These Strange Borders Will Make You Question Everything You Thought You Knew About Geography

9. Bangladesh and India

Border: Cooch-Behar enclaves Area: Unknown Est. Gross Domestic Product: $3.73 trillion (India) / $1.131 trillion (Bangladesh)*

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Reminiscent of a geographical inception, the India-Bangladesh boundary in the Cooch-Behar district offered one of the trickiest border riddles in the world: a maze of enclaves inside enclaves. This complex configuration had independent areas of Bangladeshi territory enclosing sovereign pockets of India and vice versa, as well as a third-layer enclave, which is uncommon in international borders. Bangladesh and India @thedailystar/Pinterest Due to the confusing arrangements created by past treaties and the capriciousness of the local kings, the inhabitants' lives were made more difficult in terms of nationality, service accessibility, and legal jurisdiction. Decades of geopolitical difficulty were resolved when the 2015 Land Boundary Agreement between Bangladesh and India exchanged most of these enclaves, greatly simplifying this puzzle.