Landlocked countries of the world are those countries whose borders are completely surrounded by different countries. In other world these countries have no access to open seas. Some countries even having access to seas can be called as landlocked if the seas on their border are itself landlocked providing no access to open navigation. There are presently 44 landlocked countries of World which have no access to open seas. There are no landlocked countries in continents of North America and Australia. Maximum number of landlocked countries (18 nos.) are located in African continent, Europe has 13 and Asia has 12 landlocked countries while least in South American (only two).
Landlocked countries can be further classified in other groups like – i) Landlocked by single country, ii) Landlocked by two countries, iii) Landlocked by multiple countries. There is one more category called double landlocked country. A country which is landlocked by some other country which itself is landlocked is called as Double Landlocked country.
- Countries that are landlocked by a Single Country – Lesotho, San Marino and Vatican City
- Countries that are landlocked by two countries – Andorra, Bhutan, Liechtenstein, Moldova, Mongolia, Nepal and Swaziland
Double landlocked countries –
- Liechtenstein which is totally surrounded by Switzerland and Austria. This is to note that Switzerland and Austria are themself landlocked.
- Uzbekistan in Asia which is surrounded by Afghanistan, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan and Turkmenistan. Here also all the surrounding countries are themselves landlocked countries.
10 Largest Landlocked Countries of World
1. Kazakhstan
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.
2. Mongolia
Mongolia is the second largest landlocked country of world. It has total area of 1,566,500 Sq Km. It is surrounded by only two countries Russia and China.
3. Chad
Chad is the third largest landlocked country of world. It has total area of 1,284,000 Sq Km. It is surrounded by Libya, Sudan, Central African Republic, Cameroon, Nigeria and Niger.
4. Niger
Niger is the fourth largest landlocked country of world. It has total area of 1,267,000 Sq Km. It is surrounded by Algeria, Benin, Burkina Faso, Chad, Libya, Mali and Nigeria.
5. Mali
Mali is the fifth largest landlocked country of world. It has total area of 1,240,192 Sq Km. It is surrounded by Algeria, Burkina Faso, Cote d’ Ivoire, Guinea, Mauritania, Niger and Senegal.
6. Ethiopia
Ethiopia is the sixth largest landlocked country of world. It has total area of 1,104,300 Sq Km. It is surrounded by Djibouti, Eritrea, Kenya, Somalia and Sudan.
7. Bolivia
Bolivia has total area of 1,098,581 Sq Km. It is largest landlocked country outside Afro-asia group. It has 5 bordering countries totally surrounding it – Argentina, Brazil, Chile, Paraguay and Peru.
8. Zambia
Zambia has total area of 752,612 Sq Km. It is surrounded by 8 African countries including – Angola, Democratic Republic of Congo, Malawi, Mozambique, Namibia, Tanzania, Zimbabwe and Botswana.
9. Afghanistan
Afghanistan has total area of 652,230 Sq Km. It is surrounded by China, Pakistan, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan, Uzbekistan and India. The border with India is disputed and claimed officially by India but in reality it comes in Pakistan occupied Kashmir.
10. Central African Republic
Central African Republic has total area of 622,984 Sq Km and it is 10th largest landlocked country of world. It is totally surrounded by 6 African countries – Cameroon, Chad, Sudan, South Sudan, Democratic Republic of Congo, Republic of Congo.
List of Smallest Landlocked Countries
The smallest landlocked country of world is Vatican City which has area of 0.44 Sq Km and it is totally bordered by Italy. The 5 smallest landlocked countries of world in increasing order are –
- Vatican City (0.44 Sq Km area, surrounded by Italy)
- San Marino (61 Sq Km, surrounded by Italy)
- Liechtenstein (160 Sq Km, surrounded by Austria and Switzerland)
- Andorra (468 Sq Km, surrounded by Spain and France)
- Luxembourg (2586 Sq Km, surrounded by Belgium, France and Germany)
List of Landlocked Countries by Continents
Landlocked Countries of Asia
There are 13 different landlocked countries in Asia. These countries in decreasing order of area are – Kazakhstan, Mongolia, Afghanistan, Turkmenistan, Uzbekistan, Laos, Kyrgyzstan, Nepal, Tajikistan, Azerbaijan, Bhutan and Armenia.
Landlocked Countries of Europe
The 12 landlocked countries of Europe in descending order of Area are – Belarus, Hungary, Serbia, Austria, Czech Republic, Slovakia, Switzerland, Moldova, Macedonia, Luxembourg, Andorra, Liechtenstein, San Marino and Vatican City.
Landlocked Countries of Africa
The 17 landlocked countries of Africa in decreasing order of Area are – Chad, Niger, Mali, Ethiopia, Zambia, Central African Republic, South Sudan, Botswana, Zimbabwe, Burkina Faso, Uganda, Malawi, Lesotho, Burundi, Rwanda, Swaziland.
Landlocked Countries of South America
There are only two landlocked countries. These in decreasing order of their area are Bolivia and Paraguay.
Andorra is not in Africa.