Countries and Borders

What Makes a Country?

Geographers often say state when they mean an independent country. A common test comes from the Montevideo Convention, signed by countries of the Americas in 1933. Its first article lists four things a state should have:

1. A permanent population: people who live there.
2. A defined territory: land with borders, even if some borders are argued over.
3. A government that runs the territory.
4. The capacity to enter into relations with other states, such as making treaties.

The convention also says a state exists whether or not other countries recognize it. In real life, though, recognition matters a lot. A place that few countries recognize has a hard time trading, joining groups or getting loans. Notice what is not on the list: a single language, a single religion or a minimum size.

How many countries are there?

There is no single answer. In 2026 the United Nations has 193 member states. Two more, the Holy See (Vatican City) and the State of Palestine, are non-member observer states. Some places, such as Kosovo and Taiwan, are recognized by some countries but not by others, and they are not UN members. That is why lists of "how many countries" give numbers from about 193 to about 200.

Nation or State?

In everyday speech, "nation" and "country" mean the same thing. Geographers keep them apart:

• A state is a political unit with territory, people and a government.
• A nation is a group of people who share a culture, such as a language, history or homeland, and see themselves as one people.
• A nation-state is a state where most people belong to one nation. Japan and Iceland are often given as examples.
• A multinational state holds several nations. The United Kingdom includes the English, Scots, Welsh and many people in Northern Ireland, each with its own history.
• A stateless nation is a nation with no state of its own.

The Kurds are the best-known stateless nation. Most Kurds live in a mountain region that crosses the borders of Turkey, Iran, Iraq and Syria. Estimates of their number vary a lot, from about 36 to 46 million in the mid-2010s. After World War I, the Treaty of Sèvres (1920) planned for a Kurdish homeland, but it was never put into effect. The Treaty of Lausanne (1923) replaced it without one. Today Iraq has a Kurdistan Region with its own government, but it remains part of Iraq.

Five Kinds of Borders

A border, or boundary, is the line where one state's territory ends and another's begins. Geographers sort borders in two ways: by what they follow and by when they were drawn.

One border can fit more than one kind. The 49th parallel is geometric because it is a straight line, and antecedent because it was set before most settlers arrived. The United States and Britain agreed on it east of the Rocky Mountains in 1818 and extended it to the Pacific in 1846.

Superimposed borders can split one people between two countries or put old rivals in the same country. A common myth says the Berlin Conference of 1884–1885 drew Africa's borders. In fact, the 14 countries there agreed on rules for claiming land, and the race for colonies sped up afterward. Most lines were drawn later in deals between colonial powers.

Country Shapes

Geographers sometimes sort countries into five shapes. This is a simple teaching model, not a law of nature. Textbooks do not always agree on which country goes in which group, and many countries mix two shapes.

Compact (Kenya)

Roughly round, so the capital can reach every part fairly easily.

Elongated (Malawi)

Long and narrow. Chile is an even longer example. Places at the far ends can feel cut off from the capital.

Prorupted (Namibia)

Mostly compact, with one long arm. Namibia's thin strip in the northeast reaches toward the Zambezi River.

Perforated (South Africa)

Has a hole: another country completely inside it. Lesotho sits inside South Africa.

Fragmented (Indonesia)

Split into pieces, often islands. Indonesia is spread across thousands of islands, which makes travel and trade between regions harder.

Landlocked Countries, Enclaves and Exclaves

A landlocked country has no coast on the open ocean. The UN lists 32 landlocked developing countries, and 16 of them are in Africa. Add rich landlocked countries in Europe, such as Switzerland and Austria, and the total is more than 40. Goods must cross at least one other country to reach a seaport, which adds time and cost. That is why landlocked countries care about roads, railways and good relations with their neighbors.

An enclave is a territory completely surrounded by another country. Only three countries are entirely surrounded by a single other country: Lesotho, inside South Africa, and San Marino and Vatican City, both inside Italy. Lesotho became independent in 1966.

An exclave is a piece of a country that is cut off from the main part. Kaliningrad is part of Russia, but it sits between Poland and Lithuania on the Baltic Sea. It became part of the Soviet Union in 1945. When Lithuania became independent in 1991, Kaliningrad was cut off from the rest of Russia. To travel there by land, people and goods must cross Lithuania, Belarus or Poland, or they can go by sea.

One place can be both. To Russia, Kaliningrad is an exclave. Lesotho is an enclave within South Africa, but it is its own country, not a piece of another.

Borders at Sea

Borders do not stop at the shore. The UN Convention on the Law of the Sea, often called UNCLOS, sets out zones measured from a baseline. The baseline is usually the low-water line along the coast. Across the mouth of a bay, it can be a straight closing line of up to 24 nautical miles. A nautical mile is about 1.85 km.

• Territorial sea, up to 12 nautical miles. The coastal state is sovereign here, much as on land. Foreign ships may still pass through peacefully.
• Contiguous zone, up to 24 nautical miles. The state may stop and punish breaks of its customs, tax, immigration and health laws.
• Exclusive economic zone (EEZ), up to 200 nautical miles. The state has rights to the fish, oil, gas and other resources, and to make energy from water and wind. Other countries' ships and planes may still travel through.
• High seas. Beyond the EEZs, the ocean is open to all countries.

When two coasts are less than 400 nautical miles apart, their zones overlap, so the countries must agree on a line between them. Tiny islands can add huge areas of sea, which is one reason some islands are argued over.

Capitals

A capital is the city where a country's government meets. Many capitals, such as London and Paris, are old cities that grew into the job. Others were planned and built as capitals:

• Brasília, Brazil. Built from 1956 to 1960 in the center of the country, far from the old capital, Rio de Janeiro, on the coast. The goal was to pull people and growth inland.
• Abuja, Nigeria. A planned city chosen for its central location. It replaced Lagos as the capital in 1991.
• Canberra, Australia. Planned as a compromise between the rival cities of Sydney and Melbourne.

A capital moved to show a fresh start or to pull growth toward a new region is sometimes called a forward capital. Brasília is a common example.

Disputed Places

Countries sometimes claim the same land. Maps made in different countries may even draw the same border in different places. This page does not take sides. Here are two cases, described as the sources describe them.

Kashmir

The Kashmir region, in the north of the Indian subcontinent, has been disputed by India and Pakistan since 1947. Each country controls part of it. A cease-fire line, renamed the Line of Control in 1972, divides the two parts, but neither country treats it as a final international border. China has controlled part of the northeast of the region since 1962. Maps printed in India, Pakistan and China show the region differently.

Antarctica

Seven countries claim parts of Antarctica, and some claims overlap. In 1959, 12 countries signed the Antarctic Treaty, which came into force in 1961. It sets the continent aside for peace and science. Article IV freezes the claims: the treaty does not accept or reject them, and no new claims can be made while it is in force. By 2026 the treaty had 58 parties.

Countries Working Together

Some groups of countries share decisions on trade, travel or law. A group where member countries give up some powers to shared bodies is sometimes called supranational.

• The European Union (EU) has 27 member countries, including France, Germany, Poland and Spain. Members trade freely with each other, and many share one currency, the euro. Norway and Switzerland are in Europe but are not members.
• The African Union (AU) has 55 member states, including every UN member country in Africa. It works on peace, trade and development across Africa.
• The United Nations is not a government over countries, but its 193 members meet to discuss problems no one country can solve, and it hosts treaties like UNCLOS.

Membership can change. In 2020 the United Kingdom left the EU, so check the date of any list you use.

Links to Earlier Units

• Maps, Globes and Coordinates: latitude and longitude, which explain geometric borders like the 49th parallel.
• Landforms and Water: the mountains, rivers and lakes that physical borders follow.
• Resources and Trade: ports and shipping routes, which matter most to landlocked countries.
• Cities and Urbanization: why capitals like Brasília were planned and built.

Game: Odd One Out

Each round shows four things. Three of them share something, and one does not. Find the odd one out. Every answer comes from this page.

Quiz: Countries and Borders

Ten questions. Choose one answer for each, then check your score. You can try as many times as you like.

Credits

Written by Marco for Jugami's World Geography course. The map of southern Africa, the map of Kaliningrad, the country shapes and the sea zones diagram are original SVG illustrations made for this page. The maps and shapes use public-domain country outlines from Natural Earth, which show borders as they are generally drawn and are simplified at this scale. The sea zones diagram is a simplified drawing, not to scale.