The 45 Landlocked Countries
A landlocked country has no coast. This page lists all 45 of them, with the continent and capital of each one.
A country counts as landlocked when no part of its border touches an ocean or an open sea.
What landlocked means
A landlocked country must cross another country to reach a port. This raises the cost of everything it imports.
A large lake does not remove the status. Kazakhstan touches the Caspian Sea, but the Caspian has no outlet to an ocean. Kazakhstan is landlocked, and it is the largest landlocked country.
The Dead Sea and the Aral Sea also leave a country landlocked, for the same reason.
The two doubly landlocked countries
A doubly landlocked country is landlocked, and every neighbour is landlocked too. You must cross at least two borders to reach a coast.
Only two countries are doubly landlocked. Liechtenstein sits between Austria and Switzerland. Uzbekistan sits between Afghanistan, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan and Turkmenistan.
Uzbekistan gained the status in 1991, when the Soviet Union broke up.
Where the landlocked countries are
Africa has the most. A belt of them runs across the centre of the continent, from Mali to Ethiopia.
Europe has many small ones in the Alps and in central Europe.
Central Asia is entirely landlocked. All five of its countries appear on this list.
North America has none. South America has two: Bolivia and Paraguay.
All 45 landlocked countries
| Country | Continent | Capital |
|---|---|---|
| Afghanistan | Asia | Kabul |
| Andorra | Europe | Andorra la Vella |
| Armenia | Asia | Yerevan |
| Austria | Europe | Vienna |
| Azerbaijan | Asia | Baku |
| Belarus | Europe | Minsk |
| Bhutan | Asia | Thimphu |
| Bolivia | South America | La Paz |
| Botswana | Africa | Gaborone |
| Burkina Faso | Africa | Ouagadougou |
| Burundi | Africa | Gitega |
| Central African Republic | Africa | Bangui |
| Chad | Africa | N'Djamena |
| Czech Republic | Europe | Prague |
| Eswatini | Africa | Mbabane |
| Ethiopia | Africa | Addis Ababa |
| Hungary | Europe | Budapest |
| Kazakhstan | Asia | Astana |
| Kosovo | Europe | Pristina |
| Kyrgyzstan | Asia | Bishkek |
| Laos | Asia | Vientiane |
| Lesotho | Africa | Maseru |
| Liechtenstein | Europe | Vaduz |
| Luxembourg | Europe | Luxembourg |
| Malawi | Africa | Lilongwe |
| Mali | Africa | Bamako |
| Moldova | Europe | Chisinau |
| Mongolia | Asia | Ulaanbaatar |
| Nepal | Asia | Kathmandu |
| Niger | Africa | Niamey |
| North Macedonia | Europe | Skopje |
| Paraguay | South America | Asuncion |
| Rwanda | Africa | Kigali |
| San Marino | Europe | San Marino |
| Serbia | Europe | Belgrade |
| Slovakia | Europe | Bratislava |
| South Sudan | Africa | Juba |
| Switzerland | Europe | Bern |
| Tajikistan | Asia | Dushanbe |
| Turkmenistan | Asia | Ashgabat |
| Uganda | Africa | Kampala |
| Uzbekistan | Asia | Tashkent |
| Vatican City | Europe | Vatican City |
| Zambia | Africa | Lusaka |
| Zimbabwe | Africa | Harare |
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Sources
- Coastline data from national geographic surveys.
- ISO 3166-1 country codes.
Found a mistake in this list? Tell us and we will correct it.