Landlocked Countries: The Full List and Why It Matters

Roughly one in five of the world's countries has no coastline at all. Being landlocked is more than a curiosity — economists estimate it can meaningfully reduce a country's trade and growth. Here is everything worth knowing.

What does landlocked mean?

A landlocked country is completely enclosed by land, with no direct access to an ocean or sea. Every import and export that travels by ship must first cross at least one neighbouring country, adding cost, time and political dependence.

How many landlocked countries are there?

There are 44 landlocked countries (plus several landlocked territories). They cluster in three belts:

• Europe: Switzerland, Austria, Czechia, Slovakia, Hungary, Serbia, North Macedonia, Kosovo, Moldova, Belarus, Luxembourg, Liechtenstein, Andorra, San Marino, Vatican City
• Africa: Mali, Niger, Chad, Burkina Faso, Central African Republic, South Sudan, Ethiopia, Uganda, Rwanda, Burundi, Zambia, Zimbabwe, Malawi, Botswana, Lesotho, Eswatini
• Asia: Kazakhstan, Uzbekistan, Turkmenistan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, Afghanistan, Nepal, Bhutan, Laos, Mongolia, Armenia, Azerbaijan
• South America has just two: Bolivia and Paraguay

The doubly landlocked club

Only two countries are doubly landlocked — surrounded entirely by countries that are themselves landlocked:

• Liechtenstein, wedged between Switzerland and Austria
• Uzbekistan, whose five neighbours all lack sea access

A ship container leaving Uzbekistan must cross at least two international borders before it can smell salt water.

Why being landlocked is expensive

Transport costs for landlocked developing countries are estimated to run 30–50% higher than for coastal neighbours. Goods must be trucked or railed across borders, cleared through extra customs, and loaded at someone else's port — on someone else's terms. When a neighbour closes a border, an entire economy can be held hostage.

The exceptions that prove the rule

Being landlocked is not destiny. Switzerland, Austria and Luxembourg rank among the richest countries on Earth. Their secret: stable institutions, high-value exports (services, precision goods) that travel by plane or wire rather than ship, and deep integration with wealthy neighbours. Botswana used diamond wealth and good governance to become one of Africa's success stories despite having no coast.

Curiosities for your next quiz

• Kazakhstan is the largest landlocked country — bigger than all of Western Europe.
• Ethiopia is the most populous landlocked country, with over 120 million people.
• Bolivia still maintains a navy — on Lake Titicaca — and celebrates a "Day of the Sea" mourning the coastline it lost to Chile in the 1880s.
• The Caspian Sea does not count as ocean access; it is the world's largest lake.

Spin the wheel a few times on our homepage — statistically, about one spin in six will land on a country with no coastline. See if you can spot it before reading the page.