The Two Double Landlocked Countries

Utilising local transport in one of the only two landlocked countries in the world. 

There are some claims to fame that are more unusual than others. And we all know that something unusual or unique inevitably ends up on bucket lists around the world.

It doesn't usually take that much, though. Just check out Instagram, Twitter or Facebook. Bragging about restaurants you have visited, drinks you have consumed, views you have experienced, clothing that you wear or celebrities you have slept with is commonplace. I am myself guilty as charged with several, but not all, of the examples listed above.

But let's get down to business and concentrate on the important thing in life. Travelling.

I have been to all 198 countries in the world, and written a book about it. It came out in English in July, 2015.

Visiting countries that fit a certain bill are present on a lot of bucket lists. One of the more unusual that I have heard about are double landlocked countries.

What they are? A landlocked country has no access to an ocean at its borders. 44 of the world's 198 countries are landlocked. See the list below. A double landlocked country on the other hand is a country that is surrounded by landlocked countries.

There are only two such countries in the world. Liechtenstein in Europe is surrounded by two landlocked countries; Switzerland and Austria while Uzbekistan in Asia is surrounded by five, all of them are stan countries (ending with "stan"). They are Afghanistan, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan and Turkmenistan. Uzbekistan is of course a stan country on its own. As there are seven stan countries in total, the only stan country missing is then Pakistan, which is 300 kilometers from Uzbekistan.

Uzbekistan is then of course the only country in the world exclusively surrounded by stan countries. Oh, the trivia you pick up here...

The 44 landlocked countries of the world
Afghanistan‎
Andorra‎
Armenia‎
Austria‎
Azerbaijan‎
Belarus‎
Bhutan‎
Bolivia‎
Botswana‎
Burkina Faso‎
Burundi‎
Central African Republic
Chad‎
Czech Republic‎
Ethiopia‎
Hungary‎
Kazakhstan‎
Kyrgyzstan‎
Laos‎
Lesotho‎
Liechtenstein‎ (double landlocked)
Luxembourg‎
Macedonia‎
Malawi‎
Mali‎
Moldova
Mongolia‎
Nepal‎
Niger‎
Paraguay‎
Rwanda‎
San Marino‎
Serbia‎
Slovakia‎
South Sudan‎
Swaziland‎
Switzerland‎
Tajikistan‎
Turkmenistan‎
Uganda‎
Uzbekistan‎ (double landlocked)
Vatican
Zambia‎
Zimbabwe‎