I.

Introduction

Disputed Areas, territories over which two or more countries or groups of people claim sovereignty. Governments or people who have a stake in the disputes are usually very sensitive about how these regions are portrayed on maps.

This article is intended to be a reference guide to the disputed areas and borders shown on the maps in the Encarta Premium World Atlas. It is not a comprehensive listing of all territorial, border, or other geopolitical disputes between nations or peoples. In dealing with disputed areas, the cartographers have strived to find neutral ground and present opposing points of view where appropriate.

In the World Atlas, disputed borders appear as broken orange lines. Labels for some disputed areas include the word “(disputed)”.