Countries, Capitals & Currencies22 Concepts & Facts

10 Important Landlocked Countries: Capitals, Geography & UNCLOS Facts

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A landlocked country is a sovereign nation that does not possess direct territorial access to the open oceans or whose coastlines lie exclusively along endorheic inland seas that lack maritime outlets to the global ocean. In contemporary global political geography, there are forty-four universally recognized sovereign landlocked states. Being landlocked presents substantial macroeconomic, infrastructural, and geopolitical challenges: landlocked countries must rely on bilateral transit treaties with neighboring coastal transit states to export commodities, transport bulk freight, and participate in seaborne trade, which often inflates international freight shipping costs by over fifty percent.

Among the world's landlocked nations, Kazakhstan, with its capital at Astana, ranks as the largest by land area, spanning more than 2.72 million square kilometers in Central Asia. Mongolia, with its capital at Ulaanbaatar, represents the second-largest landlocked nation, positioned as a vast plateau buffer between Russia and China. In Europe, Switzerland (capital: Bern) and Austria (capital: Vienna) demonstrate how high-income industrialized nations leverage advanced alpine rail transit, inland waterways like the Danube, and diplomatic treaties to overcome geographical landlockedness. In South America, Bolivia (constitutional capital: Sucre, administrative seat: La Paz) and Paraguay (capital: Asunción) are the continent's only two landlocked states, with Bolivia having lost its Pacific coastline to Chile in the nineteenth-century War of the Pacific.

In Africa, Ethiopia (capital: Addis Ababa) stands as the world's most populous landlocked nation, housing over 120 million people and depending on the port of Djibouti for the vast majority of its international shipping. In South Asia, the Himalayan nations of Nepal (capital: Kathmandu) and Bhutan (capital: Thimphu) maintain essential transit agreements with India to access deep-water ports at Kolkata and Haldia. In addition, geography features two "doubly landlocked" countries—Liechtenstein (capital: Vaduz) and Uzbekistan (capital: Tashkent)—which are surrounded entirely by other landlocked countries. Under Part X of the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS), landlocked states are granted the legal right of freedom of transit to ensure equitable participation in global commerce.

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A landlocked country is a sovereign state lacking direct territorial access to the world's open oceans.

There are 44 sovereign landlocked nations globally (or 48 including partially recognized states).

Kazakhstan (capital: Astana) is the world's largest landlocked country by area, covering over 2.72 million square kilometers.

Mongolia (capital: Ulaanbaatar) is the second-largest landlocked country by area, situated between Russia and China.

Switzerland (capital: Bern) in Western Europe is a high-income, neutral landlocked nation bordered by five countries.

Austria (capital: Vienna) is a Central European landlocked state bordered by eight nations and drained by the Danube River.

Bolivia (constitutional capital: Sucre; seat of government: La Paz) lost its maritime coast to Chile in the War of the Pacific (1879–1884).

Paraguay (capital: Asunción) is South America's second landlocked country, reaching the Atlantic via the Paraná and Paraguay rivers.

Ethiopia (capital: Addis Ababa) is the world's most populous landlocked country, with over 120 million people.

#10

Nepal (capital: Kathmandu) is a Himalayan landlocked country acting as a strategic buffer between India and China.

#11

Bhutan (capital: Thimphu) is a Himalayan landlocked kingdom that measures development via Gross National Happiness (GNH).

#12

A "doubly landlocked country" is completely surrounded entirely by other landlocked countries, requiring crossing two borders to reach the sea.

#13

There are only two doubly landlocked countries in the world: Liechtenstein (capital: Vaduz) and Uzbekistan (capital: Tashkent).

#14

Africa has the highest number of landlocked nations of any continent (16 countries, including Chad, Mali, and Uganda).

#15

Europe has 14 landlocked countries, including microstates like Andorra, San Marino, and Vatican City.

#16

North America and Australia are the only continents with zero landlocked countries.

#17

South America contains only two landlocked countries: Bolivia and Paraguay.

#18

UNCLOS Part X (Articles 124–132) guarantees landlocked states the statutory right of access to and from the sea and freedom of transit.

#19

The Vienna Programme of Action (2014–2024) was established by the UN to support Landlocked Developing Countries (LLDCs).

#20

Ethiopia relies on the port of Djibouti for over 95% of its foreign maritime trade under specialized transit protocols.

#21

Nepal and Bhutan utilize Indian seaports at Kolkata and Haldia as their primary maritime gateways under bilateral transit treaties.

#22

Landlocked developing countries incur freight transport costs on average 50% higher than coastal developing economies.

Subject Specialist Commentary

Analytical perspective & practical exam advice from the Master10 academic board

Educator's Insight

A landlocked country is a sovereign nation surrounded entirely by land, lacking any direct coastline connecting to an open ocean. Across the globe, forty-four recognized nations face this geographic reality, depending on bilateral treaties and coastal neighbors for maritime transit. They range from massive continental giants like Kazakhstan, the world's largest landlocked country, to high-population African states like Ethiopia, which conducts nearly all its international trade through the port of Djibouti.

In competitive exams like SSC CGL, CDS, and State PSCs, examiners frequently test world capitals and geographic status. A favorite prelims trap asks for "doubly landlocked" countries—nations surrounded entirely by other landlocked neighbors. Only two exist globally: Liechtenstein in Europe and Uzbekistan in Central Asia. For memory retention, note continental distributions: Africa holds the most landlocked countries with sixteen, while North America and Australia have none.

10 Important Landlocked Countries: Capitals, Geography & UNCLOS Facts

Key Concepts & Self-Assessment22 Key Facts

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