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Countries Furthest from the US's 48 Contiguous States

The 48 contiguous US states are all the country's states excluding Alaska and Hawaii, because they can only be reached from the other 48 by transiting Canada, or by sea. Which countries lie furthest from the contiguous United States?
We were going to call them the "Lower 48" but realised that those 48 are actually Upper, not Lower, relative to Hawaii
The number given is the closest distance between that country and the US
Excludes territories of the US
Quiz by TenThousand
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Last updated: February 22, 2024
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First submittedAugust 25, 2018
Times taken2,301
Average score70.0%
Rating4.81
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km
country
miles
14,273
Mauritius
8869
13,007
Madagascar
8082
12,941
Sri Lanka
8048
12,869
Maldives
7996
12,774
Singapore
7937
12,629
Swaziland
7848
12,590
Lesotho
7823
12,497
Comoros
7765
12,237
Timor-Leste
7604
12,164
Seychelles
7558
km
country
miles
11,948
South Africa
7424
11,861
Mozambique
7367
11,742
Brunei
7296
11,574
Zimbabwe
7192
11,536
Malawi
7168
11,432
Malaysia
7104
11,326
Cambodia
7037
11,286
Botswana
7013
11,166
Thailand
6939
11,050
Bangladesh
6866
+5
Level 76
Aug 25, 2018
There are some unexpected inclusions and omissions because the distances are measured across a globe, and many shortest distances actually pass through the Arctic. We confirm that the following countries all miss out, being closer to the US than the 20 answers above: Laos, Nepal, Bhutan, India, Pakistan, Afghanistan; Vietnam, Philippines, Palau, Indonesia; Oman, Yemen, Qatar, Saudi Arabia; Zambia, Burundi, Rwanda, Tanzania, Somalia, Kenya, Djibouti, Namibia and Uganda.
+3
Level 85
Aug 25, 2018
I found the lack of New Zealand in the list surprising.
+3
Level 76
Aug 25, 2018
It's 10,272 km / 6383 miles away.
+2
Level 75
Aug 26, 2018
Fun quiz. Singapore?
+2
Level 76
Aug 26, 2018
Yes! Quiz updated, thanks.
+5
Level 69
Aug 29, 2018
"Australia" is accepted as an alternate for Singapore
+1
Level 59
Oct 21, 2018
Make more quizzes like this!
+6
Level 89
Oct 21, 2018
East Timor, Singapore and Brunei, nestled inside countries not on the list, you sneaky little...

Even Cyprus wouldn't do a thing like that.

+1
Level 43
Jan 24, 2019
The thing is they were under Malaysia's threat

XD

+1
Level 67
Oct 21, 2018
Got Seychelles just before the buzzer
+1
Level 24
May 17, 2022
How is Lesotho not further away than South Africa? It is surrounded by South Africa on all sides.
+2
Level 81
Feb 22, 2024
It... is farther away than South Africa??

Lesotho: 12,590km / 7,823mi

As opposed to

South Africa:11,948km / 7,424mi

🤷‍♂️

+1
Level 48
Feb 29, 2024
Good quiz - i liked that it was only the contiguous 48 states. It made me think about the shape and curvature of the globe more. Had it been all 50 states, I would have done a lot more random guessing.