Landlocked and connected: how countries without a coastline trade with the world

For most of history, trade meant ships. Countries without a coastline have always paid a price for that: their goods must cross at least one neighbour’s territory to reach a port, adding cost, delay and political risk. Roughly 44 countries are landlocked today, from Switzerland and Austria to Kazakhstan, Mongolia and much of central Africa.

Two neighbours, two corridors

Mongolia is a textbook case. Sitting between Russia and China, it relies on rail links through both, with the Chinese port of Tianjin serving as its main gateway to the sea. Diversifying routes — new railway lines, border crossings and logistics hubs — is a constant economic priority.

Doubly landlocked

Only two countries are surrounded entirely by other landlocked countries: Liechtenstein and Uzbekistan. To reach a port from either, goods must cross at least two borders.

How landlocked countries compete

• Transit agreements that guarantee access to a neighbour’s ports and roads.
• High-value, low-weight exports — precision goods, minerals, finance — where shipping costs matter less.
• Air cargo for perishable and premium products.
• Digital services, which cross borders without trucks at all.

Geography sets the cost of trade. Policy decides how much of that cost a country has to pay.