The Only Two Double-Landlocked Countries

A landlocked country has no coastline. A double-landlocked (or doubly landlocked) country goes one step further: every single one of its neighbours is also landlocked, so getting a shipment to the ocean means transiting at least two other countries. Only two countries on Earth qualify.

Liechtenstein

A 160 km² principality in the Alps, Liechtenstein is bordered only by Switzerland and Austria — both landlocked. To reach salt water from Vaduz, goods must cross Switzerland to a Mediterranean or Atlantic port, or Austria and then Germany or Slovenia. Liechtenstein has been double-landlocked since its modern borders were set; it is one of the two countries in the world with this status and, coincidentally, one of the two German-speaking countries that is a principality (the other being Monaco, which has a coast).

Uzbekistan

Uzbekistan is bordered by Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan and Afghanistan — all five landlocked. It is far larger and more populous than Liechtenstein, with about 35 million people. Crucially, Uzbekistan has only been double-landlocked since 1991: before the collapse of the Soviet Union, it was a republic of a country with tens of thousands of kilometres of coastline. Its nearest sea access today is the Caspian (itself a landlocked lake) via Turkmenistan or Kazakhstan, or a long overland route to the Persian Gulf, the Black Sea or a Pakistani or Iranian port.

Why it matters

Trade costs rise with every border a shipment must cross — each one adds customs procedures, transit fees, delays and the risk of a political dispute closing the route. Double-landlocked status is the worst case for a trading economy. Liechtenstein escapes the penalty through deep integration with Switzerland (a customs union since 1924) and world-class transport links. Uzbekistan has invested heavily in rail corridors and dry ports and has pushed for regional transit agreements, but distance to the sea remains a structural drag on its economy.

The near-misses

A country stops being double-landlocked the moment one neighbour gains a coast. If South Sudan (landlocked, bordering landlocked Ethiopia, Central African Republic, and coastal Sudan and Kenya) lost its coastal neighbours it would qualify — but it does not. Historically, from 1938 to 1945, there were briefly three double-landlocked countries when Austria was absorbed into Germany, changing Liechtenstein's situation, and again the map has shifted around this rare category more than once.