritime access through Chileto Bolivian gas and other commodities; Chile rejects Peru'sunilateral legislation to change its latitudinal maritime boundarywith Chile to an equidistance line with a southwestern axis favoringPeru, in October 2007, Peru took its maritime complaint with Chileto the ICJ; territorial claim in Antarctica (Chilean AntarcticTerritory) partially overlaps Argentine and British claims; thejoint boundary commission, established by Chile and Argentina in2001, has yet to map and demarcate the delimited boundary in theinhospitable Andean Southern Ice Field (Campo de Hielo Sur)
China continuing talks and confidence-building measures work toward reducing tensions over Kashmir that nonetheless remains militarized with portions under the de facto administration of China (Aksai Chin), India (Jammu and Kashmir), and Pakistan (Azad Kashmir and Northern Areas); India does not recognize Pakistan's ceding historic Kashmir lands to China in 1964; China and India continue their security and foreign policy dialogue started in 2005 related to the dispute over most of their rugged, militarized boundary, regional nuclear proliferation, and other matters; China claims most of India's Arunachal Pradesh to the base of the Himalayas; lacking any treaty describing the boundary, Bhutan and China continue negotiations to establish a common boundary alignment to resolve territorial disputes due to cartographic discrepancies; Chinese maps show an international boundary symbol off the coasts of the littoral states of the South China Seas, where China has interrupted Vietnamese hydrocarbon exploration; China asserts sovereignty over the Spratly Islands together with Malaysia, Philippines, Taiwan, Vietnam, and possibly Brunei; the 2002 "Declaration on the Conduct of Parties in the South China Sea" eased tensions in the Spratly's but is not the legally binding "code of conduct" sought by some parties; Vietnam and China continue to expand construction of facilities in the Spratly's and in March 2005, the national oil companies of China, the Philippines, and Vietnam signed a joint accord on marine seismic activities in the Spratly Islands; China occupies some of the Paracel Islands also claimed by Vietnam and Taiwan; China and Taiwan continue to reject both Japan's claims to the uninhabited islands of Senkaku-shoto (Diaoyu Tai) and Japan's unilaterally declared equidistance line in the East China Sea, the site of intensive hydrocarbon exploration and exploitation; certain islands in the Yalu and Tumen rivers are in dispute with North Korea; North Korea and China seek to stem illegal migration to China by North Koreans, fleeing privations and oppression, by building a fence along portions of the border and imprisoning North Koreans deported by China; China and Russia have demarcated the once disputed islands at the Amur and Ussuri confluence and in the Argun River in accordance with their 2004 Agreement; China and Tajikistan have begun demarcating the revised boundary agreed to in the delimitation of 2002; the decade-long demarcation of the China-Vietnam land boundary is expected to be completed by the end of 2008, while the maritime boundary delimitation and fisheries agreements in the Gulf of Tonkin, ratified in June 2004, have been implemented; citing environmental, cultural, and social concerns, China has reconsidered construction of 13 dams on the Salween River, but energy-starved Burma, with backing from Thailand, remains intent on building five hydro-electric dams downstream despite regional and international protests; Chinese and Hong Kong authorities met in March 2008 to resolve ownership and use of lands recovered in Shenzhen River channelization, including 96-hectare Lok Ma Chau Loop; Hong Kong developing plans to reduce 2,000 out of 2,800 hectares of its restricted Closed Area by 2010
Christmas Islandnone
Clipperton Islandnone
Cocos (Keeling) Islandsnone
Colombiain December 2007, ICJ allocates San Andres, Providencia,and Santa Catalina islands to Colombia under 1928 Treaty but doesnot rule on 82°W meridian as maritime boundary with Nicaragua;managed dispute with Venezuela over maritime boundary andVenezuelan-administered Los Monjes Islands near the Gulf ofVenezuela; Colombian-organized illegal narcotics, guerrilla, andparamilitary activities penetrate all neighboring borders and havecaused Colombian citizens to flee mostly into neighboring countries;Colombia, Honduras, Nicaragua, Jamaica, and the US assert variousclaims to Bajo Nuevo and Serranilla Bank
Comorosclaims French-administered Mayotte and challenges France'sand Madagascar's claims to Banc du Geyser, a drying reef in theMozambique Channel; in May 2008, African Union forces are called into assist the Comoros military recapture Anjouan Island from rebelswho seized it in 2001
Congo, Democratic Republic of the heads of the Great Lakes states and UN pledged in 2004 to abate tribal, rebel, and militia fighting in the region, including northeast Congo, where the UN Organization Mission in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (MONUC), organized in 1999, maintains over 16,500 uniformed peacekeepers; members of Uganda's Lords Resistance Army forces continue to seek refuge in Congo's Garamba National Park as peace talks with the Uganda government evolve; the location of the boundary in the broad Congo River with the Republic of the Congo is indefinite except in the Pool Malebo/Stanley Pool area; Uganda and DROC dispute Rukwanzi island in Lake Albert and other areas on the Semliki River with hydrocarbon potential; boundary commission continues discussions over Congolese-administered triangle of land on the right bank of the Lunkinda river claimed by Zambia near the DROC village of Pweto
Congo, Republic of thethe location of the boundary in the broadCongo River with the Democratic Republic of the Congo is indefiniteexcept in the Pool Malebo/Stanley Pool area
Cook Islandsnone
Coral Sea Islandsnone
Costa Ricathe ICJ has given Costa Rica until January 2008 to replyand Nicaragua until July 2008 to rejoin before rendering itsdecision on the navigation, security, and commercial rights of CostaRican vessels on the Río San Juan over which Nicaragua retainssovereignty
Cote d'Ivoiredespite the presence of over 9,000 UN forces (UNOCI)in Cote d'Ivoire since 2004, ethnic conflict still leaves displacedhundreds of thousands of Ivorians in and out of the country as wellas driven out migrants from neighboring states who worked in Ivoriancocoa plantations; the March 2007 peace deal between Ivorian rebelsand the government brought significant numbers of rebels out ofhiding in neighboring states
Croatiadispute remains with Bosnia and Herzegovina over severalsmall disputed sections of the boundary related to maritime accessthat hinders ratification of the 1999 border agreement; theCroatia-Slovenia land and maritime boundary agreement, which wouldhave ceded most of Pirin Bay and maritime access to Slovenia andseveral villages to Croatia, remains un-ratified and in dispute;Slovenia also protests Croatia's 2003 claim to an exclusive economiczone in the Adriatic; as a European Union peripheral state, Sloveniaimposed a hard border Schengen regime with non-member Croatia inDecember 2007
CubaUS Naval Base at Guantanamo Bay is leased to US and only mutualagreement or US abandonment of the facility can terminate the lease
Cyprushostilities in 1974 divided the island into two de factoautonomous entities, the internationally recognized CypriotGovernment and a Turkish-Cypriot community (north Cyprus); the1,000-strong UN Peacekeeping Force in Cyprus (UNFICYP) has served inCyprus since 1964 and maintains the buffer zone between north andsouth; on 1 May 2004, Cyprus entered the European Union stilldivided, with the EU's body of legislation and standards (acquiscommunitaire) suspended in the north; Turkey protests CypriotGovernment creating hydrocarbon blocks and maritime boundary withLebanon in March 2007
Czech Republicwhile threats of international legal action nevermaterialized in 2007, 915,220 Austrians, with the support of thepopular Freedom Party, signed a petition in January 2008, demandingthat Austria block the Czech Republic's accession to the EU unlessPrague closes its controversial Soviet-style nuclear plant inTemelin, bordering Austria
DenmarkIceland, the UK, and Ireland dispute Denmark's claim thatthe Faroe Islands' continental shelf extends beyond 200 nm; Faroesecontinue to study proposals for full independence; sovereigntydispute with Canada over Hans Island in the Kennedy Channel betweenEllesmere Island and Greenland
DjiboutiDjibouti maintains economic ties and border accords with"Somaliland" leadership while maintaining some political ties tovarious factions in Somalia; Kuwait is chief investor in the 2008restoration and upgrade of the Ethiopian-Djibouti rail link
DominicaDominica is the only Caribbean state to challengeVenezuela's sovereignty claim over Aves Island and joins the otherisland nations in challenging whether the feature sustains humanhabitation, a criterion under the UN Convention on the Law of theSea (UNCLOS), which permits Venezuela to extend its ExclusiveEconomic Zone (EEZ) and continental shelf claims over a largeportion of the eastern Caribbean Sea
Dominican RepublicHaitian migrants cross the porous border into theDominican Republic to find work; illegal migrants from the DominicanRepublic cross the Mona Passage each year to Puerto Rico to findbetter work
Ecuadororganized illegal narcotics operations in Colombia penetrateacross Ecuador's shared border, which thousands of Colombians alsocross to escape the violence in their home country
Egyptwhile Sudan retains claim to the Hala'ib Triangle north of the1899 Treaty boundary along the 22nd Parallel, both states withdrewtheir military presence in the 1990s and Egypt has invested in andeffectively administers the area; Egypt no longer shows itsadministration of the Bir Tawil trapezoid in Sudan on its maps;Gazan breaches in the security wall with Egypt in January 2008highlight difficulties in monitoring the Sinai border
El SalvadorInternational Court of Justice (ICJ) ruled on thedelimitation of "bolsones" (disputed areas) along the ElSalvador-Honduras boundary, in 1992, with final agreement by theparties in 2006 after an Organization of American States (OAS)survey and a further ICJ ruling in 2003; the 1992 ICJ ruling adviseda tripartite resolution to a maritime boundary in the Gulf ofFonseca advocating Honduran access to the Pacific; El Salvadorcontinues to claim tiny Conejo Island, not identified in the ICJdecision, off Honduras in the Gulf of Fonseca
Equatorial Guineain 2002, ICJ ruled on an equidistance settlementof Cameroon-Equatorial Guinea-Nigeria maritime boundary in the Gulfof Guinea, but a dispute between Equatorial Guinea and Cameroon overan island at the mouth of the Ntem River and imprecisely definedmaritime coordinates in the ICJ decision delay final delimitation;UN urges Equatorial Guinea and Gabon to resolve the sovereigntydispute over Gabon-occupied Mbane and lesser islands and to create amaritime boundary in the hydrocarbon-rich Corisco Bay
EritreaEritrea and Ethiopia agreed to abide by 2002Ethiopia-Eritrea Boundary Commission's (EEBC) delimitation decisionbut, neither party responded to the revised line detailed in theNovember 2006 EEBC Demarcation Statement; UN Peacekeeping Mission toEthiopia and Eritrea (UNMEE), which has monitored the 25-km-wideTemporary Security Zone in Eritrea since 2000, is extended for sixmonths in 2007 despite Eritrean restrictions on its operations andreduced force of 17,000; Sudan accuses Eritrea of supporting easternSudanese rebel groups
EstoniaRussia recalled its signature to the 1996 technical borderagreement with Estonia in 2005, rather than concede to Estonia'sappending prepared a unilateral declaration referencing Sovietoccupation and territorial losses; Russia demands betteraccommodation of Russian-speaking population in Estonia; Estoniancitizen groups continue to press for realignment of the boundarybased on the 1920 Tartu Peace Treaty that would bring the nowdivided ethnic Setu people and parts of the Narva region withinEstonia; as a member state that forms part of the EU's externalborder, Estonia must implement the strict Schengen border rules withRussia
EthiopiaEritrea and Ethiopia agreed to abide by the 2002Eritrea-Ethiopia Boundary Commission's (EEBC) delimitation decision,but neither party responded to the revised line detailed in theNovember 2006 EEBC Demarcation Statement; UN Peacekeeping Mission toEthiopia and Eritrea (UNMEE), which has monitored the 25-km-wideTemporary Security Zone in Eritrea since 2000, is extended for sixmonths in 2007 despite Eritrean restrictions on its operations andreduced force of 17,000; the undemarcated former Britishadministrative line has little meaning as a political separation torival clans within Ethiopia's Ogaden and southern Somalia's Oromoregion; Ethiopian forces invaded southern Somalia and routedIslamist Courts from Mogadishu in January 2007; "Somaliland"secessionists provide port facilities in Berbera and trade ties tolandlocked Ethiopia; civil unrest in eastern Sudan has hamperedefforts to demarcate the porous boundary with Ethiopia
European Unionas a political union, the EU has no border disputeswith neighboring countries, but Estonia has no land boundaryagreements with Russia, Slovenia disputes its land and maritimeboundaries with Croatia, and Spain has territorial and maritimedisputes with Morocco and with the UK over Gibraltar; the EU has setup a Schengen area - consisting of 22 EU member states that havesigned the convention implementing the Schengen agreements or"acquis" (1985 and 1990) on the free movement of persons and theharmonization of border controls in Europe; these agreements becameincorporated into EU law with the implementation of the 1997 Treatyof Amsterdam on 1 May 1999; in addition, non-EU states Iceland andNorway (as part of the Nordic Union) have been included in theSchengen area since 1996 (full members in 2001), and Switzerlandsince 2008 bringing the total current membership to 25; the UK(since 2000) and Ireland (since 2002) take part in only some aspectsof the Schengen area, especially with respect to police and criminalmatters; nine of the 12 new member states that joined the EU since2004 joined Schengen on 21 December 2007; of the three remaining EUstates, Cyprus is expected to join by 2009, while Romania andBulgaria continue to enhance their border security systems
Falkland Islands (Islas Malvinas)Argentina, which claims theislands in its constitution and briefly occupied them by force in1982, agreed in 1995 to no longer seek settlement by force; UKcontinues to reject Argentine requests for sovereignty talks
Faroe Islandsbecause anticipated offshore hydrocarbon resourceshave not been realized, earlier Faroese proposals for fullindependence have been deferred; Iceland, the UK, and Irelanddispute Denmark's claim that the Faroe Islands' continental shelfextends beyond 200 nm
Fijinone
Finlandvarious groups in Finland advocate restoration of Kareliaand other areas ceded to the Soviet Union, but the FinnishGovernment asserts no territorial demands
FranceMadagascar claims the French territories of Bassas da India,Europa Island, Glorioso Islands, and Juan de Nova Island; Comorosclaims Mayotte; Mauritius claims Tromelin Island; territorialdispute between Suriname and the French overseas department ofFrench Guiana; France asserts a territorial claim in Antarctica(Adelie Land); France and Vanuatu claim Matthew and Hunter Islands,east of New Caledonia
French Polynesianone
French Southern and Antarctic LandsFrench claim to "Adelie Land" inAntarctica is not recognized by the USBassas da India, Europa Island, Glorioso Islands, Juan de NovaIsland (Iles Eparses): claimed by MadagascarTromelin Island (Iles Eparses): claimed by Mauritius
GabonUN urges Equatorial Guinea and Gabon to resolve thesovereignty dispute over Gabon-occupied Mbane Island and lesserislands and to establish a maritime boundary in hydrocarbon-richCorisco Bay
Gambia, Theattempts to stem refugees, cross-border raids, armssmuggling, and other illegal activities by separatists from southernSenegal's Casamance region, as well as from conflicts in other westAfrican states
Gaza StripWest Bank and Gaza Strip are Israeli-occupied withcurrent status subject to the Israeli-Palestinian Interim Agreement- permanent status to be determined through further negotiation;Israel removed settlers and military personnel from the Gaza Stripin August 2005
GeorgiaRussia and Georgia agree on delimiting 80% of their commonborder, leaving certain small, strategic segments and the maritimeboundary unresolved; OSCE observers monitor volatile areas such asthe Pankisi Gorge in the Akhmeti region and the Argun Gorge inAbkhazia; UN Observer Mission in Georgia has maintained apeacekeeping force in Georgia since 1993; Meshkheti Turks scatteredthroughout the former Soviet Union seek to return to Georgia;boundary with Armenia remains undemarcated; ethnic Armenian groupsin Javakheti region of Georgia seek greater autonomy from theGeorgian government; Azerbaijan and Georgia continue to discuss thealignment of their boundary at certain crossing areas
Germanynone
GhanaGhana struggles to accommodate returning nationals who workedin the cocoa plantations and escaped fighting in Cote d'Ivoire
Gibraltarin 2002, Gibraltar residents voted overwhelmingly byreferendum to reject any "shared sovereignty" arrangement; thegovernment of Gibraltar insists on equal participation in talksbetween the UK and Spain; Spain disapproves of UK plans to grantGibraltar even greater autonomy
GreeceGreece and Turkey continue discussions to resolve theircomplex maritime, air, territorial, and boundary disputes in theAegean Sea; Cyprus question with Turkey; Greece rejects the use ofthe name Macedonia or Republic of Macedonia; the mass migration ofunemployed Albanians still remains a problem for developedcountries, chiefly Greece and Italy
Greenlandmanaged dispute between Canada and Denmark over HansIsland in the Kennedy Channel between Canada's Ellesmere Island andGreenland
Grenadanone
Guamnone
Guatemalaannual ministerial meetings under the OAS-initiatedAgreement on the Framework for Negotiations and Confidence BuildingMeasures continue to address Guatemalan land and maritime claims inBelize and the Caribbean Sea; the Line of Adjacency created underthe 2002 Differendum serves in lieu of the contiguous internationalboundary to control squatting in the sparsely inhabited rain forestsof Belize's border region; Mexico must deal with thousands ofimpoverished Guatemalans and other Central Americans who cross theporous border looking for work in Mexico and the United States
Guernseynone
Guineaconflicts among rebel groups, warlords, and youth gangs inneighboring states have spilled over into Guinea, resulting indomestic instability; Sierra Leone considers Guinea's definition ofthe flood plain limits to define the left bank boundary of theMakona and Moa rivers excessive and protests Guinea's continuedoccupation of these lands, including the hamlet of Yenga, occupiedsince 1998
Guinea-Bissauin 2006, political instability within Senegal'sCasamance region resulted in thousands of Senegalese refugees,cross-border raids, and arms smuggling into Guinea-Bissau
Guyanaall of the area west of the Essequibo River is claimed byVenezuela preventing any discussion of a maritime boundary; Guyanahas expressed its intention to join Barbados in asserting claimsbefore UNCLOS that Trinidad and Tobago's maritime boundary withVenezuela extends into their waters; Suriname claims a triangle ofland between the New and Kutari/Koetari rivers in a historic disputeover the headwaters of the Courantyne; Guyana seeks arbitrationunder provisions of the UN Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS)to resolve the long-standing dispute with Suriname over the axis ofthe territorial sea boundary in potentially oil-rich waters
Haitisince 2004, about 8,000 peacekeepers from the UN StabilizationMission in Haiti (MINUSTAH) maintain civil order in Haiti; despiteefforts to control illegal migration, Haitians cross into theDominican Republic and sail to neighboring countries; Haiti claimsUS-administered Navassa Island
Heard Island and McDonald Islandsnone
Holy See (Vatican City)none
HondurasInternational Court of Justice (ICJ) ruled on thedelimitation of "bolsones" (disputed areas) along the ElSalvador-Honduras border in 1992 with final settlement by theparties in 2006 after an Organization of American States (OAS)survey and a further ICJ ruling in 2003; the 1992 ICJ ruling adviseda tripartite resolution to a maritime boundary in the Gulf ofFonseca with consideration of Honduran access to the Pacific; ElSalvador continues to claim tiny Conejo Island, not mentioned in theICJ ruling, off Honduras in the Gulf of Fonseca; Honduras claims theBelizean-administered Sapodilla Cays off the coast of Belize in itsconstitution, but agreed to a joint ecological park around the caysshould Guatemala consent to a maritime corridor in the Caribbeanunder the OAS-sponsored 2002 Belize-Guatemala Differendum; memorialsand countermemorials were filed by the parties in Nicaragua's 1999and 2001 proceedings against Honduras and Colombia at the ICJ overthe maritime boundary and territorial claims in the westernCaribbean Sea - final public hearings are scheduled for 2007
Hong Kongnone
Hungarybilateral government, legal, technical and economic workinggroup negotiations continue in 2006 with Slovakia over Hungary'sfailure to complete its portion of the Gabcikovo-Nagymaroshydroelectric dam project along the Danube; as a member state thatforms part of the EU's external border, Hungary has implemented thestrict Schengen border rules
IcelandIceland, the UK, and Ireland dispute Denmark's claim thatthe Faroe Islands' continental shelf extends beyond 200 nm
Indiasince China and India launched a security and foreign policydialogue in 2005, consolidated discussions related to the disputeover most of their rugged, militarized boundary, regional nuclearproliferation, Indian claims that China transferred missiles toPakistan, and other matters continue; various talks andconfidence-building measures have cautiously begun to defusetensions over Kashmir, particularly since the October 2005earthquake in the region; Kashmir nevertheless remains the site ofthe world's largest and most militarized territorial dispute withportions under the de facto administration of China (Aksai Chin),India (Jammu and Kashmir), and Pakistan (Azad Kashmir and NorthernAreas); India and Pakistan have maintained the 2004 cease fire inKashmir and initiated discussions on defusing the armed stand-off inthe Siachen glacier region; Pakistan protests India's fencing thehighly militarized Line of Control and construction of the BagliharDam on the Chenab River in Jammu and Kashmir, which is part of thelarger dispute on water sharing of the Indus River and itstributaries; UN Military Observer Group in India and Pakistan(UNMOGIP) has maintained a small group of peacekeepers since 1949;India does not recognize Pakistan's ceding historic Kashmir lands toChina in 1964; to defuse tensions and prepare for discussions on amaritime boundary, India and Pakistan seek technical resolution ofthe disputed boundary in Sir Creek estuary at the mouth of the Rannof Kutch in the Arabian Sea; Pakistani maps continue to show itsJunagadh claim in Indian Gujarat State; discussions with Bangladeshremain stalled to delimit a small section of river boundary, toexchange territory for 51 Bangladeshi exclaves in India and 111Indian exclaves in Bangladesh, to allocate divided villages, and tostop illegal cross-border trade, migration, violence, and transit ofterrorists through the porous border; Bangladesh protests India'sattempts to fence off high-traffic sections of the border; disputewith Bangladesh over New Moore/South Talpatty/Purbasha Island in theBay of Bengal deters maritime boundary delimitation; India seekscooperation from Bhutan and Burma to keep Indian Nagaland and Assamseparatists from hiding in remote areas along the borders; JointBorder Committee with Nepal continues to examine contested boundarysections, including the 400 square kilometer dispute over the sourceof the Kalapani River; India maintains a strict border regime tokeep out Maoist insurgents and control illegal cross-borderactivities from Nepal
Indian Oceansome maritime disputes (see littoral states)
IndonesiaIndonesia has a stated foreign policy objective ofestablishing stable fixed land and maritime boundaries with all ofits neighbors; Timor-Leste-Indonesia Boundary Committee has resolvedall but a small portion of the land boundary, but discussions onmaritime boundaries are stalemated over sovereignty of theuninhabited coral island of Pulau Batek/Fatu Sinai in the north andalignment with Australian claims in the south; many refugees fromTimor-Leste who left in 2003 still reside in Indonesia and refuserepatriation; a 1997 treaty between Indonesia and Australia settledsome parts of their maritime boundary but outstanding issues remain;ICJ's award of Sipadan and Ligitan islands to Malaysia in 2002 leftthe sovereignty of Unarang rock and the maritime boundary in theAmbalat oil block in the Celebes Sea in dispute; the ICJ decisionhas prompted Indonesia to assert claims to and to establish apresence on its smaller outer islands; Indonesia and Singaporecontinue to work on finalization of their 1973 maritime boundaryagreement by defining unresolved areas north of Indonesia's BatamIsland; Indonesian secessionists, squatters, and illegal migrantscreate repatriation problems for Papua New Guinea; piracy remains aproblem in the Malacca Strait; maritime delimitation talks continuewith Palau; Indonesian groups challenge Australia's claim to AshmoreReef; Australia has closed parts of the Ashmore and Cartier Reserveto Indonesian traditional fishing and placed restrictions on certaincatches
IranIran protests Afghanistan's limiting flow of dammed tributariesto the Helmand River in periods of drought; Iraq's lack of amaritime boundary with Iran prompts jurisdiction disputes beyond themouth of the Shatt al Arab in the Persian Gulf; Iran and UAE disputeTunb Islands and Abu Musa Island, which are occupied by Iran; Iranstands alone among littoral states in insisting upon a division ofthe Caspian Sea into five equal sectors
Iraqcoalition forces assist Iraqis in monitoring internal andcross-border security; approximately two million Iraqis have fledthe conflict in Iraq, with the majority taking refuge in Syria andJordan, and lesser numbers to Egypt, Lebanon, Iran, and Turkey;Iraq's lack of a maritime boundary with Iran prompts jurisdictiondisputes beyond the mouth of the Shatt al Arab in the Persian Gulf;Turkey has expressed concern over the autonomous status of Kurds inIraq
IrelandIreland, Iceland, and the UK dispute Denmark's claim thatthe Faroe Islands' continental shelf extends beyond 200 nm
Isle of Mannone
IsraelWest Bank and Gaza Strip are Israeli-occupied with currentstatus subject to the Israeli-Palestinian Interim Agreement -permanent status to be determined through further negotiation;Israel continues construction of a "seam line" separation barrieralong parts of the Green Line and within the West Bank; Israelwithdrew its settlers and military from the Gaza Strip and from foursettlements in the West Bank in August 2005; Golan Heights isIsraeli-occupied (Lebanon claims the Shab'a Farms area of GolanHeights); since 1948, about 350 peacekeepers from the UN TruceSupervision Organization (UNTSO) headquartered in Jerusalem monitorceasefires, supervise armistice agreements, prevent isolatedincidents from escalating, and assist other UN personnel in theregion
ItalyItaly's long coastline and developed economy entices tens ofthousands of illegal immigrants from southeastern Europe andnorthern Africa
Jamaicanone
Jan Mayennone
Japanthe sovereignty dispute over the islands of Etorofu,Kunashiri, and Shikotan, and the Habomai group, known in Japan asthe "Northern Territories" and in Russia as the "Southern KurilIslands," occupied by the Soviet Union in 1945, now administered byRussia and claimed by Japan, remains the primary sticking point tosigning a peace treaty formally ending World War II hostilities;Japan and South Korea claim Liancourt Rocks (Take-shima/Tok-do)occupied by South Korea since 1954; China and Taiwan dispute bothJapan's claims to the uninhabited islands of the Senkaku-shoto(Diaoyu Tai) and Japan's unilaterally declared exclusive economiczone in the East China Sea, the site of intensive hydrocarbonprospecting
Jerseynone
Jordanapproximately two million Iraqis have fled the conflict inIraq, with the majority taking refuge in Syria and Jordan; 2004Agreement settles border dispute with Syria pending demarcation
KazakhstanKyrgyzstan has yet to ratify the 2001 boundarydelimitation with Kazakhstan; field demarcation of the boundarieswith Turkmenistan commenced in 2005, and with Uzbekistan in 2004;demarcation is scheduled to get underway with Russia in 2007;demarcation with China was completed in 2002; creation of a seabedboundary with Turkmenistan in the Caspian Sea remains underdiscussion; equidistant seabed treaties have been ratified withAzerbaijan and Russia in the Caspian Sea, but no resolution has beenmade on dividing the water column among any of the littoral states
KenyaKenya served as an important mediator in brokering Sudan'snorth-south separation in February 2005; Kenya provides shelter toalmost a quarter of a million refugees, including Ugandans who fleeacross the border periodically to seek protection from Lord'sResistance Army (LRA) rebels; Kenya works hard to prevent the clanand militia fighting in Somalia from spreading across the border,which has long been open to nomadic pastoralists; the boundary thatseparates Kenya's and Sudan's sovereignty is unclear in the "IlemiTriangle," which Kenya has administered since colonial times
Kiribatinone
Korea, Northrisking arrest, imprisonment, and deportation, tens ofthousands of North Koreans cross into China to escape famine,economic privation, and political oppression; North Korea and Chinadispute the sovereignty of certain islands in Yalu and Tumen rivers;Military Demarcation Line within the 4-km wide Demilitarized Zonehas separated North from South Korea since 1953; periodic incidentsin the Yellow Sea with South Korea which claims the NorthernLimiting Line as a maritime boundary; North Korea supports SouthKorea in rejecting Japan's claim to Liancourt Rocks(Tok-do/Take-shima)
Korea, SouthMilitary Demarcation Line within the 4-km wideDemilitarized Zone has separated North from South Korea since 1953;periodic incidents with North Korea in the Yellow Sea over theNorthern Limiting Line, which South Korea claims as a maritimeboundary; South Korea and Japan claim Liancourt Rocks(Tok-do/Take-shima), occupied by South Korea since 1954
KosovoSerbia with several other states protest the US and otherstates' recognition of Kosovo's declaring itself as a sovereign andindependent state in February 2008; ethnic Serbian municipalitiesalong Kosovo's northern border challenge final status ofKosovo-Serbia boundary; several thousand NATO-led KFOR peacekeepersunder UNMIK authority continue to keep the peace within Kosovobetween the ethnic Albanian majority and the Serb minority inKosovo; Kosovo and Macedonia completed demarcation of their boundaryin September 2008
KuwaitKuwait and Saudi Arabia continue negotiating a joint maritimeboundary with Iran; no maritime boundary exists with Iraq in thePersian Gulf
KyrgyzstanKyrgyzstan has yet to ratify the 2001 boundarydelimitation with Kazakhstan; disputes in Isfara Valley delaycompletion of delimitation with Tajikistan; delimitation of 130 kmof border with Uzbekistan is hampered by serious disputes aroundenclaves and other areas
LaosSoutheast Asian states have enhanced border surveillance tocheck the spread of avian flu; talks continue on completion ofdemarcation with Thailand but disputes remain over islands in theMekong River; concern among Mekong Commission members that China'sconstruction of dams on the Mekong River will affect water levels
LatviaRussia refuses to sign the 1997 boundary treaty due toLatvian insistence on a unilateral clarificatory declarationreferencing Soviet occupation of Latvia and territorial losses;Russia demands better Latvian treatment of ethnic Russians inLatvia; as of January 2007, ground demarcation of the boundary withBelarus was complete and mapped with final ratificationdocumentation in preparation; the Latvian parliament has notratified its 1998 maritime boundary treaty with Lithuania, primarilydue to concerns over oil exploration rights; as a member state thatforms part of the EU's external border, Latvia has implemented thestrict Schengen border rules with Russia
Lebanonlacking a treaty or other documentation describing theboundary, portions of the Lebanon-Syria boundary are unclear withseveral sections in dispute; since 2000, Lebanon has claimed Shab'aFarms area in the Israeli-occupied Golan Heights; the roughly2,000-strong UN Interim Force in Lebanon (UNIFIL) has been in placesince 1978
Lesothonone
Liberiaalthough civil unrest continues to abate with the assistanceof 18,000 UN Mission in Liberia (UNMIL) peacekeepers, as of January2007, Liberian refugees still remain in Guinea, Cote d'Ivoire,Sierra Leone, and Ghana; Liberia, in turn, shelters refugees fleeingturmoil in Cote d'Ivoire; despite the presence of over 9,000 UNforces (UNOCI) in Cote d'Ivoire since 2004, ethnic conflictcontinues to spread into neighboring states who can no longer sendtheir migrant workers to Ivorian cocoa plantations; UN sanctions banLiberia from exporting diamonds and timber
LibyaLibya has claimed more than 32,000 sq km in southeasternAlgeria and about 25,000 sq km in the Tommo region of Niger in acurrently dormant dispute; various Chadian rebels from the Aozouregion reside in southern Libya
Liechtensteinnone
LithuaniaLithuania and Russia committed to demarcating theirboundary in 2006 in accordance with the land and maritime treatyratified by Russia in May 2003 and by Lithuania in 1999; Lithuaniaoperates a simplified transit regime for Russian nationals travelingfrom the Kaliningrad coastal exclave into Russia, while stillconforming, as a EU member state having an external border with anon-EU member, to strict Schengen border rules; the Latvianparliament has not ratified its 1998 maritime boundary treaty withLithuania, primarily due to concerns over potential hydrocarbons; asof January 2007, ground demarcation of the boundary with Belarus wascomplete and mapped with final ratification documents in preparation
Luxembourgnone
Macaunone
MacedoniaKosovo and Macedonia completed demarcation of theirboundary in September 2008; Greece continues to reject the use ofthe name Macedonia or Republic of Macedonia
Madagascarclaims Bassas da India, Europa Island, Glorioso Islands,and Juan de Nova Island (all administered by France)
Malawidisputes with Tanzania over the boundary in Lake Nyasa (LakeMalawi) and the meandering Songwe River remain dormant
MalaysiaMalaysia has asserted sovereignty over the Spratly Islandstogether with China, Philippines, Taiwan, Vietnam, and possiblyBrunei; while the 2002 "Declaration on the Conduct of Parties in theSouth China Sea" has eased tensions over the Spratly Islands, it isnot the legally binding "code of conduct" sought by some parties;Malaysia was not party to the March 2005 joint accord among thenational oil companies of China, the Philippines, and Vietnam onconducting marine seismic activities in the Spratly Islands;disputes continue over deliveries of fresh water to Singapore,Singapore's land reclamation, bridge construction, and maritimeboundaries in the Johor and Singapore Straits; in November 2007, theICJ will hold public hearings in response to the Memorials andCountermemorials filed by the parties in 2003 and 2005 oversovereignty of Pedra Branca Island/Pulau Batu Puteh, Middle Rocksand South Ledge; ICJ awarded Ligitan and Sipadan islands, alsoclaimed by Indonesia and Philippines, to Malaysia but left maritimeboundary and sovereignty of Unarang rock in the hydrocarbon-richCelebes Sea in dispute; separatist violence in Thailand'spredominantly Muslim southern provinces prompts measures to closeand monitor border with Malaysia to stem terrorist activities;Philippines retains a dormant claim to Malaysia's Sabah State innorthern Borneo; Brunei and Malaysia agreed in September 2008 toresolve their offshore and deepwater seabed dispute, resumehydrocarbon exploration and renounce any territorial claims on land;piracy remains a problem in the Malacca Strait
Maldivesnone
Malinone
Maltanone
Marshall Islandsclaims US territory of Wake Island
MauritaniaMauritanian claims to Western Sahara remain dormant
MauritiusMauritius claims the Chagos Archipelago (UK-administeredBritish Indian Ocean Territory), and its former inhabitants, whoreside chiefly in Mauritius; claims French-administered TromelinIsland
Mayotteclaimed by Comoros
Mexicoabundant rainfall in recent years along much of the Mexico-USborder region has ameliorated periodically strained water-sharingarrangements; the US has intensified security measures to monitorand control legal and illegal personnel, transport, and commoditiesacross its border with Mexico; Mexico must deal with thousands ofimpoverished Guatemalans and other Central Americans who cross theporous border looking for work in Mexico and the United States