Which Countries Are Landlocked?

What does “landlocked” mean?

“Landlocked” means a sovereign state has no coastline on the world ocean systems. A country can still border large lakes or even an inland sea and remain landlocked if those waters do not connect naturally to an ocean. This distinction matters because ocean access typically lowers transport costs and expands trade options. International bodies and encyclopedias standardly report 44 landlocked countries today (as of 2025), a figure that excludes partially recognized or de facto territories. Authoritative references—such as Encyclopaedia Britannica and current reference summaries—agree on this number and note two doubly landlocked cases.

Some countries complicate the picture. Moldova touches the Danube for less than 1 mile (under 2 kilometers) but has no direct sea coastline; several states border the Caspian Sea, which is hydrologically enclosed; and three countries are enclaves entirely inside a single neighbor. These edge cases are still considered landlocked under common definitions because none has a seacoast on an ocean.

Inland seas vs. true sea access

The Caspian Sea is the world’s largest inland water body. It is endorheic (water doesn’t reach the global oceans), so coastal states like Kazakhstan, Azerbaijan, and Turkmenistan are still counted as landlocked. By contrast, a navigable river that flows to the ocean does not by itself make a country “coastal” unless it also has an actual seacoast.

Where are landlocked countries located? (Global count and by-continent lists)

By the UN geoscheme, Africa has the most landlocked countries (16), followed by Europe (14), Asia (12), and South America (2). North America and Oceania have none. Below is the complete list grouped by continent. These are sovereign states widely treated as landlocked; de facto territories are discussed later.

Africa (16)

Botswana, Burkina Faso, Burundi, Central African Republic, Chad, Eswatini, Ethiopia, Lesotho, Malawi, Mali, Niger, Rwanda, South Sudan, Uganda, Zambia, Zimbabwe.

Asia (12)

Afghanistan, Armenia, Azerbaijan, Bhutan, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Laos, Mongolia, Nepal, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan, Uzbekistan.

Europe (14)

Andorra, Austria, Belarus, Czechia (Czech Republic), Hungary, Liechtenstein, Luxembourg, Moldova, North Macedonia, San Marino, Serbia, Slovakia, Switzerland, Vatican City.

South America (2)

Bolivia, Paraguay.

Why it matters: trade, law, and real-world workarounds

Being landlocked typically means higher logistics costs and longer routes to global markets. International law addresses this: under the UN Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS), Part X, landlocked states enjoy a right of access to and from the sea and freedom of transit through neighbors. These provisions encourage transit agreements and infrastructure that link inland producers with ports.

Two practical examples show how policy meets geography. First, more than 95% of Ethiopia’s trade by volume moves along the Addis Ababa–Djibouti corridor; current programs aim to upgrade road and rail to improve reliability and cut costs, underscoring how one corridor can serve a nation of over 120 million people (World Bank corridor update). Second, Paraguay and Bolivia use the 2,100-mile (≈3,400-kilometer) Paraguay–Paraná waterway to reach the Atlantic; for Paraguay, that river system carries nearly 80% of national trade (U.S. Department of Commerce overview).

Freedom of transit under UNCLOS

UNCLOS Article 125 affirms transit rights; related articles discourage undue delays and excessive charges. In practice, these norms are implemented via bilateral and regional deals, from duty exemptions to dedicated rail slots. Landlocked developing countries (LLDCs) also coordinate through UN processes to track progress and push for smoother border procedures.

Corridors, railways, and rivers

Corridors can be single points of failure, as seen when drought, floods, or port congestion disrupt a country’s only path to sea. That’s why many LLDCs pursue redundancy—secondary railheads, alternative ports, and special economic zones. In 2025, UN members adopted the Awaza Programme of Action (2024–2034) to accelerate digital customs, climate-resilient infrastructure, and cross-border cooperation for LLDCs, building on the Vienna Programme of Action (2014–2024).

Patterns & superlatives you’ll notice

Largest landlocked state. Kazakhstan dominates by area at 1,052,085 sq mi (2,724,900 km²) and even has a long shoreline—on the inland Caspian Sea. Smallest and most enclaved. Vatican City is just ~0.17 sq mi (0.44–0.49 km²) and, along with San Marino (both inside Italy) and Lesotho (inside South Africa), is wholly surrounded by a single country (enclaved).

Most populous. Ethiopia is the world’s most populous landlocked country. Doubly landlocked. Only Liechtenstein and Uzbekistan are surrounded entirely by other landlocked states, meaning at least two international borders must be crossed to reach an ocean port. Farthest from the sea. Kyrgyzstan sits farther from the ocean than any other single country—over ~1,600 miles (~2,600 kilometers) from the nearest coast.

Changing maps & common misconceptions

“Caspian coasts make a country coastal.” Not quite. The Caspian Sea is an endorheic basin with no natural outlet to the ocean, so its littoral states remain landlocked by ocean definitions. “Bosnia and Herzegovina is landlocked.” It is not; Bosnia has a short Adriatic coastline near Neum. “Rivers equal sea access.” Even navigable rivers like the Danube do not make a state coastal unless it also possesses a genuine seacoast.

“Counts vary because of politics.” The headline number—44—counts widely recognized sovereign states. Some de facto territories (e.g., Kosovo, Transnistria, South Ossetia) are landlocked, but treatment varies by source and recognition status. Recent political changes have also altered the status of disputed regions; encyclopedic sources track these updates and still report 44 landlocked countries in 2025.

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