Of the 195 countries on our list, some have no coast at all. Getting goods in and out of them means crossing a neighbor.
Key idea
A landlocked country has no coast on the open ocean. There are 44 on our list: 16 in Africa, 14 in Europe, 12 in Asia and 2 in South America (Bolivia and Paraguay). Kazakhstan is the largest.
Why it works
A coast lets a country trade by ship, the cheapest way to move heavy goods across the world. A landlocked country must send its goods by road, rail or river through other countries to reach a port, so trade usually costs more. Many landlocked countries sign agreements with neighbors for the use of their ports. The Caspian Sea does not count as a coast: it is a lake, and no ship can sail from it to the ocean.
Worked example: Landlocked or not?
Kazakhstan has a long shore on the Caspian Sea. Is it landlocked?
- The Caspian Sea is a lake: land surrounds it.
- No route by sea leads from it to the open ocean.
Answer: Yes. Kazakhstan is landlocked, and it is the largest landlocked country.
Worked example: Doubly landlocked
Liechtenstein is surrounded by Switzerland and Austria. Uzbekistan is surrounded by Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, Afghanistan and Turkmenistan. What is special about them?
- Every neighbor of each one is also landlocked.
- To reach the sea, you must cross at least two countries.
Answer: They are the world's only two doubly landlocked countries.
Common mistake
Counting a country on an inland sea, such as the Caspian, as coastal. Azerbaijan, Kazakhstan and Turkmenistan all touch the Caspian, and all three are landlocked. Another mix-up: Uruguay and Paraguay. Uruguay has an Atlantic coast; Paraguay is landlocked.