China and Russia sit tied at the top, each bordering 14 other sovereign countries. No other nation on Earth comes close to matching that number. This guide runs through the full ranking of countries sharing the most international borders, along with border lengths, the countries with none at all, and how geographers actually count a "border" in the first place.
Country With the Most Borders
- China borders 14 countries, stretching from North Korea in the east to Afghanistan in the west.
- Russia also borders 14 countries, tied with China, spanning from Norway to North Korea across two continents.
- Brazil comes in third with 10 neighbours, bordering every South American country except Chile and Ecuador.
- Beyond that, the Democratic Republic of the Congo and Germany both border 9 countries each.
Top 10 Countries by Number of International Borders
Rank | Country | Number of Bordering Countries | Neighbouring Countries | Total Land Border Length |
| 1 | China | 14 | Afghanistan, Bhutan, India, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Laos, Mongolia, Myanmar, Nepal, North Korea, Pakistan, Russia, Tajikistan, Vietnam | ~22,100 km |
| 1 | Russia | 14 | Azerbaijan, Belarus, China, Estonia, Finland, Georgia, Kazakhstan, Latvia, Lithuania, Mongolia, North Korea, Norway, Poland, Ukraine | ~22,400 km |
| 2 | Brazil | 10 | Argentina, Bolivia, Colombia, French Guiana, Guyana, Paraguay, Peru, Suriname, Uruguay, Venezuela | ~16,000 km |
| 3 | DR Congo | 9 | Angola, Burundi, Central African Republic, Republic of Congo, Rwanda, South Sudan, Tanzania, Uganda, Zambia | ~6,700 km |
| 3 | Germany | 9 | Austria, Belgium, the Czech Republic, Denmark, France, Luxembourg, the Netherlands, Poland, and Switzerland | ~3,700 km |
| 4 | Turkey | 8 | Armenia, Azerbaijan, Bulgaria, Georgia, Greece, Iran, Iraq, Syria | ~2,800 km |
| 4 | Austria | 8 | Czech Republic, Germany, Hungary, Italy, Liechtenstein, Slovakia, Slovenia, Switzerland | ~2,700 km |
| 4 | France (mainland) | 8 | Andorra, Belgium, Germany, Italy, Luxembourg, Monaco, Spain, Switzerland | ~2,900 km |
| 4 | Tanzania | 8 | Burundi, DR Congo, Kenya, Malawi, Mozambique, Rwanda, Uganda, Zambia | ~3,800 km |
| 4 | Zambia | 8 | Angola, Botswana, DR Congo, Malawi, Mozambique, Namibia, Tanzania, Zimbabwe | ~5,700 km |
Why China and Russia Lead the List?
Sheer size explains most of this. Both countries rank among the largest on Earth by land area, and both sit at the crossroads of multiple regions, Russia stretching across Eastern Europe and Northern Asia, China anchoring East and Central Asia together. Centuries of shifting empires, treaties, and territorial disputes carved their borders into the jagged, many-sided shapes they hold today, and their size alone practically guarantees a long list of neighbours pressed up against them.
Full List of Countries Ranked by Number of Borders
Moving beyond the top 10, the numbers drop fairly quickly. Saudi Arabia and Sudan each border 7 countries. India, Iran, and Mali sit around 7 as well, depending on how disputed territories get counted. Most countries with any land border at all cluster between 2 and 5 neighbours, and a large share of the world's roughly 195 recognised countries border just one neighbour or none whatsoever, which brings us to the next two sections.
Countries With the Longest Land Borders
Longest Single Land Border (Canada–US)
The Canada-United States border runs 8,891 km, making it the longest continuous international border between any two countries anywhere on Earth. It stretches from the Atlantic all the way to the Pacific, crossing the Great Lakes and cutting through Alaska's boundary with Canada's Yukon and British Columbia, too.
Countries With the Longest Total Border Length
Adding up all of a country's borders together, rather than looking at just one bilateral stretch, China and Russia again lead the pack, both sitting somewhere around 22,000 km once every neighbouring segment gets combined. Brazil follows at roughly 16,000 km, almost entirely wrapped around the edges of the Amazon basin.
Countries With No Land Borders
Island Nations With Zero Neighbours
Dozens of countries share no land border with anyone at all, simply because water surrounds them entirely. Australia, Japan, the United Kingdom, Iceland, Sri Lanka, Madagascar, and New Zealand all fall into this category, alongside most Caribbean and Pacific island nations.
Countries With Only One Neighbour
A smaller group borders exactly one other country. Canada borders only the United States. Portugal borders only Spain. South Korea borders only North Korea. Ireland borders only the United Kingdom. Lesotho sits entirely surrounded by South Africa, and Gambia is almost entirely surrounded by Senegal, giving both effectively a single neighbour each.
How Borders Are Counted and Measured?
Border counts sound simple until disputed territories enter the picture. Some sources count Hong Kong and Macau as separate from mainland China, since they function under different legal systems, which pushes certain lists to claim China borders 16 rather than 14. Others fold in disputed or partially recognized regions, like Abkhazia and South Ossetia along Russia's border, which can shift that count upward too, depending on which government's version you trust. Maritime borders, covered further down, typically get excluded from these land-border rankings entirely, since they work under a completely different legal framework. Because of all this, slightly different totals do circulate across different sources, even for well-established countries like China and Russia.
FAQs
Which country has the most international borders?
China and Russia are tied at the top, each bordering 14 other countries.
How many countries border China?
14 countries border China, from Afghanistan and Pakistan in the west to Russia and North Korea in the east.
How many countries border Russia?
14 countries border Russia, stretching from Norway in the northwest all the way to North Korea in the Far East.
Which country has the longest land border in the world?
The Canada-United States border holds that title at 8,891 km, the longest continuous international border on the planet.
Which countries have no land borders at all?
Island nations like Australia, Japan, the United Kingdom, Iceland, and New Zealand all border no other country by land.
Do maritime borders count as international borders?
No, not in most land-border rankings. Maritime borders are measured and negotiated separately, under different international law entirely, so they typically sit outside these land-based lists.
Has any country's border count changed recently?
We say yes but rarely. The reason is that political recognition, border issues and newly independent states can all change or add to the officially recorded neighbour countries of a country.
