List of LandLocked Countries

• landlocked country is a sovereign state entirely enclosed by land, or whose only coastlines lie on closed seas. There are currently 49 such countries, including five partially recognised states.

Disadvantages of a Landlocked Country

Landlocked Countries has several disadvantages. They are

• It cuts a nation off from important sea resources such as fishing
• Prevents direct access to seaborne trade, a crucial component of economic and social advance.
• Landlocked developing countries have significantly higher costs of international cargo transportation compared to coastal developing countries.

Paul Collier in his book The Bottom Billion argues that being landlocked in a poor geographic neighborhood is one of four major development “traps” by which a country can be held back. He states, “If you are coastal, you serve the world; if you are landlocked, you serve your neighbors.”

What is a Double Landlocked Country?

A country is “doubly landlocked” or “double-landlocked” when it is surrounded entirely by one or more landlocked countries (requiring the crossing of at least two national borders to reach a coastline).

• Liechtenstein in Central Europe, surrounded by Switzerland and Austria.
• Uzbekistan in Central Asia, surrounded by Afghanistan, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, and Turkmenistan.

Country	Location
Afghanistan	Central Asia
Andorra	Europe
Armenia	Caucasia*
Austria	Central Europe
Azerbaijan	Caucasia
Belarus	Europe
Bhutan	Asia
Bolivia	South America
Botswana	Southern Africa
Burkina Faso	Central Africa
Burundi	Central Africa
Central African Republic	Central Africa
Chad	Central Africa
Czech Republic	Central Europe
Ethiopia	Central Africa
Hungary	Central Europe
Kazakhstan	Central Asia
Kosovo	Central Europe
Kyrgyzstan	Central Asia
Laos	Asia
Lesotho	Africa
Liechtenstein	Central Europe
Luxembourg	Europe
Macedonia	Central Europe
Malawi	Southern Africa
Mali	Central Africa
Moldova	Eastern Europe
Mongolia	Africa
Nagorno-Karabakh	Caucasia
Nepal	Asia
Niger	Central Africa
Paraguay	South America
Rwanda	Central Africa
San Marino	Europe
Serbia	Central Europe
Slovakia	Central Europe
South Ossetia	Europe
South Sudan	Central Africa
Swaziland	Europe
Switzerland	Central Europe
Tajikistan	Central Asia
Transnistria	Eastern Europe
Turkmenistan	Central Asia
Uganda	Central Africa
Uzbekistan	Central Asia
Vatican City	Europe
Zambia	Southern Africa
Zimbabwe	Southern Africa

Facts about Landlocked Countries in the World

• The largest landlocked country is Kazakhstan in Central Asia with a land area of over 2.7 million kilometers.
• The smallest landlocked country is the city-state of Vatican City with an area of just 44 hectares (109 acres).
•  Only two countries – Bolivia and Paraguay in South America, lie outside Afro-Eurasia (the Old World).
• Countries that are landlocked by a single country are known as enclave countries.

Largest Landlocked Countries by Area

Kazakhstan
Area: 2,724,900 square kilometers
Population: 17,948,816
Capital: Astana, Nur-Sultan .

Russia, China, Kyrgyzstan, Uzbekistan, and Turkmenistan are neighbors to Kazakhstan. The Caspian Sea borders the country on its west. Looking at it, in a map, gives a feel as if Kazakhstan is trying to eat away the Caspian Sea.

Mongolia
Area: 1,566,000 square kilometers
Population: 2,953,190
Capital: Ulan Bator
To its north lies Russia, and China surrounds it on the other three sides.

Chad
Area: 1,284,000 square kilometers
Population: 11,412,107
Capital: N'Djamena
Beginning from the north, Chad is surrounded by Libya, Egypt, Sudan, South Sudan, Central African Republic, Cameroon, Nigeria, and Niger.

Niger
Area: 1,267,000 square kilometers
Population: 17,466,172
Capital: Niamey
Niger has Chad on its east, Mali on its west, Burkina Faso at the southeastern end, Benin and Nigeria to the south, and Algeria and Libya on the north side, as its neighbors.

Mali
Area: 1,240,192 square kilometers
Population: 16,455,903
Capital: Bamako
Mali is landlocked by Mauritania on the west, Algeria on the north, Niger on the east, Burkina Faso, Ivory Coast, Guinea, and Senegal on the south.

Ethiopia
Area: 1,104,300 square kilometers
Population: 96,633,458
Capital: Addis Ababa
Ethiopia got landlocked entirely after Eritrea's independence. It is surrounded by Djibouti, Somaliland, Somalia, Kenya, South Sudan, and Sudan.

Bolivia
Area: 1,098,581 square kilometers
Population: 10,631,486
Capital: Sucre
Bolivia is landlocked by Chile and Peru on the west, and with Brazil, Paraguay, and Argentina as its neighbors on the eastern and southern fronts.

Zambia
Area: 752,618 square kilometers
Population: 14,638,505
Capital: Lusaka
Surrounded by the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Tanzania, Malawi, Mozambique, Zimbabwe, Botswana, Namibia, and Angola, Zambia is a landlocked country located in southern Africa.

Afghanistan
Area: 652,864 square kilometers
Population: 31,822,848
Capital: Kabul
Afghanistan is kept away from the Arabian Sea by Pakistan on its south. It shares its borders with Iran, Turkmenistan, Uzbekistan, Tajikistan, and China too.

Central African Republic
Area: 622,984 km square kilometers
Population: 5,277,959
Capital: Bangui
Located at the heart of the African continent, it is landlocked by Cameroon and the Republic of the Congo on the western and eastern fronts. Other neighboring countries include Chad, Sudan, South Sudan, and Democratic Republic of the Congo.