Landlocked and doubly landlocked countries
One country in four has no access to the sea. Two of them are landlocked squared: all of their neighbours are cut off from the coast as well.
Of the game's 195 countries, 44 have no access to the ocean — close to one in four. It is a heavy constraint: maritime trade carries the bulk of world exchange, and a landlocked country depends permanently on its neighbours' goodwill to reach it.
The two doubly landlocked countries
A country is doubly landlocked when it has no coastline and none of its neighbours has one either. Reaching the sea therefore means crossing at least two borders. Only two cases exist in the world:
- Liechtenstein, wedged between Switzerland and Austria;
- Uzbekistan, surrounded by Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, Afghanistan and Turkmenistan.
The Uzbek case deserves a caveat: Kazakhstan and Turkmenistan border the Caspian Sea, but it is a closed lake with no link to the world ocean. That is what earns Kazakhstan the title of largest landlocked country on the planet.
The three countries enclosed within one other
Rarer still: being surrounded by a single neighbour. Lesotho is entirely ringed by South Africa, San Marino and Vatican City by Italy.
Where are they?
The distribution is very uneven: 16 in Africa — the world record —, 14 in Europe, 12 in Asia, 2 in South America, and none in North America or Oceania.
The total absence in North America comes down to geography: the Central American isthmus is too narrow for a country to be landlocked, and the Caribbean is insular. In Oceania the question does not even arise — only one country on the continent has a land border at all.
| Country | Continent | Neighbours | Doubly landlocked |
|---|---|---|---|
| Botswana | Africa | 4 | — |
| Burkina Faso | Africa | 6 | — |
| Burundi | Africa | 3 | — |
| Ethiopia | Africa | 6 | — |
| Lesotho | Africa | 1 | — |
| Malawi | Africa | 3 | — |
| Mali | Africa | 7 | — |
| Niger | Africa | 7 | — |
| Uganda | Africa | 5 | — |
| Central African Republic | Africa | 6 | — |
| Rwanda | Africa | 4 | — |
| South Sudan | Africa | 6 | — |
| Eswatini | Africa | 2 | — |
| Chad | Africa | 6 | — |
| Zambia | Africa | 8 | — |
| Zimbabwe | Africa | 4 | — |
| Bolivia | South America | 5 | — |
| Paraguay | South America | 3 | — |
| Afghanistan | Asia | 6 | — |
| Armenia | Asia | 4 | — |
| Azerbaijan | Asia | 5 | — |
| Bhutan | Asia | 2 | — |
| Kazakhstan | Asia | 5 | — |
| Kyrgyzstan | Asia | 4 | — |
| Laos | Asia | 5 | — |
| Mongolia | Asia | 2 | — |
| Nepal | Asia | 2 | — |
| Uzbekistan | Asia | 5 | Yes |
| Tajikistan | Asia | 4 | — |
| Turkmenistan | Asia | 4 | — |
| Andorra | Europe | 2 | — |
| Austria | Europe | 8 | — |
| Belarus | Europe | 5 | — |
| Vatican City | Europe | 1 | — |
| Hungary | Europe | 7 | — |
| Liechtenstein | Europe | 2 | Yes |
| Luxembourg | Europe | 3 | — |
| North Macedonia | Europe | 4 | — |
| Moldova | Europe | 2 | — |
| San Marino | Europe | 1 | — |
| Serbia | Europe | 7 | — |
| Slovakia | Europe | 5 | — |
| Switzerland | Europe | 5 | — |
| Czechia | Europe | 4 | — |
What it changes in the game
A country with no coastline has a fully “closed” contour, with no coastal indentation: that is a valuable clue in Silhouette mode, where coastlines are the most distinctive feature. A smooth, compact outline with no peninsula or island nearly always signals a country of Central Africa, Eastern Europe or Central Asia.
In Borders mode they are, on the contrary, compulsory crossings: you cannot traverse Africa east to west without going through Chad, Niger or the Central African Republic.
Frequently asked
How many countries have no access to the sea?
Which countries are doubly landlocked?
Kazakhstan borders the Caspian Sea — is it landlocked?
Which continent has no landlocked country?
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