Countries That Border Only One Country: The Full List

Around 15 countries share a land border with exactly one other country. The list includes Canada (only the United States), Portugal (only Spain), Denmark (only Germany), Ireland (only the United Kingdom), Monaco (only France), Qatar (only Saudi Arabia), South Korea (only North Korea), Lesotho (surrounded by South Africa), Timor-Leste, Brunei, The Gambia, Haiti, the Dominican Republic, and Papua New Guinea.

Introduction

Most countries in the world share land borders with several neighbors. Russia and China each touch 14 different countries, and Brazil borders all but two nations in South America. But a small and interesting group sits at the opposite extreme: countries that touch just one other country by land.

These single-neighbor nations exist for very different reasons. Some are microstates enclosed within a larger country, some occupy a peninsula or an island shared with a single neighbor, and one, Lesotho, is entirely surrounded by another state. This guide walks through each of them. Note that island nations with no land borders at all, such as Japan, Iceland, or Australia, are a separate category and are not counted here because they border zero countries rather than one.

Large Countries With a Single Neighbor

• Canada: The second-largest country on Earth borders only the United States. Its 8,891-kilometer frontier with the US, including the stretch with Alaska, is the longest international land border in the world, yet it is Canada's only one.
• Portugal: Occupying the western edge of the Iberian Peninsula, Portugal borders only Spain along a frontier known as A Raia, one of the oldest stable borders in Europe.
• Denmark: Mainland Denmark shares its only land border with Germany across the Jutland Peninsula. The rest of the country is islands, and bridges and ferries connect it to Sweden.
• Ireland: The Republic of Ireland shares the island of Ireland with Northern Ireland, so its single land border is with the United Kingdom.
• South Korea: South Korea borders only North Korea, across the heavily fortified Demilitarized Zone (DMZ) near the 38th parallel.

These countries show that having one neighbor has little to do with size. Canada is vast, yet its geography, bounded by three oceans and a single southern partner, leaves it with just one land border. Portugal and Denmark owe their status to peninsulas, while Ireland and South Korea sit on partitioned islands and peninsulas.

Microstates and Enclaves

• Monaco: The tiny principality on the Mediterranean coast is wrapped entirely by France on its landward side, giving it a single neighbor.
• San Marino: One of the world's oldest republics, San Marino is completely enclosed by Italy, so Italy is its only neighbor.
• Vatican City: The smallest sovereign state in the world is an enclave within the city of Rome, bordered only by Italy.
• Lesotho: This mountainous kingdom is one of only three countries on Earth entirely surrounded by another single nation, in this case South Africa, making it a true enclave.

Lesotho, San Marino, and Vatican City belong to the rare club of enclaved countries, states landlocked within a single other country. Monaco is not fully enclaved because it has a coastline, but its only land neighbor is France.

Peninsulas, Islands, and Shared Land

• Qatar: This small peninsular nation jutting into the Persian Gulf shares its only land border with Saudi Arabia.
• Brunei: Located on the island of Borneo, Brunei is surrounded on land entirely by the Malaysian state of Sarawak, so its only neighbor is Malaysia.
• Timor-Leste: Sharing the island of Timor, this young nation borders only Indonesia.
• Papua New Guinea: Occupying the eastern half of the island of New Guinea, it borders only Indonesia, which controls the western half.
• The Gambia: A narrow ribbon of land following the Gambia River, it is almost completely surrounded by Senegal, its only neighbor, except for its short Atlantic coast.
• Haiti and the Dominican Republic: These two nations share the Caribbean island of Hispaniola and border only each other.

Haiti and the Dominican Republic form an unusual pair: two sovereign countries that share one island and count each other as their sole land neighbor. Brunei, Timor-Leste, and Papua New Guinea show how sharing an island with just one partner produces a single border, while The Gambia is a striking example of a nation defined almost entirely by the country wrapped around it.

Why So Few Countries Have One Neighbor

Having exactly one land border is unusual because most landmasses are carved into several adjacent territories. A single-neighbor status typically requires one of a handful of geographic situations: sitting on a peninsula with the sea on most sides, occupying part of a shared island, being enclosed within a larger state, or having oceans on all other flanks like Canada. These conditions are rare, which is why fewer than a dozen and a half countries qualify.

It is worth distinguishing these single-neighbor countries from island nations with no land borders at all. Countries such as Japan, Australia, New Zealand, Iceland, Sri Lanka, Madagascar, and Cuba border zero countries by land. They are sometimes confused with single-neighbor nations, but they belong to a different category entirely.

Common Questions

Which large country borders only one other country?

Canada is the largest country that borders only one other nation. Despite being the second-biggest country on Earth by area, its only land neighbor is the United States, and the two share the longest international border in the world.

What is the difference between a single-neighbor country and an enclave?

A single-neighbor country simply touches one other country by land. An enclave is a country completely surrounded by one other country. Lesotho, San Marino, and Vatican City are enclaves and therefore also have exactly one neighbor, but a country like Portugal has one neighbor without being enclaved.

Do island countries count as bordering one country?

No. Island nations such as Japan, Iceland, and Australia have no land borders at all, so they border zero countries. Countries that border exactly one nation still share a physical land frontier, which is what sets them apart from isolated islands.