Chapter LXXXIX: Section 3: , Taipei, Taiwan, telephone: 886 (2) 2162-2000, FAX (20)

Japan
the sovereignty dispute over the islands of Etorofu,
Kunashiri, and Shikotan, and the Habomai group, known in Japan as
the "Northern Territories" and in Russia as the "Southern Kuril
Islands," occupied by the Soviet Union in 1945, now administered by
Russia and claimed by Japan, remains the primary sticking point to
signing a peace treaty formally ending World War II hostilities;
Japan and South Korea claim Liancourt Rocks (Take-shima/Tok-do)
occupied by South Korea since 1954; China and Taiwan dispute both
Japan's claims to the uninhabited islands of the Senkaku-shoto
(Diaoyu Tai) and Japan's unilaterally declared exclusive economic
zone in the East China Sea, the site of intensive hydrocarbon
prospecting

Jarvis Island
none

Jersey
none

Johnston Atoll
none

Jordan
2004 Agreement settles border dispute with Syria pending
demarcation

Juan de Nova Island
claimed by Madagascar

Kazakhstan
in 2005, Kazakhstan agreed with Russia, Turkmenistan, and
Uzbekistan to commence demarcating their boundaries; delimitation
with Kyrgyzstan is complete; creation of a seabed boundary with
Turkmenistan in the Caspian Sea remains unresolved; equidistant
seabed treaties have been ratified with Azerbaijan and Russia in the
Caspian Sea, but no resolution has been made on dividing the water
column among any of the littoral states

Kenya
Kenya served as an important mediator in brokering Sudan's
north-south separation in February 2005; Kenya provides shelter to
approximately a quarter of a million refugees including Ugandans who
flee across the border periodically to seek protection from Lord's
Resistance Army (LRA) rebels; the Kenya-Somalia border is open to
pastoralists and is susceptible to cross-border clan insurgencies;
Kenya's administrative limits extend beyond the treaty border into
the Sudan, creating the Ilemi Triangle

Kingman Reef
none

Kiribati
none

Korea, North
China seeks to stem illegal migration of tens of
thousands of North Koreans escaping famine, economic privation, and
political oppression; North Korea and China dispute the sovereignty
of certain islands in Yalu and Tumen rivers and a section of
boundary around Paektu-san (mountain) is indefinite; Military
Demarcation Line within the 4-km wide Demilitarized Zone has
separated North from South Korea since 1953; periodic maritime
disputes with South over the Northern Limit Line; North Korea
supports South Korea in rejecting Japan's claim to Liancourt Rocks
(Tok-do/Take-shima)

Korea, South
Military Demarcation Line within the 4-km wide
Demilitarized Zone has separated North from South Korea since 1953;
periodic maritime disputes with North Korea over the Northern Limit
Line; South Korea and Japan claim Liancourt Rocks
(Tok-do/Take-shima), occupied by South Korea since 1954

Kuwait
Kuwait and Saudi Arabia continue negotiating a joint maritime
boundary with Iran; no maritime boundary exists with Iraq in the
Persian Gulf

Kyrgyzstan
Kyrgystan has yet to ratify the 2001 boundary
delimitation with Kazakhstan; disputes in Isfara Valley delay
completion of delimitation with Tajikistan; delimitation of 130 km
of border with Uzbekistan is hampered by serious disputes around
enclaves and other areas

Laos
Southeast Asian states have enhanced border surveillance to
check the spread of avian flu; talks continue on completion of
demarcation with Thailand but disputes remain over islands in the
Mekong River; concern among Mekong Commission members that China's
construction of dams on the Mekong River will affect water levels

Latvia
Russia refuses to sign the 1997 boundary treaty due to
Latvian insistence on a unilateral clarificatory declaration
referencing Soviet occupation of Latvia and territorial losses;
Russia demands better Latvian treatment of ethnic Russians in
Latvia; as of January 2007, ground demarcation of the boundary with
Belarus was complete and mapped with final ratification
documentation in preparation; the Latvian parliament has not
ratified its 1998 maritime boundary treaty with Lithuania, primarily
due to concerns over oil exploration rights; as a member state that
forms part of the EU's external border, Latvia must implement the
strict Schengen border rules with Russia

Lebanon
Lacking a treaty or other documentation describing the
boundary, portions of the Lebanon-Syria boundary are unclear with
several sections in dispute; since 2000, Lebanon has claimed Shab'a
Farms area in the Israeli-occupied Golan Heights ; the roughly
2,000-strong UN Interim Force in Lebanon (UNIFIL) has been in place
since 1978

Lesotho
none

Liberia
although civil unrest continues to abate with the assistance
of 18,000 UN Mission in Liberia (UNMIL) peacekeepers, as of January
2007, 22,000 Liberian refugees still remain in both Guinea and Cote
d'Ivoire, 38,500 in Sierra Leone, and 39,690 in Ghana; Liberia, in
turn, shelters 12,580 refugees fleeing turmoil in Cote d'Ivoire and
3,600 from Sierra Leone; despite the presence of over 9000 UN forces
(UNOCI) in Cote d'Ivoire since 2004, ethnic conflict continues to
spread into neighboring states who can no longer send their migrant
workers to Ivorian cocoa plantations; UN sanctions ban Liberia from
exporting diamonds and timber

Libya
Libya has claimed more than 32,000 sq km in southeastern
Algeria and about 25,000 sq km in the Tommo region of Niger in a
currently dormant dispute; various Chadian rebels from the Aozou
region reside in southern Libya

Liechtenstein
none

Lithuania
Lithuania and Russia committed to demarcating their
boundary in 2006 in accordance with the land and maritime treaty
ratified by Russia in May 2003 and by Lithuania in 1999; Lithuania
operates a simplified transit regime for Russian nationals traveling
from the Kaliningrad coastal exclave into Russia, while still
conforming, as a EU member state having an external border with a
non-EU member, to strict Schengen border rules; the Latvian
parliament has not ratified its 1998 maritime boundary treaty with
Lithuania, primarily due to concerns over potential hydrocarbons; as
of January 2007, ground demarcation of the boundary with Belarus was
complete and mapped with final ratification documents in preparation

Luxembourg
none

Macau
none

Macedonia
ethnic Albanians in Kosovo object to demarcation of the
boundary with Serbia in accordance with the 2000 Macedonia-Serbia
and Montenegro delimitation agreement; Greece continues to reject
the use of the name Macedonia or Republic of Macedonia

Madagascar
claims Bassas da India, Europa Island, Glorioso Islands,
and Juan de Nova Island (all administered by France)

Malawi
disputes with Tanzania over the boundary in Lake Nyasa (Lake
Malawi) and the meandering Songwe River remain dormant

Malaysia
Malaysia has asserted sovereignty over the Spratly Islands
together with China, Philippines, Taiwan, Vietnam, and possibly
Brunei; while the 2002 "Declaration on the Conduct of Parties in the
South China Sea" has eased tensions over the Spratly Islands, it is
not the legally binding "code of conduct" sought by some parties;
Malaysia was not party to the March 2005 joint accord among the
national oil companies of China, the Philippines, and Vietnam on
conducting marine seismic activities in the Spratly Islands;
disputes continue over deliveries of fresh water to Singapore,
Singapore's land reclamation, bridge construction, and maritime
boundaries in the Johor and Singapore Straits; in November 2007 the
ICJ will hold public hearings in response to the Memorials and
Countermemorials filed by the parties in 2003 and 2005 over
sovereignty of Pedra Branca Island/Pulau Batu Puteh, Middle Rocks
and South Ledge; ICJ awarded Ligitan and Sipadan islands, also
claimed by Indonesia and Philippines, to Malaysia but left maritime
boundary and sovereignty of Unarang rock in the hydrocarbon-rich
Celebes Sea in dispute; separatist violence in Thailand's
predominantly Muslim southern provinces prompts measures to close
and monitor border with Malaysia to stem terrorist activities;
Philippines retains a dormant claim to Malaysia's Sabah State in
northern Borneo; Brunei and Malaysia are still considering
international adjudication over their disputed offshore and
deepwater seabeds, where hydrocarbon exploration was terminated in
2003; Malaysia's land boundary with Brunei around Limbang is in
dispute; piracy remains a problem in the Malacca Strait

Maldives
none

Mali
none

Malta
none

Marshall Islands
claims US territory of Wake Island

Mauritania
Mauritanian claims to Western Sahara remain dormant

Mauritius
Mauritius claims the Chagos Archipelago (UK-administered
British Indian Ocean Territory), and its former inhabitants, who
reside chiefly in Mauritius; claims French-administered Tromelin
Island

Mayotte
claimed by Comoros

Mexico
Abundant rainfall in recent years along much of the Mexico-US
border region has ameliorated periodically strained water-sharing
arrangements; the US has intensified security measures to monitor
and control legal and illegal personnel, transport, and commodities
across its border with Mexico; Mexico must deal with thousands of
impoverished Guatemalans and other Central Americans who cross the
porous border looking for work in Mexico and the United States

Micronesia, Federated States of
none

Midway Islands
none

Moldova
Moldova and Ukraine operate joint customs posts to monitor
the transit of people and commodities through Moldova's break-away
Transnistria region which remains under OSCE supervision

Monaco
none

Mongolia
none

Montenegro
none

Montserrat
none

Morocco
claims and administers Western Sahara whose sovereignty
remains unresolved - UN-administered cease-fire has remained in
effect since September 1991, but attempts to hold a referendum have
failed and parties thus far have rejected all brokered proposals;
Morocco protests Spain's control over the coastal enclaves of Ceuta,
Melilla, and Penon de Velez de la Gomera, the islands of Penon de
Alhucemas and Islas Chafarinas, and surrounding waters; discussions
have not progressed on a comprehensive maritime delimitation setting
limits on resource exploration and refugee interdiction since
Morocco's 2002 rejection of Spain's unilateral designation of a
median line from the Canary Islands; Morocco serves as one of the
primary launching areas of illegal migration into Spain from North
Africa

Mozambique
none

Namibia
concerns from international experts and local populations
over the Okavango Delta ecology in Botswana and human displacement
scuttled Namibian plans to construct a hydroelectric dam on Popa
Falls along the Angola-Namibia border; managed dispute with South
Africa over the location of the boundary in the Orange River;
Namibia has supported and in 2004 Zimbabwe dropped objections to
plans between Botswana and Zambia to build a bridge over the Zambezi
River, thereby de facto recognizing a short, but not clearly
delimited, Botswana-Zambia boundary in the river

Nauru
none

Navassa Island
claimed by Haiti, source of subsistence fishing

Nepal
joint border commission continues to work on contested
sections of boundary with India, including the 400 square kilometer
dispute over the source of the Kalapani River; India has instituted
a stricter border regime to restrict transit of Maoist insurgents
and illegal cross-border activities; approximately 103,000 Bhutanese
Lhotshampas (Hindus) have been confined in refugee camps in
southeastern Nepal since 1990

Netherlands
none

Netherlands Antilles
none

New Caledonia
Matthew and Hunter Islands east of New Caledonia
claimed by France and Vanuatu

New Zealand
asserts a territorial claim in Antarctica (Ross
Dependency) [see Antarctica]

Nicaragua
Memorials and countermemorials were filed by the parties
in Nicaragua's 1999 and 2001 proceedings against Honduras and
Colombia at the ICJ over the maritime boundary and territorial
claims in the western Caribbean Sea, final public hearings are
scheduled for 2007; the 1992 ICJ ruling for El Salvador and Honduras
advised a tripartite resolution to establish a maritime boundary in
the Gulf of Fonseca, which considers Honduran access to the Pacific;
legal dispute over navigational rights of San Juan River on border
with Costa Rica

Niger
Libya claims about 25,000 sq km in a currently dormant dispute
in the Tommo region; much of Benin-Niger boundary, including
tripoint with Nigeria, remains undemarcated; only Nigeria and
Cameroon have heeded the Lake Chad Commission's admonition to ratify
the delimitation treaty which also includes the Chad-Niger and
Niger-Nigeria boundaries

Nigeria
Joint Border Commission with Cameroon reviewed 2002 ICJ
ruling on the entire boundary and bilaterally resolved differences,
including June 2006 Greentree Agreement that immediately cedes
sovereignty of the Bakassi Peninsula to Cameroon with a phase-out of
Nigerian control within two years while resolving patriation issues;
the ICJ ruled on an equidistance settlement of Cameroon-Equatorial
Guinea-Nigeria maritime boundary in the Gulf of Guinea, but
imprecisely defined coordinates in the ICJ decision and a
sovereignty dispute between Equatorial Guinea and Cameroon over an
island at the mouth of the Ntem River all contribute to the delay in
implementation; only Nigeria and Cameroon have heeded the Lake Chad
Commission's admonition to ratify the delimitation treaty which also
includes the Chad-Niger and Niger-Nigeria boundaries

Niue
none

Norfolk Island
none

Northern Mariana Islands
none

Norway
Norway asserts a territorial claim in Antarctica (Queen Maud
Land and its continental shelf); despite dialogue, Russia and Norway
continue to dispute their maritime limits in the Barents Sea and
Russia's fishing rights beyond Svalbard's territorial limits within
the Svalbard Treaty zone

Oman
boundary agreement reportedly signed and ratified with UAE in
2003 for entire border, including Oman's Musandam Peninsula and Al
Madhah exclave, but details of the alignment have not been made
public

Pacific Ocean
some maritime disputes (see littoral states)

Pakistan
various talks and confidence-building measures cautiously
have begun to defuse tensions over Kashmir, particularly since the
October 2005 earthquake in the region; Kashmir nevertheless remains
the site of the world's largest and most militarized territorial
dispute with portions under the de facto administration of China
(Aksai Chin), India (Jammu and Kashmir), and Pakistan (Azad Kashmir
and Northern Areas); UN Military Observer Group in India and
Pakistan (UNMOGIP) has maintained a small group of peacekeepers
since 1949; India does not recognize Pakistan's ceding historic
Kashmir lands to China in 1964; India and Pakistan have maintained
their 2004 cease fire in Kashmir and initiated discussions on
defusing the armed stand-off in the Siachen glacier region; Pakistan
protests India's fencing the highly militarized Line of Control and
construction of the Baglihar Dam on the Chenab River in Jammu and
Kashmir, which is part of the larger dispute on water sharing of the
Indus River and its tributaries; to defuse tensions and prepare for
discussions on a maritime boundary, India and Pakistan seek
technical resolution of the disputed boundary in Sir Creek estuary
at the mouth of the Rann of Kutch in the Arabian Sea; Pakistani maps
continue to show the Junagadh claim in India's Gujarat State; by
2005, Pakistan, with UN assistance, repatriated 2.3 million Afghan
refugees leaving slightly less than a million, many of whom remain
at their own choosing; Pakistan has proposed and Afghanistan
protests construction of a fence and laying of mines along portions
of their porous border; Pakistan has sent troops into remote tribal
areas to monitor and control the border with Afghanistan and stem
terrorist or other illegal activities

Palau
maritime delineation negotiations continue with Philippines,
Indonesia

Palmyra Atoll
none

Panama
organized illegal narcotics operations in Colombia operate
within the remote border region with Panama

Papua New Guinea
relies on assistance from Australia to keep out
illegal cross-border activities from primarily Indonesia, including
goods smuggling, illegal narcotics trafficking, and squatters and
secessionists

Paracel Islands
occupied by China, also claimed by Taiwan and Vietnam

Paraguay
unruly region at convergence of Argentina-Brazil-Paraguay
borders is locus of money laundering, smuggling, arms and illegal
narcotics trafficking, and fundraising for extremist organizations

Peru
Chile and Ecuador rejected Peru's November 2005 unilateral
legislation to shift the axis of their joint treaty-defined maritime
boundaries along the parallels of latitude to equidistance lines
which favor Peru; organized illegal narcotics operations in Colombia
have penetrated Peru's shared border; Peru rejects Bolivia's claim
to restore maritime access through a sovereign corridor through
Chile along the Peruvian border

Philippines
Philippines claims sovereignty over certain of the
Spratly Islands, known locally as the Kalayaan (Freedom) Islands,
also claimed by China, Malaysia, Taiwan, and Vietnam; the 2002
"Declaration on the Conduct of Parties in the South China Sea," has
eased tensions in the Spratly Islands but falls short of a legally
binding "code of conduct" desired by several of the disputants; in
March 2005, the national oil companies of China, the Philippines,
and Vietnam signed a joint accord to conduct marine seismic
activities in the Spratly Islands; Philippines retains a dormant
claim to Malaysia's Sabah State in northern Borneo based on the
Sultanate of Sulu's granting the Philippines Government power of
attorney to pursue a sovereignty claim on his behalf; maritime
delimitation negotiations continue with Palau

Pitcairn Islands
none

Poland
as a member state that forms part of the EU's external
border, Poland must implement the strict Schengen border rules to
restrict illegal immigration and trade along its eastern borders
with Belarus and Ukraine

Portugal
Portugal does not recognize Spanish sovereignty over the
territory of Olivenza based on a difference of interpretation of the
1815 Congress of Vienna and the 1801 Treaty of Badajoz

Puerto Rico
increasing numbers of illegal migrants from the
Dominican Republic cross the Mona Passage to Puerto Rico each year
looking for work

Qatar
none

Romania
the ICJ gave Ukraine until December 2006 to reply and
Romania until June 2007 to issue a rejoinder in their dispute
submitted in 2004 over Ukrainian-administered Zmiyinyy/Serpilor
(Snake) Island and Black Sea maritime boundary delimitation; Romania
also opposes Ukraine's reopening of a navigation canal from the
Danube border through Ukraine to the Black Sea

Russia
China and Russia have demarcated the once disputed islands at
the Amur and Ussuri confluence and in the Argun River in accordance
with the 2004 Agreement, ending their centuries-long border
disputes; the sovereignty dispute over the islands of Etorofu,
Kunashiri, Shikotan, and the Habomai group, known in Japan as the
"Northern Territories" and in Russia as the "Southern Kurils,"
occupied by the Soviet Union in 1945, now administered by Russia,
and claimed by Japan, remains the primary sticking point to signing
a peace treaty formally ending World War II hostilities; Russia and
Georgia agree on delimiting all but small, strategic segments of the
land boundary and the maritime boundary; OSCE observers monitor
volatile areas such as the Pankisi Gorge in the Akhmeti region and
the Kodori Gorge in Abkhazia; Azerbaijan, Kazakhstan, and Russia
signed equidistance boundaries in the Caspian seabed but the
littoral states have no consensus on dividing the water column;
Russia and Norway dispute their maritime limits in the Barents Sea
and Russia's fishing rights beyond Svalbard's territorial limits
within the Svalbard Treaty zone; various groups in Finland advocate
restoration of Karelia (Kareliya) and other areas ceded to the
Soviet Union following the Second World War but the Finnish
Government asserts no territorial demands; in May 2005, Russia
recalled its signatures to the 1996 border agreements with Estonia
(1996) and Latvia (1997), when the two Baltic states announced
issuance of unilateral declarations referencing Soviet occupation
and ensuing territorial losses; Russia demands better treatment of
ethnic Russians in Estonia and Latvia; Estonian citizen groups
continue to press for realignment of the boundary based on the 1920
Tartu Peace Treaty that would bring the now divided ethnic Setu
people and parts of the Narva region within Estonia; Lithuania and
Russia committed to demarcating their boundary in 2006 in accordance
with the land and maritime treaty ratified by Russia in May 2003 and
by Lithuania in 1999; Lithuania operates a simplified transit regime
for Russian nationals traveling from the Kaliningrad coastal exclave
into Russia, while still conforming, as an EU member state with an
EU external border, where strict Schengen border rules apply;
preparations for the demarcation delimitation of land boundary with
Ukraine have commenced; the dispute over the boundary between Russia
and Ukraine through the Kerch Strait and Sea of Azov remains
unresolved despite a December 2003 framework agreement and on-going
expert-level discussions; Kazakhstan and Russia boundary
delimitation was ratified on November 2005 and field demarcation
should commence in 2007; Russian Duma has not yet ratified 1990
Bering Sea Maritime Boundary Agreement with the US

Rwanda
fighting among ethnic groups - loosely associated political
rebels, armed gangs, and various government forces in Great Lakes
region transcending the boundaries of Burundi, Democratic Republic
of the Congo, Rwanda, and Uganda - abated substantially from a
decade ago due largely to UN peacekeeping, international mediation,
and efforts by local governments to create civil societies;
nonetheless, 57,000 Rwandan refugees still reside in 21 African
states, including Zambia, Gabon, and 20,000 who fled to Burundi in
2005 and 2006 to escape drought and recriminations from traditional
courts investigating the 1994 massacres; the 2005 DROC and Rwanda
border verification mechanism to stem rebel actions on both sides of
the border remains in place

Saint Helena
none

Saint Kitts and Nevis
joins other Caribbean states to counter
Venezuela's claim that Aves Island sustains human habitation, a
criterion under UNCLOS, which permits Venezuela to extend its
EEZ/continental shelf over a large portion of the eastern Caribbean
Sea

Saint Lucia
joins other Caribbean states to counter Venezuela's
claim that Aves Island sustains human habitation, a criterion under
UNCLOS, which permits Venezuela to extend its EEZ/continental shelf
over a large portion of the eastern Caribbean Sea

Saint Pierre and Miquelon
none

Saint Vincent and the Grenadines
joins other Caribbean states to
counter Venezuela's claim that Aves Island sustains human
habitation, a criterion under UNCLOS, which permits Venezuela to
extend its EEZ/continental shelf over a large portion of the eastern
Caribbean Sea

Samoa
none

San Marino
none

Sao Tome and Principe
none

Saudi Arabia
Saudi Arabia has reinforced its concrete-filled
security barrier along sections of the now fully demarcated border
with Yemen to stem illegal cross-border activities; Kuwait and Saudi
Arabia continue discussions on a maritime boundary with Iran

Senegal
The Gambia and Guinea-Bissau attempt to stem separatist
violence, cross border raids, and arms smuggling into their
countries from Senegal's Casamance region, and in 2006, respectively
accepted 6,000 and 10,000 Casamance residents fleeing the conflict;
2,500 Guinea-Bissau residents have fled into Senegal in 2006 to
escape armed confrontations along the border

Serbia
as the final status of the Serbian province of Kosovo
approaches resolution through the six-nation contact group, the
several thousand peacekeepers from the UN Interim Administration
Mission in Kosovo (UNMIK) since 1999, continue to keep the peace
between Kosovar Albanians overwhelmingly supporting Kosovo
independence and the Serb minority in Kosovo and Serbian officials
in Belgrade, who oppose independence for the province; ethnic
Albanians in Kosovo oppose demarcation of the boundary with
Macedonia based on the 2000 Macedonia-Serbia and Montenegro
delimitation agreement; Serbia and Montenegro delimited about half
of the boundary with Bosnia and Herzegovina, but sections with
Serbia along the Drina River remain in dispute

Seychelles
together with Mauritius, Seychelles claims the Chagos
Archipelago (UK-administered British Indian Ocean Territory)

Sierra Leone
domestic fighting among disparate rebel groups,
warlords, and youth gangs in Cote d'Ivoire, Guinea, Liberia, and
Sierra Leone perpetuate insurgencies, street violence, looting, arms
trafficking, ethnic conflicts, and refugees in border areas; UN
Mission in Sierra Leone (UNAMSIL) has maintained over 4,000
peacekeepers in Sierra Leone since 1999; Sierra Leone considers
excessive Guinea's definition of the flood plain limits to define
the left bank boundary of the Makona and Moa rivers and protests
Guinea's continued occupation of these lands, including the hamlet
of Yenga occupied since 1998

Singapore
disputes persist with Malaysia over deliveries of fresh
water to Singapore, Singapore's extensive land reclamation works,
bridge construction, maritime boundaries in the Johor and Singapore
Straits; in November 2007 the ICJ will hold public hearings as a
consequence of the Memorials and Countermemorials filed by the
parties in 2003 and 2005 over sovereignty of Pedra Branca
Island/Pulau Batu Puteh, Middle Rocks and South Ledge; Indonesia and
Singapore continue to work on finalization of their 1973 maritime
boundary agreement by defining unresolved areas north of Indonesia's
Batam Island ; piracy remains a problem in the Malacca Strait

Slovakia
bilateral government, legal, technical and economic working
group negotiations continued in 2006 between Slovakia and Hungary
over Hungary's completion of its portion of the Gabcikovo-Nagymaros
hydroelectric dam project along the Danube ; as a member state that
forms part of the EU's external border, Slovakia must implement the
strict Schengen border rules

Slovenia
the Croatia-Slovenia land and maritime boundary agreement,
which would have ceded most of Piran Bay and maritime access to
Slovenia and several villages to Croatia, remains unratified and in
dispute; Slovenia also protests Croatia's 2003 claim to an exclusive
economic zone in the Adriatic; as a member state that forms part of
the EU's external border, Slovenia must implement the strict
Schengen border rules to curb illegal migration and commerce through
southeastern Europe while encouraging close cross-border ties with
Croatia

Solomon Islands
since 2003, Australian Defense Force leads the
Regional Assistance Mission to the Solomon Islands (RAMSI) to
maintain civil and political order and reinforce regional security

Somalia
Ethiopian forces invade southern Somalia and rout Islamist
courts from Moghadishu in January 2007; "Somaliland" secessionists
provide port facilities in Berbera to landlocked Ethiopia and have
established commercial ties with other regional states; "Puntland"
and "Somaliland" "governments" seek international support in their
secessionist aspirations and overlapping border claims; the
undemarcated former British administrative line has little meaning
as a political separation to rival clans within Ethiopia's Ogaden
and southern Somalia's Oromo region; Kenya works hard to prevent the
clan and militia fighting in Somalia from spreading south across the
border, which has long been open to nomadic pastoralists

South Africa
South Africa has placed military along the border to
apprehend the thousands of Zimbabweans fleeing economic dysfunction
and political persecution; as of January 2007, South Africa also
supports large numbers of refugees and asylum seekers from the
Democratic Republic of the Congo (33,000), Somalia (20,000), Burundi
(6,500) and other states in Africa (26,000); managed dispute with
Namibia over the location of the boundary in the Orange River

South Georgia and the South Sandwich Islands
Argentina, which claims
the islands in its constitution and briefly occupied the islands by
force in 1982, agreed in 1995 to no longer seek settlement by force

Southern Ocean
Antarctic Treaty defers claims (see Antarctica
entry), but Argentina, Australia, Chile, France, NZ, Norway, and UK
assert claims (some overlapping), including the continental shelf in
the Southern Ocean; several states have expressed an interest in
extending those continental shelf claims under the United Nations
Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS) to include undersea
ridges; the US and most other states do not recognize the land or
maritime claims of other states and have made no claims themselves
(the US and Russia have reserved the right to do so); no formal
claims exist in the waters in the sector between 90 degrees west and
150 degrees west

Spain
in 2003, Gibraltar residents voted overwhelmingly by
referendum to remain a British colony and against a "total shared
sovereignty" arrangement while demanding participation in talks
between the UK and Spain; Spain disapproves of UK plans to grant
Gibraltar greater autonomy; Morocco protests Spain's control over
the coastal enclaves of Ceuta, Melilla, and the islands of Penon de
Velez de la Gomera, Penon de Alhucemas and Islas Chafarinas, and
surrounding waters; Morocco serves as the primary launching site of
illegal migration into Spain from North Africa; Portugal does not
recognize Spanish sovereignty over the territory of Olivenza based
on a difference of interpretation of the 1815 Congress of Vienna and
the 1801 Treaty of Badajoz

Spratly Islands
all of the Spratly Islands are claimed by China,
Taiwan, and Vietnam; parts of them are claimed by Malaysia and the
Philippines; in 1984, Brunei established an exclusive fishing zone
that encompasses Louisa Reef in the southern Spratly Islands but has
not publicly claimed the reef; claimants in November 2002 signed the
"Declaration on the Conduct of Parties in the South China Sea,"
which has eased tensions but falls short of a legally binding "code
of conduct"; in March 2005, the national oil companies of China, the
Philippines, and Vietnam signed a joint accord to conduct marine
seismic activities in the Spratly Islands

Sri Lanka
none

Sudan
the effects of Sudan's almost constant ethnic and rebel
militia fighting since the mid-twentieth century have penetrated all
of the neighboring states; as of 2006, Chad, Ethiopia, Kenya,
Central African Republic, Democratic Republic of the Congo and
Uganda provided shelter for over half a million Sudanese refugees,
which includes 240,000 Darfur residents driven from their homes by
Janjawid armed militia and the Sudanese military forces; Sudan, in
turn, hosted 20,000 Chadians, 122,000 Eritreans, 14,810 Ethiopians,
7,900 Ugandans and 5,000 Congolese as refugees; in February 2006,
Sudan and DROC signed an agreement to repatriate 13,300 Sudanese and
6,800 Congolese; Sudan accuses Eritrea of supporting Sudanese rebel
groups; efforts to demarcate the porous boundary with Ethiopia
proceed slowly due to civil and ethnic fighting in eastern Sudan;
the boundary that separates Kenya and Sudan's sovereignty is unclear
in the "Ilemi Triangle," which Kenya has administered since colonial
times; while Sudan claims to administer the Hala'ib Triangle north
of the 1899 Treaty boundary along the 22nd Parallel, both states
withdrew their military presence in the 1990s and Egypt has invested
in and effectively administers the area; periodic violent skirmishes
with Sudanese residents over water and grazing rights persist among
related pastoral populations from the Central African Republic along
the border

Suriname
area claimed by French Guiana between Riviere Litani and
Riviere Marouini (both headwaters of the Lawa); Suriname claims a
triangle of land between the New and Kutari/Koetari rivers in a
historic dispute over the headwaters of the Courantyne; Guyana seeks
United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS) arbitration
to resolve the long-standing dispute with Suriname over the axis of
the territorial sea boundary in potentially oil-rich waters

Svalbard
despite recent discussions, Russia and Norway dispute their
maritime limits in the Barents Sea and Russia's fishing rights
beyond Svalbard's territorial limits within the Svalbard Treaty zone

Swaziland
none

Sweden
none

Switzerland
none

Syria
Golan Heights is Israeli-occupied with the almost 1,000-strong
UN Disengagement Observer Force (UNDOF) patrolling a buffer zone
since 1964; lacking a treaty or other documentation describing the
boundary, portions of the Lebanon-Syria boundary are unclear with
several sections in dispute; since 2000, Lebanon has claimed Shaba'a
farms in the Golan Heights; 2004 Agreement and pending demarcation
settles border dispute with Jordan; approximately two million Iraqis
have fled the conflict in Iraq, with the majority taking refuge in
Syria and Jordan

Taiwan
involved in complex dispute with China, Malaysia,
Philippines, Vietnam, and possibly Brunei over the Spratly Islands;
the 2002 "Declaration on the Conduct of Parties in the South China
Sea" has eased tensions but falls short of a legally binding "code
of conduct" desired by several of the disputants; Paracel Islands
are occupied by China, but claimed by Taiwan and Vietnam; in 2003,
China and Taiwan became more vocal in rejecting both Japan's claims
to the uninhabited islands of the Senkaku-shoto (Diaoyu Tai) and
Japan's unilaterally declared exclusive economic zone in the East
China Sea where all parties engage in hydrocarbon prospecting

Tajikistan
in 2006, China and Tajikistan pledged to commence
demarcation of the revised boundary agreed to in the delimitation of
2002; talks continue with Uzbekistan to delimit border and remove
minefields; disputes in Isfara Valley delay delimitation with
Kyrgyzstan

Tanzania
Tanzania still hosts more than a half-million refugees,
more than any other African country, mainly from Burundi and the
Democratic Republic of the Congo, despite the international
community's efforts at repatriation; disputes with Malawi over the
boundary in Lake Nyasa (Lake Malawi) and the meandering Songwe River
remain dormant

Thailand
separatist violence in Thailand's predominantly Muslim
southern provinces prompt border closures and controls with Malaysia
to stem terrorist activities; southeast Asian states have enhanced
border surveillance to check the spread of avian flu; talks continue
on completion of demarcation with Laos but disputes remain over
several islands in the Mekong River; despite continuing border
committee talks, Thailand must deal with Karen and other ethnic
rebels, refugees, and illegal cross-border activities, and as of
2006, 130,000 Karen, Hmong and other refugees and 15,000 asylum
seekers from Burma; Cambodia and Thailand dispute sections of
historic boundary with missing boundary markers; Cambodia claims
Thai encroachments into Cambodian territory and obstructing access
to Preah Vihear temple ruins awarded to Cambodia by ICJ decision in
1962; Thailand is studying the feasibility of jointly constructing
the Hatgyi Dam on the Salween river near the border with Burma; in
2004, international environmentalist pressure prompted China to halt
construction of 13 dams on the Salween River which flows through
China, Burma and Thailand

Togo
in 2001 Benin claimed Togo moved boundary monuments - joint
commission continues to resurvey the boundary; in 2006 14,000
Togolese refugees remain in Benin and Ghana out of the 40,000 who
fled there in 2005

Tokelau
Tokelau included American Samoa's Swains Island (Olohega) in
its 2006 draft constitution

Tonga
none

Trinidad and Tobago
In April 2006, the Permanent Court of
Arbitration issues a decision that delimits a maritime boundary with
Trinidad and Tobago and compels Barbados to enter a fishing
agreement that limits Barbadian fishermen's catches of flying fish
in Trinidad and Tobago's exclusive economic zone; in 2005, Barbados
and Trinidad and Tobago agreed to compulsory international
arbitration under UNCLOS challenging whether the northern limit of
Trinidad and Tobago's and Venezuela's maritime boundary extends into
Barbadian waters; Guyana has also expressed its intention to include
itself in the arbitration as the Trinidad and Tobago-Venezuela
maritime boundary may extend into its waters as well

Tromelin Island
claimed by Mauritius

Tunisia
none

Turkey
complex maritime, air, and territorial disputes with Greece
in the Aegean Sea; status of north Cyprus question remains; Syria
and Iraq protest Turkish hydrological projects to control upper
Euphrates waters; Turkey has expressed concern over the status of
Kurds in Iraq; border with Armenia remains closed over
Nagorno-Karabakh

Turkmenistan
cotton monoculture in Uzbekistan and Turkmenistan
creates water-sharing difficulties for Amu Darya river states; field
demarcation of the boundaries with Kazakhstan commenced in 2005 but
Caspian seabed delimitation remains stalled with Azerbaijan, Iran
and Kazakhstan due to Turkmenistan's indecision over how to allocate
the sea's waters and seabed

Turks and Caicos Islands
have received Haitians fleeing economic and
civil disorder

Tuvalu
none

Uganda
Uganda is subject to armed fighting among hostile ethnic
groups, rebels, armed gangs, militias, and various government forces
that extend across its borders; Uganda hosts 209,860 Sudanese,
27,560 Congolese, and 19,710 Rwandan refugees, while Ugandan
refugees as well as members of the Lord's Resistance Army (LRA) seek
shelter in southern Sudan and the Democratic Republic of the Congo's
Garamba National Park; LRA forces have also attacked Kenyan villages
across the border

Ukraine
1997 boundary delimitation treaty with Belarus remains
un-ratified due to unresolved financial claims, stalling demarcation
and reducing border security; delimitation of land boundary with
Russia is complete with preparations for demarcation underway; the
dispute over the boundary between Russia and Ukraine through the
Kerch Strait and Sea of Azov remains unresolved despite a December
2003 framework agreement and ongoing expert-level discussions;
Moldova and Ukraine operate joint customs posts to monitor transit
of people and commodities through Moldova's break-away Transnistria
Region, which remains under OSCE supervision; the ICJ gave Ukraine
until December 2006 to reply and Romania until June 2007 to rejoin
in their dispute submitted in 2004 over Ukrainian-administered
Zmiyinyy/Serpilor (Snake) Island and Black Sea maritime boundary;
Romania opposes Ukraine's reopening of a navigation canal from the
Danube border through Ukraine to the Black Sea

United Arab Emirates
boundary agreement was signed and ratified with
Oman in 2003 for entire border, including Oman's Musandam Peninsula
and Al Madhah enclaves, but contents of the agreement and detailed
maps showing the alignment have not been published; Iran and UAE
dispute Tunb Islands and Abu Musa Island, which Iran occupies

United Kingdom
in 2002, Gibraltar residents voted overwhelmingly by
referendum to reject any "shared sovereignty" arrangement between
the UK and Spain; the Government of Gibraltar insists on equal
participation in talks between the two countries; Spain disapproves
of UK plans to grant Gibraltar greater autonomy; Mauritius and
Seychelles claim the Chagos Archipelago (British Indian Ocean
Territory), and its former inhabitants since their eviction in 1965;
most Chagossians reside in Mauritius, and in 2001 were granted UK
citizenship, where some have since resettled; in May 2006, the High
Court of London reversed the UK Government's 2004 orders of council
that banned habitation on the islands; UK rejects sovereignty talks
requested by Argentina, which still claims the Falkland Islands
(Islas Malvinas) and South Georgia and the South Sandwich Islands;
territorial claim in Antarctica (British Antarctic Territory)
overlaps Argentine claim and partially overlaps Chilean claim;
Iceland, the UK, and Ireland dispute Denmark's claim that the Faroe
Islands' continental shelf extends beyond 200 nm

United States
the U.S. has intensified domestic security measures
and is collaborating closely with its neighbors, Canada and Mexico,
to monitor and control legal and illegal personnel, transport, and
commodities across the international borders; abundant rainfall in
recent years along much of the Mexico-US border region has
ameliorated periodically strained water-sharing arrangements; 1990
Maritime Boundary Agreement in the Bering Sea still awaits Russian
Duma ratification; managed maritime boundary disputes with Canada at
Dixon Entrance, Beaufort Sea, Strait of Juan de Fuca, and around the
disputed Machias Seal Island and North Rock; The Bahamas and US have
not been able to agree on a maritime boundary; US Naval Base at
Guantanamo Bay is leased from Cuba and only mutual agreement or US
abandonment of the area can terminate the lease; Haiti claims
US-administered Navassa Island; US has made no territorial claim in
Antarctica (but has reserved the right to do so) and does not
recognize the claims of any other states; Marshall Islands claims
Wake Island; Tokelau included American Samoa's Swains Island among
the islands listed in its 2006 draft constitution

United States Pacific Island Wildlife Refuges
none

Uruguay
in Jan 2007, ICJ provisionally ruled Uruguay may begin
construction of two paper mills on the Uruguay River, which forms
the border with Argentina, while the court examines further whether
Argentina has the legal right to stop such construction with
potential environmental implications to both countries; uncontested
dispute with Brazil over certain islands in the Quarai/Cuareim and
Invernada streams and the resulting tripoint with Argentina

Uzbekistan
prolonged drought and cotton monoculture in Uzbekistan
and Turkmenistan creates water-sharing difficulties for Amu Darya
river states; field demarcation of the boundaries with Kazakhstan
commenced in 2004; border delimitation of 130 km of border with
Kyrgyzstan is hampered by serious disputes around enclaves and other
areas

Vanuatu
Matthew and Hunter Islands east of New Caledonia claimed by
Vanuatu and France

Venezuela
claims all of the area west of the Essequibo River in
Guyana, preventing any discussion of a maritime boundary; Guyana has
expressed its intention to join Barbados in asserting claims before
the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS) that
Trinidad and Tobago's maritime boundary with Venezuela extends into
their waters; dispute with Colombia over maritime boundary and
Venezuelan-administered Los Monjes islands near the Gulf of
Venezuela; Colombian-organized illegal narcotics and paramilitary
activities penetrate Venezuela's shared border region; in 2006, an
estimated 139,000 Colombians seek protection in 150 communities
along the border in Venezuela; US, France, and the Netherlands
recognize Venezuela's granting full effect to Aves Island, thereby
claiming a Venezuelan EEZ/continental shelf extending over a large
portion of the eastern Caribbean Sea; Dominica, Saint Kitts and
Nevis, Saint Lucia, and Saint Vincent and the Grenadines protest
Venezuela's full effect claim

Vietnam
southeast Asian states have enhanced border surveillance to
check the spread of avian flu; Cambodia and Laos protest Vietnamese
squatters and armed encroachments along border; after years of
Cambodia claiming Vietnam had moved or destroyed boundary markers,
in 2005, after much domestic debate, Cambodia ratified an agreement
with Vietnam that settled all but a small portion of the land
boundary; establishment of a maritime boundary with Cambodia is
hampered by unresolved dispute over offshore islands; in 2004,
Laotian-Vietnamese boundary commission agrees to erect missing
markers in two adjoining provinces; demarcation of the China-Vietnam
boundary proceeds slowly and although the maritime boundary
delimitation and fisheries agreements were ratified in June 2004,
implementation has been delayed; China occupies Paracel Islands also
claimed by Vietnam and Taiwan; involved in complex dispute with
China, Malaysia, Philippines, Taiwan, and possibly Brunei over the
Spratly Islands; the 2002 "Declaration on the Conduct of Parties in
the South China Sea" has eased tensions but falls short of a legally
binding "code of conduct" desired by several of the disputants;
Vietnam continues to expand construction of facilities in the
Spratly Islands; in March 2005, the national oil companies of China,
the Philippines, and Vietnam signed a joint accord to conduct marine
seismic activities in the Spratly Islands

Virgin Islands
none

Wake Island
claimed by Marshall Islands

Wallis and Futuna
none

West Bank
West Bank and Gaza Strip are Israeli-occupied with current
status subject to the Israeli-Palestinian Interim Agreement -
permanent status to be determined through further negotiation;
Israel continues construction of a "seam line" separation barrier
along parts of the Green Line and within the West Bank; Israel
withdrew from four settlements in the northern West Bank in August
2005; since 1948, about 350 peacekeepers from the UN Truce
Supervision Organization (UNTSO), headquartered in Jerusalem,
monitor ceasefires, supervise armistice agreements, prevent isolated
incidents from escalating, and assist other UN personnel in the
region

Western Sahara
Morocco claims and administers Western Sahara, whose
sovereignty remains unresolved; UN-administered cease-fire has
remained in effect since September 1991, administered by the UN
Mission for the Referendum in Western Sahara (MINURSO), but attempts
to hold a referendum have failed and parties thus far have rejected
all brokered proposals

World
stretching over 250,000 km, the world's 329 international land
boundaries separate the 193 independent states and 73 dependencies,
areas of special sovereignty, and other miscellaneous entities;
ethnicity, culture, race, religion, and language have divided states
into separate political entities as much as history, physical
terrain, political fiat, or conquest, resulting in sometimes
arbitrary and imposed boundaries; maritime states have claimed
limits and have so far established over 130 maritime boundaries and
joint development zones to allocate ocean resources and to provide
for national security at sea; boundary, borderland/resource, and
territorial disputes vary in intensity from managed or dormant to
violent or militarized; most disputes over the alignment of
political boundaries are confined to short segments and are today
less common and less hostile than borderland, resource, and
territorial disputes; undemarcated, indefinite, porous, and
unmanaged boundaries, however, encourage illegal cross-border
activities, uncontrolled migration, and confrontation; territorial
disputes may evolve from historical and/or cultural claims, or they
may be brought on by resource competition; ethnic and cultural
clashes continue to be responsible for much of the territorial
fragmentation around the world; disputes over islands at sea or in
rivers frequently form the source of territorial and boundary
conflict; other sources of contention include access to water and
mineral (especially petroleum) resources, fisheries, and arable
land; nonetheless, most nations cooperate to clarify their
international boundaries and to resolve territorial and resource
disputes peacefully; regional discord today prevails not so much
between the armed forces of independent states as between stateless
armed entities that detract from the sustenance and welfare of local
populations, leaving the community of nations to cope with resultant
refugees, hunger, disease, impoverishment, and environmental
degradation

Yemen
Yemen protests Eritrea fishing around the Hanish Islands
awarded to Yemen by the ICJ in 1999; Saudi Arabia still maintains
the concrete-filled pipe as a security barrier along sections of the
border with Yemen in 2004 to stem illegal cross-border activities;
Yemen protests Saudi erection of a concrete-filled pipe as a
security barrier in 2004 to stem illegal cross-border activities in
sections of the boundary

Zambia
in 2004 Zimbabwe dropped objections to plans between Botswana
and Zambia to build a bridge over the Zambezi River, thereby de
facto recognizing a short, but not clearly delimited,
Botswana-Zambia boundary in the river

Zimbabwe
Botswana has built electric fences and South Africa has
placed military along the border to stem the flow of thousands of
Zimbabweans fleeing to find work and escape political persecution;
Namibia has supported and in 2004 Zimbabwe dropped objections to
plans between Botswana and Zambia to build a bridge over the Zambezi
River, thereby de facto recognizing a short, but not clearly
delimited Botswana-Zambia boundary in the river

This page was last updated on 8 February, 2007

======================================================================

@2075 Ethnic groups (%)

Afghanistan
Pashtun 42%, Tajik 27%, Hazara 9%, Uzbek 9%, Aimak 4%,
Turkmen 3%, Baloch 2%, other 4%

Albania
Albanian 95%, Greek 3%, other 2% (Vlach, Roma (Gypsy), Serb,
Macedonian, Bulgarian) (1989 est.)
note: in 1989, other estimates of the Greek population ranged from
1% (official Albanian statistics) to 12% (from a Greek organization)

Algeria
Arab-Berber 99%, European less than 1%
note: almost all Algerians are Berber in origin, not Arab; the
minority who identify themselves as Berber live mostly in the
mountainous region of Kabylie east of Algiers; the Berbers are also
Muslim but identify with their Berber rather than Arab cultural
heritage; Berbers have long agitated, sometimes violently, for
autonomy; the government is unlikely to grant autonomy but has
offered to begin sponsoring teaching Berber language in schools

American Samoa
native Pacific islander 92.9%, Asian 2.9%, white
1.2%, mixed 2.8%, other 0.2% (2000 census)

Andorra
Spanish 43%, Andorran 33%, Portuguese 11%, French 7%, other
6% (1998)

Angola
Ovimbundu 37%, Kimbundu 25%, Bakongo 13%, mestico (mixed
European and native African) 2%, European 1%, other 22%

Anguilla
black (predominant) 90.1%, mixed, mulatto 4.6%, white 3.7%,
other 1.5% (2001 Census)

Antigua and Barbuda
black, British, Portuguese, Lebanese, Syrian

Argentina
white (mostly Spanish and Italian) 97%, mestizo (mixed
white and Amerindian ancestry), Amerindian, or other non-white
groups 3%

Armenia
Armenian 97.9%, Yezidi (Kurd) 1.3%, Russian 0.5%, other 0.3%
(2001 census)

Aruba
mixed white/Caribbean Amerindian 80%

Australia
Caucasian 92%, Asian 7%, aboriginal and other 1%

Austria
Austrians 91.1%, former Yugoslavs 4% (includes Croatians,
Slovenes, Serbs, and Bosniaks), Turks 1.6%, German 0.9%, other or
unspecified 2.4% (2001 census)

Azerbaijan
Azeri 90.6%, Dagestani 2.2%, Russian 1.8%, Armenian 1.5%,
other 3.9% (1999 census)
note: almost all Armenians live in the separatist Nagorno-Karabakh
region

Bahamas, The
black 85%, white 12%, Asian and Hispanic 3%

Bahrain
Bahraini 62.4%, non-Bahraini 37.6% (2001 census)

Bangladesh
Bengali 98%, tribal groups, non-Bengali Muslims (1998)

Barbados
black 90%, white 4%, Asian and mixed 6%

Belarus
Belarusian 81.2%, Russian 11.4%, Polish 3.9%, Ukrainian
2.4%, other 1.1% (1999 census)

Belgium
Fleming 58%, Walloon 31%, mixed or other 11%

Belize
mestizo 48.7%, Creole 24.9%, Maya 10.6%, Garifuna 6.1%, other
9.7%

Benin
African 99% (42 ethnic groups, most important being Fon, Adja,
Yoruba, Bariba), Europeans 5,500

Bermuda
black 54.8%, white 34.1%, mixed 6.4%, other races 4.3%,
unspecified 0.4% (2000 census)

Bhutan
Bhote 50%, ethnic Nepalese 35% (includes Lhotsampas - one of
several Nepalese ethnic groups), indigenous or migrant tribes 15%

Bolivia
Quechua 30%, mestizo (mixed white and Amerindian ancestry)
30%, Aymara 25%, white 15%

Bosnia and Herzegovina
Bosniak 48%, Serb 37.1%, Croat 14.3%, other
0.6% (2000)
note: Bosniak has replaced Muslim as an ethnic term in part to avoid
confusion with the religious term Muslim - an adherent of Islam

Botswana
Tswana (or Setswana) 79%, Kalanga 11%, Basarwa 3%, other,
including Kgalagadi and white 7%

Brazil
white 53.7%, mulatto (mixed white and black) 38.5%, black
6.2%, other (includes Japanese, Arab, Amerindian) 0.9%, unspecified
0.7% (2000 census)

British Virgin Islands
black 83%, white, Indian, Asian and mixed

Brunei
Malay 67%, Chinese 15%, indigenous 6%, other 12%

Bulgaria
Bulgarian 83.9%, Turk 9.4%, Roma 4.7%, other 2% (including
Macedonian, Armenian, Tatar, Circassian) (2001 census)

Burkina Faso
Mossi over 40%, Gurunsi, Senufo, Lobi, Bobo, Mande,
Fulani

Burma
Burman 68%, Shan 9%, Karen 7%, Rakhine 4%, Chinese 3%, Indian
2%, Mon 2%, other 5%

Burundi
Hutu (Bantu) 85%, Tutsi (Hamitic) 14%, Twa (Pygmy) 1%,
Europeans 3,000, South Asians 2,000

Cambodia
Khmer 90%, Vietnamese 5%, Chinese 1%, other 4%

Cameroon
Cameroon Highlanders 31%, Equatorial Bantu 19%, Kirdi 11%,
Fulani 10%, Northwestern Bantu 8%, Eastern Nigritic 7%, other
African 13%, non-African less than 1%

Canada
British Isles origin 28%, French origin 23%, other European
15%, Amerindian 2%, other, mostly Asian, African, Arab 6%, mixed
background 26%

Cape Verde
Creole (mulatto) 71%, African 28%, European 1%

Cayman Islands
mixed 40%, white 20%, black 20%, expatriates of
various ethnic groups 20%

Central African Republic
Baya 33%, Banda 27%, Mandjia 13%, Sara 10%,
Mboum 7%, M'Baka 4%, Yakoma 4%, other 2%

Chad
200 distinct groups; in the north and center: Arabs, Gorane
(Toubou, Daza, Kreda), Zaghawa, Kanembou, Ouaddai, Baguirmi,
Hadjerai, Fulbe, Kotoko, Hausa, Boulala, and Maba, most of whom are
Muslim; in the south: Sara (Ngambaye, Mbaye, Goulaye), Moundang,
Moussei, Massa, most of whom are Christian or animist; about 1,000
French citizens live in Chad

Chile
white and white-Amerindian 95%, Amerindian 3%, other 2%

China
Han Chinese 91.9%, Zhuang, Uygur, Hui, Yi, Tibetan, Miao,
Manchu, Mongol, Buyi, Korean, and other nationalities 8.1%

Christmas Island
Chinese 70%, European 20%, Malay 10%
note: no indigenous population (2001)

Cocos (Keeling) Islands
Europeans, Cocos Malays

Colombia
mestizo 58%, white 20%, mulatto 14%, black 4%, mixed
black-Amerindian 3%, Amerindian 1%

Comoros
Antalote, Cafre, Makoa, Oimatsaha, Sakalava

Congo, Democratic Republic of the
over 200 African ethnic groups of
which the majority are Bantu; the four largest tribes - Mongo, Luba,
Kongo (all Bantu), and the Mangbetu-Azande (Hamitic) make up about
45% of the population

Congo, Republic of the
Kongo 48%, Sangha 20%, M'Bochi 12%, Teke 17%,
Europeans and other 3%

Cook Islands
Cook Island Maori (Polynesian) 87.7%, part Cook Island
Maori 5.8%, other 6.5% (2001 census)

Costa Rica
white (including mestizo) 94%, black 3%, Amerindian 1%,
Chinese 1%, other 1%

Cote d'Ivoire
Akan 42.1%, Voltaiques or Gur 17.6%, Northern Mandes
16.5%, Krous 11%, Southern Mandes 10%, other 2.8% (includes 130,000
Lebanese and 14,000 French) (1998)

Croatia
Croat 89.6%, Serb 4.5%, other 5.9% (including Bosniak,
Hungarian, Slovene, Czech, and Roma) (2001 census)

Cuba
mulatto 51%, white 37%, black 11%, Chinese 1%

Cyprus
Greek 77%, Turkish 18%, other 5% (2001)

Czech Republic
Czech 90.4%, Moravian 3.7%, Slovak 1.9%, other 4%
(2001 census)

Denmark
Scandinavian, Inuit, Faroese, German, Turkish, Iranian,
Somali

Djibouti
Somali 60%, Afar 35%, French, Arab, Ethiopian, and Italian
5%

Dominica
black, mixed black and European, European, Syrian, Carib
Amerindian

Dominican Republic
mixed 73%, white 16%, black 11%

East Timor
Austronesian (Malayo-Polynesian), Papuan, small Chinese
minority

Ecuador
mestizo (mixed Amerindian and white) 65%, Amerindian 25%,
Spanish and others 7%, black 3%

Egypt
Egyptian 98%, Berber, Nubian, Bedouin, and Beja 1%, Greek,
Armenian, other European (primarily Italian and French) 1%

El Salvador
mestizo 90%, white 9%, Amerindian 1%

Equatorial Guinea
Bioko (primarily Bubi, some Fernandinos), Rio Muni
(primarily Fang), Europeans less than 1,000, mostly Spanish

Eritrea
Tigrinya 50%, Tigre and Kunama 40%, Afar 4%, Saho (Red Sea
coast dwellers) 3%, other 3%

Estonia
Estonian 67.9%, Russian 25.6%, Ukrainian 2.1%, Belarusian
1.3%, Finn 0.9%, other 2.2% (2000 census)

Ethiopia
Oromo 40%, Amhara and Tigre 32%, Sidamo 9%, Shankella 6%,
Somali 6%, Afar 4%, Gurage 2%, other 1%

Falkland Islands (Islas Malvinas)
British

Faroe Islands
Scandinavian

Fiji
Fijian 51% (predominantly Melanesian with a Polynesian
admixture), Indian 44%, European, other Pacific Islanders, overseas
Chinese, and other 5% (1998 est.)

Finland
Finn 93.4%, Swede 5.7%, Russian 0.4%, Estonian 0.2%, Roma
0.2%, Sami 0.1%

France
Celtic and Latin with Teutonic, Slavic, North African,
Indochinese, Basque minorities
overseas departments: black, white, mulatto, East Indian, Chinese,
Amerindian

French Polynesia
Polynesian 78%, Chinese 12%, local French 6%,
metropolitan French 4%

Gabon
Bantu tribes, including four major tribal groupings (Fang,
Bapounou, Nzebi, Obamba); other Africans and Europeans, 154,000,
including 10,700 French and 11,000 persons of dual nationality

Gambia, The
African 99% (Mandinka 42%, Fula 18%, Wolof 16%, Jola
10%, Serahuli 9%, other 4%), non-African 1%

Gaza Strip
Palestinian Arab and other 99.4%, Jewish 0.6%

Georgia
Georgian 83.8%, Azeri 6.5%, Armenian 5.7%, Russian 1.5%,
other 2.5% (2002 census)

Germany
German 91.5%, Turkish 2.4%, other 6.1% (made up largely of
Greek, Italian, Polish, Russian, Serbo-Croatian, Spanish)

Ghana
African 98.5% (includes Akan 44%, Moshi-Dagomba 16%, Ewe 13%,
Ga 8%, Gurma 3%, Yoruba 1%), European and other 1.5% (1998)

Gibraltar
Spanish, Italian, English, Maltese, Portuguese, German,
North Africans

Greece
Greek 98%, Turkish and other 2%
note: the Greek Government states there are no ethnic divisions in
Greece

Greenland
Greenlander 88% (Inuit and Greenland-born whites), Danish
and others 12% (2000)

Grenada
black 82%, mixed black and European 13%, European and East
Indian 5%, and trace of Arawak/Carib Amerindian

Guam
Chamorro 37.1%, Filipino 26.3%, other Pacific islander 11.3%,
white 6.9%, other Asian 6.3%, other ethnic origin or race 2.3%,
mixed 9.8% (2000 census)

Guatemala
Mestizo (mixed Amerindian-Spanish - in local Spanish
called Ladino) and European 59.4%, K'iche 9.1%, Kaqchikel 8.4%, Mam
7.9%, Q'eqchi 6.3%, other Mayan 8.6%, indigenous non-Mayan 0.2%,
other 0.1% (2001 census)

Guernsey
UK and Norman-French descent with small percentages from
other European countries

Guinea
Peuhl 40%, Malinke 30%, Soussou 20%, smaller ethnic groups 10%

Guinea-Bissau
African 99% (includes Balanta 30%, Fula 20%, Manjaca
14%, Mandinga 13%, Papel 7%), European and mulatto less than 1%

Guyana
East Indian 50%, black 36%, Amerindian 7%, white, Chinese,
and mixed 7%

Haiti
black 95%, mulatto and white 5%

Holy See (Vatican City)
Italians, Swiss, other

Honduras
mestizo (mixed Amerindian and European) 90%, Amerindian 7%,
black 2%, white 1%

Hong Kong
Chinese 95%, other 5%

Hungary
Hungarian 92.3%, Roma 1.9%, other or unknown 5.8% (2001
census)

Iceland
homogeneous mixture of descendants of Norse and Celts 94%,
population of foreign origin 6%

India
Indo-Aryan 72%, Dravidian 25%, Mongoloid and other 3% (2000)

Indonesia
Javanese 45%, Sundanese 14%, Madurese 7.5%, coastal Malays
7.5%, other 26%

Iran
Persian 51%, Azeri 24%, Gilaki and Mazandarani 8%, Kurd 7%,
Arab 3%, Lur 2%, Baloch 2%, Turkmen 2%, other 1%

Iraq
Arab 75%-80%, Kurdish 15%-20%, Turkoman, Assyrian or other 5%

Ireland
Celtic, English

Isle of Man
Manx (Norse-Celtic descent), Briton

Israel
Jewish 76.4% (of which Israel-born 67.1%, Europe/America-born
22.6%, Africa-born 5.9%, Asia-born 4.2%), non-Jewish 23.6% (mostly
Arab) (2004)

Italy
Italian (includes small clusters of German-, French-, and
Slovene-Italians in the north and Albanian-Italians and
Greek-Italians in the south)

Jamaica
black 90.9%, East Indian 1.3%, white 0.2%, Chinese 0.2%,
mixed 7.3%, other 0.1%

Japan
Japanese 99%, others 1% (Korean 511,262, Chinese 244,241,
Brazilian 182,232, Filipino 89,851, other 237,914)
note: up to 230,000 Brazilians of Japanese origin migrated to Japan
in the 1990s to work in industries; some have returned to Brazil
(2004)

Jersey
Jersey 51.1%, British 34.8%, Irish, French, and other white
6.6%, Portuguese/Madeiran 6.4%, other 1.1% (2001 census)

Jordan
Arab 98%, Circassian 1%, Armenian 1%

Kazakhstan
Kazakh (Qazaq) 53.4%, Russian 30%, Ukrainian 3.7%, Uzbek
2.5%, German 2.4%, Tatar 1.7%, Uygur 1.4%, other 4.9% (1999 census)

Kenya
Kikuyu 22%, Luhya 14%, Luo 13%, Kalenjin 12%, Kamba 11%, Kisii
6%, Meru 6%, other African 15%, non-African (Asian, European, and
Arab) 1%

Kiribati
Micronesian 98.8%, other 1.2% (2000 census)

Korea, North
racially homogeneous; there is a small Chinese
community and a few ethnic Japanese

Korea, South
homogeneous (except for about 20,000 Chinese)