En– and Exclaves
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Jan S. Krogh's Geosite: Enclaves and Exclaves

Since my childhood I have been interested in international politics and geography. For many years I have also studied enclave and exclave topics. They are usually small land areas outside their home countries, totally surrounded by the neighbouring country. (As enclaves are not counted territories of embassies, foreign  military forces etc.) 

In Europe there are several enclaves. At earlier times they were many, but most disappeared after amicable settlements between the countries involved. Lithuania had e.g. from the beginning of the 1990s until 1996 one exclave, Pagiriai, inside Byelorussia. It disappeared during the demarcation between the two countries and was the shortest ever known existing enclave. Another exclave which has disappeared is Barak in Kyrgyzstan. To live inside an enclave is usually combined with several practical inconveniences, e.g. one often need double set of telephone lines and currencies and has everyday to maintain contact with the authorities both countries. At the same time most inhabitants proudly express their area's peculiarity and history.

In these pages you may find a list of all TRUE ENCLAVES (type 2.1) (see below under "Categories"), which are both enclaves and exclaves that I know of, arranged alphabetically according to the part of world and country to which they are politically attached.

Under «Other» I have listed a small number of today's areas of other types.

List of International Enclaves and Exclaves – True Enclaves

Africa
Name of enclave/exclave (area) Home country No. of 
enclaves

No. of 
counter-
enclaves

No. of
counter-
counter
enclaves

Area 
(km˛)
Pop. Distance 
to home country
Status Surrounded 
by country
Chisumulu Island Malawi 1 101.4 4000 ~ 7.6 km N Mozambique
Likoma Island Malawi 1 130.0 9000 ~ 21.8 km N Mozambique
Total Africa 2 0 0 231.4 13,000

Asia
Name of enclave/exclave
(area)
Home country No. of 
enclaves

No. of 
counter-
enclaves

No. of
counter-
counter
enclaves

Area (km˛) Pop. Distance 
to home country
Status Surrounded 
by country or territory
Artchvašen (Bashkend) Armenia 1 ca 40 3.3 km X Azerbaijan
Barkhudali Azerbaijan 1 ca 22 730 m X Armenia
Cooch Behar enclaves Bangladesh 71 21 69.695 ca 40,000 N India
Cooch Behar enclaves India 102 3 1 49.728 ca 35,000 N Bangladesh
Dhekelia Power Station Cyprus 1 ~ 0.161 0 3617 m N British Sovereign Base Area of Dhekelia
EAC Refugee Settlement Cyprus 1 ~ 0.28 700 3613 m N British Sovereign Base Area of Dhekelia
Dzhangail Uzbekistan 1 ~ 760 m ? Kyrgyzstan
Jaradollo Azerbaijan 2 ~ 0.16 0 50 m, 200 m X Armenia
Kairagach Tajikistan 1 ~ 0.88 0 2.36 km N Kyrgyzstan
Kalacha Uzbekistan 1 ca 3 ca 1000 ca 2,3 km N Uzbekistan
Kiarki (Tigranashen) Azerbaijan 1 ca 10 3850 m X Armenia
Madha Oman 1 ca 75 2260 ca 30 km N United Arab Emirates
Mount Scopus Israel 1 Y Palestine
Nahwa United Arab Emirates 0 1 ca 3 km N Oman
Ormidhia Cyprus 1 1.694 5000 3983 m N British Sovereign Base Area of Dhekelia
Sarvan Tajikistan 1 ca 11 ca 1000 ca 700 m N Uzbekistan
Shah-i-Mardan Uzbekistan 1 ~ 38.2 5100 ca 14,8 km N Kyrgyzstan
Sokh Uzbekistan 1 ~ 228.8 42,800 4364 m N Kyrgyzstan
Vorukh Tajikistan 1 ~ 96.7 25,000 ca 5,3 km N Kyrgyzstan
Xylotymbou Cyprus 1 0.947 3593 2114 m N British Sovereign Base Area of Dhekelia
Yukhari Askipara 
(Upper Askipara)
Azerbaijan 1 1300 m X Armenia
Total Asia 192 25 1

Europe

Name of 
enclave/exclave
(area)
Home country No. of 
enclaves

No. of 
counter-
enclaves

No. of
counter-
counter
enclaves

Area (km˛) Pop. Distance 
to home country
Status Surrounded by country
Baarle-Hertog Belgium 22 2.345 2200 39 – 3923 m N The Netherlands
Baarle-Nassau The Netherlands 1 7 0.151 130 27 – 258 m N Belgium
Brezovica Croatia 1 0.03 ca 10 100 m N Slovenia
Büsingen Germany 1 7.6 1500 689 m N Switzerland
Campione 
d'Italia
Italy 1 1.6 2300 720 m N Switzerland
Jungholz Austria 1 7.0 309 0 N Germany
Llivia Spain 1 12.84 1200 1644 m N France
Međurječje Bosnia and Herzegovina 1 ~ 3.958 270 1130 m N Serbia
Sankovo-
Medvezhe
Russia 1 4.54 0 570 m N Belarus
Vennbahn Germany 5 ~ 24.876 3400 12 – 29 m N Belgium
Total Europe 35 7 0 64.94 11,319

South America
Name of enclave/exclave
(area)
Home country No. of 
enclaves

No. of 
counter-
enclaves

No. of
counter-
counter
enclaves

Area (km˛) Pop. Distance 
to home country
Status Surrounded 
by country
Filomena Islands Uruguay 5 0 N Argentina
Isla Apipé Argentina 4 ~ 320.0 2000 1.1 – 2.0 km N Paraguay
Isla Entre Rios Argentina 1 ca 36 0 1.3 km N Paraguay
Isla Martin Garcia Argentina 1 ca 2.0 200 ca 900 m N Uruguay
Total South America 11 0 0 2200
TOTAL WORLD 240 32 1 GRAND TOTAL: 
273 ENCLAVES

Footnotes
Distance It is measured shortest air distance from the exclave to its mainland (or fragment of mainland) or its territorial waters.
Status N = De jure and de facto enclave(s)/exclave(s). 
X = De jure exclave(s), but is/are occupied by the surrounding country.
Y = De jure exclave(s), but surrounding area is occupied by the principal part of the state.


Categories

According to Evgeny Vinokurov's Principal Typology of Enclaves and Exclaves the True Enclaves are those International Enclaves which also are international exclaves and at the same time completely isolated from international sea.

International Enclaves and Exclaves Definitions

 

Type 1.1  Enclaved States. This term refers to the classic form of a sovereign enclave state in international law, which represents a state entirely enclosed within another state.
Examples: Lesotho, San Marino and Vatican State.
Type 1.2 Semi-enclaved States. This term describes a sovereign state surrounded by another state on land but in possession of a coast.
Examples: Bangladesh, Gambia and Monaco.
Type 2.1  True Enclaves (non-sovereign enclaves/exclaves). A true enclave is a territory separated from the principal part of the state by the territory of another state or states. 
Examples: (See above.)
Type 2.2  Coastal Enclaves (a.k.a. fragments). A semi-enclave is a part of a state enclosed within the land territory of another state, yet in possession of a sea border (that is, not fully surrounded). Enclaves of this type are also called ‘coastal enclaves’. Both terms distinguish them from true enclaves as possessing the availability of sea access.
Examples: Ceuta (Spain), Melilla (Spain) and Oecusse (East Timor).
Type 2.3  Mere Exclaves (a.k.a. fragments). A mere exclave is a non-sovereign region separated from the mainland and surrounded by more than one state (that is, an entity of this type is not an enclave).
Examples: Cabinda (Angola) and Kaliningrad (Russia).
Type 2.4 Pene-Enclaves. A pene-enclave is an area that is for practical purposes an enclave, but does not meet the strict definition: an area that is not completely surrounded by another, but can only in practice be reached by passing through another area. For instance, a region of a country that is not connected by road to the main part of the country without passing through another country.
Examples: Dubki (Russia) and Point Roberts (USA).

True Enclaves Sub-groups

Type 2.1A

True Dry Enclaves. A True Enclave which is completely surrounded by land territory of a neighbouring state.

Type 2.1A1

True Dry Single-Point Enclaves. A True Enclave which is completely surrounded by land territory of a neighbouring state, but which still is connected to its principal part of the state by one single point.

Type 2.1A2

True Dry Twin Enclaves. A True Dry Enclave which is connected to another True Dry Enclave only by a single geographical point.

Type 2.1B True River and Island Enclaves. A True Enclave which is completely surrounded by water territory of a neighbouring state.

Type 2.1B1

True River Enclaves. A True Enclave, yet in possession of a river border.

Type 2.1B2 True River Enclaves Without Their Own Waters. A True Dry Enclave surrounded by foreign territorial waters.

Type 2.1B3

True Island Enclaves. A True Enclave completely surrounded by own territorial waters and which is completely surrounded by inland lake territory of the neighbouring state.

Type 2.1B4

True Island Enclaves Without Their Own Waters. A True Dry Enclave surrounded by foreign inland lake territory.

Type 2.1B5

True Sea Enclaves. A True Enclave completely surrounded by own territorial waters and which is completely surrounded by the territorial waters of the neighbouring state.

Type 2.1B6

True Sea Enclaves Without Their Own Waters. A True Enclave without own territorial waters and which is surrounded by foreign territorial waters.

Definitions

Base Area: Sovereign military territory belonging to a country which only creates jurisdictional, not territorial enclaves (see below).
Fragment:
An incomplete or isolated portion of land belonging to a country situated with a territorial boundary to a neighbouring politically alien territory. As a fragment can not be counted an exclave or a territory under the jurisdiction of a state of which it does not form an integral part (a colony, dependency (e.g. British Overseas Territories), crown land, biland, base area or embassy territory). The government of the state decides if the territory is an integral part of the state or not.
Sea; i.e. International Waters: A country's custom zone, fishery zone, economical zone and other zones which are not a part of its territorial waters.
No Man's Land: A territory which does not belong to any government.

This page was last time updated 13/04/14 .