View source for List of transcontinental countries

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[[File:transcontinental nations.svg|thumb|upright=1.8|A map of transcontinental countries, and countries that control territory in more than one continent.
{{legend|#0A1B8D|Contiguous transcontinental countries.}}
{{legend|#2741EF|Non-contiguous transcontinental countries.}}
{{legend|#99ddff|Countries whose transcontinental status depends on either the legal status of their [[Land claim|claims]] or the definition of continental boundaries used.}}]]
This is a list of countries located on  more than one [[continent]], known as '''transcontinental states''' or '''intercontinental states'''. While there are many countries with non-contiguous [[overseas territories]] fitting this definition, only a limited number of countries have territory straddling an overland [[continental boundary]], most commonly the line that separates [[Europe]] and [[Asia]].

The [[boundary between Europe and Asia]] is purely conventional, and several conventions remained in use well into the 20th century.  However, the now-prevalent convention, used for the purposes of this list, follows the [[Caucasus]] northern chain, the [[Ural River]] and the [[Ural Mountains]]. It has been in use by some cartographers since about 1850.<ref>The question was treated as a "controversy" in British geographical literature until at least the 1860s, with [[Douglas Freshfield]] advocating the Caucasus crest boundary as the "best possible", citing support from various  "modern geographers" ([https://books.google.com/books?id=ips8AAAAIAAJ&pg=PA71 Journey in the Caucasus], ''Proceedings of the Royal Geographical Society'', Volumes 13-14, 1869). In 1958, the Soviet Geographical Society formally recommended that the boundary between Europe and Asia be drawn in textbooks from [[Baydaratskaya Bay]], on the [[Kara Sea]], along the eastern foot of the Ural Mountains, then the [[Ural River]] to the [[Mugodzhar Hills]], the [[Emba River]], and the Kuma–Manych Depression (i.e. passing well north of the Caucasus); {{cite web|url=http://velikijporog.narod.ru/st_evraz_gran.htm |title=Do we live in Europe or in Asia? |language=Russian }}; {{cite web|url=http://www.i-u.ru/biblio/archive/orlenok_fisicheskaja/06.aspx |title=Physical Geography |year=1998 |author=Orlenok V. |language=Russian |deadurl=yes |archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20111016212930/http://www.i-u.ru/biblio/archive/orlenok_fisicheskaja/06.aspx |archivedate=2011-10-16 |df= }}.  Nevertheless, most Soviet-era geographers continued to favour the boundary along the Caucasus crest. (E. M. Moores, R. W. Fairbridge, ''Encyclopedia of European and Asian regional geology'', Springer, 1997, {{ISBN|978-0-412-74040-4}}, p. 34: "most Soviet geographers took the watershed of the Main Range of the Greater Caucasus as the boundary between Europe and Asia.")</ref> This convention results in several countries finding themselves almost entirely in "Asia", with a few small enclaves or districts technically in "Europe". Notwithstanding these anomalies, this list of transcontinental or intercontinental states respects the convention that Europe and Asia are full continents rather than subcontinents or component landmasses of the larger [[Eurasia]]n continent.{{Original research inline|date=May 2016}}

Listed further below, separately, are countries with distant non-contiguous parts (overseas territories) on separate continents.

== Contiguous boundary ==
=== Africa and Asia ===
[[File:TransAfrica.PNG|thumb|
{{legend|#FF0000|African land part of Egypt}}
{{legend|#FF8800|Asian land part of Egypt}}
{{legend|#C0C0C0|The rest of Africa}}
{{legend|#FFFF00|The rest of Asia}}]]

{{For|more details about the geographical border between Africa and Asia|boundaries between continents}}
The modern convention for the land boundary between [[Asia]] and [[Africa]] runs along the Isthmus of Suez and the [[Suez Canal]] in [[Egypt]]. The border continues through the [[Gulf of Suez]], [[Red Sea]] and [[Gulf of Aden]]. 
In antiquity, Egypt had been considered part of Asia, with the ''[[Catabathmus Magnus]]'' escarpment taken as the boundary with [[Ancient Libya|Africa (Libya)]].

*Two of 27 [[governorates of Egypt|governorates]] of [[Egypt]] lie entirely on the Asian [[Sinai Peninsula]] and two are transcontinental: [[Ismailia Governorate]] is nearly equally divided by the [[Suez Canal]], and [[Suez Governorate]], which is coterminous with the "transcontinental city" of [[Suez]], has a small portion east of the Canal.

* After the [[Yom Kippur War]] of October 1973, [[Israel]] briefly became a transcontinental country as it occupied territory on the African side of the Suez Canal, in addition to the entirety of Sinai. The land was returned in 1975 per the [[Sinai Interim Agreement]].

=== Asia and Europe ===
{{For|more details about the geographical border between Europe and Asia|Boundaries between the continents of Earth#Europe and Asia}}
{{See also|Copenhagen criteria#Geographic criteria|l1=Geographic criteria for EU membership}}
[[File:Historical Europe-Asia boundaries 1700 to 1900.png|thumb|upright|Conventions used for the [[Europe-Asia boundary|boundary between Europe and Asia]] during the 18th and 19th centuries. The red line shows the modern convention, in use since {{circa|1850}}.
{{legend|#fcf9ea|Europe}}
{{legend|#d2d0c5|Asia}}
{{legend|#edfb9d|historically placed in either continent}}]]
The conventional [[Europe-Asia boundary]] was subject to considerable variation during the 18th and 19th centuries, 
indicated anywhere between  the [[Don River (Russia)|Don River]] and the [[Caucasus]] to the south or the [[Ural Mountains]] to the east. Since the later 19th century, the Caucasus–Urals boundary has become almost universally accepted.
According to this now-standard convention, the boundary follows the [[Aegean Sea]], the [[Turkish Straits]], the [[Black Sea]], along the [[Drainage divide|watershed]] of the [[Greater Caucasus]], the northwestern portion of the [[Caspian Sea]] and along the [[Ural River]] and [[Ural Mountains]] to the [[Arctic Ocean]].<ref name="NatlGeoAtlas">{{Cite book|title=National Geographic Atlas of the World|edition=9th|year=2011|location=Washington, DC|publisher=[[National Geographic Society|National Geographic]]|isbn=978-1-4262-0634-4}} "Europe" (plate 59); "Asia" (plate 74): "A commonly accepted division between Asia and Europe ... is formed by the Ural Mountains, Ural River, Caspian Sea, Caucasus Mountains, and the Black Sea with its outlets, the Bosporus and Dardanelles."</ref><ref name="Factbook">{{Cite book|title=World Factbook | url=https://www.cia.gov/library/publications/the-world-factbook/geos/aj.html |location=Washington, DC|publisher=[[Central Intelligence Agency]]}}</ref> 

According to this convention, the [[Russian Federation]], the [[Republic of Turkey]], [[Kazakhstan]], [[Azerbaijan]] and [[Georgia (country)|Georgia]] have territory both in Europe and in Asia.

*The [[Russian Federation]] includes substantial territory in [[Northern Asia]], historically incorporated into the [[Tsardom of Russia]] in the 17th century. [[European Russia]] has a population of about 110 million, or some 75% of the country's total population, though more than 75% of Russia's territory is in Asia.
*The territory of the [[Republic of Turkey]] is predominantly in Asia, with [[European Turkey]] (East Thrace) accounting for about 11 million people, or some 14% of the country's population. The territory of Turkey is a remnant of that of the [[Ottoman Empire]], which had replaced the transcontinental [[Byzantine Empire]] with the [[Fall of Constantinople]] in 1453. The Turkish city [[Istanbul]] (ancient [[Constantinople]]) lies on both sides of the [[Bosporus]], making it a "transcontinental city". [[Çanakkale]] is also a Turkish city situated on two continents.{{fact|date=November 2018}}
*[[Kazakhstan]]'s  physical, cultural, and geographic characteristics are Central Asian,<ref>[[Encyclopædia Britannica]], [http://www.britannica.com/place/Kazakhstan Kazakhstan], Retrieved: 8 May 2016</ref> but its  [[West Kazakhstan Province|West Kazakhstan]] and [[Atyrau Province|Atyrau]] provinces extend on either side of the Ural River,<ref name="Factbook-Ural">{{Cite book | title=World Factbook | url=https://www.cia.gov/library/publications/the-world-factbook/geos/kz.html |location=Washington, D.C. |publisher=[[Central Intelligence Agency]]}} Kazakhstan: Geography</ref> placing a population of less than one million (out of 15 million) geographically in Europe.
*[[Azerbaijan]]'s [[Qusar District|Qusar]], [[Shabran District|Shabran]], [[Siazan District|Siazan]], [[Khachmaz District|Khachmaz]] and  [[Quba District (Azerbaijan)|Quba]] districts are north of the Greater Caucasus watershed and thus geographically in Europe, placing a population of about half a million (or ca. 5% of the country's total population) in Europe.
*[[Georgia (country)|Georgia]] is in [[Transcaucasia]], and thus geographically in Asia, except for a small area in the upper reaches of the [[Terek River]], corresponding to [[Kazbegi Municipality]] (population 3,800 as of 2014, ca. 0.1% of the country's population).

<!--completely unreferenced, with no transcontinental countries named, so not properly in the scope of this page
=== North and South America ===
{{Further|Borders of the continents#North and South America}}

The most common demarcation in atlases and other sources follows the [[Darién Gap|Darién Mountains]] watershed divide along the [[Colombia]]-[[Panama]] [[Colombia–Panama border|border]] where the [[Isthmus of Panama]] meets the South American continent.  This puts Panama entirely in North America and mainland Colombia entirely in South America.

===North America and Europe===
[[Iceland]] is on the fracture line splitting the Northern [[Atlantic Ocean]] between the North American plate and the Eurasian plate. Measuring to the North American island of Greenland, Iceland is much closer to North America than it is to Europe; however it is over twice as close to [[mainland]] Europe as to mainland North America. 
Using a [[plate tectonics]] definition, Iceland would qualify as a transcontinental country. However nobody uses such a definition, as "continents" do not 
equate to tectonic plates,  even though many of the plates are named for the continents that occupy them. 
-->

== Non-contiguous ==
=== Asia and Europe ===
{{For|more details about the geographical border between Europe and Asia|borders of the continents#Europe and Asia{{!}}borders of the continents}}
* Greece: The territory of [[Greece]] includes a number of islands just off the coast of Asia Minor, such as [[Rhodes]], [[Kos]], [[Samos]], [[Chios]], [[Lesbos]] and [[Kastellorizo]].

=== Europe and North America ===
* Greenland: [[Greenland]] is a country within the Kingdom of [[Denmark]], fully located on the [[North American tectonic plate]] and close to the mainland, and is considered to be geographically part of [[North America]]. Although it is politically associated with Europe and internationally represented by a European country (including in the Council of Europe), it is autonomous. Historically and ethnically, its native population is of American tradition, although it also shares cultural links with other native peoples bordering the [[Arctic Sea]] in Northern Europe and Asia (today in Norway, Sweden, Finland and Russia), as well as in North America (Alaska in the U.S., Northwest Territories and [[Nunavut]] in Canada). Greenland was part of Danish territory and within the territory of the European Union, but voted for more autonomy and is now excluded from Union.
* Portugal: [[Continental Portugal]] is in Europe, while the [[Azores]] archipelago (also associated with Europe) has two islands ([[Corvo Island|Corvo]] and [[Flores Island (Azores)|Flores]]) that are part of the North American plate. This might make Portugal a "'''tricontinental country'''" geologically (with [[Madeira]] on the [[African plate]]) except that continents, as already noted, are not defined by [[tectonic plates]].

=== Europe and South America ===
* The Netherlands: Though most of the [[Kingdom of the Netherlands]]' land-mass is in Europe, it also includes six island territories in the [[Lesser Antilles]] archipelago of the [[Caribbean Sea]]: the [[Dutch Caribbean]]. Since the [[Dissolution of the Netherlands Antilles|dissolution]] of the [[Netherlands Antilles|Dutch Antilles]] in 2010, the [[sovereign state|sovereign]] ''Kingdom'' of the Netherlands has been administratively divided into four non-sovereign constituent "countries": [[Aruba]], [[Curaçao]], [[Sint Maarten]] and [[Netherlands|The Netherlands]] — the last of which includes the islands of Bonaire, St. Eustatius and Saba (collectively known as the BES islands or the [[Caribbean Netherlands]]) in the [[Caribbean Sea|Caribbean]] area as "special municipalities", making it a non-sovereign transcontinental country ''within'' the kingdom.

=== Europe, North America, South America, Oceania, Africa and Antarctic===
* France: [[Metropolitan France]] is in Europe, while the five [[Overseas region|Overseas Departments]] and six [[Overseas Collectivity|Overseas Collectivities]] are in other continents. [[Guadeloupe]], [[Martinique]], [[Saint-Martin]], [[Saint-Barthélemy]], and [[Saint-Pierre and Miquelon]] are in North America, [[French Guiana]] is in South America, [[Mayotte]] and [[Réunion]] are in Africa, and [[New Caledonia]], [[French Polynesia]], and [[Wallis and Futuna]] are in [[Oceania]]. These Overseas Departments and Collectivities are integral parts of [[France]], as are the uninhabited [[Clipperton Island]] in North America and [[French Southern and Antarctic Lands]] which include Scattered Islands in Africa, St. Paul and Amsterdam islands on the Australian Plate, and Kerguelen Islands, Crozet Island and Adélie Land in Antarctic. French sovereignty on Adélie Land is under [[Antarctic Treaty System]] .

=== Africa and Europe ===
{{For|more details about the geographical border between Africa and Europe|borders of the continents#Africa and Europe{{!}}borders of the continents}}

* Italy: Italy has a number of small islands south of Sicily which, geographically can be considered part of the African continent, due to their proximity to Tunisia. The closest land to [[Pantelleria]] and the [[Pelagie Islands]] ([[Lampedusa]], [[Linosa]] and [[Lampione]]) is [[Tunisia]] on the African mainland. Nevertheless, Pantelleria and Linosa are considered part of Europe, Lampedusa and Lampione part of Africa.
* Portugal: [[Continental Portugal]] is in Europe, while the archipelago of [[Madeira]], an [[Autonomous regions of Portugal|autonomous region of Portugal]] (including [[Porto Santo Island]], the [[Desertas Islands]] and the [[Savage Islands]]), is associated with Africa. If we consider that the Azores [[Autonomous regions of Portugal|autonomous region of Portugal]] has two islands ([[Flores Island (Azores)|Flores]] and [[Corvo Island|Corvo]]) that are part of North American tectonic plate (see Europe and North America section above), Portugal would be a transcontinental country geologically except for the fact these plates are not defined as continents.
* Spain: Although its mainland is in Europe, [[Spain]] has territory including two provinces and two autonomous cities in Africa. Close to 5% of Spain's population live on the African continent. Territories include the [[Canary Islands]] in the Atlantic, the cities of [[Ceuta]] and [[Melilla]] on mainland North Africa and its ''[[Plazas de soberanía]]'' close to those cities) that are geographically part of Africa. The Canary Islands, Ceuta and Melilla are three of the 19 [[Autonomous communities of Spain|autonomous communities and cities]] that form Spain, while the ''Plazas de Soberanía'' are under different military status. The African Mediterranean island of [[Isla de Alborán]] belongs to the transcontinental city of [[Almería]] and the transcontinental [[Almería (province)|province of Almería]].

=== Asia and Africa ===
* Yemen: Although mainland [[Yemen]] is in the southern [[Arabian Peninsula]] and thus part of [[Asia]], and its [[Hanish Islands]] and [[Perim]] in the [[Red Sea]] are associated with Asia, Yemen's national territory extends to the [[archipelago]] of [[Socotra]], which lies east of the horn of [[Somalia]]<ref name=SocBrita>{{cite web|url=https://www.britannica.com/place/Socotra|title=Socotra|website=[[Britannica.com]]|date=6 May 2014|accessdate=5 February 2019|df=dmy}}</ref> and is much closer to Africa than to Asia.<ref name=WWF>{{cite web|url=https://www.worldwildlife.org/ecoregions/at1318|last1=Evans|first1=Mike|title=Islands east of the Horn of Africa and south of Yemen|website=[[World Wide Fund for Nature|WorldWildlife.org]]|accessdate=5 February 2019|df=dmy}}</ref>

=== Asia and Australasia ===
* [[Australia]]: The Commonwealth of Australia consists of its namesake continent and island possessions associated with Oceania, Asia, and [[Antarctica]]. Its Indian Ocean island possessions of [[Christmas Island]] and the [[Cocos (Keeling) Islands]] are associated with Asia. The majority of Australia's Asian island residents have Asian ancestry and are Muslim or Buddhist.
* The [[Malay Archipelago]] which lies on the border of [[Melanesia]] and  [[Southeast Asia]]. Depending on the interpretation of the border, the [[Philippines]], [[Malaysia]] and [[Indonesia]], and [[Papua New Guinea]] can be considered transcontinental countries and [[East Timor]], [[Brunei Darussalam|Brunei]] and [[Singapore]] can be on either side. [[Papua New Guinea]] anthropologically is a part of [[Melanesia]] and is sometimes included in the [[Malay Archipelago]]. It is an observer in [[ASEAN]] and has contemplated full membership.<ref name="gma">{{cite web | url=http://www.gmanetwork.com/news/story/154860/news/nation/papua-new-guinea-asks-rp-support-for-asean-membership-bid | title=Papua New Guinea asks RP support for Asean membership bid | publisher=GMA News | accessdate=15 July 2014}}</ref>

=== North America and Asia ===
* United States: While the territory of the [[United States]] lies overwhelmingly in North America, it includes the state of [[Hawaii]] in [[Oceania]] as well as [[Borders of the continents#Oceania|other Oceanian island possessions]] and [[Borders of the continents#Asia and North America|Alaskan islands on NE Asia's continental shelf]].

=== North and South America ===
* Aruba, Bonaire, Curaçao and Trinidad and Tobago: The sea islands division of [[South America]] and [[North America]] is complicated. All [[Caribbean]] islands are often labeled as North American, but the [[Kingdom of the Netherlands]] countries of [[Aruba]] and [[Curaçao]], and the Dutch special municipality of [[Bonaire]] lie on the [[continental shelf]] of South America, and can be considered South American as well. What complicates it even further is that the islands of [[Trinidad and Tobago]] lie on two continental shelves. The southern half of [[Trinidad]] lies in South America and the northern half of Trinidad, and [[Tobago]], lie on the Caribbean plate. All these islands have closer cultural ties with North America.
* Colombia: Mainland [[Colombia]] is in northwestern South America and [[Malpelo Island]] in the [[Pacific Ocean]] is also associated with South America, but the nation also controls the [[San Andrés and Providencia]] [[archipelago]], {{convert|640|km|mi}} WNW of Colombia's Caribbean coast, near the Caribbean coast of [[Nicaragua]]. This archipelago is coterminous with the department of the same name.
* Venezuela: Mainland [[Venezuela]] is in South America, but [[Isla Aves]] is geographically North American. Isla Aves is one of the [[federal dependencies of Venezuela]] under the administration of the [[Ministry of Popular Power for Interior, Justice and Peace]].

North American Caribbean islands belonging to South American countries:
{|
|-
|[[File:Sanandrescolombia.png|thumb|[[San Andrés and Providencia]]]]
|}

South American Caribbean islands:
{|
|-
|[[File:LocationAruba.png|thumb|[[Aruba]]]] || [[File:Curacao in its region.svg|thumb|[[Curaçao]]]]
|-
|[[File:Bonaire in its region.svg|thumb|[[Bonaire]]]] || [[File:LocationTrinidadAndTobago.png|thumb|[[Trinidad and Tobago]]]]
|}

=== Other examples ===
* [[Chile]] is mostly on the South American mainland and includes the [[Oceania|Oceanian]] islands of [[Easter Island]] and [[Sala y Gómez]] Island. They and the outlying South American [[Juan Fernández Islands]] and [[Desventuradas Islands]] are part of the [[Valparaíso Region]].
* The [[Danish Realm]] includes Denmark as well as the North American island of [[Greenland]] and the [[Faroe Islands]] associated with Europe. Greenland was integrated into the [[Danish Realm]] in 1953 and [[home rule]] was granted in 1979.
* The [[Kingdom of the Netherlands]] includes the constituent countries of [[Aruba]], [[Curaçao]], and [[Sint Maarten]]. In addition, after the split of the [[Netherlands Antilles]] the Caribbean islands of [[Bonaire]], [[Sint Eustatius]] and [[Saba]] became [[Caribbean Netherlands|special municipalities]] incorporated into the metropolitan [[Netherlands]].

=== Antarctica: claims ===
{{Main|Territorial claims in Antarctica}}
A number of nations claim ownership over portions of the continent of [[Antarctica]]. Some, including [[Argentina]] and [[Chile]], consider the Antarctic land they claim to be integral parts of their national territory. Some nations also have [[Borders of the continents#Antarctica|sub-Antarctic island possessions]] north of 60°S latitude and thus recognized by international law under the [[Antarctic Treaty System]], which holds in [[abeyance]] land claims south of 60°S latitude.

== See also ==
* [[Borders of the continents]]
* [[Dependent territory]]
* [[Historical powers]]
* [[List of sovereign states and dependent territories by continent|List of countries by continent]]
* [[List of transcontinental empires and countries in history]]
* [[Thalassocracy]]

== References ==
{{Reflist}}

== External links ==
* {{webarchive |date=2012-12-18 |url=https://archive.is/20121218031313/http://www.world-gazetteer.com/wg.php?x=1136330434&men=ipda&lng=en&des=gamelan&dat=200&srt=pnan&col=aohdqcfbeimg%23continents |title=Transcontinental states according to World Gazetteer}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:List Of Countries Spanning More Than One Continent}}
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[[Category:Lists of countries by geography|transcontinental]]