Present day
Disputed borders: control vs. recognition
Maps have to choose a line. Ours draws who actually controls the land (from Natural Earth). Click any country on today's map and its disputes appear first: who controls the land, since when, who claims it, and whether that control was ever made official.
Status can change quickly. These summaries were reviewed when this site was built. Check current news before citing them, and tell us if something is out of date.
Crimea
- Controlled by
- Russia
- Control since
- 2014
- Claimed by
- Ukraine
- Made official?
- Annexation not recognized by most UN members (UN General Assembly Resolution 68/262)
Seized in February–March 2014 and declared annexed on 18 March. This map draws Crimea as its own hatched shape, not as part of either country.
See it on the map →Russian-occupied southern and eastern Ukraine
- Controlled by
- Russia (partially)
- Control since
- 2014
- Claimed by
- Ukraine
- Made official?
- Claimed annexation of four oblasts (30 September 2022) rejected by UN General Assembly Resolution ES-11/4
Parts of Donetsk and Luhansk have been under Russian-backed control since 2014, and larger areas since 2022. Front lines move, so they are not drawn. Ukraine's internationally recognized border is shown.
See it on the map →Golan Heights
- Controlled by
- Israel
- Control since
- 1967
- Claimed by
- Syria
- Made official?
- Israeli law extended in 1981; UN Security Council Resolution 497 declared it null and void. The US recognized Israeli sovereignty in 2019.
Captured in the 1967 Six-Day War. The source data draws it inside Israel's de facto border.
See it on the map →West Bank, East Jerusalem and Gaza
- Controlled by
- Israel (with Palestinian self-rule in parts)
- Control since
- 1967
- Claimed by
- Palestine
- Made official?
- Occupied since 1967. The State of Palestine is recognized by most UN members but is not a full UN member.
Final borders are part of the unresolved Israeli–Palestinian conflict.
See it on the map →Kashmir
- Controlled by
- India, Pakistan and China (each controls part)
- Control since
- 1947
- Claimed by
- India, Pakistan, China
- Made official?
- Divided by the 1949 ceasefire line, renamed the Line of Control in 1972. No agreed border.
China has held Aksai Chin since the 1950s (confirmed by the 1962 war) and received the Shaksgam Valley from Pakistan in 1963, which India does not recognize. The Siachen Glacier has been held by India since 1984.
See it on the map →Arunachal Pradesh
- Controlled by
- India
- Control since
- 1951
- Claimed by
- China
- Made official?
- The McMahon Line (1914 Simla Convention) has never been accepted by China
China briefly overran much of the area in the 1962 war, then withdrew.
See it on the map →Taiwan
- Controlled by
- Republic of China (Taiwan)
- Control since
- 1945
- Claimed by
- People's Republic of China
- Made official?
- Self-governing. Formally recognized by about a dozen UN members; the PRC claims it.
Japan hands Taiwan to Republic of China administration in 1945. The 1951 San Francisco Treaty has Japan renounce Taiwan without naming a recipient. The ROC government relocates there in 1949.
See it on the map →Western Sahara
- Controlled by
- Morocco (about 3/4) and the Sahrawi Republic / Polisario (the east)
- Control since
- 1975
- Claimed by
- Morocco, Sahrawi Arab Democratic Republic
- Made official?
- UN non-self-governing territory. The US recognized Moroccan sovereignty in 2020.
The source data shows Morocco-administered land inside Morocco and only the Polisario-held east as 'Western Sahara', so Morocco's area here includes the disputed part.
See it on the map →Northern Cyprus
- Controlled by
- Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus (backed by Türkiye)
- Control since
- 1974
- Claimed by
- Cyprus
- Made official?
- Recognized only by Türkiye; UN Security Council Resolution 541 (1983) deemed the declaration invalid
The island has been divided by a UN buffer zone since the 1974 Turkish invasion.
See it on the map →Kosovo
- Controlled by
- Republic of Kosovo
- Control since
- 1999
- Claimed by
- Serbia
- Made official?
- Recognized by roughly half of UN members; Serbia does not recognize it
Under UN administration from 1999, it declared independence on 17 February 2008.
See it on the map →Somaliland
- Controlled by
- Republic of Somaliland
- Control since
- 1991
- Claimed by
- Somalia
- Made official?
- Self-declared independence (18 May 1991); recognition by other states is extremely limited and changing
It has functioned as a de facto state for over three decades, with its own currency, army and elections.
See it on the map →Abkhazia and South Ossetia
- Controlled by
- Russian-backed separatist governments
- Control since
- 1993
- Claimed by
- Georgia
- Made official?
- Recognized by Russia (2008) and a handful of other states
Both broke from Georgian control in early-1990s wars. The source data draws them inside Georgia, the internationally recognized border.
See it on the map →Transnistria
- Controlled by
- Pridnestrovian Moldavian Republic
- Control since
- 1992
- Claimed by
- Moldova
- Made official?
- Not recognized by any UN member
A strip of land east of the Dniester, de facto independent since the 1992 war, with Russian troops stationed there.
See it on the map →Falkland Islands (Islas Malvinas)
- Controlled by
- United Kingdom
- Control since
- 1833
- Claimed by
- Argentina
- Made official?
- British Overseas Territory; Argentina maintains its claim
Argentina invaded in 1982 and Britain retook the islands. In a 2013 referendum 99.8% of voters chose to remain British.
See it on the map →Southern Kuril Islands
- Controlled by
- Russia
- Control since
- 1945
- Claimed by
- Japan
- Made official?
- No Japan–Russia peace treaty has ever been signed
Japan calls them the Northern Territories. The Soviet Union seized them in August–September 1945.
See it on the map →Essequibo (Guayana Esequiba)
- Controlled by
- Guyana
- Control since
- 1899
- Claimed by
- Venezuela
- Made official?
- Set by an 1899 arbitral award that Venezuela rejects; a case is before the International Court of Justice
About two-thirds of Guyana's territory. Venezuela held a referendum on annexing it in 2023.
See it on the map →Halaib Triangle and Bir Tawil
- Controlled by
- Egypt (Halaib); nobody (Bir Tawil)
- Control since
- 1990
- Claimed by
- Egypt, Sudan
- Made official?
- Two conflicting borders (1899 and 1902) leave Halaib claimed by both and Bir Tawil claimed by neither
Bir Tawil is one of the few land areas on Earth that no state claims.
See it on the map →Gibraltar
- Controlled by
- United Kingdom
- Control since
- 1704
- Claimed by
- Spain
- Made official?
- Ceded to Britain by the Treaty of Utrecht (1713); Spain seeks its return
Residents voted overwhelmingly to remain British in 1967 and 2002.
See it on the map →Antarctica
- Controlled by
- No state (Antarctic Treaty System)
- Control since
- 1959
- Claimed by
- Argentina, Australia, Chile, France, New Zealand, Norway, United Kingdom
- Made official?
- Claims frozen by the Antarctic Treaty (signed 1959, in force 1961)
Seven countries claim slices, some overlapping. The treaty bans military activity and new claims.
See it on the map →