For developing countries, being landlocked poses a special burden:
Consider these statistics. Outside of western and central Europe, the average income of landlocked countries is just $1,771, compared with $5,567 for coastal nations. It has been estimated that growth rates of the world’s thirty-one landlocked developing countries (LLDCs) are 0.7-1% lower than they might otherwise have been, as a direct result of their being landlocked. The UN Human Development Index reads like a grim advertisement for the benefits of a coastal existence: life expectancy in LLDCs is 3.5 years lower than in their maritime neighbours, and education index scores are 0.36 lower, on a scale of 0 to 1. Nine of the world’s twenty poorest countries are landlocked, and sixteen of the thirty LLDCs are classified as “least developed”.
Not only are land transport costs much higher than by sea, but the bureaucratic hurdles of getting goods across borders adds considerable cost as well.
(via Political Theory Daily)
