International boundaries are the geographical borders of political or legal jurisdictions such as countries, customs territories and sovereign states. The process of the creation of a border is called boundary delimitation. Some international borders such as those within a free movement area like the European Union are thinly guarded or completely open.
Others such as the India-Pakistan border or the North Korea-South Korea border may be heavily patrolled with access controlled through designated crossings. International boundary lines are an important topic for the Geography Syllabus of the UPSC.
List of Important Boundary lines:- Download PDF Here
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Important International Borders
The following table lists the important international boundary lines for IAS Exam:
| Name of Lines/Boundaries | Between | Features/ Description |
| 17th Parallel | South Vietnam and North Vietnam | The 17th latitude from the equator divided erstwhile North and South Vietnam. |
| It was demarcated based on the 1954 Geneva Accords. | ||
| The 17th parallel became irrelevant after the unification of Vietnam in 1976. | ||
| 20th Parallel | Libya and Sudan | It is located at the 20th northern latitude which is used as the border between Sudan and Libya. |
| 22nd Parallel | Egypt and Sudan | The 22nd latitude north of the equator marks a major portion of the Sudan-Egypt border. |
| 25th Parallel | Mauritania and Mali | The northernmost section of the Mali-Mauritania border is marked using this line. |
| 31st Parallel | Iran and Iraq | The 31st northern latitude marks the border between Iraq and Iran. |
| It also demarcates the border between the US states of Louisiana and Mississippi. | ||
| 38th Parallel | South Korea and North Korea | The 38th parallel is used to demarcate the central part of the Demilitarized zone between North and South Korea. |
| 49th Parallel | The USA and Canada | It is located 49 degrees north of the equator. |
| Demarcated after the Anglo-American Convention of 1818 and the Oregon Treaty of 1846, it forms the international border between the northern USA (Excluding Alaska) and Canada. | ||
| Durand Line | Pakistan and Afghanistan | Delimited by Sir Mortimer Durand with the agreement of the erstwhile Amir of Afghanistan in 1893. |
| Present-day Afghanistan does not recognize the Durand line. | ||
| Hindenburg Line | Poland and Germany | It was a German Defensive line in French territory during World War I |
| It was rendered irrelevant by the treaty of Versailles in 1919. | ||
| McMahon Line | China and India | It was drawn by Sir Henry McMahon in consultation with Tibetan representatives in 1914. |
| China disputes the legal status of this line but it is the de facto border between India and China. | ||
| Maginot Line | Germany and France | It was a defensive line at the French border towards Germany before World War II. The Maginot line was rendered obsolete following the successful invasion of France by Germany following the outbreak of World War II |
| Mannerheim Line | Russia and Finland | Finland built this as a defensive line against the Soviet Union for the Winter War during World War II. |
| Oder-Neisse Line | Poland and Germany | It runs along the rivers Oder and Lusatian Neisse rivers. |
| It demarcates the Polish-German border according to the Potsdam Conference. It was recognized by a unified Germany in 1990. | ||
| Radcliffe Line | India and Pakistan | It was demarcated by Sir Cyril Radcliffe for the Partition of India and the formation of East and West Pakistan. |
| It includes present-day India, Bangladesh and Pakistan. | ||
| Siegfried Line | France and Germany | It was built as an extension of the Hindenburg defensive line on the western front of World War I by the Weimar Republic and later the Third Reich of Germany in the 1930s. |
| Blue Line | Lebanon and Israel | A border demarcation between Lebanon and Israel published by the United Nations on 7 June 2000 for the purposes of determining whether Israel had fully withdrawn from Lebanon. |
| Green Line / Attila Line / UN Buffer Zone | The Republic of Cyprus and Turkish Cyprus | A demilitarized zone, patrolled by the United Nations Peacekeeping Force in Cyprus (UNFICYP), that was established in 1964 and extended in 1974 after the ceasefire of 16 August 1974 |
The important international borders of the world are important for the UPSC exam and fall under static Gk categories. Knowing about the location of international boundaries is especially useful for answering map based questions in Geography. The Political Science and International Relations syllabus also covers some of the issues surrounding boundary delimitation and trade between countries.
You can check more articles related to various Static GK topics on the linked page.
Also, candidates are advised to go through the detailed UPSC CSE Syllabus for the upcoming civil services exam and accordingly start off with their preparation.
List of Important Boundary lines:- Download PDF Here
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| Government Exams | UPSC Syllabus |
| UPSC Books | IAS Topper |
| UPSC 2024 | Current Affairs |
| Important Books for Geography Optional | 100 difference between articles for revision |
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