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Landlocked country

What this indicator measures

A landlocked country is one with no coast at all: it is entirely surrounded by land. It must go through a neighboring country for its ships or goods to reach the sea.

How to read this?

"Landlocked" means the country has no coast; "Has sea access" means it has at least one coast.

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227countries with data
2026data year(s)

In brief

Landlocked country: 227 countries and territories covered. Breakdown: Landlocked : 44 ; Has sea access : 183.

Why this indicator matters

Whether or not a country has a coastline changes a great deal: access to ports, transport costs, international trade. This indicator helps identify countries that depend on their neighbors to move their goods to the sea.

What makes this indicator vary

Being landlocked comes from history and borders: breakups of empires, independence, treaties. It almost never changes. Its effects, however, depend on roads, railways and agreements with neighboring countries that have ports.

Reading precautions

This is a yes-or-no piece of geographic information, taken from the CIA World Factbook. It says nothing about the quality of links to the ports or about the country's wealth. Some landlocked countries are very prosperous, thanks to good transit agreements.

Landlocked country

Landlocked (44)

Has sea access (183)

Frequently asked questions

Where does the "Landlocked country" data come from?

It comes from CIA World Factbook (Geography). Site last updated: November 8, 2026. Each country is shown with the year of its most recent value.

What is a landlocked country?

It is a country entirely surrounded by land, with no sea coast. To export or import by ship, it has to go through the territory and ports of one or more neighboring countries.

Does being landlocked prevent development?

It makes trade more expensive and more dependent on neighbors, but it is not inevitable. Good infrastructure and transit agreements can largely make up for this disadvantage.

Source and update

Source : CIA World Factbook (Geography). Site last updated: November 8, 2026.

Indicators in the same category : Territory & Borders