Landlocked country

Alandlocked countryis acountrythat does not have any territory connected to anoceanor whose coastlines lie solely onendorheic basins. Currently, there are 44 landlocked countries, two of themdoubly landlocked(LiechtensteinandUzbekistan), and three landlockedde facto statesin the world.Kazakhstanis the world's largest landlocked country,Kyrgyzstanis the furthest landlocked country from any ocean, whileEthiopiais the world's most populous landlocked country.
Generally, being landlocked creates political and economic disadvantages that having access tointernational waterswould avoid. For this reason, nations large and small throughout history have fought to gain access to open waters, even at great expense in wealth, bloodshed, andpolitical capital.
The economic disadvantages of being landlocked can be alleviated or aggravated depending on degree of development, surroundingtrade routesandfreedom of trade, commonality of language, and other considerations. Some landlocked countries inEuropeare affluent, such asAndorra,Austria,Liechtenstein,Luxembourg,San Marino,Switzerland, andVatican City, all of which, excluding Luxembourg (a founding member ofNATO), frequently employneutralityin global political issues.
However, 32 out of the 45 landlocked countries, including those inAfrica,Asia, andSouth America, have been classified asLandlocked Developing Countries(LLDCs) by theUnited Nations.Nine of the twelve countries with the lowestHuman Development Indexrankings are landlocked.International initiatives are aimed at reducing inequalities resulting from issues such as these, such as the United NationsSustainable Development Goal 10, which aims to reduce inequality substantially by 2030.
In 1990, there were only 30 landlocked countries in the world. However, thedissolutionsof theSoviet UnionandCzechoslovakia; thebreakup of Yugoslavia; theindependence referendumsofSouth Ossetia(de facto state),Eritrea,Montenegro,South Sudan, and theLuhansk People's Republic(de facto state); and theunilateral declaration of independenceofKosovo(de facto state) created 15 new landlocked countries and five landlocked de facto states while the former landlocked country ofCzechoslovakiaceased to exist on 1 January 1993.
On 30 September 2022, theLuhansk People's Republic(de facto state) wasannexed by Russiaand ceased to exist as a landlocked de facto state.
On 19 September 2023,Azerbaijanlaunched a new offensive against theRepublic of Artsakh(de facto state) and achieved a decisive victory.TheGovernment of Artsakhwas officially dissolved on 1 January 2024. As a result, Artsakh ceased to exist as a landlocked de facto state and theNagorno-Karabakhregion was reintegrated into Azerbaijan.
As of 1 April 2024, there were 44 landlocked countries and three landlockedde facto states(Kosovo,South Ossetia, andTransnistria) in the world.
Historically, being landlocked has been disadvantageous to a country's development. It cuts a nation off from important sea resources such asfishing, and impedes or prevents direct access tomaritime trade, a crucial component of economic and social advance. As such, coastal regions, or inland regions that have access to the World Ocean, tended to be wealthier and more heavily populated than inland regions that have no access to the World Ocean.Paul Collierin his bookThe Bottom Billionargues that being landlocked in a poor geographical neighbourhood is one of four major development "traps" by which a country can be held back. In general, he found that when a neighbouring country experiences better growth, it tends to spill over into favorable development for the country itself. For landlocked countries, the effect is particularly strong, as they are limited in their trading activity with the rest of the world. He states, "If you are coastal, you serve the world; if you are landlocked, you serve your neighbors."Others have argued that being landlocked has an advantage as it creates a "natural tariff barrier" that protects the country from cheap imports. In some instances, this has led to more robust local food systems.
Landlockeddeveloping countrieshave significantly higher costs of international cargo transportation compared to coastal developing countries (in Asia the ratio is 3:1).
Historically, traveling between a landlocked country and a country which did not border said country required the traveler to pass border controls twice or more. In recent times the advent ofair travelhas largely negated this impediment.
Countries have acted to overcome being landlocked by acquiring land that reaches the sea:
Countries can make agreements on getting free transport of goods through neighbouring countries:
Losing access to the sea is generally a great loss to a nation, politically, militarily, and economically. The following are examples of countries becoming landlocked.
TheUnited Nations Convention on the Law of the Seanow gives a landlocked country a right of access to and from the sea without taxation of traffic through transit states. TheUnited Nationshas a programme of action to assist landlocked developing countries,and the current responsible Undersecretary-General isAnwarul Karim Chowdhury.
Some countries have a long coastline, but much of it may not be readily usable for trade and commerce. For instance, in its early history,Russia's only ports were on theArctic Oceanand frozen shut for much of the year. The wish to gain control of awarm-water portwas a major motivator of Russian expansion towards theBaltic Sea,Black Sea, andPacific Ocean. On the other hand, some landlocked countries can have access to the ocean along wide navigable rivers. For instance, Paraguay (and Bolivia to a lesser extent) have access to the ocean through theParaguayandParanárivers.
Several countries have coastlines on landlocked bodies of water, such as theCaspian Seaand theDead Sea. Since these seas are in effectlakeswithout access to wider seaborne trade, countries such asKazakhstanare still considered landlocked. Although the Caspian Sea is connected to the Black Sea via the man-madeVolga–Don Canal, large oceangoing ships are unable to traverse it.
Some countries or important parts of countries have coastlines or river ports reachable by oceangoing ships, but only through a strait or river part of the territory of another country. The other country can put restriction on passage. Between 1429 and 1857Poland,Sweden,Russiaand more Baltic countries were suffering from theSound Dues, a toll needed to be paid to reach Western European waters. Sweden bypassed it by conqueringScaniain 1658.
Landlocked countries may be bordered by a single country having direct access to thehigh seas, two or more such countries, or be surrounded by other landlocked countries, making a country doubly landlocked.
Three countries are landlocked by a single country (enclavedcountries):
Seven landlocked countries are surrounded by only two mutually bordering neighbours (semi-enclaved countries):
To this group could be added three landlocked territories, two of themde factostates with limited or no international recognition:
A country is "doubly landlocked" or "double-landlocked" when it is surrounded entirely by landlocked countries (i.e. requiring the crossing of at least two national borders to reach a coastline).There are two such countries:
After the dissolution of theHoly Roman Empire, theKingdom of Württembergbecame a doubly landlocked state, borderingBavaria,Baden,Switzerland, theGrand Duchy of Hesse(Wimpfenexclave),Hohenzollern-Sigmaringen, andHohenzollern-Hechingen. The latter two were themselves landlocked between each other, Württemberg, and Baden. In 1866 they became an exclave ofPrussia, giving Württemberg a border with a coastal country but any path to a coast would still lead across at least two borders. TheFree City of Frankfurtwhich was independent between 1815 and 1866 was doubly landlocked as it bordered theElectorate of Hesse, theGrand Duchy of Hesse,Hesse-Homburg, andNassau. In theGerman Confederationthere were several other landlocked states that only bordered landlocked states and landlocked exclaves of coastal states: theGrand Duchy of Hesse,Hesse-Homburg,Nassau(all until 1866),Saxe-Coburg-Saalfeld,Saxe-Hildburghausen(both until 1826), andReuss, elder line(until 1871). All of these bordered Prussia but not the main territory with sea access.
There were no doubly landlocked countries from theunification of Germanyin 1871 until the end ofWorld War I. Liechtenstein bordered theAustro-Hungarian Empire, which had anAdriaticcoastline, and Uzbekistan was then part of theRussian Empire, which had both ocean and sea access.
With thedissolution of Austria-Hungaryin 1918 and creation of an independent, landlockedAustria, Liechtenstein became the sole doubly landlocked country until 1938. In theAnschlussthat year, Austria was absorbed intoNazi Germany, which possessed a border on theBaltic Seaand theNorth Sea. After World War II, Austria regained its independence and Liechtenstein once again became doubly landlocked.
Uzbekistan, which had been part of theRussian Empireand then theSoviet Union, gained its independence with thedissolution of the latterin 1991 and became the second doubly landlocked country.
However, Uzbekistan's doubly landlocked status depends on whether theCaspian Seais considered a lake or a sea. In the latter case, Uzbekistan is not doubly landlocked, since its neighbors Turkmenistan andKazakhstanhave access to the Caspian Sea.
Notes:
The landlocked countries andde facto statescan be grouped incontiguousgroups as follows:
Notes:
There are the following 12 "single" landlocked countries (each of them borders no other landlocked country or de facto state):
According to theUnited Nations geoscheme(excluding thede facto states),Africahas the most landlocked countries, at 16, followed byEurope(14),Asia(12), andSouth America(2). However, ifArmenia,Azerbaijan,Kazakhstan, andSouth Ossetia(de facto state) are counted as parts of Europe, then Europe has the most landlocked countries, at 20 (including all three landlocked de facto states). If thesetranscontinentalorculturallyEuropean countries are included in Asia, then both Africa and Europe (includingKosovoandTransnistria) have the most, at 16. Depending on the status ofKazakhstanand theSouth Caucasiancountries, Asia has between 9 and 13 (includingSouth Ossetia). South America only has two landlocked countries:BoliviaandParaguay.
AustraliaandNorth Americahave no landlocked countries, whileAntarcticahas no countries at all.Oceania(which is usually not considered a continent but a geographical region by theEnglish-speaking countries) also has no landlocked countries.
All landlocked countries, exceptBoliviaandParaguay, are located on thecontinental mainlandofAfro-Eurasia.