What is a “landlocked” country?

A landlocked country is one that has no coastline, meaning it has no direct access to a sea or ocean. As of 2007, there are 43 landlocked countries. Africa includes a total of 15 landlocked countries; Asia has 12; Europe has 15; and South America has 2. The largest landlocked country is Kazakhstan, the ninth largest country in the world covering just over 1 million square miles (2.65 million square kilometers). Two countries in the world are double landlocked, which means that they are surrounded only by other landlocked countries: Lichtenstein and Uzbekistan.