A landlocked country is completely surrounded by land, with no direct access to the sea or ocean. There are 44 in the world — including two doubly landlocked countries (surrounded only by other landlocked countries).
Key facts
- 44 landlocked countries out of 195 (23% of world states)
- 2 doubly landlocked: Liechtenstein and Uzbekistan
- Largest landlocked: Kazakhstan (2.7M km²)
- Smallest landlocked: Vatican (~0.44 km²)
- Most landlocked continent: Africa (16 countries)
Challenges of landlocked countries
- Higher transport costs: goods must cross one or more transit countries
- Dependence on neighbours' infrastructure (ports, roads, railways)
- Diplomatic dependence on transit countries
Geographical curiosities
- Lesotho is the only country entirely enclosed within another country (South Africa)
- Vatican is the world's smallest landlocked (and smallest) state
- Ethiopia was coastal until 1993 (before Eritrea's independence)
- Bolivia lost its Pacific coast in the War of the Pacific (1879-1884)