Borderless country
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A borderless country may be defined as an island nation, an insular territory over which a nation-state maintains sovereignty under international law, that does not share the land territory of the island with other nation-states which are sovereign under international law. For example, the Republic of Ireland shares the island of Ireland with Northern Ireland and thus is not borderless. Madagascar, on the other hand, is defined as a borderless country because it controls an entire island. In the example of Australia most geographers would argue that one country controls the entire continental mainland of a continent. A borderless nation does not have to be located on a single island, as countries such as the Federated States of Micronesia can consist of thousands of islands. Cuba is a disputed case of an island nation because the United States exercises effective sovereignty over part of Guantanamo Bay.1
List of borderless countries
- Antigua and Barbuda
- Australia 2
- Bahamas
- Bahrain
- Barbados
- Cape Verde
- Republic of China (Taiwan) 3
- Comoros
- Cyprus 4
- Dominica
- Fiji
- Grenada
- Iceland
- Jamaica
- Japan
- Kiribati
- Madagascar
- Maldives
- Malta
- Marshall Islands
- Mauritius
- Federated States of Micronesia
- Nauru
- New Zealand5
- Palau
- Philippines
- Saint Kitts and Nevis
- Saint Lucia
- Saint Vincent and the Grenadines
- Samoa
- São Tomé and Príncipe
- Seychelles
- Singapore
- Solomon Islands
- Sri Lanka
- Tonga
- Trinidad and Tobago
- Tuvalu
- Vanuatu
List of borderless dependent territories
- Åland6
- Aruba
- American Samoa
- Anguilla
- Ashmore and Cartier Islands
- Baker Island
- Bermuda
- Bouvet Island
- Cayman Islands
- Christmas Island
- Cocos (Keeling) Islands
- Cook Islands
- Coral Sea Islands Territory
- Falkland Islands
- Faroe Islands
- French Polynesia
- French Southern and Antarctic Territories7
- Greenland
- Guam
- Guernsey
- Heard Island and McDonald Islands
- Howland Island
- British Indian Ocean Territory
- Isle of Man
- Jan Mayen
- Jarvis Island
- Jersey
- Johnston Atoll
- Kingman Reef
- Martinique
- Mayotte
- Midway Atoll
- Montserrat
- Navassa Island
- New Caledonia
- Niue
- Norfolk Island
- Northern Mariana Islands
- Palmyra Atoll
- Pitcairn Islands
- Puerto Rico
- Réunion
- Saint Helena
- Saint Pierre and Miquelon
- Svalbard
- South Georgia and the South Sandwich Islands
- Tokelau
- Turks and Caicos Islands
- British Virgin Islands
- U.S. Virgin Islands
- Wake Island
- Wallis and Futuna
Footnotes
- Note 1: Guantanamo Bay in Cuba is a U.S. lease.
- Note 2: Australia maintains claims to territory in Antarctica and as such can technically be regarded as having land borders there (to Norway, France and New Zealand).
- Note 3: The Republic of China (often referred as "Taiwan") only controls the islands of Taiwan, Matsu, Kinmen, Penghu etc. after the Chinese Civil War, but has not formally renounced claim on areas currently under control of People's Republic of China, Mongolia, Tuva (a Russian republic), etc. If those territories are taken into account, the Republic of China is not a borderless country.
- Note 4: The north part of Cyprus is not controlled by Republic of Cyprus, but due to Turkish invasion there is the de facto state of Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus, which is recognized only by Turkey.
- Note 5: New Zealand maintain claims to territory in Antarctica and as such can technically be regarded as having land borders there.
- Note 6: Market Reef defines the border between Finland and Sweden. The lighthouse on the reef is administred directly from Finland and is usually not considered a part of the autonomous Åland Islands.
- Note 7: France claims territory in Antarctica and as such can technically be regarded as having land borders there. Otherwise, islands administered in this overseas territory have no land borders.
See also
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