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Historically, lack of access to the sea has been a major economic disadvantage for a country. In addition to depriving it of resources such as fisheries, it also isolates it from maritime trade, which accounts for a large share of the international trade in goods. Coastal regions around the world tend to be more populated and prosperous than non-coastal regions.

A total of 44 countries in the world are landlocked (excluding territories with disputed sovereignty). The vast majority, 32, are developing countries, mostly in Africa and Central Asia. 17 of them even fall into the category of "least developed countries," which describes nations that combine low income, low development and economic instability. For these countries, the fact that imports and exports must transit through at least one neighboring state (and often change modes of transport) represents a significant additional cost and handicap.

As this map also shows, among the landlocked countries, two have the rare status of being "double-landlocked" i.e. they must cross two borders before they can access an open sea. These are Liechtenstein in Europe and Uzbekistan in Central Asia.