Chapter LXXXII: Section 3: , Taipei, Taiwan, telephone: 886 (2) 2162-2000, FAX (18)

Honduras
in 1992, ICJ ruled on the delimitation of "bolsones"
(disputed areas) along the El Salvador-Honduras border, and the OAS
is assisting with a technical resolution of bolsones; in 2003, the
ICJ rejected El Salvador's request to revise its decision on one
bolsone; the 1992 ICJ ruling advised a tripartite resolution to a
maritime boundary in the Gulf of Fonseca with consideration of
Honduran access to the Pacific; El Salvador continues to claim tiny
Conejo Island, not mentioned by the ICJ, off Honduras in the Gulf of
Fonseca; Honduras claims Sapodilla Cays off the coast of Belize but
agreed to creation of a joint ecological park and Guatemalan
corridor in the Caribbean in the failed 2002 Belize-Guatemala
Differendum; Nicaragua filed a claim against Honduras in 1999 and
against Colombia in 2001 at the ICJ over a complex maritime dispute
in the Caribbean Sea

Hong Kong
none

Howland Island
none

Hungary
Hungary amended the status law extending special social and
cultural benefits to ethnic Hungarians in neighboring states, who
had objected to the law; Slovakia and Hungary have renewed
discussions on ways to resolve differences over the
Gabcikovo-Nagymaros hydroelectric dam on the Danube, with possible
resort again to the ICJ for final resolution

Iceland
Rockall continental shelf dispute involving Denmark,
Iceland, and the UK (Ireland and the UK have signed a boundary
agreement in the Rockall area) remains dormant; dispute with Denmark
over the Faroe Islands' fisheries median line boundary within 200
nm; disputes with Denmark, the UK, and Ireland over the Faroe
Islands continental shelf boundary outside 200 nm

India
Kashmir remains the world's most highly 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), but recent discussions and
confidence-building measures among parties are beginning to defuse
tensions; India does not recognize Pakistan's ceding lands to China
in the 1965 boundary agreement; disputes with Pakistan over Indus
River water sharing and the terminus of the Sir Creek Estuary at the
mouth of the Rann of Kutch, which prevents maritime boundary
delimitation; Pakistani maps continue to show Junagadh claim in
Indian Gujarat State; most of the rugged, militarized boundary with
China is in dispute, but sides have committed to begin resolution
with discussions on the least disputed Middle Sector; Joint Border
Committee with Nepal continues to work on resolution of minor
disputed boundary sections; discussions with Bangladesh remain
stalled to delimit a small section of river boundary, to exchange
162 miniscule enclaves in both countries, to allocate divided
villages, and to stop illegal cross-border trade, migration, and
violence; Bangladesh protests India's attempts to fence off
high-traffic sections of the porous boundary; dispute with
Bangladesh over volcanic New Moore/South Talpatty/Purbasha Island in
the Bay of Bengal deters maritime boundary delimitation; India seeks
cooperation from Bhutan and Burma to keep out Indian Nagaland
insurgents; joint border commission continues to work on small
disputed sections of boundary with Nepal; India has instituted a
stricter border regime to restrict transit of Maoist insurgents and
illegal cross-border activities from Nepal

Indian Ocean
some maritime disputes (see littoral states)

Indonesia
East Timor-Indonesia Boundary Committee continues to meet,
survey and delimit land boundary, but several sections of the
boundary remain unresolved; Indonesia and East Timor contest the
sovereignty of the uninhabited coral island of Palau Batek/Fatu
Sinai, which hinders a decision on a northern maritime boundary;
numbers of East Timor refugees in Indonesia refuse repatriation; a
1997 treaty between Indonesia and Australia settled some parts of
their maritime boundary but outstanding issues remain; ICJ's award
of Sipadan and Ligitan islands to Malaysia in 2002 prompted
Indonesia to assert claims to and to establish a presence on its
smaller outer islands; Indonesian secessionists, squatters, and
illegal migrants create repatriation problems for Papua New Guinea

Iran
Iran protests Afghanistan's limiting flow of dammed waters on
Helmand River tributaries in periods of drought; thousands of Afghan
refugees still reside in Iran; creation of a maritime boundary with
Iraq remains in hiatus until full sovereignty is restored in Iraq;
Iran and UAE engage in direct talks and solicit Arab League support
to resolve disputes over Iran's occupation of Tunb Islands and Abu
Musa Island; Iran stands alone among littoral states in insisting
upon a division of the Caspian Sea into five equal sectors

Iraq
coalition forces assist Iraqis in monitoring boundary security,
but resolution of disputes and creation of maritime boundaries with
neighboring states will remain in hiatus until full sovereignty is
restored in Iraq; Turkey has expressed concern over the status of
Kurds in Iraq

Ireland
disputes with Iceland, Denmark, and the UK over the Faroe
Islands continental shelf boundary outside 200 nm

Israel
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; Golan
Heights is Israeli-occupied (Lebanon claims the Shab'a Farms area of
Golan Heights)

Italy
none

Jamaica
none

Jan Mayen
none

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;
intensified media coverage and protests highlight dispute over the
fishing-rich Liancourt Rocks (Tok-do/Take-shima) also claimed by
South Korea; China and Taiwan have intensified their claims to the
Senkaku Islands (Diaoyu Tai) administered by Japan

Jarvis Island
none

Jersey
none

Johnston Atoll
none

Jordan
border dispute settled with Syria in 2004

Juan de Nova Island
claimed by Madagascar

Kazakhstan
Kazakhstan and China have resolved their border dispute
and are working to demarcate their borders to control population
migration, illegal activities, and trade; delimitation of boundary
with Russia is almost complete - delimitations with Turkmenistan and
Uzbekistan are complete with demarcations underway - delimitation
with Kyrgyzstan is largely complete; creation of a seabed boundary
with Turkmenistan in the Caspian Sea is under discussion;
equidistant seabed treaties have been signed 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's administrative boundary still extends into the Sudan,
creating the "Ilemi Triangle"; Kenya has acted as an important
mediator in Sudan's north-south civil war; Kenya and Uganda are
working together to stem cattle rustling and violence by Lord's
Resistance Army along the border

Kingman Reef
none

Kiribati
none

Korea, North
with China, certain islands in Yalu and Tumen rivers
are in uncontested dispute; a section of boundary around Paektu-san
(mountain) is indefinite; China has been attempting to stop mass
illegal migration of North Koreans escaping famine, economic
privation, and oppression into northern China; Military Demarcation
Line within the 4-km wide Demilitarized Zone has separated North
from South Korea since 1953; periodic maritime disputes with South
Korea

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; unresolved dispute with Japan over Liancourt Rocks
(Tok-do/Take-shima) and occasional protests over fishing rights in
grounds also claimed by Japan

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

Kyrgyzstan
boundary with China is fully demarcated; delimitation
with Kazakhstan is largely complete with only minor disputed areas;
disputes in Isfara Valley delay completion of delimitation with
Tajikistan; delimitation is underway with Uzbekistan but serious
disputes around enclaves and elsewhere continue to mar progress for
some 130 km of border

Laos
demarcation of boundaries with Cambodia, Thailand, and Vietnam
is largely complete, but with Thailand several areas including
Mekong River islets remain in dispute; ongoing disputes with
Thailand and Vietnam over squatters; concern among Mekong Commission
members that China's construction of dams on the Mekong River will
affect water levels

Latvia
the Russian Duma refuses to ratify boundary delimitation
treaty with Latvia; the Latvian Parliament has not ratified its 1998
maritime boundary treaty with Lithuania, primarily due to concerns
over oil exploration rights

Lebanon
Syrian troops in central and eastern Lebanon since October
1976; Lebanese Government claims Shab'a Farms area of
Israeli-occupied Golan Heights

Lesotho
none

Liberia
domestic fighting among disparate rebel groups, warlords,
and youth gangs in Guinea, Liberia, and Sierra Leone have created
insurgencies, street violence, looting, arms trafficking, and ethnic
conflicts and refugees in border areas; the Cote d'Ivoire Government
accuses Liberia of supporting Ivorian rebels

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

Liechtenstein
Liechtenstein's royal family claims restitution for
1,600 sq km of land in the Czech Republic confiscated in 1918

Lithuania
in May 2003, the Russian Parliament ratified the 1997 land
and maritime boundary treaty with Lithuania, which ratified the
treaty in 1999, legalizing limits of former Soviet republic borders;
both states also implement a simplified transit regime for Russian
nationals transiting Lithuania to and from the Russian Kaliningrad
coastal enclave; the Latvian Parliament has not ratified its 1998
maritime boundary treaty with Lithuania, primarily due to concerns
over oil exploration rights

Luxembourg
none

Macau
none

Macedonia
the Albanian government calls for the protection of the
rights of ethnic Albanians in Macedonia while continuing to seek
regional cooperation; ethnic Albanians in Kosovo resist demarcation
of a small section of the Macedonia-Kosovo boundary in accordance
with the 2000 delimitation treaty, which transferred a small amount
of land to Macedonia; dispute with Greece over country's name
persists

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

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

Malaysia
involved in complex dispute with China, Philippines,
Taiwan, 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; disputes over
deliveries of fresh water to Singapore, Singapore's land
reclamation, bridge construction, maritime boundaries, and Pedra
Branca Island/Pulau Batu Putih persist - parties agree to ICJ
arbitration on island dispute within three years; ICJ awarded
Ligitan and Sipadan islands off the coast of Sabah, also claimed by
Indonesia and Philippines, to Malaysia; a 1 kilometer segment at the
mouth of the Golok River remains in dispute with Thailand;
Philippines retains a now 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 the Sultanate's
sovereignty claim; in 2003 Brunei and Malaysia ceased gas and oil
exploration in their offshore and deepwater seabeds until
negotiations progress to an agreement over allocation of disputed
areas; Malaysia's land boundary with Brunei around Limbang is in
dispute

Maldives
none

Mali
none

Malta
none

Man, Isle of
none

Marshall Islands
claims US territory of Wake Island

Martinique
none

Mauritania
Mauritanian claims to Western Sahara have been dormant in
recent years

Mauritius
Mauritius claims the Chagos Archipelago (UK-administered
British Indian Ocean Territory), and its former inhabitants, who
reside chiefly in Mauritius, were granted UK citizenship and the
right to repatriation in 2001; claims French-administered Tromelin
Island

Mayotte
claimed by Comoros

Mexico
prolonged drought, population growth, and outmoded practices
and infrastructure in the border region have strained water-sharing
arrangements with the US; nationals from Central America slip into
Mexico seeking work or transit into the US; undocumented Mexican
nationals continue to enter the United States

Micronesia, Federated States of
none

Midway Islands
none

Moldova
difficulties with the Transnistria region complicate
controlling border crossing and customs regimes with Ukraine,
despite concordance on 2003 delimitation and customs protocols and
OSCE assistance

Monaco
none

Mongolia
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; Morocco also
rejected Spain's unilateral designation of a median line from the
Canary Islands in 2002 to set limits to undersea resource
exploration and refugee interdiction, but agreed in 2003 to discuss
a comprehensive maritime delimitation; Morocco serves as one of the
primary launching areas of illegal migration into Spain from North
Africa

Mozambique
none

Namibia
commission established with Botswana to resolve small
residual disputes along the Caprivi Strip, including the Situngu
marshlands along the Linyanti River; Botswana residents protest
Namibia's planned construction of the Okavango hydroelectric dam on
Popa Falls; managed dispute with South Africa over the location of
the boundary in the Orange River; Botswana, Namibia, Zambia, and
Zimbabwe boundary convergence is not clearly defined or delimited;
Angolan rebels and refugees still reside in Namibia

Nauru
none

Navassa Island
claimed by Haiti, source of subsistence fishing

Nepal
joint border commission continues to work on small disputed
sections of boundary with India; India has instituted a stricter
border regime to restrict transit of Maoist insurgents and illegal
cross-border activities

Netherlands
none

Netherlands Antilles
none

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

New Zealand
territorial claim in Antarctica (Ross Dependency)

Nicaragua
territorial disputes with Colombia over the Archipelago de
San Andres y Providencia and Quita Sueno Bank region; 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; much of Benin-Niger boundary, including tripoint with
Nigeria, remains undemarcated, and ICJ ad hoc judges have been
selected to rule on disputed Niger and Mekrou River islands; Lake
Chad Commission continues to urge signatories Cameroon, Chad, Niger,
and Nigeria to ratify delimitation treaty over the lake region,
which remains the site of armed clashes among local populations and
militias

Nigeria
ICJ ruled in 2002 on the entire Cameroon-Nigeria land and
maritime boundary but the parties formed a Joint Border Commission
to resolve differences bilaterally and have commenced with
demarcation in less-contested sections of the boundary, starting in
Lake Chad in the north; Nigeria initially rejected cession of the
Bakasi Peninsula; 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, the
unresolved Bakasi allocation, 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; several
villages along the Okpara River are in dispute with Benin; Lake Chad
Commission continues to urge signatories Cameroon, Chad, Niger, and
Nigeria to ratify delimitation treaty over lake region, which
remains the site of armed clashes among local populations and
militias

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 recent discussions, 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 signed and ratified with UAE in 2003 for
entire border, including Oman's Musandam Peninsula and Al Madhah
enclaves

Pacific Ocean
some maritime disputes (see littoral states)

Pakistan
Kashmir remains the world's largest and most highly
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), but recent discussions
and confidence-building measures among the parties are beginning to
defuse tensions; India does not recognize Pakistan's ceding lands to
China in 1965 boundary agreement; disputes with Pakistan over Indus
River water sharing and the terminus of the Sir Creek Estuary at the
mouth of the Rann of Kutch, which prevents maritime boundary
delimitation; Pakistani maps continue to show Junagadh claim in
India's Gujarat State; despite largely successful UN efforts at
voluntary repatriation, 2-3 million Afghan refugees continue to
reside in Pakistan, many at their own choosing; Pakistan has sent
troops into remote tribal areas to control the border with
Afghanistan to stem organized terrorist and other illegal
cross-border activities; regular meetings with Afghan and coalition
allies aim to resolve periodic claims of boundary encroachments

Palau
border delineation disputes being negotiated with Philippines,
Indonesia

Palmyra Atoll
none

Panama
none

Papua New Guinea
seeks assistance from Australia to control illegal
cross-border activities from primarily Indonesia, including
smuggling, drug trafficking, and Indonesian squatters and
secessionists

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

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

Peru
Bolivia has reanimated its claim to restore the Atacama
corridor ceded to Chile and adjoining Peru in 1884 to secure
sovereign maritime assess for Bolivian natural gas

Philippines
involved in complex dispute with China, Malaysia,
Taiwan, Vietnam and possibly Brunei over the Spratly Islands, known
locally as the Kalayaan (Freedom) 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; 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

Pitcairn Islands
none

Poland
none

Portugal
some Portuguese groups assert dormant claims to territories
ceded to Spain around the town of Olivenza

Puerto Rico
none

Qatar
none

Reunion
none

Romania
has not resolved claims to Ukrainian-administered Zmyinyy
(Snake) Island and Black Sea maritime boundary despite ongoing talks
based on 1997 friendship treaty to find a solution in two years;
Hungary amended status law extending special social and cultural
benefits to ethnic Hungarians in Romania, who had objected to the law

Russia
China and Russia in 2004 resolved their last border dispute
over islands in the Amur and Argun Rivers, but details on
demarcation have not yet been worked-out; 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; about a third of the boundary with Georgia remains
undelimited and none of it demarcated with several small, strategic
segments remaining in dispute; OSCE observers monitor volatile areas
such as the Pankisi Gorge in the Akhmeti region and the Kodori Gorge
in Abkhazia; equidistant seabed treaties have been signed with
Azerbaijan and Kazakhstan in the Caspian Sea but no consensus on
dividing the water column among the littoral states; 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; Russia continues to reject signing and
ratifying the joint 1996 technical border agreement with Estonia;
the Russian Parliament refuses to consider ratification of the
boundary treaties with Estonia and Latvia, but in May 2003, ratified
land and maritime boundary treaty with Lithuania, which ratified the
1997 treaty in 1999, legalizing limits of former Soviet republic
borders; a simplified transit regime was adopted in July 2003 for
residents of the Kaliningrad coastal exclave to travel through
Lithuania to Russia; delimitation of land boundary with Ukraine is
complete, but demarcation remains unresolved; Ukraine protests
Russia's construction of a causeway in the direction of
Ukrainian-administered Tuzla Island in the Kerch Strait; Kazakhstan
and Russia will complete delimitation of their interstate border in
2004 and demarcation is underway; Russian Duma has not yet ratified
1990 Maritime Boundary Agreement with the US in the Bering Sea

Rwanda
Tutsi, Hutu, Hema, Lendu, and other conflicting ethnic
groups, associated political rebels, armed gangs, and various
government forces continue fighting in Great Lakes region,
transcending the boundaries of Burundi, Democratic Republic of the
Congo, Rwanda, and Uganda to gain control over populated areas and
natural resources - government heads pledge to end conflicts, but
localized violence continues despite UN peacekeeping efforts

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 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 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
Caribbean Sea

Samoa
none

San Marino
none

Sao Tome and Principe
none

Saudi Arabia
nomadic groups on border region with Yemen resist
demarcation of boundary; 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; Kuwait and
Saudi Arabia continue discussions on a maritime boundary with Iran;
because the treaties have not been made public, the exact alignment
of the boundary with the UAE is still unknown and labeled approximate

Senegal
The Gambia and Guinea-Bissau attempt to stem refugees, cross
border raids, arms smuggling, and political instability from a
separatist movement in Senegal's Casamance region

Serbia and Montenegro
the future status of Kosovo remains an
unresolved issue in South Central Europe with Kosovo Albanians
overwhelmingly supporting and Serbian officials opposing Kosovo
independence; the international community has agreed to begin a
process to determine final status only after significant progress
has been made in solidifying multi-ethnic democracy in Kosovo as
outlined in the policy of "standards before status"; the Contact
group (including the US, UK, France, Germany, Italy, and Russia)
will review progress on the UNMIK standard around mid-2005; ethnic
Albanians in Kosovo resist demarcation of the F.Y.R.O.M. boundary in
accordance with the 2000 delimitation treaty, which transfers on net
a small amount of land to F.Y.R.O.M.; Serbia and Montenegro have
delimited about half of the boundary with Bosnia and Herzegovina,
but sections 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 Guinea, Liberia, and Sierra Leone have
created insurgencies, street violence, looting, arms trafficking,
ethnic conflicts, and refugees in border areas; in 2003, Guinea and
Sierra Leone established a boundary commission to resolve a dispute
over the town of Yenga

Singapore
disputes with Malaysia over deliveries of fresh water to
Singapore, Singapore's land reclamation works, bridge construction,
maritime boundaries, and Pedra Branca Island/Pulau Batu Putih
persist - parties agree to ICJ arbitration on island dispute within
three years

Slovakia
Hungary amended its status law extending special social and
cultural benefits to ethnic Hungarians in Slovakia, many of whom had
protested the law; Slovakia and Hungary have renewed discussions on
ways to resolve differences over the Gabcikovo-Nagymaros
hydroelectric dam on the Danube, with possible resort again to the
ICJ for final resolution

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 controversial, has
not been ratified, and has been complicated by Croatia's declaration
of an ecological-fisheries zone in the Adriatic Sea

Solomon Islands
Australian defense personnel are dispatched at the
invitation of the Solomon Islands' Government to restore law and
order on the islands and reinforce regional security

Somalia
"Somaliland" secessionists provide port facilities to
land-locked Ethiopia and establish commercial ties with regional
states; "Puntland" secessionists clash with "Somaliland"
secessionists to establish territorial limits and clan loyalties,
each seeking support from neighboring states; Ethiopia maintains
only an administrative line with the Oromo region of southern
Somalia and maintains alliances with local Somali clans opposed to
the unrecognized Transitional National Government in Mogadishu

South Africa
managed dispute with Namibia over the location of the
boundary in the Orange River

South Georgia and the South Sandwich Islands
briefly occupied by
military force in 1982 - claimed by Argentina in constitution but
declares it will 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 have been made in the sector between 90 degrees west and 150
degrees west

Spain
since Gibraltar residents voted overwhelmingly by referendum
in 2003 against a "total shared sovereignty" arrangement, talks
between the UK and Spain over the fate of the 300-year old UK colony
have stalled; 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 area of illegal
migration into Spain from North Africa; Morocco rejected Spain's
unilateral designation of a median line from the Canary Islands in
2002 to set limits to undersea resource exploration and refugee
interdiction, but agreed in 2003 to discuss a comprehensive maritime
delimitation; some Portuguese groups assert dormant claims to
territories ceded to Spain around the town of Olivenza

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"

Sri Lanka
none

Sudan
the north-south civil war has affected Sudan's neighbors by
drawing them into the fighting and by forcing them to provide
shelter to refugees, to contend with infiltration by rebel groups,
and to serve as mediators; Sudan has provided shelter to Ugandan
refugees and cover to Lord's Resistance Army soldiers; Sudan accuses
Eritrea of supporting Sudanese rebel groups; efforts to demarcate
the porous boundary with Ethiopia have been delayed by fighting in
Sudan; Kenya's administrative boundary still extends into the Sudan,
creating the "Ilemi Triangle"; Egypt and Sudan retain claims to
administer the triangular areas that extend north and south of the
1899 Treaty boundary along the 22nd Parallel, but have withdrawn
their military presence; Egypt is economically developing and
currently effectively administers the "Hala'ib Triangle" north of
the Treaty Line; Sudan has pledged to work with the Central African
Republic to stem violent skirmishes over water and grazing among
related pastoral populations 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
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; Lebanon claims Shaba'a
farms in Golan Heights; Syrian troops have been stationed in Lebanon
since October 1976; Syria protests Turkish hydrological projects
regulating upper Euphrates waters; settled border dispute with
Jordan in 2004

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 asserted claims to the Japanese-administered
Senkaku Islands (Diaoyu Tai) with increased media coverage and
protest actions

Tajikistan
prolonged regional drought created water-sharing
difficulties for Amu Darya river states; boundary agreements signed
in 2002 cede 1,000 sq km of Pamir Mountain range to China in return
for China relinquishing claims to 28,000 sq km of Tajikistani lands
but demarcation has not yet commenced; talks continue with
Uzbekistan to delimit border and remove minefields; disputes in
Isfara Valley delay delimitation with Kyrgyzstan

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

Thailand
a 1 kilometer segment at the mouth of the Golok River
remains in dispute with Malaysia; demarcation with Laos complete
except for certain Mekong River islets and complaints of Thai
squatters; despite continuing border committee talks, significant
differences remain with Burma over boundary alignment and the
handling of ethnic rebels, refugees, and illegal cross-border
activities; Cambodia accuses Thailand of moving boundary markers and
obstructing access to Preah Vihear temple ruins awarded to Cambodia
by ICJ decision in 1962; 2003 anti-Thai riots in Phnom Penh resulted
in the destruction of the Thai Embassy and damage to 17 Thai-owned
businesses and disputes over payments of full compensation persist;
groups in Burma and Thailand express concern over China's
construction of 13 hydroelectric dams on the Salween River in Yunnan
Province

Togo
in 2001 Benin claimed Togo moved boundary monuments - joint
commission continues to resurvey the boundary

Tokelau
none

Tonga
none

Trinidad and Tobago
Barbados will assert its claim before UNCLOS
that the northern limit of Trinidad and Tobago's maritime boundary
with Venezuela extends into its waters; Guyana has also expressed
its intention to challenge this boundary as it 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; Cyprus question remains with Greece; 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
prolonged regional drought created water-sharing
difficulties for Amu Darya river states; Turkmenistan and Uzbekistan
reached an agreement on improving water usage along the Amu Darya in
2004; delimitation of Caspian seabed remains unresolved

Turks and Caicos Islands
have received Haitians fleeing economic
collapse and civil unrest

Tuvalu
none

Uganda
Tutsi, Hutu, Lendu, Hema, and other ethnic groups, associated
political rebels, armed gangs, militias, and various government
forces continue fighting in the Great Lakes region, transcending the
boundaries of Burundi, Democratic Republic of the Congo, Rwanda, and
Uganda to gain control over populated areas and natural resources;
government heads pledge to end conflict, but localized violence
continues despite UN peacekeeping efforts; civil conflict in Sudan
has extended Sudanese rebel forces and refugees into Uganda and
given shelter to Ugandan Lord's Resistance Army soldiers in Sudan;
Kenya and Uganda are working together to stem cattle rustling and
violence by Lord's Resistance Army along the border

Ukraine
1997 boundary treaty with Belarus remains unratified due to
unresolved financial claims, preventing demarcation and reducing
border security; delimitation of land boundary with Russia is
complete but boundary through the Sea of Azov and Kerch Strait
remains unresolved despite a December 2003 framework agreement and
on-going expert-level discussions; Ukraine protests Russia's
construction of a causeway in the direction of
Ukrainian-administered Tuzla Island in the Kerch Strait;
difficulties with Moldova's Transnistria region complicate
controlling border crossing and customs regimes despite concordance
on the 2003 delimitation and customs protocols and OSCE assistance;
has not resolved Romanian claims to Ukrainian-administered Zmiyinyy
(Snake) Island and Black Sea maritime boundary despite ongoing talks
based on 1997 friendship treaty to find a solution in two years;
ongoing dispute between Ukraine and Romania over the Danube River
delta

United Arab Emirates
because the treaties have not been made public,
the exact alignment of the boundary with Saudi Arabia is still
unknown and labeled approximate; boundary agreement signed and
ratified with Oman in 2003 for entire border, including Oman's
Musandam Peninsula and Al Madhah enclaves; UAE engage in direct
talks and solicit Arab League support to resolve disputes over
Iran's occupation of Lesser and Greater Tunb Islands and Abu Musa
Island

United Kingdom
since Gibraltar residents voted overwhelmingly by
referendum in 2003 against a "total shared sovereignty" arrangement,
talks between the UK and Spain over the fate of the 300-year old UK
colony have stalled; 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 reside chiefly in
Mauritius, and in 2001 were granted UK citizenship and the right to
repatriation; UK continues to reject sovereignty talks requested by
Argentina, which still claims the Falkland Islands (Islas Malvinas)
and South Georgia and the South Sandwich Islands; Rockall
continental shelf dispute involving Denmark and Iceland remains
dormant; territorial claim in Antarctica (British Antarctic
Territory) overlaps Argentine claim and partially overlaps Chilean
claim; disputes with Iceland, Denmark, and Ireland over the Faroe
Islands continental shelf boundary outside 200 nm

United States
Prolonged drought, population growth, and outmoded
practices and infrastructure in the border region has strained
water-sharing arrangements with Mexico; undocumented nationals from
Mexico and Central America continue to enter the United States
illegally; 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 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 state; Marshall Islands claims
Wake Island

Uruguay
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 creates
water-sharing difficulties for Amu Darya river states; delimitation
with Kazakhstan complete with demarcation underway; delimitation is
underway with Kyrgyzstan but serious disputes around enclaves and
elsewhere continue to mar progress for some 130 km of border; talks
continue with Tajikistan to determine and delimit border

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,
preventing any discussion of a maritime boundary; Guyana has
expressed its intention to join Barbados in asserting claims before
UNCLOS that the Trinidad and Tobago's maritime boundary with
Venezuela extends into their waters; maritime boundary dispute with
Colombia in the Gulf of Venezuela and the Caribbean Sea; US, France
and the Netherlands recognize Venezuela's claim to give full effect
to Aves Island, which creates a Venezuelan EEZ/continental shelf
extending over a large portion of the Caribbean Sea; Dominica, Saint
Kitts and Nevis, Saint Lucia, and Saint Vincent and the Grenadines
protest Venezuela's claim that Aves Island sustains human habitation
and other states' recognition of it

Vietnam
demarcation of the land boundary with China continues, but
maritime boundary and joint fishing zone agreement remains
unimplemented; Cambodia and Laos protest Vietnamese squatters and
armed encroachments along border; 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

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

Western Sahara
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

World
stretching over 250,000 km, the world's 325 international land
boundaries separate the 192 independent states and 72 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 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 directly affects the sustenance and welfare of local
populations, often leaving the world community to cope with
resultant refugees, hunger, disease, impoverishment, deforestation,
and desertification

Yemen
Yemen protests Eritrea fishing around the Hanish Islands
awarded to Yemen by the ICJ in 1999; nomadic groups in border region
with Saudi Arabia resist demarcation of boundary in accordance wih
2000 Jeddah Treaty; 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
the Botswana, Namibia, Zambia, and Zimbabwe boundary
convergence is not clearly defined or delimited

Zimbabwe
the Botswana, Namibia, Zambia, and Zimbabwe boundary
convergence is not clearly defined or delimited

This page was last updated on 10 February, 2005

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

@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,
and Macedonian or 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 Algeirs; 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
Samoan (Polynesian) 89%, Caucasian 2%, Tongan 4%,
other 5%

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), mulatto, white

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

Argentina
white (mostly Spanish and Italian) 97%, mestizo,
Amerindian, or other nonwhite groups 3%

Armenia
Armenian 93%, Azeri 1%, Russian 2%, other (mostly Yezidi
Kurds) 4% (2002)
note: as of the end of 1993, virtually all Azeris had emigrated from
Armenia

Aruba
mixed white/Caribbean Amerindian 80%

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

Austria
German 88.5%, indigenous minorities 1.5% (includes
Croatians, Slovenes, Hungarians, Czechs, Slovaks, Roma), recent
immigrant groups 10% (includes Turks, Bosnians, Serbians, Croatians)
(2001)

Azerbaijan
Azeri 90%, Dagestani 3.2%, Russian 2.5%, Armenian 2%,
other 2.3% (1998 est.)
note: almost all Armenians live in the separatist Nagorno-Karabakh
region

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

Bahrain
Bahraini 63%, Asian 19%, other Arab 10%, Iranian 8%

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, Ukrainian, and
other 7.4%

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 58%, white 36%, other 6%

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
Serb 37.1%, Bosniak 48%, 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 (includes Portuguese, German, Italian, Spanish, Polish)
55%, mixed white and black 38%, black 6%, other (includes Japanese,
Arab, Amerindian) 1%

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)

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%
note: Europeans estimated at 8,500, mostly French, before the 1997
civil war; may be half that in 1998, following the widespread
destruction of foreign businesses in 1997

Cook Islands
Polynesian (full blood) 81.3%, Polynesian and European
7.7%, Polynesian and non-European 7.7%, European 2.4%, other 0.9%

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%, Bosniak 0.5%, Hungarian 0.4%,
Slovene 0.3%, Czech 0.2%, Roma 0.2%, Albanian 0.1%, Montenegrin
0.1%, others 4.1% (2001)

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

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

Czech Republic
Czech 81.2%, Moravian 13.2%, Slovak 3.1%, Polish
0.6%, German 0.5%, Silesian 0.4%, Roma 0.3%, Hungarian 0.2%, other
0.5% (1991)

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
white 16%, black 11%, mixed 73%

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
Eastern Hamitic stock (Egyptians, Bedouins, and Berbers) 99%,
Greek, Nubian, Armenian, other European (primarily Italian and
French) 1%

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

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

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

Estonia
Estonian 65.3%, Russian 28.1%, Ukrainian 2.5%, Belarusian
1.5%, Finn 1%, other 1.6% (1998)

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

French Guiana
black or mulatto 66%, white 12%, East Indian, Chinese,
Amerindian 12%, other 10%

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 70.1%, Armenian 8.1%, Russian 6.3%, Azeri 5.7%,
Ossetian 3%, Abkhaz 1.8%, other 5%

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

Ghana
black African 98.5% (major tribes - 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%, 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% (January 2000)

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

Guadeloupe
black or mulatto 90%, white 5%, East Indian, Lebanese,
Chinese less than 5%

Guam
Chamorro 37%, Filipino 26%, white 10%, Chinese, Japanese,
Korean, and other 27%

Guatemala
Mestizo (mixed Amerindian-Spanish or assimilated
Amerindian - in local Spanish called Ladino), approximately 55%,
Amerindian or predominantly Amerindian, approximately 43%, whites
and others 2%

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% (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 89.9%, Roma 4%, German 2.6%, Serb 2%, Slovak 0.8%,
Romanian 0.7%

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

Israel
Jewish 80.1% (Europe/America-born 32.1%, Israel-born 20.8%,
Africa-born 14.6%, Asia-born 12.6%), non-Jewish 19.9% (mostly Arab)
(1996 est.)

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
UK and Norman-French descent

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

Kazakhstan
Kazakh (Qazaq) 53.4%, Russian 30%, Ukrainian 3.7%, Uzbek
2.5%, German 2.4%, Uygur 1.4%, other 6.6% (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
predominantly Micronesian with some Polynesian

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

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

Kuwait
Kuwaiti 45%, other Arab 35%, South Asian 9%, Iranian 4%,
other 7%

Kyrgyzstan
Kyrgyz 64.9%, Uzbek 13.8%, Russian 12.5%, Dungan 1.1%,
Ukrainian 1%, Uygur 1%, other 5.7% (1999 census)

Laos
Lao Loum (lowland) 68%, Lao Theung (upland) 22%, Lao Soung
(highland) including the Hmong and the Yao 9%, ethnic
Vietnamese/Chinese 1%

Latvia
Latvian 57.7%, Russian 29.6%, Belarusian 4.1%, Ukrainian
2.7%, Polish 2.5%, Lithuanian 1.4%, other 2% (2002)

Lebanon
Arab 95%, Armenian 4%, other 1%

Lesotho
Sotho 99.7%, Europeans, Asians, and other 0.3%,

Liberia
indigenous African tribes 95% (including Kpelle, Bassa, Gio,
Kru, Grebo, Mano, Krahn, Gola, Gbandi, Loma, Kissi, Vai, Dei, Bella,
Mandingo, and Mende), Americo-Liberians 2.5% (descendants of
immigrants from the US who had been slaves), Congo People 2.5%
(descendants of immigrants from the Caribbean who had been slaves)

Libya
Berber and Arab 97%, Greeks, Maltese, Italians, Egyptians,
Pakistanis, Turks, Indians, Tunisians

Liechtenstein
Alemannic 86%, Italian, Turkish, and other 14%

Lithuania
Lithuanian 80.6%, Russian 8.7%, Polish 7%, Belarusian
1.6%, other 2.1%

Luxembourg
Celtic base (with French and German blend), Portuguese,
Italian, Slavs (from Montenegro, Albania, and Kosovo) and European
(guest and resident workers)

Macau
Chinese 95%, Macanese (mixed Portuguese and Asian ancestry),
Portuguese, other

Macedonia
Macedonian 64.2%, Albanian 25.2%, Turkish 3.8%, Roma 2.7%,
Serb 1.8%, other 2.3% (2002)

Madagascar
Malayo-Indonesian (Merina and related Betsileo), Cotiers
(mixed African, Malayo-Indonesian, and Arab ancestry -
Betsimisaraka, Tsimihety, Antaisaka, Sakalava), French, Indian,
Creole, Comoran

Malawi
Chewa, Nyanja, Tumbuka, Yao, Lomwe, Sena, Tonga, Ngoni,
Ngonde, Asian, European

Malaysia
Malay and other indigenous 58%, Chinese 24%, Indian 8%,
others 10% (2000)

Maldives
South Indians, Sinhalese, Arabs

Mali
Mande 50% (Bambara, Malinke, Soninke), Peul 17%, Voltaic 12%,
Songhai 6%, Tuareg and Moor 10%, other 5%

Malta
Maltese (descendants of ancient Carthaginians and Phoenicians,
with strong elements of Italian and other Mediterranean stock)

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

Marshall Islands
Micronesian

Martinique
African and African-white-Indian mixture 90%, white 5%,
East Indian, Chinese less than 5%

Mauritania
mixed Maur/black 40%, Moor 30%, black 30%

Mauritius
Indo-Mauritian 68%, Creole 27%, Sino-Mauritian 3%,
Franco-Mauritian 2%

Mayotte
NA

Mexico
mestizo (Amerindian-Spanish) 60%, Amerindian or predominantly
Amerindian 30%, white 9%, other 1%

Micronesia, Federated States of
nine ethnic Micronesian and
Polynesian groups

Moldova
Moldovan/Romanian 64.5%, Ukrainian 13.8%, Russian 13%,
Jewish 1.5%, Bulgarian 2%, Gagauz and other 5.2% (1989 est.)
note: internal disputes with ethnic Slavs in the Transnistrian region

Monaco
French 47%, Monegasque 16%, Italian 16%, other 21%

Mongolia
Mongol (mostly Khalkha) 94.9%, Turkic (mostly Kazakh) 5%,
other (including Chinese and Russian) 0.1% (2000)

Montserrat
black, white

Morocco
Arab-Berber 99.1%, other 0.7%, Jewish 0.2%

Mozambique
indigenous tribal groups 99.66% (Makhuwa, Tsonga, Lomwe,
Sena, and others), Europeans 0.06%, Euro-Africans 0.2%, Indians 0.08%

Namibia
black 87.5%, white 6%, mixed 6.5%
note: about 50% of the population belong to the Ovambo tribe and 9%
to the Kavangos tribe; other ethnic groups are: Herero 7%, Damara
7%, Nama 5%, Caprivian 4%, Bushmen 3%, Baster 2%, Tswana 0.5%

Nauru
Nauruan 58%, other Pacific Islander 26%, Chinese 8%, European
8%

Nepal
Brahman, Chetri, Newar, Gurung, Magar, Tamang, Rai, Limbu,
Sherpa, Tharu, and others (1995)

Netherlands
Dutch 83%, other 17% (of which 9% are non-Western origin
mainly Turks, Moroccans, Antilleans, Surinamese and Indonesians)
(1999 est.)

Netherlands Antilles
mixed black 85%, Carib Amerindian, white, East
Asian

New Caledonia
Melanesian 42.5%, European 37.1%, Wallisian 8.4%,
Polynesian 3.8%, Indonesian 3.6%, Vietnamese 1.6%, other 3%

New Zealand
New Zealand European 74.5%, Maori 9.7%, other European
4.6%, Pacific Islander 3.8%, Asian and others 7.4%

Nicaragua
mestizo (mixed Amerindian and white) 69%, white 17%, black
9%, Amerindian 5%

Niger
Hausa 56%, Djerma 22%, Fula 8.5%, Tuareg 8%, Beri Beri
(Kanouri) 4.3%, Arab, Toubou, and Gourmantche 1.2%, about 1,200
French expatriates

Nigeria
Nigeria, which is Africa's most populous country, is
composed of more than 250 ethnic groups; the following are the most
populous and politically influential: Hausa and Fulani 29%, Yoruba
21%, Igbo (Ibo) 18%, Ijaw 10%, Kanuri 4%, Ibibio 3.5%, Tiv 2.5%

Niue
Polynesian (with some 200 Europeans, Samoans, and Tongans)

Norfolk Island
descendants of the Bounty mutineers, Australian, New
Zealander, Polynesians