Countrivo

How many borders separate distant countries?

Calculated from Countrivo’s sovereign-country border graph

Distance on a political map can be measured in borders as well as kilometres. These pairs sit far apart in the country-border network, even along a shortest chain.

Method: breadth-first search finds the fewest border crossings for every connected sovereign-country pair. The ten largest minimum counts are shown. Only recorded country-border edges are used; ferries, Gibraltar and other territories are excluded; Spain–Morocco, Russia–Poland/Lithuania and Azerbaijan–Turkey are excluded to avoid named overseas and exclave shortcuts. A country counts as one node even when it has separated islands or land areas, so travelling these chains may still require sea crossings within a country. These are not continuous-land routes, road itineraries or claims about open crossings.

Border data: REST Countries, with Countrivo corrections

  1. Lesotho to Papua New Guinea

    18 borders

    Lesotho / South Africa / Botswana / Zambia / DR Congo / Central African Republic / Sudan / Egypt / Israel / Jordan / Iraq / Iran / Afghanistan / China / Laos / Thailand / Malaysia / Indonesia / Papua New Guinea

  2. Lesotho to Portugal

    18 borders

    Lesotho / South Africa / Botswana / Zambia / DR Congo / Central African Republic / Sudan / Egypt / Israel / Syria / Turkey / Bulgaria / Romania / Hungary / Austria / Switzerland / France / Spain / Portugal

  3. Lesotho to Timor-Leste

    18 borders

    Lesotho / South Africa / Botswana / Zambia / DR Congo / Central African Republic / Sudan / Egypt / Israel / Jordan / Iraq / Iran / Afghanistan / China / Laos / Thailand / Malaysia / Indonesia / Timor-Leste

  4. Andorra to Lesotho

    17 borders

    Andorra / France / Switzerland / Austria / Hungary / Romania / Bulgaria / Turkey / Syria / Israel / Egypt / Sudan / Central African Republic / DR Congo / Angola / Namibia / South Africa / Lesotho

  5. Brunei to Lesotho

    17 borders

    Brunei / Malaysia / Thailand / Laos / China / Afghanistan / Iran / Iraq / Jordan / Israel / Egypt / Sudan / Central African Republic / DR Congo / Angola / Namibia / South Africa / Lesotho

  6. Spain to Lesotho

    17 borders

    Spain / France / Switzerland / Austria / Hungary / Romania / Bulgaria / Turkey / Syria / Israel / Egypt / Sudan / Central African Republic / DR Congo / Angola / Namibia / South Africa / Lesotho

  7. Indonesia to Lesotho

    17 borders

    Indonesia / Malaysia / Thailand / Laos / China / Afghanistan / Iran / Iraq / Jordan / Israel / Egypt / Sudan / Central African Republic / DR Congo / Angola / Namibia / South Africa / Lesotho

  8. Lesotho to Monaco

    17 borders

    Lesotho / South Africa / Botswana / Zambia / DR Congo / Central African Republic / Sudan / Egypt / Israel / Syria / Turkey / Bulgaria / Romania / Hungary / Austria / Switzerland / France / Monaco

  9. Papua New Guinea to Eswatini

    17 borders

    Papua New Guinea / Indonesia / Malaysia / Thailand / Laos / China / Afghanistan / Iran / Iraq / Jordan / Israel / Egypt / Sudan / Central African Republic / DR Congo / Tanzania / Mozambique / Eswatini

  10. Papua New Guinea to South Africa

    17 borders

    Papua New Guinea / Indonesia / Malaysia / Thailand / Laos / China / Afghanistan / Iran / Iraq / Jordan / Israel / Egypt / Sudan / Central African Republic / DR Congo / Angola / Namibia / South Africa

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