Micronesia, Federated States ofnone
MoldovaMoldova and Ukraine operate joint customs posts to monitorthe transit of people and commodities through Moldova's break-awayTransnistria region, which remains under OSCE supervision
Monaconone
Mongolianone
Montenegronone
Montserratnone
Moroccoclaims and administers Western Sahara whose sovereigntyremains unresolved - UN-administered cease-fire has remained ineffect since September 1991, but attempts to hold a referendum havefailed and parties thus far have rejected all brokered proposals;Morocco protests Spain's control over the coastal enclaves of Ceuta,Melilla, and Penon de Velez de la Gomera, the islands of Penon deAlhucemas and Islas Chafarinas, and surrounding waters; discussionshave not progressed on a comprehensive maritime delimitation,setting limits on resource exploration and refugee interdiction,since Morocco's 2002 rejection of Spain's unilateral designation ofa median line from the Canary Islands; Morocco serves as one of theprimary launching areas of illegal migration into Spain from NorthAfrica
Mozambiquenone
Namibiaconcerns from international experts and local populationsover the Okavango Delta ecology in Botswana and human displacementscuttled Namibian plans to construct a hydroelectric dam on PopaFalls along the Angola-Namibia border; managed dispute with SouthAfrica over the location of the boundary in the Orange River;Namibia has supported, and in 2004 Zimbabwe dropped objections to,plans between Botswana and Zambia to build a bridge over the ZambeziRiver, thereby de facto recognizing a short, but not clearlydelimited, Botswana-Zambia boundary in the river
Naurunone
Navassa Islandclaimed by Haiti, source of subsistence fishing
Nepaljoint border commission continues to work on contestedsections of boundary with India, including the 400 square kilometerdispute over the source of the Kalapani River; India has instituteda stricter border regime to restrict transit of Maoist insurgentsand illegal cross-border activities; approximately 106,000 BhutaneseLhotshampas (Hindus) have been confined in refugee camps insoutheastern Nepal since 1990
Netherlandsnone
Netherlands Antillesnone
New CaledoniaMatthew and Hunter Islands east of New Caledoniaclaimed by France and Vanuatu
New Zealandasserts a territorial claim in Antarctica (RossDependency)
Nicaraguamemorials and countermemorials were filed by the partiesin Nicaragua's 1999 and 2001 proceedings against Honduras andColombia at the ICJ over the maritime boundary and territorialclaims in the western Caribbean Sea, final public hearings arescheduled for 2007; the 1992 ICJ ruling for El Salvador and Hondurasadvised a tripartite resolution to establish a maritime boundary inthe Gulf of Fonseca, which considers Honduran access to the Pacific;legal dispute over navigational rights of San Juan River on borderwith Costa Rica
NigerLibya claims about 25,000 sq km in a currently dormant disputein the Tommo region; much of Benin-Niger boundary, includingtripoint with Nigeria, remains undemarcated; only Nigeria andCameroon have heeded the Lake Chad Commission's admonition to ratifythe delimitation treaty which also includes the Chad-Niger andNiger-Nigeria boundaries
NigeriaJoint Border Commission with Cameroon reviewed 2002 ICJruling on the entire boundary and bilaterally resolved differences,including June 2006 Greentree Agreement that immediately cedessovereignty of the Bakassi Peninsula to Cameroon with a phase-out ofNigerian control within two years while resolving patriation issues;the ICJ ruled on an equidistance settlement of Cameroon-EquatorialGuinea-Nigeria maritime boundary in the Gulf of Guinea, butimprecisely defined coordinates in the ICJ decision and asovereignty dispute between Equatorial Guinea and Cameroon over anisland at the mouth of the Ntem River all contribute to the delay inimplementation; only Nigeria and Cameroon have heeded the Lake ChadCommission's admonition to ratify the delimitation treaty which alsoincludes the Chad-Niger and Niger-Nigeria boundaries
Niuenone
Norfolk Islandnone
Northern Mariana Islandsnone
NorwayNorway asserts a territorial claim in Antarctica (Queen MaudLand and its continental shelf); despite dialogue, Russia and Norwaycontinue to dispute their maritime limits in the Barents Sea andRussia's fishing rights beyond Svalbard's territorial limits withinthe Svalbard Treaty zone
Omanboundary agreement reportedly signed and ratified with UAE in2003 for entire border, including Oman's Musandam Peninsula and AlMadhah exclave, but details of the alignment have not been madepublic
Pacific Oceansome maritime disputes (see littoral states)
Pakistanvarious talks and confidence-building measures cautiouslyhave begun to defuse tensions over Kashmir, particularly since theOctober 2005 earthquake in the region; Kashmir nevertheless remainsthe site of the world's largest and most militarized territorialdispute with portions under the de facto administration of China(Aksai Chin), India (Jammu and Kashmir), and Pakistan (Azad Kashmirand Northern Areas); UN Military Observer Group in India andPakistan (UNMOGIP) has maintained a small group of peacekeeperssince 1949; India does not recognize Pakistan's ceding historicKashmir lands to China in 1964; India and Pakistan have maintainedtheir 2004 cease fire in Kashmir and initiated discussions ondefusing the armed stand-off in the Siachen glacier region; Pakistanprotests India's fencing the highly militarized Line of Control andconstruction of the Baglihar Dam on the Chenab River in Jammu andKashmir, which is part of the larger dispute on water sharing of theIndus River and its tributaries; to defuse tensions and prepare fordiscussions on a maritime boundary, India and Pakistan seektechnical resolution of the disputed boundary in Sir Creek estuaryat the mouth of the Rann of Kutch in the Arabian Sea; Pakistani mapscontinue to show the Junagadh claim in India's Gujarat State; by2005, Pakistan, with UN assistance, repatriated 2.3 million Afghanrefugees leaving slightly more than a million, many of whom remainat their own choosing; Pakistan has proposed and Afghanistanprotests construction of a fence and laying of mines along portionsof their porous border; Pakistan has sent troops into remote tribalareas to monitor and control the border with Afghanistan and to stemterrorist or other illegal activities
Palaumaritime delineation negotiations continue with Philippines,Indonesia
Panamaorganized illegal narcotics operations in Colombia operatewithin the remote border region with Panama
Papua New Guinearelies on assistance from Australia to keep outillegal cross-border activities from primarily Indonesia, includinggoods smuggling, illegal narcotics trafficking, and squatters andsecessionists
Paracel Islandsoccupied by China, also claimed by Taiwan and Vietnam
Paraguayunruly region at convergence of Argentina-Brazil-Paraguayborders is locus of money laundering, smuggling, arms and illegalnarcotics trafficking, and fundraising for extremist organizations
PeruChile and Ecuador rejected Peru's November 2005 unilaterallegislation to shift the axis of their joint treaty-defined maritimeboundaries along the parallels of latitude to equidistance lineswhich favor Peru; organized illegal narcotics operations in Colombiahave penetrated Peru's shared border; Peru rejects Bolivia's claimto restore maritime access through a sovereign corridor throughChile along the Peruvian border
PhilippinesPhilippines claims sovereignty over certain of theSpratly Islands, known locally as the Kalayaan (Freedom) Islands,also claimed by China, Malaysia, Taiwan, and Vietnam; the 2002"Declaration on the Conduct of Parties in the South China Sea," haseased tensions in the Spratly Islands but falls short of a legallybinding "code of conduct" desired by several of the disputants; inMarch 2005, the national oil companies of China, the Philippines,and Vietnam signed a joint accord to conduct marine seismicactivities in the Spratly Islands; Philippines retains a dormantclaim to Malaysia's Sabah State in northern Borneo based on theSultanate of Sulu's granting the Philippines Government power ofattorney to pursue a sovereignty claim on his behalf; maritimedelimitation negotiations continue with Palau
Pitcairn Islandsnone
Polandas a member state that forms part of the EU's externalborder, Poland has implemented the strict Schengen border rules torestrict illegal immigration and trade along its eastern borderswith Belarus and Ukraine
PortugalPortugal does not recognize Spanish sovereignty over theterritory of Olivenza based on a difference of interpretation of the1815 Congress of Vienna and the 1801 Treaty of Badajoz
Puerto Ricoincreasing numbers of illegal migrants from theDominican Republic cross the Mona Passage to Puerto Rico each yearlooking for work
Qatarnone
Romaniathe ICJ gave Ukraine until December 2006 to reply, andRomania until June 2007 to issue a rejoinder, in their disputesubmitted in 2004 over Ukrainian-administered Zmiyinyy/Serpilor(Snake) Island and Black Sea maritime boundary delimitation; Romaniaalso opposes Ukraine's reopening of a navigation canal from theDanube border through Ukraine to the Black Sea
RussiaChina and Russia have demarcated the once disputed islands atthe Amur and Ussuri confluence and in the Argun River in accordancewith the 2004 Agreement, ending their centuries-long borderdisputes; the sovereignty dispute over the islands of Etorofu,Kunashiri, Shikotan, and the Habomai group, known in Japan as the"Northern Territories" and in Russia as the "Southern Kurils,"occupied by the Soviet Union in 1945, now administered by Russia,and claimed by Japan, remains the primary sticking point to signinga peace treaty formally ending World War II hostilities; Russia andGeorgia agree on delimiting all but small, strategic segments of theland boundary and the maritime boundary; OSCE observers monitorvolatile areas such as the Pankisi Gorge in the Akhmeti region andthe Kodori Gorge in Abkhazia; Azerbaijan, Kazakhstan, and Russiasigned equidistance boundaries in the Caspian seabed but thelittoral states have no consensus on dividing the water column;Russia and Norway dispute their maritime limits in the Barents Seaand Russia's fishing rights beyond Svalbard's territorial limitswithin the Svalbard Treaty zone; various groups in Finland advocaterestoration of Karelia (Kareliya) and other areas ceded to theSoviet Union following the Second World War but the FinnishGovernment asserts no territorial demands; in May 2005, Russiarecalled its signatures to the 1996 border agreements with Estonia(1996) and Latvia (1997), when the two Baltic states announcedissuance of unilateral declarations referencing Soviet occupationand ensuing territorial losses; Russia demands better treatment ofethnic Russians in Estonia and Latvia; Estonian citizen groupscontinue to press for realignment of the boundary based on the 1920Tartu Peace Treaty that would bring the now divided ethnic Setupeople and parts of the Narva region within Estonia; Lithuania andRussia committed to demarcating their boundary in 2006 in accordancewith the land and maritime treaty ratified by Russia in May 2003 andby Lithuania in 1999; Lithuania operates a simplified transit regimefor Russian nationals traveling from the Kaliningrad coastal exclaveinto Russia, while still conforming, as an EU member state with anEU external border, where strict Schengen border rules apply;preparations for the demarcation delimitation of land boundary withUkraine have commenced; the dispute over the boundary between Russiaand Ukraine through the Kerch Strait and Sea of Azov remainsunresolved despite a December 2003 framework agreement and on-goingexpert-level discussions; Kazakhstan and Russia boundarydelimitation was ratified on November 2005 and field demarcationshould commence in 2007; Russian Duma has not yet ratified 1990Bering Sea Maritime Boundary Agreement with the US
Rwandafighting among ethnic groups - loosely associated politicalrebels, armed gangs, and various government forces in Great Lakesregion transcending the boundaries of Burundi, Democratic Republicof the Congo, Rwanda, and Uganda - abated substantially from adecade ago due largely to UN peacekeeping, international mediation,and efforts by local governments to create civil societies;nonetheless, 57,000 Rwandan refugees still reside in 21 Africanstates, including Zambia, Gabon, and 20,000 who fled to Burundi in2005 and 2006 to escape drought and recriminations from traditionalcourts investigating the 1994 massacres; the 2005 DROC and Rwandaborder verification mechanism to stem rebel actions on both sides ofthe border remains in place
Saint Helenanone
Saint Kitts and Nevisjoins other Caribbean states to counterVenezuela's claim that Aves Island sustains human habitation, acriterion under UNCLOS, which permits Venezuela to extend itsEEZ/continental shelf over a large portion of the eastern CaribbeanSea
Saint Luciajoins other Caribbean states to counter Venezuela'sclaim that Aves Island sustains human habitation, a criterion underUNCLOS, which permits Venezuela to extend its EEZ/continental shelfover a large portion of the eastern Caribbean Sea
Saint Pierre and Miquelonnone
Saint Vincent and the Grenadines joins other Caribbean states to counter Venezuela's claim that Aves Island sustains human habitation, a criterion under UNCLOS, which permits Venezuela to extend its EEZ/continental shelf over a large portion of the eastern Caribbean Sea
Samoanone
San Marinonone
Sao Tome and Principenone
Saudi ArabiaSaudi Arabia has reinforced its concrete-filledsecurity barrier along sections of the now fully demarcated borderwith Yemen to stem illegal cross-border activities; Kuwait and SaudiArabia continue discussions on a maritime boundary with Iran
SenegalThe Gambia and Guinea-Bissau attempt to stem separatistviolence, cross border raids, and arms smuggling into theircountries from Senegal's Casamance region, and in 2006, respectivelyaccepted 6,000 and 10,000 Casamance residents fleeing the conflict;2,500 Guinea-Bissau residents fled into Senegal in 2006 to escapearmed confrontations along the border
SerbiaSerbia with several other states protest the U.S. 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; Serbia delimited about half of the boundary with Bosnia andHerzegovina, but sections along the Drina River remain in dispute
Seychellestogether with Mauritius, Seychelles claims the ChagosArchipelago (UK-administered British Indian Ocean Territory)
Sierra Leoneas domestic fighting among disparate ethnic groups,rebel groups, warlords, and youth gangs in Cote d'Ivoire, Guinea,Liberia, and Sierra Leone gradually abate, the number of refugees inborder areas has begun to slowly dwindle; UN Mission in Sierra Leone(UNAMSIL) has maintained over 4,000 peacekeepers in Sierra Leonesince 1999; Sierra Leone considers excessive Guinea's definition ofthe flood plain limits to define the left bank boundary of theMakona and Moa rivers and protests Guinea's continued occupation ofthese lands including the hamlet of Yenga occupied since 1998
Singaporedisputes persist with Malaysia over deliveries of freshwater to Singapore, Singapore's extensive land reclamation works,bridge construction, and maritime boundaries in the Johor andSingapore Straits; in November 2007, the ICJ will hold publichearings as a consequence of the Memorials and Countermemorialsfiled by the parties in 2003 and 2005 over sovereignty of PedraBranca Island/Pulau Batu Puteh, Middle Rocks and South Ledge;Indonesia and Singapore continue to work on finalization of their1973 maritime boundary agreement by defining unresolved areas northof Indonesia's Batam Island; piracy remains a problem in the MalaccaStrait
Slovakiabilateral government, legal, technical and economic workinggroup negotiations continued in 2006 between Slovakia and Hungaryover Hungary's completion of its portion of the Gabcikovo-Nagymaroshydroelectric dam project along the Danube; as a member state thatforms part of the EU's external border, Slovakia has implemented thestrict Schengen border rules
Sloveniathe Croatia-Slovenia land and maritime boundary agreement,which would have ceded most of Piran Bay and maritime access toSlovenia and several villages to Croatia, remains unratified and indispute; Slovenia also protests Croatia's 2003 claim to an exclusiveeconomic zone in the Adriatic; as a member state that forms part ofthe EU's external border, Slovenia has implemented the strictSchengen border rules to curb illegal migration and commerce throughsoutheastern Europe while encouraging close cross-border ties withCroatia
Solomon Islandssince 2003, the Regional Assistance Mission to theSolomon Islands (RAMSI), consisting of police, military, andcivilian advisors drawn from 15 countries, has assisted inreestablishing and maintaining civil and political order whilereinforcing regional stability and security
SomaliaEthiopian forces invaded southern Somalia and routedIslamist Courts from Mogadishu in January 2007; "Somaliland"secessionists provide port facilities in Berbera to landlockedEthiopia and have established commercial ties with other regionalstates; "Puntland" and "Somaliland" "governments" seek internationalsupport in their secessionist aspirations and overlapping borderclaims; the undemarcated former British administrative line haslittle meaning as a political separation to rival clans withinEthiopia's Ogaden and southern Somalia's Oromo region; Kenya workshard to prevent the clan and militia fighting in Somalia fromspreading south across the border, which has long been open tonomadic pastoralists
South AfricaSouth Africa has placed military along the border toapprehend the thousands of Zimbabweans fleeing economic dysfunctionand political persecution; as of January 2007, South Africa alsosupports large numbers of refugees and asylum seekers from theDemocratic Republic of the Congo (33,000), Somalia (20,000), Burundi(6,500), and other states in Africa (26,000); managed dispute withNamibia over the location of the boundary in the Orange River; in2006, Swazi king advocates resort to ICJ to claim parts ofMpumalanga and KwaZulu-Natal from South Africa
South Georgia and the South Sandwich IslandsArgentina, which claimsthe islands in its constitution and briefly occupied them by forcein 1982, agreed in 1995 to no longer seek settlement by force
Southern OceanAntarctic Treaty defers claims (see Antarcticaentry), but Argentina, Australia, Chile, France, NZ, Norway, and UKassert claims (some overlapping), including the continental shelf inthe Southern Ocean; several states have expressed an interest inextending those continental shelf claims under the United NationsConvention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS) to include undersearidges; the US and most other states do not recognize the land ormaritime claims of other states and have made no claims themselves(the US and Russia have reserved the right to do so); no formalclaims exist in the waters in the sector between 90 degrees west and150 degrees west
Spainin 2002, Gibraltar residents voted overwhelmingly byreferendum to remain a British colony and against a "total sharedsovereignty" arrangement while demanding participation in talksbetween the UK and Spain; Spain disapproves of UK plans to grantGibraltar greater autonomy; Morocco protests Spain's control overthe coastal enclaves of Ceuta, Melilla, and the islands of Penon deVelez de la Gomera, Penon de Alhucemas and Islas Chafarinas, andsurrounding waters; Morocco serves as the primary launching site ofillegal migration into Spain from North Africa; Portugal does notrecognize Spanish sovereignty over the territory of Olivenza basedon a difference of interpretation of the 1815 Congress of Vienna andthe 1801 Treaty of Badajoz
Spratly Islandsall of the Spratly Islands are claimed by China,Taiwan, and Vietnam; parts of them are claimed by Malaysia and thePhilippines; in 1984, Brunei established an exclusive fishing zonethat encompasses Louisa Reef in the southern Spratly Islands but hasnot publicly claimed the reef; claimants in November 2002 signed the"Declaration on the Conduct of Parties in the South China Sea,"which has eased tensions but falls short of a legally binding "codeof conduct"; in March 2005, the national oil companies of China, thePhilippines, and Vietnam signed a joint accord to conduct marineseismic activities in the Spratly Islands
Sri Lankanone
Sudanthe effects of Sudan's almost constant ethnic and rebelmilitia fighting since the mid-20th century have penetrated all ofthe neighboring states; as of 2006, Chad, Ethiopia, Kenya, CentralAfrican Republic, Democratic Republic of the Congo, and Ugandaprovided shelter for over half a million Sudanese refugees, whichincludes 240,000 Darfur residents driven from their homes byJanjawid armed militia and the Sudanese military forces; Sudan, inturn, hosted about 116,000 Eritreans, 20,000 Chadians, and smallernumbers of Ethiopians, Ugandans, Central Africans, and Congolese asrefugees; in February 2006, Sudan and DROC signed an agreement torepatriate 13,300 Sudanese and 6,800 Congolese; Sudan accusesEritrea of supporting Sudanese rebel groups; efforts to demarcatethe porous boundary with Ethiopia proceed slowly due to civil andethnic fighting in eastern Sudan; the boundary that separates Kenyaand Sudan's sovereignty is unclear in the "Ilemi Triangle," whichKenya has administered since colonial times; while Sudan claims toadminister the Hala'ib Triangle north of the 1899 Treaty boundaryalong the 22nd Parallel; both states withdrew their militarypresence in the 1990s, and Egypt has invested in and effectivelyadministers the area; periodic violent skirmishes with Sudaneseresidents over water and grazing rights persist among relatedpastoral populations along the border with the Central AfricanRepublic
Surinamearea claimed by French Guiana between Riviere Litani andRiviere Marouini (both headwaters of the Lawa); Suriname claims atriangle of land between the New and Kutari/Koetari rivers in ahistoric dispute over the headwaters of the Courantyne; Guyana seeksUnited Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS) arbitrationto resolve the long-standing dispute with Suriname over the axis ofthe territorial sea boundary in potentially oil-rich waters
Svalbarddespite recent discussions, Russia and Norway dispute theirmaritime limits in the Barents Sea and Russia's fishing rightsbeyond Svalbard's territorial limits within the Svalbard Treaty zone
Swazilandin 2006, Swazi king advocates resort to ICJ to claim partsof Mpumalanga and KwaZulu-Natal from South Africa
Swedennone
Switzerlandnone
SyriaGolan Heights is Israeli-occupied with the almost 1,000-strongUN Disengagement Observer Force (UNDOF) patrolling a buffer zonesince 1964; lacking a treaty or other documentation describing theboundary, portions of the Lebanon-Syria boundary are unclear withseveral sections in dispute; since 2000, Lebanon has claimed Shaba'afarms in the Golan Heights; 2004 Agreement and pending demarcationsettles border dispute with Jordan; approximately two million Iraqishave fled the conflict in Iraq with the majority taking refuge inSyria and Jordan
Taiwaninvolved in complex dispute with China, Malaysia,Philippines, Vietnam, and possibly Brunei over the Spratly Islands;the 2002 "Declaration on the Conduct of Parties in the South ChinaSea" has eased tensions but falls short of a legally binding "codeof conduct" desired by several of the disputants; Paracel Islandsare occupied by China, but claimed by Taiwan and Vietnam; in 2003,China and Taiwan became more vocal in rejecting both Japan's claimsto the uninhabited islands of the Senkaku-shoto (Diaoyu Tai) andJapan's unilaterally declared exclusive economic zone in the EastChina Sea where all parties engage in hydrocarbon prospecting
Tajikistanin 2006, China and Tajikistan pledged to commencedemarcation of the revised boundary agreed to in the delimitation of2002; talks continue with Uzbekistan to delimit border and removeminefields; disputes in Isfara Valley delay delimitation withKyrgyzstan
TanzaniaTanzania still hosts more than a half-million refugees,more than any other African country, mainly from Burundi and theDemocratic Republic of the Congo, despite the internationalcommunity's efforts at repatriation; disputes with Malawi over theboundary in Lake Nyasa (Lake Malawi) and the meandering Songwe Riverremain dormant
Thailandseparatist violence in Thailand's predominantly Muslimsouthern provinces prompt border closures and controls with Malaysiato stem terrorist activities; Southeast Asian states have enhancedborder surveillance to check the spread of avian flu; talks continueon completion of demarcation with Laos but disputes remain overseveral islands in the Mekong River; despite continuing bordercommittee talks, Thailand must deal with Karen and other ethnicrebels, refugees, and illegal cross-border activities, and as of2006, over 116,000 Karen, Hmong, and other refugees and asylumseekers from Burma; Cambodia and Thailand dispute sections ofhistoric boundary with missing boundary markers; Cambodia claimsThai encroachments into Cambodian territory and obstructing accessto Preah Vihear temple ruins awarded to Cambodia by ICJ decision in1962; Thailand is studying the feasibility of jointly constructingthe Hatgyi Dam on the Salween river near the border with Burma; in2004, international environmentalist pressure prompted China to haltconstruction of 13 dams on the Salween River that flows throughChina, Burma, and Thailand
Timor-LesteTimor-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 wholeft Timor-Leste in 2003 still reside in Indonesia and refuserepatriation; Australia and Timor-Leste agreed in 2005 to defer thedisputed portion of the boundary for 50 years and to splithydrocarbon revenues evenly outside the Joint Petroleum DevelopmentArea covered by the 2002 Timor Sea Treaty
Togoin 2001, Benin claimed Togo moved boundary monuments - jointcommission continues to resurvey the boundary; in 2006 14,000Togolese refugees remain in Benin and Ghana out of the 40,000 whofled there in 2005
TokelauTokelau included American Samoa's Swains Island (Olohega) inits 2006 draft constitution
Tonganone
Trinidad and Tobagoin April 2006, the Permanent Court ofArbitration issued a decision that delimited a maritime boundarywith Trinidad and Tobago and compelled Barbados to enter a fishingagreement that limited Barbadian fishermen's catches of flying fishin Trinidad and Tobago's exclusive economic zone; in 2005, Barbadosand Trinidad and Tobago agreed to compulsory internationalarbitration under UNCLOS challenging whether the northern limit ofTrinidad and Tobago's and Venezuela's maritime boundary extends intoBarbadian waters; Guyana has also expressed its intention to includeitself in the arbitration as the Trinidad and Tobago-Venezuelamaritime boundary may extend into its waters as well
Tunisianone
Turkeycomplex maritime, air, and territorial disputes with Greecein the Aegean Sea; status of north Cyprus question remains; Syriaand Iraq protest Turkish hydrological projects to control upperEuphrates waters; Turkey has expressed concern over the status ofKurds in Iraq; border with Armenia remains closed overNagorno-Karabakh
Turkmenistancotton monoculture in Uzbekistan and Turkmenistancreates water-sharing difficulties for Amu Darya river states; fielddemarcation of the boundaries with Kazakhstan commenced in 2005, butCaspian seabed delimitation remains stalled with Azerbaijan, Iran,and Kazakhstan due to Turkmenistan's indecision over how to allocatethe sea's waters and seabed
Turks and Caicos Islands have received Haitians fleeing economic and civil disorder
Tuvalunone
UgandaUganda is subject to armed fighting among hostile ethnicgroups, rebels, armed gangs, militias, and various government forcesthat extend across its borders; Uganda hosts 209,860 Sudanese,27,560 Congolese, and 19,710 Rwandan refugees, while Ugandanrefugees as well as members of the Lord's Resistance Army (LRA) seekshelter in southern Sudan and the Democratic Republic of the Congo'sGaramba National Park; LRA forces have also attacked Kenyan villagesacross the border
Ukraine1997 boundary delimitation treaty with Belarus remainsun-ratified due to unresolved financial claims, stalling demarcationand reducing border security; delimitation of land boundary withRussia is complete with preparations for demarcation underway; thedispute over the boundary between Russia and Ukraine through theKerch Strait and Sea of Azov remains unresolved despite a December2003 framework agreement and ongoing expert-level discussions;Moldova and Ukraine operate joint customs posts to monitor transitof people and commodities through Moldova's break-away TransnistriaRegion, which remains under OSCE supervision; the ICJ gave Ukraineuntil December 2006 to reply, and Romania until June 2007 to rejoin,in their dispute submitted in 2004 over Ukrainian-administeredZmiyinyy/Serpilor (Snake) Island and Black Sea maritime boundary;Romania opposes Ukraine's reopening of a navigation canal from theDanube border through Ukraine to the Black Sea
United Arab Emiratesboundary agreement was signed and ratified withOman in 2003 for entire border, including Oman's Musandam Peninsulaand Al Madhah enclaves, but contents of the agreement and detailedmaps showing the alignment have not been published; Iran and UAEdispute Tunb Islands and Abu Musa Island, which Iran occupies
United Kingdomin 2002, Gibraltar residents voted overwhelmingly byreferendum to reject any "shared sovereignty" arrangement betweenthe UK and Spain; the Government of Gibraltar insists on equalparticipation in talks between the two countries; Spain disapprovesof UK plans to grant Gibraltar greater autonomy; Mauritius andSeychelles claim the Chagos Archipelago (British Indian OceanTerritory), and its former inhabitants since their eviction in 1965;most Chagossians reside in Mauritius, and in 2001 were granted UKcitizenship, where some have since resettled; in May 2006, the HighCourt of London reversed the UK Government's 2004 orders of councilthat banned habitation on the islands; UK rejects sovereignty talksrequested by Argentina, which still claims the Falkland Islands(Islas Malvinas) and South Georgia and the South Sandwich Islands;territorial claim in Antarctica (British Antarctic Territory)overlaps Argentine claim and partially overlaps Chilean claim;Iceland, the UK, and Ireland dispute Denmark's claim that the FaroeIslands' continental shelf extends beyond 200 nm
United Statesthe U.S. has intensified domestic security measuresand is collaborating closely with its neighbors, Canada and Mexico,to monitor and control legal and illegal personnel, transport, andcommodities across the international borders; abundant rainfall inrecent years along much of the Mexico-US border region hasameliorated periodically strained water-sharing arrangements; 1990Maritime Boundary Agreement in the Bering Sea still awaits RussianDuma ratification; managed maritime boundary disputes with Canada atDixon Entrance, Beaufort Sea, Strait of Juan de Fuca, and around thedisputed Machias Seal Island and North Rock; The Bahamas and US havenot been able to agree on a maritime boundary; US Naval Base atGuantanamo Bay is leased from Cuba and only mutual agreement or USabandonment of the area can terminate the lease; Haiti claimsUS-administered Navassa Island; US has made no territorial claim inAntarctica (but has reserved the right to do so) and does notrecognize the claims of any other states; Marshall Islands claimsWake Island; Tokelau included American Samoa's Swains Island amongthe islands listed in its 2006 draft constitution
United States Pacific Island Wildlife Refugesnone
Uruguayin Jan 2007, ICJ provisionally ruled Uruguay may beginconstruction of two paper mills on the Uruguay River, which formsthe border with Argentina, while the court examines further whetherArgentina has the legal right to stop such construction withpotential environmental implications to both countries; uncontesteddispute with Brazil over certain islands in the Quarai/Cuareim andInvernada streams and the resulting tripoint with Argentina
Uzbekistanprolonged drought and cotton monoculture in Uzbekistanand Turkmenistan creates water-sharing difficulties for Amu Daryariver states; field demarcation of the boundaries with Kazakhstancommenced in 2004; border delimitation of 130 km of border withKyrgyzstan is hampered by serious disputes around enclaves and otherareas
VanuatuMatthew and Hunter Islands east of New Caledonia claimed byVanuatu and France
Venezuelaclaims all of the area west of the Essequibo River inGuyana, preventing any discussion of a maritime boundary; Guyana hasexpressed its intention to join Barbados in asserting claims beforethe United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS) thatTrinidad and Tobago's maritime boundary with Venezuela extends intotheir waters; dispute with Colombia over maritime boundary andVenezuelan-administered Los Monjes islands near the Gulf ofVenezuela; Colombian-organized illegal narcotics and paramilitaryactivities penetrate Venezuela's shared border region; in 2006, anestimated 139,000 Colombians sought protection in 150 communitiesalong the border in Venezuela; US, France, and the Netherlandsrecognize Venezuela's granting full effect to Aves Island, therebyclaiming a Venezuelan EEZ/continental shelf extending over a largeportion of the eastern Caribbean Sea; Dominica, Saint Kitts andNevis, Saint Lucia, and Saint Vincent and the Grenadines protestVenezuela's full effect claim
Vietnamsoutheast Asian states have enhanced border surveillance tocheck the spread of avian flu; Cambodia and Laos protest Vietnamesesquatters and armed encroachments along border; an estimated 300,000Vietnamese refugees reside in China; establishment of a maritimeboundary with Cambodia is hampered by unresolved dispute over thesovereignty of offshore islands; demarcation of the China-Vietnamboundary proceeds slowly and although the maritime boundarydelimitation and fisheries agreements were ratified in June 2004,implementation has been delayed; China occupies the Paracel Islandsalso claimed by Vietnam and Taiwan; involved in complex dispute withChina, Malaysia, Philippines, Taiwan, and possibly Brunei over theSpratly Islands; the 2002 "Declaration on the Conduct of Parties inthe South China Sea" has eased tensions but falls short of a legallybinding "code of conduct" desired by several of the disputants;Vietnam continues to expand construction of facilities in theSpratly Islands; in March 2005, the national oil companies of China,the Philippines, and Vietnam signed a joint accord to conduct marineseismic activities in the Spratly Islands
Virgin Islandsnone
Wake Islandclaimed by Marshall Islands
Wallis and Futunanone
West BankWest 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 from four settlements in the northern West Bank in August2005; since 1948, about 350 peacekeepers from the UN TruceSupervision Organization (UNTSO), headquartered in Jerusalem,monitor ceasefires, supervise armistice agreements, prevent isolatedincidents from escalating, and assist other UN personnel in theregion
Western SaharaMorocco claims and administers Western Sahara, whosesovereignty remains unresolved; UN-administered cease-fire hasremained in effect since September 1991, administered by the UNMission for the Referendum in Western Sahara (MINURSO), but attemptsto hold a referendum have failed and parties thus far have rejectedall brokered proposals; several states have extended diplomaticrelations to the "Sahrawi Arab Democratic Republic" represented bythe Polisario Front in exile in Algeria, while others recognizeMoroccan sovereignty over Western Sahara; most of the approximately102,000 Sahrawi refugees are sheltered in camps in Tindouf, Algeria
Worldstretching over 250,000 km, the world's 322 international landboundaries separate 194 independent states and 70 dependencies,areas of special sovereignty, and other miscellaneous entities;ethnicity, culture, race, religion, and language have divided statesinto separate political entities as much as history, physicalterrain, political fiat, or conquest, resulting in sometimesarbitrary and imposed boundaries; most maritime states have claimedlimits that include territorial seas and exclusive economic zones;overlapping limits due to adjacent or opposite coasts create thepotential for 430 bilateral maritime boundaries of which 209 haveagreements that include contiguous and non-contiguous segments;boundary, borderland/resource, and territorial disputes vary inintensity from managed or dormant to violent or militarized;undemarcated, indefinite, porous, and unmanaged boundaries tend toencourage illegal cross-border activities, uncontrolled migration,and confrontation; territorial disputes may evolve from historicaland/or cultural claims, or they may be brought on by resourcecompetition; ethnic and cultural clashes continue to be responsiblefor much of the territorial fragmentation and internal displacementof the estimated 6.6 million people and cross-border displacementsof 8.6 million refugees around the world as of early 2006; just overone million refugees were repatriated in the same period; othersources of contention include access to water and mineral(especially hydrocarbon) resources, fisheries, and arable land;armed conflict prevails not so much between the uniformed armedforces of independent states as between stateless armed entitiesthat detract from the sustenance and welfare of local populations,leaving the community of nations to cope with resultant refugees,hunger, disease, impoverishment, and environmental degradation
YemenSaudi Arabia has reinforced its concrete-filled securitybarrier along sections of the fully demarcated border with Yemen tostem illegal cross-border activities
Zambiain 2004, Zimbabwe dropped objections to plans betweenBotswana and Zambia to build a bridge over the Zambezi River,thereby de facto recognizing a short, but not clearly delimited,Botswana-Zambia boundary in the river; 42,250 Congolese refugees inZambia are offered voluntary repatriation in November 2006, most ofwhom are expected to return in the next two years; Angolan refugeestoo have been repatriating but 26,450 still remain with 90,000others from other neighboring states in 2006
ZimbabweBotswana built electric fences and South Africa has placedmilitary along the border to stem the flow of thousands ofZimbabweans fleeing to find work and escape political persecution;Namibia has supported, and in 2004 Zimbabwe dropped objections to,plans between Botswana and Zambia to build a bridge over the ZambeziRiver, thereby de facto recognizing a short, but not clearlydelimited, Botswana-Zambia boundary in the river
This page was last updated on 18 December 2008
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@2075 Ethnic groups (%)
AfghanistanPashtun 42%, Tajik 27%, Hazara 9%, Uzbek 9%, Aimak 4%,Turkmen 3%, Baloch 2%, other 4%
AlbaniaAlbanian 95%, Greek 3%, other 2% (Vlach, Roma (Gypsy), Serb,Macedonian, Bulgarian) (1989 est.)note: in 1989, other estimates of the Greek population ranged from1% (official Albanian statistics) to 12% (from a Greek organization)
AlgeriaArab-Berber 99%, European less than 1%note: almost all Algerians are Berber in origin, not Arab; theminority who identify themselves as Berber live mostly in themountainous region of Kabylie east of Algiers; the Berbers are alsoMuslim but identify with their Berber rather than Arab culturalheritage; Berbers have long agitated, sometimes violently, forautonomy; the government is unlikely to grant autonomy but hasoffered to begin sponsoring teaching Berber language in schools
American Samoanative Pacific islander 91.6%, Asian 2.8%, white1.1%, mixed 4.2%, other 0.3% (2000 census)
AndorraSpanish 43%, Andorran 33%, Portuguese 11%, French 7%, other6% (1998)
AngolaOvimbundu 37%, Kimbundu 25%, Bakongo 13%, mestico (mixedEuropean and native African) 2%, European 1%, other 22%
Anguillablack (predominant) 90.1%, mixed, mulatto 4.6%, white 3.7%,other 1.5% (2001 census)
Antigua and Barbudablack 91%, mixed 4.4%, white 1.7%, other 2.9%(2001 census)
Argentinawhite (mostly Spanish and Italian) 97%, mestizo (mixedwhite and Amerindian ancestry), Amerindian, or other non-whitegroups 3%
ArmeniaArmenian 97.9%, Yezidi (Kurd) 1.3%, Russian 0.5%, other 0.3%(2001 census)
Arubamixed white/Caribbean Amerindian 80%, other 20%
Australiawhite 92%, Asian 7%, aboriginal and other 1%
AustriaAustrians 91.1%, former Yugoslavs 4% (includes Croatians,Slovenes, Serbs, and Bosniaks), Turks 1.6%, German 0.9%, other orunspecified 2.4% (2001 census)
AzerbaijanAzeri 90.6%, Dagestani 2.2%, Russian 1.8%, Armenian 1.5%,other 3.9% (1999 census)note: almost all Armenians live in the separatist Nagorno-Karabakhregion
Bahamas, Theblack 85%, white 12%, Asian and Hispanic 3%
BahrainBahraini 62.4%, non-Bahraini 37.6% (2001 census)
BangladeshBengali 98%, other 2% (includes tribal groups,non-Bengali Muslims) (1998)
Barbadosblack 90%, white 4%, Asian and mixed 6%
BelarusBelarusian 81.2%, Russian 11.4%, Polish 3.9%, Ukrainian2.4%, other 1.1% (1999 census)
BelgiumFleming 58%, Walloon 31%, mixed or other 11%
Belizemestizo 48.7%, Creole 24.9%, Maya 10.6%, Garifuna 6.1%, other9.7% (2000 census)
BeninFon and related 39.2%, Adja and related 15.2%, Yoruba andrelated 12.3%, Bariba and related 9.2%, Peulh and related 7%,Ottamari and related 6.1%, Yoa-Lokpa and related 4%, Dendi andrelated 2.5%, other 1.6% (includes Europeans), unspecified 2.9%(2002 census)
Bermudablack 54.8%, white 34.1%, mixed 6.4%, other races 4.3%,unspecified 0.4% (2000 census)
BhutanBhote 50%, ethnic Nepalese 35% (includes Lhotsampas - one ofseveral Nepalese ethnic groups), indigenous or migrant tribes 15%
BoliviaQuechua 30%, mestizo (mixed white and Amerindian ancestry)30%, Aymara 25%, white 15%
Bosnia and HerzegovinaBosniak 48%, Serb 37.1%, Croat 14.3%, other0.6% (2000)note: Bosniak has replaced Muslim as an ethnic term in part to avoidconfusion with the religious term Muslim - an adherent of Islam
BotswanaTswana (or Setswana) 79%, Kalanga 11%, Basarwa 3%, other,including Kgalagadi and white 7%
Brazilwhite 53.7%, mulatto (mixed white and black) 38.5%, black6.2%, other (includes Japanese, Arab, Amerindian) 0.9%, unspecified0.7% (2000 census)
British Virgin Islandsblack 83.4%, white 7%, mixed 5.4%, Indian3.4%, other 0.8% (1991 census)
BruneiMalay 66.3%, Chinese 11.2%, indigenous 3.4%, other 19.1%(2004 est.)
BulgariaBulgarian 83.9%, Turk 9.4%, Roma 4.7%, other 2% (includingMacedonian, Armenian, Tatar, Circassian) (2001 census)
Burkina FasoMossi over 40%, other approximately 60% (includesGurunsi, Senufo, Lobi, Bobo, Mande, and Fulani)
BurmaBurman 68%, Shan 9%, Karen 7%, Rakhine 4%, Chinese 3%, Indian2%, Mon 2%, other 5%
BurundiHutu (Bantu) 85%, Tutsi (Hamitic) 14%, Twa (Pygmy) 1%,Europeans 3,000, South Asians 2,000
CambodiaKhmer 90%, Vietnamese 5%, Chinese 1%, other 4%
CameroonCameroon Highlanders 31%, Equatorial Bantu 19%, Kirdi 11%,Fulani 10%, Northwestern Bantu 8%, Eastern Nigritic 7%, otherAfrican 13%, non-African less than 1%
CanadaBritish Isles origin 28%, French origin 23%, other European15%, Amerindian 2%, other, mostly Asian, African, Arab 6%, mixedbackground 26%
Cape VerdeCreole (mulatto) 71%, African 28%, European 1%
Cayman Islandsmixed 40%, white 20%, black 20%, expatriates ofvarious ethnic groups 20%
Central African RepublicBaya 33%, Banda 27%, Mandjia 13%, Sara 10%,Mboum 7%, M'Baka 4%, Yakoma 4%, other 2%
ChadSara 27.7%, Arab 12.3%, Mayo-Kebbi 11.5%, Kanem-Bornou 9%,Ouaddai 8.7%, Hadjarai 6.7%, Tandjile 6.5%, Gorane 6.3%, Fitri-Batha4.7%, other 6.4%, unknown 0.3% (1993 census)
Chilewhite and white-Amerindian 95.4%, Mapuche 4%, other indigenousgroups 0.6% (2002 census)
ChinaHan Chinese 91.5%, Zhuang, Manchu, Hui, Miao, Uyghur, Tujia,Yi, Mongol, Tibetan, Buyi, Dong, Yao, Korean, and othernationalities 8.5% (2000 census)
Christmas IslandChinese 70%, European 20%, Malay 10%note: no indigenous population (2001)
Cocos (Keeling) IslandsEuropeans, Cocos Malays
Colombiamestizo 58%, white 20%, mulatto 14%, black 4%, mixedblack-Amerindian 3%, Amerindian 1%
ComorosAntalote, Cafre, Makoa, Oimatsaha, Sakalava
Congo, Democratic Republic of theover 200 African ethnic groups ofwhich the majority are Bantu; the four largest tribes - Mongo, Luba,Kongo (all Bantu), and the Mangbetu-Azande (Hamitic) make up about45% of the population
Congo, Republic of theKongo 48%, Sangha 20%, M'Bochi 12%, Teke 17%,Europeans and other 3%
Cook IslandsCook Island Maori (Polynesian) 87.7%, part Cook IslandMaori 5.8%, other 6.5% (2001 census)
Costa Ricawhite (including mestizo) 94%, black 3%, Amerindian 1%,Chinese 1%, other 1%
Cote d'IvoireAkan 42.1%, Voltaiques or Gur 17.6%, Northern Mandes16.5%, Krous 11%, Southern Mandes 10%, other 2.8% (includes 130,000Lebanese and 14,000 French) (1998)
CroatiaCroat 89.6%, Serb 4.5%, other 5.9% (including Bosniak,Hungarian, Slovene, Czech, and Roma) (2001 census)
Cubawhite 65.1%, mulatto and mestizo 24.8%, black 10.1% (2002census)
CyprusGreek 77%, Turkish 18%, other 5% (2001)
Czech RepublicCzech 90.4%, Moravian 3.7%, Slovak 1.9%, other 4%(2001 census)
DenmarkScandinavian, Inuit, Faroese, German, Turkish, Iranian,Somali
DjiboutiSomali 60%, Afar 35%, other 5% (includes French, Arab,Ethiopian, and Italian)
Dominicablack 86.8%, mixed 8.9%, Carib Amerindian 2.9%, white 0.8%,other 0.7% (2001 census)
Dominican Republicmixed 73%, white 16%, black 11%
Ecuadormestizo (mixed Amerindian and white) 65%, Amerindian 25%,Spanish and others 7%, black 3%
EgyptEgyptian 99.6%, other 0.4% (2006 census)
El Salvadormestizo 90%, white 9%, Amerindian 1%
Equatorial GuineaFang 85.7%, Bubi 6.5%, Mdowe 3.6%, Annobon 1.6%,Bujeba 1.1%, other 1.4% (1994 census)
EritreaTigrinya 50%, Tigre and Kunama 40%, Afar 4%, Saho (Red Seacoast dwellers) 3%, other 3%
EstoniaEstonian 67.9%, Russian 25.6%, Ukrainian 2.1%, Belarusian1.3%, Finn 0.9%, other 2.2% (2000 census)
EthiopiaOromo 32.1%, Amara 30.1%, Tigraway 6.2%, Somalie 5.9%,Guragie 4.3%, Sidama 3.5%, Welaita 2.4%, other 15.4% (1994 census)
Falkland Islands (Islas Malvinas)British
Faroe IslandsScandinavian
FijiFijian 57.3% (predominantly Melanesian with a Polynesianadmixture), Indian 37.6%, Rotuman 1.2%, other 3.9% (European, otherPacific Islanders, Chinese) (2007 census)
FinlandFinn 93.4%, Swede 5.6%, Russian 0.5%, Estonian 0.3%, Roma(Gypsy) 0.1%, Sami 0.1% (2006)
FranceCeltic and Latin with Teutonic, Slavic, North African,Indochinese, Basque minoritiesoverseas departments: black, white, mulatto, East Indian, Chinese,Amerindian
French PolynesiaPolynesian 78%, Chinese 12%, local French 6%,metropolitan French 4%
GabonBantu tribes, including four major tribal groupings (Fang,Bapounou, Nzebi, Obamba); other Africans and Europeans, 154,000,including 10,700 French and 11,000 persons of dual nationality
Gambia, TheAfrican 99% (Mandinka 42%, Fula 18%, Wolof 16%, Jola10%, Serahuli 9%, other 4%), non-African 1% (2003 census)
Gaza StripPalestinian Arab
GeorgiaGeorgian 83.8%, Azeri 6.5%, Armenian 5.7%, Russian 1.5%,other 2.5% (2002 census)
GermanyGerman 91.5%, Turkish 2.4%, other 6.1% (made up largely ofGreek, Italian, Polish, Russian, Serbo-Croatian, Spanish)
GhanaAkan 45.3%, Mole-Dagbon 15.2%, Ewe 11.7%, Ga-Dangme 7.3%, Guan4%, Gurma 3.6%, Grusi 2.6%, Mande-Busanga 1%, other tribes 1.4%,other 7.8% (2000 census)
GibraltarSpanish, Italian, English, Maltese, Portuguese, German,North Africans
Greecepopulation: Greek 93%, other (foreign citizens) 7% (2001census)note: percents represent citizenship, since Greece does not collectdata on ethnicity
GreenlandGreenlander 88% (Inuit and Greenland-born whites), Danishand others 12% (2000)
Grenadablack 82%, mixed black and European 13%, European and EastIndian 5%, and trace of Arawak/Carib Amerindian
GuamChamorro 37.1%, Filipino 26.3%, other Pacific islander 11.3%,white 6.9%, other Asian 6.3%, other ethnic origin or race 2.3%,mixed 9.8% (2000 census)
GuatemalaMestizo (mixed Amerindian-Spanish - in local Spanishcalled Ladino) and European 59.4%, K'iche 9.1%, Kaqchikel 8.4%, Mam7.9%, Q'eqchi 6.3%, other Mayan 8.6%, indigenous non-Mayan 0.2%,other 0.1% (2001 census)
GuernseyUK and Norman-French descent with small percentages fromother European countries
GuineaPeuhl 40%, Malinke 30%, Soussou 20%, smaller ethnic groups 10%
Guinea-BissauAfrican 99% (includes Balanta 30%, Fula 20%, Manjaca14%, Mandinga 13%, Papel 7%), European and mulatto less than 1%
GuyanaEast Indian 43.5%, black (African) 30.2%, mixed 16.7%,Amerindian 9.1%, other 0.5% (2002 census)
Haitiblack 95%, mulatto and white 5%
Holy See (Vatican City)Italians, Swiss, other
Hondurasmestizo (mixed Amerindian and European) 90%, Amerindian 7%,black 2%, white 1%
Hong KongChinese 95%, Filipino 1.6%, Indonesian 1.3%, other 2.1%(2006 census)
HungaryHungarian 92.3%, Roma 1.9%, other or unknown 5.8% (2001census)
Icelandhomogeneous mixture of descendants of Norse and Celts 94%,population of foreign origin 6%
IndiaIndo-Aryan 72%, Dravidian 25%, Mongoloid and other 3% (2000)
IndonesiaJavanese 40.6%, Sundanese 15%, Madurese 3.3%, Minangkabau2.7%, Betawi 2.4%, Bugis 2.4%, Banten 2%, Banjar 1.7%, other orunspecified 29.9% (2000 census)
IranPersian 51%, Azeri 24%, Gilaki and Mazandarani 8%, Kurd 7%,Arab 3%, Lur 2%, Baloch 2%, Turkmen 2%, other 1%
IraqArab 75%-80%, Kurdish 15%-20%, Turkoman, Assyrian, or other 5%
IrelandIrish 87.4%, other white 7.5%, Asian 1.3%, black 1.1%, mixed1.1%, unspecified 1.6% (2006 census)
Isle of ManManx (Norse-Celtic descent), Britons
IsraelJewish 76.4% (of which Israel-born 67.1%, Europe/America-born22.6%, Africa-born 5.9%, Asia-born 4.2%), non-Jewish 23.6% (mostlyArab) (2004)
ItalyItalian (includes small clusters of German-, French-, andSlovene-Italians in the north and Albanian-Italians andGreek-Italians in the south)
Jamaicablack 91.2%, mixed 6.2%, other or unknown 2.6% (2001 census)
JapanJapanese 98.5%, Koreans 0.5%, Chinese 0.4%, other 0.6%note: up to 230,000 Brazilians of Japanese origin migrated to Japanin the 1990s to work in industries; some have returned to Brazil(2004)
JerseyJersey 51.1%, Britons 34.8%, Irish, French, and other white6.6%, Portuguese/Madeiran 6.4%, other 1.1% (2001 census)
JordanArab 98%, Circassian 1%, Armenian 1%
KazakhstanKazakh (Qazaq) 53.4%, Russian 30%, Ukrainian 3.7%, Uzbek2.5%, German 2.4%, Tatar 1.7%, Uygur 1.4%, other 4.9% (1999 census)
KenyaKikuyu 22%, Luhya 14%, Luo 13%, Kalenjin 12%, Kamba 11%, Kisii6%, Meru 6%, other African 15%, non-African (Asian, European, andArab) 1%
KiribatiMicronesian 98.8%, other 1.2% (2000 census)
Korea, Northracially homogeneous; there is a small Chinesecommunity and a few ethnic Japanese
Korea, Southhomogeneous (except for about 20,000 Chinese)
KosovoAlbanians 88%, Serbs 7%, other 5% (Bosniak, Gorani, Roma,Turk, Ashkali, Egyptian)
KuwaitKuwaiti 45%, other Arab 35%, South Asian 9%, Iranian 4%,other 7%
KyrgyzstanKyrgyz 64.9%, Uzbek 13.8%, Russian 12.5%, Dungan 1.1%,Ukrainian 1%, Uygur 1%, other 5.7% (1999 census)
LaosLao 55%, Khmou 11%, Hmong 8%, other (over 100 minor ethnicgroups) 26% (2005 census)
LatviaLatvian 57.7%, Russian 29.6%, Belarusian 4.1%, Ukrainian2.7%, Polish 2.5%, Lithuanian 1.4%, other 2% (2002)
LebanonArab 95%, Armenian 4%, other 1%note: many Christian Lebanese do not identify themselves as Arab butrather as descendents of the ancient Canaanites and prefer to becalled Phoenicians
LesothoSotho 99.7%, Europeans, Asians, and other 0.3%,
Liberiaindigenous African 95% (including Kpelle, Bassa, Gio, Kru,Grebo, Mano, Krahn, Gola, Gbandi, Loma, Kissi, Vai, Dei, Bella,Mandingo, and Mende), Americo-Liberians 2.5% (descendants ofimmigrants from the US who had been slaves), Congo People 2.5%(descendants of immigrants from the Caribbean who had been slaves)
LibyaBerber and Arab 97%, other 3% (includes Greeks, Maltese,Italians, Egyptians, Pakistanis, Turks, Indians, and Tunisians)
LiechtensteinLiechtensteiner 65.6%, other 34.4% (2000 census)
LithuaniaLithuanian 83.4%, Polish 6.7%, Russian 6.3%, other orunspecified 3.6% (2001 census)
LuxembourgLuxembourger 63.1%, Portuguese 13.3%, French 4.5%,Italian 4.3%, German 2.3%, other EU 7.3%, other 5.2% (2000 census)
MacauChinese 94.3%, other 5.7% (includes Macanese (mixed Portugueseand Asian ancestry)) (2006 census)
MacedoniaMacedonian 64.2%, Albanian 25.2%, Turkish 3.9%, Roma(Gypsy) 2.7%, Serb 1.8%, other 2.2% (2002 census)
MadagascarMalayo-Indonesian (Merina and related Betsileo), Cotiers(mixed African, Malayo-Indonesian, and Arab ancestry -Betsimisaraka, Tsimihety, Antaisaka, Sakalava), French, Indian,Creole, Comoran
MalawiChewa, Nyanja, Tumbuka, Yao, Lomwe, Sena, Tonga, Ngoni,Ngonde, Asian, European
MalaysiaMalay 50.4%, Chinese 23.7%, indigenous 11%, Indian 7.1%,others 7.8% (2004 est.)
MaldivesSouth Indians, Sinhalese, Arabs
MaliMande 50% (Bambara, Malinke, Soninke), Peul 17%, Voltaic 12%,Songhai 6%, Tuareg and Moor 10%, other 5%
MaltaMaltese (descendants of ancient Carthaginians and Phoenicianswith strong elements of Italian and other Mediterranean stock)
Marshall IslandsMarshallese 92.1%, mixed Marshallese 5.9%, other 2%(2006)
Mauritaniamixed Moor/black 40%, Moor 30%, black 30%
MauritiusIndo-Mauritian 68%, Creole 27%, Sino-Mauritian 3%,Franco-Mauritian 2%
MayotteNA
Mexicomestizo (Amerindian-Spanish) 60%, Amerindian or predominantlyAmerindian 30%, white 9%, other 1%
Micronesia, Federated States ofChuukese 48.8%, Pohnpeian 24.2%,Kosraean 6.2%, Yapese 5.2%, Yap outer islands 4.5%, Asian 1.8%,Polynesian 1.5%, other 6.4%, unknown 1.4% (2000 census)
MoldovaMoldovan/Romanian 78.2%, Ukrainian 8.4%, Russian 5.8%,Gagauz 4.4%, Bulgarian 1.9%, other 1.3% (2004 census)note: internal disputes with ethnic Slavs in the Transnistrian region
MonacoFrench 47%, Monegasque 16%, Italian 16%, other 21%
MongoliaMongol (mostly Khalkha) 94.9%, Turkic (mostly Kazakh) 5%,other (including Chinese and Russian) 0.1% (2000)
MontenegroMontenegrin 43%, Serbian 32%, Bosniak 8%, Albanian 5%,other (Muslims, Croats, Roma (Gypsy)) 12% (2003 census)
Montserratblack, white