Which Are the Landlocked Countries in Africa?

The term “Landlocked Countries” refers to those nations that don’t have direct access to the sea. These nations certainly face hindering economic development due to multiple factors including high transport fares, poor infrastructure, and over-dependence on transit routes via neighboring countries to access global markets.

Africa has 16 landlocked countries and stands out for having the largest non coastal countries among other continents. Besides the geographical constraints, these African countries are rich in geographical features such as vast expanses of plateaus, plains, lakes, rivers, and mountains. 

According to the United Nations Convention on the Law of Sea, these landlocked countries can indirectly access seas via using the transit state. Some of the countries in Africa suffer more when compared to others, in terms of economic development for not having direct access to water. The lack of a seaport leads to weak competitiveness of the country’s products in the global market, and also raises the cost of imports. Let’s learn more about these African landlocked countries.

List of the 16 Landlocked Countries in Africa

1. Botswana 

2. Ethiopia

3. Burundi

4. Central African Republic

5. Chad

6. Lesotho 

7. Mali 

8. Niger 

9. South Sudan

10. Eswatini 

11. Zambia 

12. Zimbabwe 

13. Rwanda 

14. Malawi

15. Uganda 

16. Burkina Faso

1. Botswana

Botswana is officially known as the “Republic of Botswana” situated in South Africa and is a landlocked country. Gaborone is the capital city of Botswana. While covering a land area of 581,73 square kilometers, it holds a population of 2.4 million people. This African country borders Namibia to the north and west, Zimbabwe to the northeast, and South Africa to the south and southeast. It is a smaller country as compared to the state of Texas. The majestic Kalahari desert covers more than 70 percent of Botswana spanning over 360,000 square miles. However, it isn’t a true desert because it has more rainfall than others. The people of Botswana are Tswana and are said to be descended from King Mogale of the 14th century. The other two largest ethnic groups are the Bushmen and the Kalanga.

Despite the Kalahari Desert, this African landlocked country is well-known for having the Okavango Delta, grassland, river valleys, and several animal species such as wild dogs, cheetahs, hyenas, and giraffes.

According to the 2024 index, the country’s economy is considered “moderately free.” The country’s trade balance was recorded as $0.30B for 2022, a decline of 132.41% from 2021. Botswana’s GDP per capita was 7,738.88 in 2022.  

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2. Ethiopia

Initially, Ethiopia has a substantial coastline. In 1869, the Italian Rubattino Shipping Company purchased the bay of Assab, off Ethiopia. Later, the Italian government took over control of the bay. Afterward, Italians took advantage of Ethiopia’s instability to manage the entire coastline and named it the Italian Eritrea.

Ethiopia is officially named as the Federal Democratic Republic of Ethiopia. This landlocked country is situated in the Horn of Africa, a region of East Africa.  Ethiopia shares its borders with Somalia to the East, South Sudan to the West, Kenya to the South, Eritrea to the north, and Djibouti to the Northwest. With a land area of 1,112,000 square kilometers, Ethiopia is home to 129 million inhabitants and is considered the 13th most populous country across the globe. The country’s primary trade conduit has been the Red Sea port of Djibouti, which results in more expenses. Djibouti annually charges more than one billion dollars to Ethiopia in terms of port fees. This amount is a huge sum for the country whose fifth of the population is still dependent on food aid. The lack of direct coastal access has become a notable obstacle in the country’s efforts to achieve middle-income status through export-oriented industrialization.

The country’s GDP per capita was recorded as 1,027.59 in 2022. Its economy has boosted 7.1% in 2022-2023, from 6.4% of 2021-2022. The trade to GDP ratio was 26.57% for the year of 2022.  

3. Burundi

Burundi is a landlocked country in the Great Lakes region of Eastern Africa. It is bordered by the Democratic Republic of the Congo to the west, Tanzania to the east and south, and Rwanda to the north. Burundi covers a land area of 27,834 square kilometers with a population of 12.89 million. The political capital city of Burundi is Gitega, located in the central part of the country. However, Bujumbura, situated in the southwestern part, stands out as the largest economic capital of Burundi. This landlocked country possesses beautiful landscapes including the Western Rift Valley, shallow lakes, high plateaus, mountain ranges, and river valleys.

Burundi is considered as a resource-poor country with an undeveloped manufacturing sector. Its trade balance was  $-0.61B for 2022, increasing 17.44% from 2021. As of 2022 statistics, the country’s GDP per capita was 259.03 USD. 

4. Central African Republic

Central Africa is also known as Ubangi-Shari. This landlocked country is located in the center of Africa. Its Central African Republic area has been settled for at least 8,000 years. While covering a land area of about 620,000 square kilometers, this country holds 5.5 million population. Bangui is the capital, and largest city of Africa, located at the Ubangi River. The country’s landscape includes wide plateaus, high plateaus, dry surfaces, rugged terrain, and lakes. The Margherita Peak is the highest in Central Africa, which lies on the eastern side of the Rift Valley, at the border of Uganda and Congo. This African landlocked country is also a member of the United Nations, the African Union, the Non-Aligned Movement, the Organization International de la Francophonie, and the Economic Community of Central African States.   

People of Central Africa mainly rely on agriculture, farming, and fishing for their economy. The country’s imports were recorded as 30.50% of GDP, while exports were 14.19%. The GDP per capita of this landlocked country was 427.06 USD in 2022. 

5. Chad

Chad is a largely semi-desert country, located at the crossroads of North and Central Africa. Sometimes ironically the country is known as “The Dead Heart of Africa” because of its central position and extreme dryness. This landlocked country is rich in gold and Uranium. It spans a land area of 1,300,000 km2 and has an estimated population of 16 million. Chad, the largest African landlocked country has several regions, the Sahara desert in the north, an arid zone in the center, and a more fertile Sudanian Savanna zone in the south. 

The country’s official languages are Arabic and French. Its capital city is N’ Djamena. Chad is home to more than 200 different ethnic and linguistic groups. The country’s landscape consists of a wide basin, bounded by the Tibesti mountains and the Ennedi Plateau. Chad Lake is the second-largest wetland in Africa. Its extensive marshes and grass give a favorable environment to reptiles, birds, and other mammals.

Chad’s GDP per capita was 716.80 USD in 2022. This country ranks among the world’s poorest countries. The trade balance of Chad was $1.48B for 2022, a decline of 328.38% from 2021.

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6. Lesotho 

Lesotho is a small, mountainous, and landlocked country. It is also famous as The Mountain Kingdom. Situated in the Maloti Mountains, the country is surrounded by South Africa. With a land area of 30,000 square kilometers and two million people, this African landlocked country is the world’s largest enclave country. As per capita gross domestic product of $999.7 in 2022, it is classified as a lower middle-income country. Maseru is the largest and capital city of Lesotho. About two-thirds of its landscape comprises mountains, the highest peak is Ntlenyana Mount. However, the country is facing challenges in terms of development such as agricultural productivity and rural development, human capital development, climate change, and environmental sustainability.

The trade balance of Lesotho is structurally in deficit. According to WTO data, Lesotho has collected 894 million USD from exports, and spent 1.8 billion USD on imports, in the year of 2022. The country’s economy is based on agriculture, livestock, manufacturing, and mining. The GDP per capita of this landlocked country was recorded as 969.94 USD in 2022. 

7. Mali 

Mali is a landlocked country, situated in western Africa mostly in the Sahara and Sahelian regions. The country is bordered on the north by Algeria, east by Niger and Burkina Faso, south by Côte d’Ivoire and Guinea, and the west by Senegal and Mauritania. It covers a land area of 1,241,238 and became the eighth-largest country in Africa. About 2.91 million people live in Mali. Bamako is its largest and capital city. The country has 13 official languages, but Bambara is the most commonly spoken. The land features of Mali include the Fouta Djallon highlands of the southwest, the Bandiagara plateau, and the escarpment of the southeast, as well as the Hombori Mountains of the far southeast.

Mali is listed among the world’s poorest countries. Its GDP per capita was estimated as 833.30 USD in 2022. Mali’s trade balance was $-2.02B for 2022, about 9.06% decline from 2021. 

8. Niger 

Niger is also one of the landlocked countries in Western Africa. The northern four-fifth of Niger is desert, while the southern one-fifth is savanna. Its neighbor countries are Algeria, Benin, Chad, Burkina Faso, Libya, Mali, and Nigeria. Niamey is the country’s capital city. This landlocked country derived its name from the Niger River that flows through the southwestern part of its territory. Niger covers a land area of over 1,270,000 square kilometers and upholds 25 million population. The country has numerous natural resources including Uranium, coal, iron ore, tin, phosphates, gold, gypsum, salt, and petroleum. However, about 42% of Nigerians live in poverty and earn less than $1.90 per day.

The trade balance of Niger was estimated as $-2.74B for 2022, an increase of 7.85% from 2021. The country’s economy is largely based on subsistence crops, livestock, and some of the world’s largest Uranium deposits. According to 2022 statistics, the GDP per capita of Niger was 585.40 USD.

Read Also: Most Polluted Countries in the World

9. South Sudan

South Sudan, a landlocked country in Northeast Africa, is bordered by Ethiopia, Sudan, Kenya, Uganda, the Democratic Republic of the Congo, and the Central African Republic. The name “Sudan” is given to a geographical region to the south of the Sahara, stretching from Western Africa to eastern Central Africa. The country consists of a vast swamp region of Sudd, formed by the White Nile River. South Sudan is expanded over the land of 644,329 square kilometers. According to an estimation, South Sudan has a population of 12.7 million. Juba is the country’s capital and largest city. Its diverse landscape includes vast plains and plateaus, dry and tropical savannahs, inland floodplains, and forested mountains.

An estimated GDP per capita of South Sudan was 485.91 USD in 2023. The country’s economy was $3.681 billion by GDP as of 2019, being the most oil dependent economies in the world. 

10. Eswatini 

Eswatini, a landlocked country to the east of South Africa, is entirely surrounded by the large country but also shares a border with Mozambique. Eswatini was previously named as Swaziland. It is also officially known as the “Kingdom of Eswatini.” This African landlocked country is arguably the smallest one in the Southern Hemisphere. The climate and topography of Eswatini are diverse, ranging from a cool and mountainous Highveld to a hot and dry Lowveld. It spreads over 110 miles from north to south and about 80 miles from west to east at largest dimensions. The country’s key features include its major perennial rivers, which have their sources in South Africa and flow through the country to the Indian Ocean.

The country’s economy grew from 0.5% to 4.8%, during the years of 2022-2023 respectively. An estimated GDP per capita of Eswatini was 3,986.89 USD in 2022. According to 2021 statistics, its trade balance was recorded as $54,390,074. 

11. Zambia 

Zambia is a landlocked country on the African continent. It is situated at the crossroads of Central, Eastern, and Southern Africa. The country borders the Democratic Republic of the Congo to the north, Tanzania to the northeast, Botswana and Zimbabwe to the south, Malawi to the east, Mozambique to the southeast, and Angola to the west, Namibia to the southwest. Zambia covers a land area of 752,618 square kilometers. The country’s total population is 20 million. Its capital city Lusaka, is located in the south-central part of Zambia. This African country has a tropical climate and mostly comprises plateaus with some mountains and hills, divided by river valleys. The Zambezi or Kafue basin and the Congo basin are the two major rivers, drained by basins into Zambia.

The country’s trade to GDP ratio was 69.30% for 2022, a decline of 16.91% from 2021. According to the 2022 statistics, the recorded GDP per capita was 1,456.90 USD. 

12. Zimbabwe 

Zimbabwe, the world’s poorest country, is located in Southern Africa between the Zambezi and Limpopo Rivers. This landlocked country of Africa is bordered by Mozambique to the east, Zambia to the north, South Africa to the south, and Botswana to the southwest. Harare is the first largest and capital city of Zimbabwe, whereas Bulawayo is its second-largest city. The country is renowned for several internationally acclaimed tourist destinations, which offer sightseeing, game hunting, bird watching, camping, rafting, and bungee jumping. The world’s largest and most spectacular waterfalls “Victoria Falls” are part of the Zimbabwe River. The country’s landscape consists of mountains, central plateaus, eastern highlands, and Mount Nyangani. 

Its GDP per capita was estimated as 1,676.82 USD for 2022. Major exports of this country are gold, tobacco, metal alloys, cotton, and sugar, whereas imports are petroleum products, electricity, food, machinery and transport equipment. Zimbabwe’s trade balance was $-2.48B for 2022, a 64.74% increase from 2021. 

13. Rwanda 

Rwanda is a small landlocked country, situated in East-Central Africa. It is bordered by Burundi from the south, west by the Democratic Republic of the Congo, north by Uganda, and east by Tanzania. This African country covers a surface area of 26,338 square kilometers. Rwanda is densely populated, with a population of 11.6 million. The country’s capital is Kigali, located in the center of the country on the Ruganwa River. Likewise Burundi, Rwanda is a neighbor to the south and a geographically small country with the highest population density in Sub-Saharan Africa.  The Western and Central area of Rwanda is dominated by the mountains. Its center comprises rolling hills, which consist of plains, savanna, and swamps.

The trade balance of Rwanda was $-2.16B for the year of 2022, a 24.84% increase from 2021. Its GDP per capita was 966.23 USD for 2022. The country’s economy mostly relies on subsistence agriculture. 

14. Malawi

Malawi is formerly known as Nyasaland, located in Southeast Africa. This landlocked country is bordered by Zambia to the west, Tanzania to the north and northeast, and Mozambique to the east, south, and southwest. While extending over an area of 118,484 square kilometers, it has a total population of 19,431,566. The largest capital city of Malawi is Lilongwe. Zomba is its fourth-largest and oldest capital city. The landscape of the country comprises highlands, which are divided by the Great Rift Valley and Lake Malawi. The country’s economy is the least developed throughout the world and is dependent on Agriculture. The two famous places Lake Malawi National Park and Chongoni Rock Art Area were declared as UNESCO World Heritage sites in 1984 and 2006, respectively.

The overall trade balance of Malawi is USD – 2,107,427 million. The country’s GDP per capita was 645.16 USD for 2022. Major exports of Malawi are tobacco, tea, sugar, cotton, rice groundnuts, textiles, and apparels. 

15. Uganda 

The Republic of Uganda is a landlocked country, situated in East Africa. It is bordered by Kenya to the east, the Democratic Republic of the Congo to the west, South Sudan to the north, Rwanda to the southwest, and Tanzania to the south. According to 2024 statistics, the country has a population of 49 million. Uganda is spread over a land area of about 241,038 square kilometers. Kampala is the largest and capital city of Uganda, where 8.5 million out of its total population are living. This landlocked country consists of several mountain ranges, of which Alexandra is the highest peak.

Uganda falls under the most poorest countries in the world. Its trade to GDP ratio was 34.51% for 2022, a 7.21% decline from 2021. As per 2022 statistics, the GDP per capita was 964.40 USD. 

16. Burkina Faso

Burkina Faso is one of the African landlocked countries. It is located in West Africa, bordered by Mali to the northwest, Benin to the southeast, Niger to the northeast, Ivory Coast to the southwest, and Togo and Ghana to the south. The country was previously known as the Republic of Upper Volta. With a total land area of 274,223 square kilometers, Burkina Faso holds 23,674,480 people. The country’s capital and largest city is Ouagadougou. Its landscape includes extensive plateaus, the lateritic layer of rock, and rivers such as Black Volta, White Volta, and Red Volta.  

This country is enriched with mineral resources and produces gold, zinc, copper, manganese, phosphate, and limestone in substantial quantities. The trade balance of Burkina Faso was estimated as $350,097,512 in 2021. The GDP per capita of Burkina Faso was 830.04 USD for the year of 2022. 

Conclusion

Landlocked countries are those that don’t have any territory connected to an ocean or whose coastline lies solely on endorheic basins. Despite the lack of direct access to water, African landlocked countries are enriched with valuable resources, geographical landscapes, and strategic importance. Among the 16 landlocked countries of Africa, Chad is considered as the largest landlocked country by area whereas Eswatini is the smallest one. With certain features including mountains, hills, lakes, wide marshes, rolling plains, and rivers, African landlocked countries are serving impressively in the socio-political development of regional, and geopolitics.  

FAQ’s

How do landlocked countries affect Africa?

Landlocked countries don’t have direct access to seas, which results in poor economic development. Most of the African landlocked countries suffer a lot when compared to others.

Which continent has the most landlocked countries?

Africa comes to the top for having the most landlocked countries following Europe.

What is the largest landlocked country in Africa? 

Based on the factor of land area, Chad is the largest landlocked country in Africa covering an area of 1,284,000, whereas Ethiopia is the most populous among African landlocked countries.

Why are there so many landlocked countries in Africa?

The geographical condition of Africa, characterized by low-lying coasts, causes difficulty in establishing natural ports. The country’s coastline has high mountains without passages, coastal areas of dunes, wetlands, and forests. 

Which Are the Landlocked Countries in Asia?

There are 12 landlocked countries in Asia including Afghanistan, Armenia, Azerbaijan, Bhutan, Laos, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Mongolia, Nepal, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan, Uzbekistan.