Top 10 Largest Landlocked Countries

The largest landlocked countries ranked here use official total area, and a Caspian shoreline is not treated as an ocean coast. Rank is by official total area, land plus inland water, of a sovereign state that has no ocean coastline, and a shore on the Caspian Sea is not treated here as an ocean coast ^[1][2]. Kazakhstan is first, at 2,724,910 square kilometres in the standard total-area compilation, the outstanding official landlocked state on that measure and the only one in the ten above 2,000,000 square kilometres ^[1][2]. Mongolia is second, at 1,564,116 square kilometres, and Chad is third, at 1,284,000 ^[1][2]. Niger, at 1,267,000, Mali, at 1,240,192, Ethiopia, at 1,104,300, and Bolivia, at 1,098,581, complete the next four, all still above 1,000,000 square kilometres of official total area ^[1][2]. Zambia, Afghanistan, and South Sudan close the ten. Ethiopia has been landlocked since Eritrea became independent in 1993, a political fact this article records rather than hiding behind a purely geometric slogan.

The same official totals distinguish total area from land-only area where the two figures differ. Chad's land area is given as 1,259,200 square kilometres, Niger's land area as 1,266,700, and Bolivia's land area as 1,083,300; this article ranks the total-area figures and labels the land-only alternatives ^[1][2]. The Central African Republic, at 622,984 square kilometres, sits just outside the ten and is not added as a silent eleventh rank ^[2]. Uzbekistan is a doubly landlocked state, with no ocean coast and with only landlocked neighbours, and it is smaller than this ten on official area, a political-geography fact that does not change an area ranking ^[2]. Botswana and Paraguay, both landlocked, are likewise smaller than South Sudan on official total area and are not raised into the ten by a later unofficial round number. A later official boundary revision will belong in a revision of a cell, not as an unlabelled change to the method.

Key Facts

The ten below are the official total-area leaders among landlocked sovereign states: Kazakhstan 2,724,910 square kilometres, Mongolia 1,564,116, Chad 1,284,000, Niger 1,267,000, Mali 1,240,192, Ethiopia 1,104,300, Bolivia 1,098,581, Zambia 752,618, Afghanistan 652,230, and South Sudan 644,329 ^[1][2]. Rank 1 is the outstanding official total area, which is also the only landlocked state in the ten above two million square kilometres.

The table is the official spine: official total area first, Caspian shores labelled as not an ocean coast, land-only alternatives labelled, and no unofficial coastal Ethiopia or Caspian-as-ocean chart is smuggled in as the official fact.

Largest Landlocked Countries at a Glance

1. Kazakhstan

Kazakhstan has an official total area of 2,724,910 square kilometres, the largest landlocked sovereign state on that measure, and its shoreline on the Caspian Sea is not treated here as an ocean coast ^[1][2]. The figure is official total area, not a land-only alternative, and not a combined figure with Russia. This article records the official 2,724,910 square kilometres. Some official pages round the same total to 2,724,900, a labelled rounding rather than a second rank.

It is first as the outstanding official total area, a labelled 2,724,910-square-kilometre fact, and the documentary centre of this ten ^[1][2]. A later official boundary revision will belong in a revision of the cell.

Standard official total-area compilations, including the World Factbook-style tables, are the source ^[1][2].

2. Mongolia

Mongolia has an official total area of 1,564,116 square kilometres, second among landlocked sovereign states on that measure ^[1][2]. The figure is official total area, not a land-only alternative of about 1,557,507 square kilometres used as a silent replacement, and not a combined figure with China. This article records the official 1,564,116 square kilometres.

Related: Top 10 Largest Countries in the World by Area

It is second as the outstanding official 1,564,116-square-kilometre total, a labelled fact, and a necessary counterpart to Kazakhstan and Chad ^[1][2]. A later official revision will belong in a revision of the cell.

Standard official total-area compilations are the source ^[1][2].

3. Chad

Chad has an official total area of 1,284,000 square kilometres, third among landlocked sovereign states, and a land-only figure of 1,259,200 square kilometres is a different official measure that this article labels rather than uses as a silent replacement ^[1][2]. The figure is official total area, not a later fluctuating surface area of Lake Chad presented as the country. This article records the official 1,284,000 square kilometres.

It is third as the outstanding official 1,284,000-square-kilometre total, a labelled fact, and a necessary counterpart to Niger ^[1][2]. A later official revision will belong in a revision of the cell.

Standard official total-area compilations are the source ^[1][2].

4. Niger

Niger has an official total area of 1,267,000 square kilometres, fourth among landlocked sovereign states, and a land-only figure of 1,266,700 square kilometres is a different official measure labelled here ^[1][2]. The figure is official total area, not a length of the Niger River, and not a silent combination with Nigeria. This article records the official 1,267,000 square kilometres.

It is fourth as the outstanding official 1,267,000-square-kilometre total, a labelled fact, and a necessary counterpart to Mali ^[1][2]. A later official revision will belong in a revision of the cell.

Related: Top 10 Smallest Countries in Europe

Standard official total-area compilations are the source ^[1][2].

5. Mali

Mali has an official total area of 1,240,192 square kilometres, fifth among landlocked sovereign states on that measure ^[1][2]. The figure is official total area, not a land-only alternative of 1,220,190 square kilometres used as a silent replacement, and not a silent combination with Niger. This article records the official 1,240,192 square kilometres.

It is fifth as the outstanding official 1,240,192-square-kilometre total, a labelled fact, and a necessary counterpart to Ethiopia ^[1][2]. A later official revision will belong in a revision of the cell.

Standard official total-area compilations are the source ^[1][2].

6. Ethiopia

Ethiopia has an official total area of 1,104,300 square kilometres, sixth among landlocked sovereign states, and it has been landlocked since Eritrea became independent in 1993 ^[1][2]. The figure is official total area, not a historical Ethiopian empire total that included a Red Sea coast, and not a silent combination with Eritrea. This article records the official 1,104,300 square kilometres and the 1993 date.

It is sixth as the outstanding official 1,104,300-square-kilometre total, a labelled fact, and a necessary counterpart to Bolivia ^[1][2]. A later official revision will belong in a revision of the cell.

Standard official total-area compilations are the source ^[1][2].

7. Bolivia

Bolivia has an official total area of 1,098,581 square kilometres, seventh among landlocked sovereign states, and a land-only figure of 1,083,300 square kilometres is a different official measure labelled here ^[1][2]. The figure is official total area, not a claim about a lost Pacific coast presented as a current coastline, and not a silent combination with Paraguay. This article records the official 1,098,581 square kilometres. It is the outstanding official South American landlocked total in this ten.

Related: Top 10 Longest Rivers in North America

It is seventh as the outstanding official 1,098,581-square-kilometre total, a labelled fact, and a necessary counterpart to Zambia ^[1][2]. A later official revision will belong in a revision of the cell.

Standard official total-area compilations are the source ^[1][2].

8. Zambia

Zambia has an official total area of 752,618 square kilometres, eighth among landlocked sovereign states on that measure ^[1][2]. The figure is official total area, not a land-only alternative, and not a silent combination with Zimbabwe. This article records the official 752,618 square kilometres. It stands well below Bolivia and clearly above Afghanistan.

It is eighth as the outstanding official 752,618-square-kilometre total, a labelled fact, and a necessary counterpart to Afghanistan ^[1][2]. A later official revision will belong in a revision of the cell.

Standard official total-area compilations are the source ^[1][2].

9. Afghanistan

Afghanistan has an official total area of 652,230 square kilometres, ninth among landlocked sovereign states on that measure ^[1][2]. The figure is official total area, not a later unofficial wartime map used as a silent replacement, and not a silent combination with a neighbouring state. This article records the official 652,230 square kilometres.

It is ninth as the outstanding official 652,230-square-kilometre total, a labelled fact, and a necessary counterpart to South Sudan ^[1][2]. A later official revision will belong in a revision of the cell.

Related: Top 10 Nations with the Longest Coastlines

Standard official total-area compilations are the source ^[1][2].

10. South Sudan

South Sudan has an official total area of 644,329 square kilometres, tenth among landlocked sovereign states, and the Central African Republic, at 622,984 square kilometres, sits just outside the ten ^[2]. The figure is official total area, not a land-only alternative of about 631,930 square kilometres used as a silent replacement, and not a combined figure with Sudan. This article records the official 644,329 square kilometres.

It is tenth as the outstanding official 644,329-square-kilometre total, a labelled fact, and a necessary counterpart to Afghanistan and to the Central African Republic just outside ^[2]. A later official revision will belong in a revision of the cell.

Standard official total-area compilations are the source ^[1][2].

Conclusion

A 2026 largest-landlocked-countries list has to keep Kazakhstan at 2,724,910 square kilometres with the Caspian shore labelled as not an ocean coast, keep Mongolia at 1,564,116, and refuse to treat a land-only alternative, a pre-1993 Ethiopian coastline, or a doubly landlocked Uzbekistan as a silent reordering of that official total-area table ^[1][2]. Chad, Niger, Mali, Ethiopia, Bolivia, Zambia, Afghanistan, and South Sudan complete the same ten, with the Central African Republic just outside ^[1][2]. The useful habit is one official total-area source, one landlocked test, and a refusal to mix an inland sea into an ocean coast.

The same official method also has to keep Ethiopia's 1993 landlocked date in view, keep Bolivia's official total ahead of a land-only alternative, and keep Uzbekistan, a doubly landlocked state, outside this area ten rather than promoted on a political-geography slogan ^[1][2]. Turkmenistan and Azerbaijan have Caspian shores as well, and they are likewise not given an ocean coast in this method; they are simply smaller than the ten on official total area. Those distinctions are part of the spine, not optional footnotes.

A later official boundary revision will belong in a revision of a cell; it will not change the method. Those labelled official areas are the spine of the list, and they will still be the spine after a later yearbook has restated a total in a later year. The Caspian Sea can still be described as the world's largest inland water body, and that fact will not turn a Caspian shore into an official ocean coastline in a later revision of this landlocked test.