Africa’s Land and Maritime Boundaries: Ongoing Disputes and History
Africa’s Land and Maritime Boundaries
Why Africa’s Borders Are So Disputed
Africa, the world’s second-largest continent, straddles the equator and has 54 sovereign states. Yet the creation and maintenance of clear national boundaries — on land and at sea — has rarely been straightforward. Many borders were drawn during the colonial era with little concern for cultural, ethnic, or geographic realities. Today, when resources, safety, or national revenue are at stake, unclear boundaries often spark disputes.
Land Boundaries
Boundary stones or monuments physically mark where one country ends and another begins. However, some nations accuse neighbors of shifting or destroying markers. Others face porous borders that allow refugee flows, migration, and smuggling. For example, Liberia and Ghana have special land commissions to review claims, while other countries rely on old colonial surveys that no longer reflect reality.
Maritime Boundaries
African maritime boundaries define exclusive rights over oil, gas, fishing, and seabed minerals. Normally measured from the coastline, these lines influence both security and economic development. Lakes and rivers, however, are often treated as part of land boundaries and can still cause conflict — such as disputes over Lake Malawi / Lake Nyasa.
Current African Land and Maritime Boundary Disputes
| African Country | Key Disputes |
|---|---|
| Algeria | Rejects Morocco’s claim over Western Sahara; supports the Sahrawi Arab Democratic Republic; border with Morocco remains closed. |
| Angola | Accused by the Democratic Republic of Congo of shifting boundary monuments. |
| Benin | Border dispute with Burkina Faso near Koualou. |
| Burkina Faso | Boundary alignment issues with Mali, Niger, and Benin; some cases referred to the International Court of Justice. |
| Côte d’Ivoire | Lost a long maritime boundary case against Ghana in 2017 over 9,000 square nautical miles of offshore oil-rich waters. |
| Egypt & Sudan | Dispute over Hala’ib Triangle and Bir Tawil; overlapping claims affect oil and mineral rights. |
| Ghana | Won a 2017 maritime case against Côte d’Ivoire, confirming boundaries critical for offshore drilling. |
| Kenya | Unclear border in the Ilemi Triangle with South Sudan; large refugee flows strain resources. |
| Malawi & Tanzania | Dispute over Lake Malawi / Lake Nyasa intensified after oil exploration licenses were issued. |
| Morocco | Controls Western Sahara despite UN decolonization debates; disputes with Spain over Ceuta, Melilla, and nearby islands. |
| Nigeria & Cameroon | Long-running Bakassi Peninsula maritime dispute resolved by ICJ but still sensitive locally. |
| South Sudan & Sudan | Frequent clashes along oil-rich borders; Abyei’s final status remains unresolved. |
| Zambia & DRC | Contests over small riverine zones and mineral-rich borderlands continue. |
This list is a snapshot; border issues evolve as treaties, court rulings, and natural resource discoveries change the stakes.
