Landlocked Countries in Asia: Complete List of All 12

Asia has 12 landlocked countries: Afghanistan, Armenia, Azerbaijan, Bhutan, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Laos, Mongolia, Nepal, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan and Uzbekistan. None has a coastline on an ocean or a naturally ocean-connected sea.

The list stretches from the South Caucasus to Mongolia and the mountains of mainland Southeast Asia. Some countries border vast inland waters. Others lie between coastal neighbors but have no coast of their own.

The United Nations Economic and Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific identifies these same 12 countries in its research on Asian landlocked developing economies.

Complete List of Landlocked Countries in Asia

The table lists countries alphabetically and uses UN statistical subregions.

Laos is formally listed as the Lao People’s Democratic Republic. Kyrgyzstan may also appear as the Kyrgyz Republic.

The regional pattern is easy to remember: five in Central Asia, three in Southern Asia, two in Western Asia, and one each in Eastern and Southeastern Asia.

Why Are Armenia, Azerbaijan and Kazakhstan Included?

This article follows the UN M49 geographical classification, which places Armenia and Azerbaijan in Western Asia and Kazakhstan in Central Asia. Using one framework keeps the count consistent.

Physical continental boundaries introduce another layer. Kazakhstan has territory on both sides of a commonly used Europe–Asia boundary. Azerbaijan can also be treated differently depending on the convention used through the Caucasus.

Our guide to transcontinental countries explains those cases. The companion explanation of where Europe ends and Asia begins shows why regional labels can differ between maps.

A country can belong to an Asian statistical region while also being discussed as transcontinental. These are different classification questions.

Central Asia: Five Landlocked Countries

All five countries in the UN Central Asia subregion are landlocked. Their landscapes include broad plains, deserts, mountain ranges and enclosed drainage basins.

Kazakhstan

Kazakhstan is the largest landlocked country in Asia and the world, as the World Bank country overview confirms. Its western territory reaches the Caspian Sea, while much of the country extends across the Eurasian interior. The Caspian shoreline does not provide a natural ocean coastline.

Kyrgyzstan

Kyrgyzstan lies among the mountains of Central Asia and borders Kazakhstan, Uzbekistan, Tajikistan and China. Lake Issyk-Kul is one of its best-known geographical features. Having a large lake within its territory does not alter its landlocked status.

Tajikistan

Tajikistan is a mountainous country bordering Afghanistan, China, Kyrgyzstan and Uzbekistan. Its eastern landscapes include the Pamir Mountains. Mountain valleys and cross-border connections help explain why access to transport corridors matters alongside simple distance from the coast.

Turkmenistan

Turkmenistan occupies part of southwestern Central Asia and has a Caspian Sea coast. It borders Kazakhstan, Uzbekistan, Afghanistan and Iran. Much of its territory lies within the Karakum Desert, but its landlocked classification comes from ocean access rather than climate.

Uzbekistan

Uzbekistan is the only doubly landlocked country in Asia. All five neighbors, Afghanistan, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan and Turkmenistan, are themselves landlocked.

Our guide to double landlocked countries explains why reaching an ocean-connected coast overland requires crossing at least two international borders.

Southern Asia: Afghanistan, Bhutan and Nepal

These three countries share landlocked status, but their surrounding geography differs considerably.

Afghanistan

Afghanistan lies inland between Central, Southern and Western Asian regions, although the UN groups it within Southern Asia. Its borders reach countries including Pakistan, Iran and several Central Asian states. A route through a coastal neighbor can connect it with ocean ports without creating a national coastline.

Bhutan

Bhutan lies in the eastern Himalayas between India and China. Its terrain is strongly mountainous, with valleys and rivers linking different elevation zones. Its capital, Thimphu, features among the highest capital cities in the world. Bhutan also has substantial river systems despite its inland position.

Nepal

Nepal also borders only India and China. Its territory extends from lowland plains to the high Himalayas. This contrast shows why being landlocked tells you about access to the coast, rather than the elevation or steepness of the land.

Western Asia: Armenia and Azerbaijan

Armenia

Armenia lies in the South Caucasus and borders Georgia, Azerbaijan, Iran and Türkiye. It has no coastline. Nearby access to the Black Sea through Georgia is different from having sovereign territory on that sea.

Azerbaijan

Azerbaijan also lies in the South Caucasus but has an extensive Caspian shoreline. That makes it an important example of a country that can have coastal-looking landscapes and inland ports while remaining landlocked under the ocean-access definition.

For comparison with the neighboring continent, our guide to landlocked countries in Europe explains the scope and boundary conventions used there.

Eastern and Southeastern Asia: Mongolia and Laos

Mongolia

Mongolia is the only landlocked country in the UN Eastern Asia subregion. Russia lies to its north and China to its south. Both neighbors have ocean coasts, so Mongolia is landlocked rather than doubly landlocked.

Laos

Laos is the only landlocked country in Southeast Asia. It borders China, Myanmar, Thailand, Cambodia and Vietnam. The Mekong is central to its river geography, demonstrating that an inland country can still have major waterways.

The World Bank overview of Laos explains how its landlocked position and mountainous terrain have shaped development, while transport infrastructure can improve connections with regional markets.

Why Does the Caspian Sea Not Give Ocean Access?

The Caspian is an enclosed inland waterbody with no natural outlet to the world ocean. Kazakhstan, Turkmenistan and Azerbaijan therefore remain landlocked despite having Caspian shorelines.

River and artificial canal connections do not change that conventional classification. The relevant distinction is between an inland shoreline and a national coast on an ocean or naturally connected sea.

Landlocked also does not mean riverless. Our separate guide to countries without permanent rivers addresses watercourses, which are a different geographical characteristic.

How Do Asian Landlocked Countries Reach Overseas Markets?

Roads, railways and combinations of transport services connect inland producers with ports in other countries. The most useful route depends on infrastructure, terrain, border procedures and cooperation with transit neighbors.

A country may be far from the ocean yet connected to major markets. Another may be geographically closer but face slower or less reliable journeys. Coastline access helps explain trade geography, but it does not determine every economic outcome.

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