Trapped by geography and squeezed by global market forces, the world's 32 landlocked developing countries remain among the poorest - and most overlooked.
At a major UN conference underway this week in Awaza, Turkmenistan, calls are growing to tackle the high trade costs, investment gaps and growing digital divide that continue to hold these countries back.
Despite progress in some areas, landlocked nations - from Bolivia to Bhutan and Burkina Faso - account for just 1.2 per cent of global exports , even though they represent over seven per cent of the world's countries. Their populations face some of the highest levels of poverty, food insecurity and economic vulnerability anywhere.
"These countries are invisible to much of the world," not able to draw the attention needed to their unique challenges, said Rebeca Grynspan Secretary-General of the UN trade and development body, UNCTAD , speaking to UN News on the margins of the third UN Conference on Landlocked Developing Countries (LLDC3).
Without international attention and coordinated action, they will remain stuck in structural limbo, she emphasised.
High costs, low returns
One of the most persistent challenges they face is geography itself.
Without direct access to seaports, they must rely on neighbouring transit countries to move goods - often through outdated or inefficient infrastructure.
This translates into trade costs that are, on average, 1.4 times higher than those of coastal countries, according to UNCTAD. In some cases, export procedures can stretch into weeks or months due to border delays, fragmented regulations and limited digital systems.
Ms. Grynspan highlighted that in customs procedures, digital tools can cut waiting times at borders from three days to three hours. To that end, regional agreements and digital initiatives have emerged as lifelines.
