Aug 23 2007
Approximately one-fifth of the world's countries are landlocked and have no access to the oceans. There are 43 landlocked countries that do not have direct access to an ocean or ocean-accessible sea (such as the Mediterranean Sea). They have the disadvantageous situation of needing to rely upon neighboring countries for access to seaports. For example, Ethiopia relies on Eritrea for access to the Red Sea and recent conflicts have made that access difficult.The most recent addition to the list of landlocked countries was Serbia, which formerly had access to the Adriatic Sea but when Montenegro became an independent country in 2006, Serbia lost its ocean access.
Doubly-Landlocked Countries
There are two special landlocked countries that are known as doubly-landlocked countries, completely surrounded by other landlocked countries. The two doubly-landlocked countries are Uzbekistan (surrounded by Afghanistan, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, and, Turkmenistan) and Liechtenstein (surrounded by Austria and Switzerland).
