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LANDLOCKED COUNTRIES IN THE WORLD

30th July, 2021 Prelims

Introduction

  • A landlocked state or 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.
  • Only two, Bolivia and Paraguay in South America, lie outside Afro-Eurasia (the Old World).

AFRICA

  • Out of Africa’s 55 countries, 17 of them are landlocked:
  • Botswana, Burkina Faso, Burundi, Central African Republic, Chad, Ethiopia, Lesotho, Malawi, Mali, Niger, Rwanda, South Sudan, Swaziland, Uganda, Zambia, and Zimbabwe.
  • In other words, about a third of the continent is made up of countries that have no access to the ocean or sea.

 

ASIA

  • Asia has 12 landlocked countries: Afghanistan, Armenia, Azerbaijan, Bhutan, Laos, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Mongolia, Nepal, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan, and Uzbekistan.
  • Note that several of the countries in western Asia border the landlocked Caspian Sea, a feature that does open some transit and trade opportunities.

EUROPE

  • Europe has 15 landlocked countries: Andorra, Austria, Belarus, Czech Republic, Hungary, Liechtenstein, Luxembourg, Macedonia, Moldova, San Marino, Serbia, Slovakia, Switzerland, and Vatican City.

SOUTH AMERICA

  • In South America there are two countries that are landlocked: Bolivia and and Paraguay.

 

Note: North America has no landlocked countries, and Australia is rather obviously not landlocked.

Kazakhstan is the largest landlocked country of world. It has total area of 2,724,900 Sq Km. It is surrounded by 5 different neighbouring countries. These are – China, Kyrgyzstan, Russia, Turkmenistan and Uzbekistan.

The smallest landlocked country of world is Vatican City which has area of 0.44 Sq Km and it is totally bordered by Italy.

List showing surrounding countries

Country or Territory

Surrounding countries

Number of Surrounding Countries

Afghanistan

Iran, Turkmenistan, Uzbekistan, Tajikistan, China, Pakistan

6

Andorra

France, Spain

2

Armenia

Iran, Turkey, Georgia, Azerbaijan

4

Austria

Germany, Czech Republic, Slovakia, Hungary, Slovenia, Italy, Liechtenstein, Switzerland

8

Azerbaijan

Russia, Georgia, Armenia, Iran, Turkey

4

Belarus

Poland, Lithuania, Russia, Ukraine, Latvia

5

Bhutan

India, China

2

Bolivia

Peru, Brazil, Chile, Argentina, Paraguay

5

Botswana

Namibia, Zambia, Zimbabwe, South Africa

4

Burkina Faso

Mali, Niger, Benin, Togo, Ghana, Ivory Coast

6

Burundi

Rwanda, Tanzania, Democratic Republic of the Congo

3

Central African Republic

Chad, Cameroon, Congo, Democratic Republic of the Congo, Sudan, South Sudan

6

Chad

Libya, Niger, Sudan, Central African Republic, Nigeria, Cameroon

6

Czech Republic

Austria, Germany, Poland, Slovakia

4

Ethiopia

Djibouti, Eritrea, Kenya, Somalia, South Sudan, Sudan

6

Hungary

Austria, Croatia, Romania, Serbia, Slovakia, Slovenia, Ukraine

7

Kazakhstan

China, Kyrgyzstan, Russia, Turkmenistan, Uzbekistan

5

Kosovo

Albania, Macedonia, Montenegro, Serbia

4

Kyrgyzstan

China, Kazakhstan, Tajikistan, Uzbekistan

4

Laos

Myanmar, China, Vietnam, Cambodia, Thailand

5

Lesotho

South Africa

1

Liechtenstein

Switzerland, Austria

2

Luxembourg

Belgium, Germany, France

3

Macedonia (F.Y.R.O.M.)

Kosovo, Serbia, Bulgaria, Greece, Albania

5

Malawi

Zambia, Tanzania, Mozambique

3

Mali

Algeria, Niger, Burkina Faso, Ivory Coast, Guinea, Senegal, Mauritania

7

Moldova

Romania, Ukraine

2

Mongolia

China, Russia

2

Artsakh

Armenia, Azerbaijan, Iran

3

Nepal

China, India

2

Niger

Libya, Chad, Nigeria, Benin, Burkina Faso, Mali, Algeria

7

Paraguay

Argentina, Brazil, Bolivia

3

Rwanda

Uganda, Tanzania, Burundi, Democratic Republic of the Congo

4

San Marino

Italy

1

Serbia

Hungary, Romania, Bulgaria, Macedonia, Croatia, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Montenegro, Albania(viaKosovo and Metohija[c])

8

Slovakia

Austria, Czech Republic, Poland, Ukraine, Hungary

5

South Ossetia

Georgia, Russia

2

South Sudan

Sudan, Ethiopia, Kenya, Uganda, Democratic Republic of the Congo, Central African Republic

6

Swaziland

Mozambique, South Africa

2

Switzerland

France, Germany, Liechtenstein, Austria, Italy

5

Tajikistan

Afghanistan, Uzbekistan, Kyrgyzstan, China

4

Transnistria

Moldova, Ukraine

2

Turkmenistan

Kazakhstan, Uzbekistan, Afghanistan, Iran

4

Uganda

Kenya, South Sudan, Democratic Republic of the Congo, Rwanda, Tanzania

5

Uzbekistan

Kazakhstan, Tajikistan, Kyrgyzstan, Afghanistan, Turkmenistan

5

Vatican City

Italy

1

West Bank

Israel, Jordan

2

Zambia

Democratic Republic of the Congo, Tanzania, Malawi, Mozambique, Zimbabwe, Botswana, Namibia, Angola

8

Zimbabwe

South Africa, Botswana, Zambia, Mozambique

4