Landlocked Country

A landlocked country is commonly defined as one enclosed or nearly enclosed by

land. As of 2008, there are 44 landlocked countries in the world. Of the major
landmasses that have more than one country, only North America does not have a
landlocked country.
A sea that is almost landlocked is connected to the oceans by a strait only, such as
the Baltic Sea, the Mediterranean Sea, and the Black Sea. This may be of strategic
importance, with one or two other countries controlling the entrance, and/or be
relevant for tides and freshwater content.
An island country can be conversely considered waterlocked as it is entirely
surrounded by water. In such cases, one must cross water to reach land abroad.

Historically, being landlocked was regarded as a disadvantageous position. It cuts

the country off from sea resources such as fishing, but more importantly cuts off
access to seaborne trade which, even today, makes up a large percentage of
international trade. Coastal regions tended to be wealthier and more heavily
populated than inland ones until modern times.
Losing access to the sea is generally a great blow to a nation, politically, militarily,
and particularly with respect to international trade and therefore economic security:

The creation of the new states of Eritrea and Montenegro, brought about by
successful separatist movements, have
caused Ethiopiaand Serbia respectively to become landlocked.

Bolivia lost its coastline to Chile in the War of the Pacific. To this day
the Bolivian Navy trains in Lake Titicaca for an eventual recovery, and the
Bolivian people annually celebrate a patriotic "Dia del Mar" (Day of the Sea)
to remember its territorial loss, which included both the coastal city of
Antofagasta and what has proven to be one of the most significant and
lucrative copper deposits in the world. In the 21st century, the selection of
the route of gas pipes from Bolivia to the sea fueled popular risings.

Austria and Hungary also lost their access to the sea as a consequence of
the Treaty of Saint-Germain-en-Laye (1919) and the Treaty of Trianon (1920)
respectively. Before, although Croatiahad a
constitutional autonomy within Hungary, the City of Rijeka on the Croatian
coast was independent, governed directly as a corpus
separatum from Budapest by an appointed governor, to provide Hungary with
its only international port in the periods 1779-1813, 1822-1848 and 18681918.

When the Entente Powers divided the former Ottoman Empire under
the Treaty of Svres at the close of World War I, Armenia was promised part of
the Trebizond vilayet (roughly corresponding to the
modern Trabzon and Rize provinces in Turkey). This would have granted
Armenia access to the Black Sea. However, the Svres treaty collapsed with
the Turkish War of Independence and was superseded by the Treaty of
Lausanne which firmly established Turkish rule over the area.

The United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea now gives a landlocked
country a right of access to and from the sea, without taxation of traffic through
transit states. The United Nations has a programme of action to assist landlocked
developing countries[6], and the current responsible Undersecretary-General
is Anwarul Karim Chowdhury.
Some countries may have a large 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 the Arctic Ocean and frozen shut much of the year. Gaining control of
a warm water port was a major motivator of Russian expansion towards the Baltic
Sea, Black Sea and Pacific Ocean. On the other hand, some landlocked countries
can have access to the ocean through wide navigable rivers. For instance, Paraguay
(and Bolivia to a lesser extent) have access to the ocean through the Paraguay and
Parana rivers, respectively.
Several countries have coastlines on landlocked seas, such as the Caspianand
the Aral. Since these seas are sometimes considered to be lakes, and since they do
not allow access to seaborne trade, countries such as Kazakhstan are still
considered to be landlocked. (The Caspian Sea, however, is connected to the Black
Sea via a canal between the Volga and Don rivers.)
List of landlocked countries

Afghani
stan

Burkina
Faso

Kyrgyzst
an

Mong
olia

Switzerla
nd

Andorr
a

Burundi

Laos

Nepal

Tajikistan

Central
African
Republic

Lesotho

Niger

Liechten
stein

Parag
uay

Turkmeni
stan

Uganda

Armeni
a

Austria

Chad

Azerbai
jan

Czech
Republic

Luxemb
ourg

Belarus

Ethiopia

Macedo
nia,

Rwan
da

Uzbekist
an

San
Marin

Vatican
City

Bhutan

Hungary

Bolivia

Botswa
na

Kazakhs
tan

Malawi

Kosovo

Mali

Moldova

Republic
of

Zambia

Serbia

Slova
kia

Zimbabw
e

South
Osseti
a

Swazil
and

They can be grouped in contiguous groups as follows:

Central Asian landlocked countries

(6): Afghanistan, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan, Uzbekista
n

European landlocked countries (9): Austria, Czech

Republic, Hungary, Kosovo , Liechtenstein, Republic of
Macedonia, Serbia, Slovakia and Switzerland

Central African landlocked countries (5): Burkina Faso, Central African

Republic, Chad, Mali, Niger

South African landlocked countries (4): Botswana, Malawi, Zambia, Zimbabwe

East African landlocked countries (3): Burundi, Rwanda, Uganda

Caucasian landlocked countries (2): Armenia, Azerbaijan

South American landlocked countries (2): Bolivia, Paraguay

There are the following 'single' landlocked countries (each of them borders no other
landlocked country):

Africa (3): Ethiopia, Lesotho, Swaziland

Asia (4): Bhutan, Laos, Mongolia, Nepal

Europe (6): Andorra, Belarus, Luxembourg, Moldova, San Marino, South

Ossetia (partially recognized), Vatican City

If Armenia and Azerbaijan are counted as part of Europe, then Europe has the most
landlocked countries, at 17. Kazakhstan is also sometimes regarded as
a transcontinental country, so if that is included, the count for Europe goes up to 18.
If these countries are included in Asia, then Africahas the most, at 15. Depending on

the status of the three transcontinental countries, Asia has between 9 and 12,
while South America has only 2. North America and Oceania are the only continents
with no landlocked countries. (Oceania is also notable for having almost no land
borders.)
Doubly landlocked country
A landlocked country surrounded by other landlocked countries may be called a
"doubly landlocked" country. A person in such a country has to cross at least two
borders to reach a coastline.
There are currently two such countries in the world:

Liechtenstein in Central Europe

Uzbekistan in Central Asia

Uzbekistan has borders with Turkmenistan and Kazakhstan that border

the landlocked but saltwater Caspian Sea, from which ships can reach the Sea of
Azov by using the Volga-Don Canal, and thus the Black Sea, the Mediterranean Sea,
and the oceans.
There was no doubly landlocked country in the world from the 1871 Unification of
Germany until the end of World War I. This is because Uzbekistan was part of
the Russian Empire; while Liechtenstein bordered Austria-Hungary, which had
an Adriatic coast until 1918. Nor was there one from 1938 until the end of WW2, as
Nazi Germany had incorporated Austria and Uzbekistan was in the USSR.
Nearly landlocked
The following countries are almost landlocked, because of their relatively short
coastline:

Iraq (Persian Gulf via Al-Faw Peninsula) 58 km (35 mi)

Slovenia (Adriatic Sea via Koper) 47km (29 mi)

Democratic Republic of the Congo (Atlantic Ocean) 40km (25 mi)

Bosnia and Herzegovina (Adriatic Sea via Neum) 26 km (16 mi)

Jordan (Red Sea-Gulf of Aqaba via Aqaba) 26 km (16 mi)