Countries With the Most Borders in the World: The Complete Guide to the Most Connected Nations

Every international border tells a story. Some were drawn along mountain ridges and rivers by ancient kingdoms. Others were sliced across maps by colonial officials who never set foot on the ground. A few emerged from devastating wars, and some from peaceful negotiations over coffee.

The number of countries a nation borders isn't random — it reflects size, geography, history, and the messy process of how the modern political map came to be. Countries with many borders tend to sit at the crossroads of civilizations. They're trade hubs, cultural melting pots, and, often, flashpoints for conflict.

So which countries share borders with the most neighbors? The answer reveals some fascinating patterns about how our world is connected — and divided.

Let's start with the definitive ranking. These are the nations that share land boundaries with the most sovereign countries:

\France's count of 9 includes its overseas territory of French Guiana, which borders Brazil and Suriname. Metropolitan France alone borders 8 countries.*

Already some surprises? Let's dig into each one.

Bordering: Afghanistan, Bhutan, India, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Laos, Mongolia, Myanmar, Nepal, North Korea, Pakistan, Russia, Tajikistan, Vietnam

China shares the most land borders of any country on Earth, tied with Russia at 14. And what a diverse set of neighbors it is — from the world's largest democracy (India) to the world's most isolated regime (North Korea), from tiny Bhutan (population ~780,000) to vast Russia.

China's border situation is a direct result of its enormous size (9.6 million km²) and its position at the heart of Asia. The country's western borders snake through some of the most extreme terrain on the planet — the Himalayas, the Karakoram, the Pamir Mountains, and the Tian Shan range. Several of these borders were disputed for centuries and some still are.

Key border facts:

• •The China-Mongolia border (4,630 km) is one of the longest bilateral borders in the world
• •The China-India border includes the disputed Line of Actual Control, which triggered a war in 1962 and deadly skirmishes as recently as 2020
• •China's border with Afghanistan is only 76 km long — a narrow strip called the Wakhan Corridor — and has no official crossing point
• •The China-North Korea border along the Yalu and Tumen rivers is one of the most heavily monitored in Asia
• •China's border with Bhutan has never been formally demarcated, making it technically undefined

Having 14 neighbors means China's foreign policy is extraordinarily complex. The country must simultaneously manage relationships with nuclear powers (Russia, India, Pakistan, North Korea), former Soviet states, Southeast Asian nations, and Himalayan kingdoms. No other country faces this breadth of diplomatic challenge.

Bordering: Azerbaijan, Belarus, China, Estonia, Finland, Georgia, Kazakhstan, Latvia, Lithuania (via Kaliningrad), Mongolia, North Korea, Norway, Poland (via Kaliningrad), Ukraine

Russia ties China with 14 land borders, but its border geography is completely different. While China's borders radiate outward from its center, Russia's stretch across 11 time zones from Northern Europe to the Pacific coast.

Two of Russia's borders — with Poland and Lithuania — only exist because of Kaliningrad, a Russian exclave sandwiched between EU and NATO members on the Baltic Sea. Kaliningrad was the German city of Königsberg until 1945, when the Soviet Union annexed it after World War II. It's been Russian ever since, even though it's separated from mainland Russia by hundreds of kilometers.

Key border facts:

• •The Russia-Kazakhstan border (7,644 km) is the longest continuous land border in the world
• •The Russia-China border (4,209 km) was the site of a brief but intense military conflict in 1969
• •Russia's border with North Korea is just 17 km long — one of the shortest international borders anywhere
• •The Russia-Finland border (1,340 km) became a NATO frontier when Finland joined the alliance in 2023
• •Russia's border with Norway is the northernmost international border between two countries that isn't on an island

Russia's massive border network has historically driven its security concerns. With so many neighbors across such vast distances, Russia has always struggled with the idea of strategic depth — the need for buffer zones between its heartland and potential threats. This anxiety partly explains conflicts from the Caucasus to Ukraine.

Bordering: Argentina, Bolivia, Colombia, French Guiana (France), Guyana, Paraguay, Peru, Suriname, Uruguay, Venezuela

Brazil is the geographic giant of South America, and its 10 borders reflect the fact that it touches every South American country except Chile and Ecuador. That's an extraordinary feat of continental dominance.

Brazil's total land border length is about 16,885 km, much of it running through dense Amazon rainforest where the actual boundary is marked more by rivers and GPS coordinates than fences or checkpoints. Large stretches of the Brazil-Colombia, Brazil-Venezuela, and Brazil-Guyana borders pass through some of the most remote and inaccessible terrain on Earth.

Key border facts:

• •The Brazil-Argentina border is the most economically important, with heavy trade flowing between South America's two largest economies
• •Brazil's border with French Guiana means it technically shares a border with the European Union (and France), making the France-Brazil border the longest border France has with any single country
• •The Brazil-Uruguay border features several "twin cities" where life flows seamlessly across the boundary — in some cases, a single street is divided between the two countries
• •Brazil's Tri-Border Area (with Argentina and Paraguay) at Iguazu Falls is one of the most famous triple border points in the world

Bordering: Angola, Burundi, Central African Republic, Republic of the Congo, Rwanda, South Sudan, Tanzania, Uganda, Zambia

The Democratic Republic of the Congo is Africa's second-largest country by area and sits right at the continent's heart. Its 9 borders make it the most connected country in Africa.

DR Congo's central position means it straddles the equator and spans from the savannas of the south to dense tropical rainforests in the center and the volcanic mountains of the east. The country's eastern borders — with Rwanda, Burundi, and Uganda — have been among the most violent and unstable in the world, with conflicts involving multiple neighbors spilling across boundaries repeatedly since the 1990s.

Key border facts:

• •The Congo River forms much of the border with the Republic of the Congo, creating one of the world's most unusual capital city pairs: Kinshasa and Brazzaville sit directly across the river from each other — the closest two national capitals anywhere on Earth
• •DR Congo's border with Zambia runs through the mineral-rich Copperbelt, one of the most valuable mining regions in the world
• •The eastern borders with Rwanda and Uganda have seen devastating cross-border conflicts that drew in nine African nations during what's been called "Africa's World War" (1998-2003)

Bordering: Austria, Belgium, Czech Republic, Denmark, France, Luxembourg, Netherlands, Poland, Switzerland

Germany sits at the geographic and political heart of Europe, and its 9 borders reflect centuries of shifting alliances, wars, and eventually, peaceful integration. Today, all 9 of Germany's neighbors are fellow EU members (except Switzerland), and most border crossings are invisible thanks to the Schengen Agreement.

But it wasn't always this way. Germany's borders have been redrawn more times than almost any country in modern history. The current borders were essentially set in 1990 with reunification, when West and East Germany merged and formally recognized the Oder-Neisse line as the border with Poland.

Key border facts:

• •Germany's 9 borders make it the most connected country in Europe
• •The Germany-Austria border is essentially invisible — same language, same culture, completely open crossing
• •Germany's border with Denmark features the famously complicated Schleswig-Holstein question, which Palmerston reportedly said only three people ever understood (one dead, one mad, one who'd forgotten)
• •The Germany-France border along the Rhine was one of the most fought-over boundaries in human history — now it's a symbol of European peace

Bordering: Andorra, Belgium, Brazil (via French Guiana), Germany, Italy, Luxembourg, Monaco, Spain, Suriname (via French Guiana), Switzerland

Wait — France borders Brazil and Suriname? Yes, through French Guiana, which is not a colony or territory but a full département of France. That means the EU's longest land border with a non-EU country is in the Amazon rainforest.

If you count only metropolitan France, it borders 8 countries. But since French Guiana is constitutionally part of France (residents vote in French elections, use the euro, and are EU citizens), the full count is 9 unique sovereign neighbors.

Key border facts:

• •The France-Brazil border (730 km) is France's longest border with any single country
• •France's border with Monaco (6 km) is one of the shortest in the world
• •The France-Spain border runs along the Pyrenees mountains and includes Andorra, a tiny co-principality nestled in between
• •France's border with Italy includes the spectacular Mont Blanc, Western Europe's highest peak — and the two countries actually dispute which one the summit belongs to

Bordering: Czech Republic, Germany, Hungary, Italy, Liechtenstein, Slovakia, Slovenia, Switzerland

Austria punches well above its weight in the border department. Despite being a relatively small Alpine country (84,000 km²), it shares boundaries with 8 nations — making it one of Europe's most connected countries relative to its size.

This is a legacy of the Austro-Hungarian Empire, which once controlled a vast swath of Central Europe. When the empire collapsed after World War I, Austria was reduced to a small German-speaking rump state surrounded by successor nations. The current borders are essentially the WWI settlement, modified slightly after WWII.

Key border facts:

• •Austria is the only country to border both Germany and Italy, making it the bridge between Northern and Southern Europe
• •The Austria-Slovakia border between Vienna and Bratislava is just 1 km wide at its narrowest — the two capitals are only 60 km apart, closer than any other pair of capitals from different countries in Europe
• •Austria's border with Liechtenstein (34.9 km) connects two of Europe's most prosperous nations per capita

Bordering: Burundi, DR Congo, Kenya, Malawi, Mozambique, Rwanda, Uganda, Zambia

Tanzania occupies a strategic position in East Africa, bordered by 8 countries and the Indian Ocean. It's home to Mount Kilimanjaro (Africa's highest peak), the Serengeti, and part of Lake Victoria (Africa's largest lake, shared with Kenya and Uganda).

Tanzania's many borders make it a crucial transit country for landlocked neighbors like Burundi, Rwanda, Uganda, and Zambia. The port of Dar es Salaam is a lifeline for several inland African nations.

Bordering: Armenia, Azerbaijan (Nakhchivan exclave), Bulgaria, Georgia, Greece, Iran, Iraq, Syria

Turkey's 8 borders span two continents — Europe and Asia — making it one of the world's great crossroads nations. Its neighbors include EU members (Bulgaria, Greece), former Soviet states (Armenia, Georgia, Azerbaijan), and Middle Eastern nations (Iran, Iraq, Syria).

Key border facts:

• •Turkey's border with Syria (909 km) has been one of the world's most volatile since the Syrian civil war began in 2011
• •The Turkey-Armenia border has been closed since 1993 due to the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict
• •Turkey borders Azerbaijan only through the Nakhchivan exclave — a piece of Azerbaijan separated from the main country by Armenia
• •Turkey's border with Greece on the Evros River is the EU's land frontier with Asia

Bordering: Angola, Botswana, DR Congo, Malawi, Mozambique, Namibia, Tanzania, Zimbabwe

Zambia's 8 borders make it the most connected landlocked country in the world. Notably, Zambia touches Botswana at just a single point — the confluence of the Zambezi and Chobe rivers. This is one of the world's only international border quadripoints, where four countries (Zambia, Botswana, Zimbabwe, and Namibia) very nearly meet at a single spot.

The distribution of borders around the world isn't random. Here are some fascinating patterns:

On the other end of the spectrum, several countries share a land boundary with just one neighbor:

• •🇨🇦 Canada — only borders the United States (the world's longest international border at 8,891 km including the Alaska-Canada border)
• •🇩🇰 Denmark — only borders Germany (the Jutland Peninsula)
• •🇬🇲 The Gambia — almost entirely surrounded by Senegal (it's essentially a river with a country built around it)
• •🇵🇹 Portugal — only borders Spain
• •🇰🇷 South Korea — only borders North Korea (across one of the most heavily fortified boundaries on Earth)
• •🇻🇦 Vatican City — entirely surrounded by Rome, Italy
• •🇸🇲 San Marino — entirely surrounded by Italy
• •🇱🇸 Lesotho — entirely surrounded by South Africa (the only country besides San Marino and Vatican City to be completely enclaved within another nation)
• •🇲🇨 Monaco — only borders France
• •🇧🇳 Brunei — only borders Malaysia
• •🇶🇦 Qatar — only borders Saudi Arabia
• •🇵🇬 Papua New Guinea — only land border is with Indonesia
• •🇭🇹 Haiti / 🇩🇴 Dominican Republic — share the island of Hispaniola, each with only one land neighbor
• •🇮🇪 Ireland — only borders the United Kingdom (Northern Ireland)
• •🇹🇱 Timor-Leste — only borders Indonesia

These single-border countries have a fundamentally different geopolitical reality. Their entire land-based foreign policy revolves around one relationship. When Canada and the US disagree on trade, Canada can't easily pivot to another neighbor. When South Korea faces tensions with the North, there's no alternative land route anywhere.

Let's get into the truly strange trivia:

The number of borders a country has profoundly shapes its:

Think you can name all 14 of China's neighbors? Or the 9 countries bordering Germany? Here's a quick challenge:

Without looking at a map, try to list:

1. 1All 14 countries bordering China
2. 2All 10 countries bordering Brazil
3. 3All 9 countries bordering Germany

Most geography enthusiasts can get 10-12 of China's neighbors, around 7-8 of Brazil's, and 7-8 of Germany's. The obscure ones (China-Afghanistan, Brazil-Suriname, Germany-Luxembourg) are where people stumble.

Want to test yourself properly? Head over to geoguesser.in and try identifying every country on the map. You'll quickly discover which border regions you know well — and which ones are blank spots in your mental atlas. It's one thing to memorize a list; it's another to actually place these countries on a map.

For the completists, here's a broader breakdown:

14 borders: China, Russia

10 borders: Brazil

9 borders: DR Congo, Germany, France

8 borders: Austria, Serbia, Tanzania, Turkey, Zambia

7 borders: Hungary, Poland, Sudan, South Sudan, Ukraine, Ethiopia, Mali

6 borders: Argentina, India, Guinea, Burkina Faso, Niger, Chad, Cameroon, Central African Republic, Republic of Congo, Mozambique, Saudi Arabia

5 borders: Spain, Romania, Kenya, Iran, Iraq, Laos, Myanmar, Kazakhstan, Peru, Bolivia, Libya, Algeria, Uganda

You'll notice a pattern: the countries with the most borders tend to be large, centrally located within their continent, or both. It's simple geometry — a bigger footprint means more neighbors.

It's tempting to think of borders as permanent. They're not. In just the last 35 years:

• •Germany went from two countries to one (1990), changing the border count for several European nations
• •The Soviet Union dissolved (1991), creating 15 new countries and hundreds of new borders overnight
• •Yugoslavia broke into 7 nations (1991-2008), dramatically reshaping the Balkans
• •South Sudan separated from Sudan (2011), creating new borders in East Africa
• •Eritrea split from Ethiopia (1993), making Ethiopia landlocked and creating a new Red Sea coastal nation
• •Crimea's annexation by Russia (2014) altered the de facto Russia-Ukraine border

Borders reflect power, identity, and politics — and all three are constantly in flux.

The geography of borders is a window into history, power, and human connection. China and Russia's 14 neighbors each tell stories of empire, expansion, and geopolitical ambition. Germany's 9 borders reflect Europe's turbulent past and integrated present. Brazil's 10 borders showcase a continental giant that touches nearly every country on its landmass.

Whether a country has 14 borders or just one, each boundary represents a relationship — sometimes friendly, sometimes tense, but always meaningful.

Ready to put your border knowledge to the test? Visit NameTheCountries on geoguesser.in and try to identify every country on the map. Pay special attention to those border regions where countries cluster together — Central Europe, Central Africa, and Central/South Asia are where most people struggle. If you can nail every neighbor of China, Russia, and Brazil, you're in the top tier of geography enthusiasts.

Happy mapping! 🗺️