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Atacama Desert
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"Atacama" redirects here. For other uses, see Atacama (disambiguation).
Coordinates: 24°30′S 69°15′W / 24.500°S 69.250°W / -24.500; -69.250
Atacama Desert
Desert
Atacama by NASA World Wind
Country
Chile
Area
105,000 km2 (40,541 sq mi)
Biome
Desert
Map of the Atacama Desert. The area most commonly defined as Atacama is yellow. In orange are the outlying arid areas of southern Peru, Altiplano, Puna de Atacama and Norte Chico.
The Atacama Desert (Spanish: Desierto de Atacama) is a plateau in South America, covering a 1,000-kilometre (600 mi) strip of land on the Pacific coast, west of the Andes mountains. It is the driest non-polar desert in the world.[1][2][3][4] Most of the desert only receiveda1mm (0.4 inches) of rain per year .According to estimates, the Atacama Desert occupies 105,000 square kilometres (41,000 sq mi),[5] or 128,000 square kilometres (49,000 sq mi) if the barren lower slopes of the Andes are included.[6] Most of the desert is composed of stony terrain, salt lakes (salares), sand, and felsic lava that flows towards the Andes.
Geographically, the aridity of the Atacama is explained by it being situated between two mountain chains (the Andes and the Chilean Coast Range) of sufficient height to prevent moisture advection from either the Pacific or the Atlantic Oceans, a two-sided rain shadow.[7]
Contents
[hide]
1 Setting
2 Climate
2.1 Aridity
2.2 Comparison to Mars
3 Flora
4 Fauna
5 Human presence
5.1 Chinchorro culture
5.2 Abandoned nitrate mining towns
6 Astronomical observatories
7 Other uses
7.1 Sports
7.2 Solar car racing
7.3 Tourism
8 El Tatio Geyser
9 Termas Baños de Puritama
10 Gallery
11 Protected areas
12 Legends
13 See also
14 References
14.1 Notes
14.2 Bibliography
15 External links
Setting[edit]
See also: Andean orogeny and Arid Diagonal
According to the World Wide Fund for Nature, the Atacama Desert ecoregion occupies a continuous strip for nearly 1,600 km along the narrow coast of the northern third of Chile, from near Arica (18°24' S) southward to near La Serena (29°55' S).[8] The National Geographic Society considers the coastal area of southern Peru to be part of the Atacama Desert[9][10] and also includes the deserts south of the Ica Region in Peru.
Peru borders it on the north and the Chilean Matorral ecoregion borders it on the south. To the east lies the less arid Central Andean dry puna ecoregion. The drier portion of this ecoregion is located south of the Loa River between the parallel Sierra Vicuña Mackenna and Cordillera Domeyko. To the north of the Loa lies the Pampa del Tamarugal.
The Coastal Cliff of northern Chile west of the Chilean Coast Range is the main topographic feature of the coast.[11] The geomorphology of the Atacama Desert has been characterized as a low-relief bench "similar to a giant uplifted terrace" by Armijo and co-workers.[12] The intermediate depression (or Central Valley) forms a series of endorheic basins in much of Atacama Desert south of latitude 19°30’ S. North of this latitude the intermediate depression drains into the Pacific Ocean.[13]
Climate[edit]
Snow in Paranal Observatory at 2,600 masl.[14]
Although the almost total lack of precipitation is the most prominent characteristic of the Atacama Desert, exceptions may occur. In July 2011, an extreme Antarctic cold front broke through the rain shadow, bringing 80 cm (31 in) of snow to the plateau, stranding residents across the region, particularly in Bolivia, where many drivers became stuck in snow drifts and emergency crews became overtaxed with a large number of rescue calls.[15]
In 2012, the altiplano winter brought floods to San Pedro de Atacama.[16][17]
On 25 March 2015, heavy rainfall affected the southern part of the Atacama desert.[18][19] Resulting floods triggered mudflows that affected the cities of Copiapo, Tierra Amarilla, Chanaral, and Diego de Almagro, causing the deaths of more than 100 people.
Aridity[edit]
A flat area of the Atacama Desert between Antofagasta and Taltal
The Atacama Desert is commonly known as the driest non-polar place in the world, especially the surroundings of the abandoned Yungay town[20] (in Antofagasta Region, Chile).[21] The average rainfall is about 15 mm (0.6 in) per year,[22] although some locations, such as Arica and Iquique, receive 1 to 3 mm (0.04 to 0.12 in) in a year.[23] Moreover, some weather stations in the Atacama have never received rain. Periods of up to four years have been registered with no rainfall in the central sector, delimited by the cities of Antofagasta, Calama and Copiapó, in Chile.[1] Evidence suggests that the Atacama may not have had any significant rainfall from 1570 to 1971.[5]
Wild donkey in the Atacama desert.
The Atacama Desert may be the oldest desert on earth, and has experienced extreme hyperaridity for at least 3 million years, making it the oldest continuously arid region on earth. The long history of aridity raises the possibility that supergene mineralisation, under the appropriate conditions, can form in arid environments, instead of requiring humid conditions.[24] Geological research suggests that in some sections of the Atacama Desert, such as in today's Chile, hyperaridity has persisted for the last 200 million years (since the Triassic), competing only with Africa's Namib Desert for such a title.
The Atacama is so arid that many mountains higher than 6,000 m (20,000 ft) are completely free of glaciers. Only the highest peaks (such as Ojos del Salado, Monte Pissis, and Llullaillaco) have some permanent snow coverage.
The southern part of the desert, between 25 and 27°S, may have been glacier-free throughout the Quaternary (including during glaciations), though permafrost extends down to an altitude of 4,400 m (14,400 ft) and is continuous above 5,600 m (18,400 ft). Studies by a group of British scientists have suggested that some river beds have been dry for 120,000 years.[25] However, some locations in the Atacama receive a marine fog known locally as the camanchaca, providing sufficient moisture for hypolithic algae, lichens, and even some cacti—the genus Copiapoa is notable among these.
Geographically, the aridity of the Atacama is explained by it being situated between two mountain chains (the Andes and the Chilean Coast Range) of sufficient height to prevent moisture advection from either the Pacific or the Atlantic Oceans, a two-sided rain shadow.[7]
Comparison to Mars[edit]
The lack of humidity, rain and light pollution together produce both a dusty, rocky landscape.[26]
In a region about 100 km (60 mi) south of Antofagasta, which averages 3,000 m (10,000 ft) in elevation, the soil has been compared to that of Mars. Owing to its otherworldly appearance, the Atacama has been used as a location for filming Mars scenes, most notably in the television series Space Odyssey: Voyage to the Planets.
In 2003, a team of researchers published a report in the journal Science in which they duplicated the tests used by the Viking 1 and Viking 2 Mars landers to detect life, and were unable to detect any signs in Atacama Desert soil in the region of Yungay.[27] The region may be unique on Earth in this regard, and is being used by NASA to test instruments for future Mars missions. The team duplicated the Viking tests in Mars-like Earth environments and found that they missed present signs of life in soil samples from Antarctic dry valleys, the Atacama Desert of Chile and Peru, and other locales. However, in 2014, a new hyperarid site was reported, María Elena South, which was much drier than Yungay, and thus, a better Mars-like environment.[28]
Towards Atacama, near the deserted coast, you see a land without men, where there is not a bird, not a beast, nor a tree, nor any vegetation.
“
”
La Araucana by Alonso de Ercilla, 1569[29]
In 2008, the Phoenix Mars Lander detected perchlorates on the surface of Mars at the same site where water was first discovered.[30] Perchlorates are also found in the Atacama and associated nitrate deposits have contained organics, leading to speculation that signs of life on Mars are not incompatible with perchlorates. The Atacama is also a testing site for the NASA-funded Earth-Mars Cave Detection Program.[31]
Flora[edit]
Rare rainfall events cause the flowering desert phenomenon in the southern Atacama Desert
In spite of the geographic and climatic conditions of the desert, a rich variety of flora has evolved there. Over 500 species have been gathered within the border of this desert. These species are characterized by their extraordinary ability to adapt to this extreme environment.[32] Most common species are the herbs and flowers such as thyme, llareta, and saltgrass (Distichlis spicata) and, where humidity is sufficient, trees such as the chañar (Geoffroea decorticans), the pimiento tree, and the leafy algarrobo (Prosopis chilensis). However, some of the driest parts of the desert have no life at all not even on a cellular level.
Vegetation in Pan de Azúcar National Park on the coast of the Atacama Desert
The llareta is one of the highest-growing wood species in the world. It is found at altitudes between 3,000 and 5,000 m (9,800 and 16,400 ft). Its dense form is similar to a pillow some 3 to 4 m (9.8 to 13.1 ft) thick. It concentrates and retains the heat from the day to cope with low evening temperatures. The growth rate of the llareta has been recently estimated at about 1.5 cm per year, making many llaretas over 3,000 years old. It produces a much-prized resin, which the mining industry once harvested indiscriminately as fuel, making this plant endangered.
The desert is also home to cacti, succulents, and other plants that thrive in a dry climate. Cactus species here include the candelabro (Browningia candelaris) and cardon (Echinopsis atacamensis), which can reach a height of 7 m (23 ft) and a diameter of 70 cm (28 in).
The Atacama Desert flowering (Spanish: desierto florido) can be seen from September to November in years with sufficient precipitation, as happened in 2015.[18][19]
Fauna[edit]
Andean flamingos in Salar de Atacama
The climate of the Atacama Desert limits the number of animals living permanently in this extreme ecosystem. Some parts of the desert are so arid, no plant or animal life can survive. Outside of these extreme areas, sand-colored grasshoppers blend with pebbles on the desert floor, and beetles and their larvae provide a valuable food source in the lomas (hills). Desert wasps and butterflies can be found during the warm and humid season, especially on the lomas. Red scorpions also live in the desert.
Liolaemus nitidus, a lizard native to the southern reaches of the Atacama Desert
A unique environment is provided by some lomas, where the fog from the ocean provides enough moisture for seasonal plants and a few animal species. Surprisingly few reptile species inhabit the desert and even fewer amphibian species. Chaunus atacamensis, the Vallenar toad or Atacama toad, lives on the lomas, where it lays eggs in permanent ponds or streams. Iguanas and lava lizards inhabit parts of the desert, while salt flat lizards, Liolaemus, live in the dry areas bordering the ocean.[33] One species, Liolaemus fabiani, is endemic to the Salar de Atacama, the Atacama salt flat.[34]
Birds are probably the largest animal group in the Atacama. Humboldt penguins live year-round along the coast, nesting in desert cliffs overlooking the ocean. On salt flats both near the Pacific and inland, Andean flamingos flock to eat algae. Other birds (including species of hummingbirds and sparrows) visit the lomas seasonally to feed on insects, nectar, seeds, and flowers. The lomas help sustain several threatened species, such as the endangered Chilean woodstar.
Because of the desert's extreme aridity, only a few specially adapted mammal species live in the Atacama, such as Darwin's leaf-eared mouse. The less arid parts of the desert are inhabited by the South American gray fox and the viscacha (a relative of the chinchilla). Larger animals, such as guanacos and vicuñas, graze in areas where grass grows, mainly because it is seasonally irrigated by melted snow. Vicuñas need to remain near a steady water supply, while guanacos can roam into more arid areas and survive longer without fresh water. Seals and sea lions often gather along the coast.
Human presence[edit]
View of Chuquicamata, a large state-owned copper mine.
The Atacama is sparsely populated, with most towns located along the Pacific coast.[35] In interior areas, oases and some valleys have been populated for millennia and were the location of the most advanced Pre-Columbian societies found in Chile.
Chinchorro culture[edit]
Main article: Chinchorro culture
The Chinchorro culture developed in the Atacama Desert area from 7,000 to 1,500 BCE. These peoples were sedentary fishermen inhabiting mostly coastal areas. Their presence is found from today's towns of Ilo, in southern Peru, to Antofagasta in northern Chile. Presence of fresh water in the arid region on the coast facilitated human settlement in these areas. The Chinchorro were famous for their detailed mummification and funerary practices.[36]
In later times, the Atacama oases experienced little population growth and urban development. During the 20th century they have had conflicts over water resources with the coastal cities and the mining industry.
San Pedro de Atacama, at about 2,400 metres (8,000 ft) elevation, is like many of the small towns. Before the Inca empire and prior to the arrival of the Spanish, the extremely arid interior was inhabited primarily by the Atacameño tribe. They are noted for building fortified towns called pucarás, one of which is located a few kilometers from San Pedro de Atacama. The town's church was built by the Spanish in 1577.
The coastal cities originated in the 16th, 17th, and 18th centuries during the time of the Spanish Empire, when they emerged as shipping ports for silver produced in Potosí and other mining centers. During the 19th century the desert came under control of Bolivia, Chile, and Peru. With the discovery of sodium nitrate deposits and as a result of unclear borders the area soon became a zone of conflict and resulted in the War of the Pacific. Chile annexed most of the desert, and cities along the coast developed into international ports, hosting many Chilean workers who migrated there.[37][38][39]
With the guano and saltpeter booms of the 19th century the population grew immensely, mostly as a result of immigration from central Chile. In the 20th century the nitrate industry declined and at the same time the largely male population of the desert became increasingly problematic for the Chilean state. Miners and mining companies came into conflict, and protests spread throughout the region.
Abandoned nitrate mining towns[edit]
Main article: List of saltpeter works in Tarapacá and Antofagasta
The desert has rich deposits of copper and other minerals and the world's largest natural supply of sodium nitrate which was mined on a large scale until the early 1940s. The Atacama border dispute over these resources between Chile and Bolivia began in the 19th century and resulted in the War of the Pacific.[citation needed]
The desert is littered with approximately 170 abandoned nitrate (or "saltpeter") mining towns, almost all of which were shut down decades after the invention of synthetic nitrate in Germany at the turn of the 20th century (see Haber process).[citation needed] The towns include Chacabuco, Humberstone, Santa Laura, Pedro de Valdivia, Puelma, María Elena, and Oficina Anita.[citation needed]
The Atacama Desert is rich in metallic mineral resources such as copper, gold, silver and iron as well as non metallic minerals including important deposits of boron, lithium, sodium nitrate and potassium salts. The Salar de Atacama is a place where bischofite is extracted.[citation needed] These resources are exploited by various mining companies such as Codelco, Lomas Bayas, Mantos Blancos, and Soquimich.[40][41]
Astronomical observatories[edit]
ALMA and the center of the Milky Way.[42]
Because of its high altitude, nearly non-existent cloud cover, dry air, and lack of light pollution and radio interference from widely populated cities and towns, this desert is one of the best places in the world to conduct astronomical observations.[43][44] The European Southern Observatory operates two major observatories in the Atacama:
The La Silla Observatory
The Paranal Observatory, which includes the Very Large Telescope
A new radio astronomy telescope, called the Atacama Large Millimeter Array, built by Europe, Japan, the United States, Canada and Chile in the Llano de Chajnantor Observatory officially opened on 3 October 2011.[45] A number of radio astronomy projects, such as the CBI, the ASTE and the ACT, among others, have been operating in the Chajnantor area since 1999.
Other uses[edit]
Sports[edit]
The Atacama Desert is popular with all-terrain sports enthusiasts. Various championships have taken place here including the Lower Atacama Rally, Lower Chile Rally, Patagonia-Atacama Rally and the latter Dakar Rally's editions. The rally was organized by the A.S.O. and held in 2009, 2010, 2011, and 2012. The dunes of the desert are ideal rally races located in the outskirts of the city of Copiapó.[46] The 2013 Dakar 15-Day Rally started on 5 January in Lima, Peru, through Chile, Argentina and back to Chile finishing in Santiago.[47] Visitors also use the Atacama Desert sand dunes for Sandboarding (Spanish: duna).
A week-long foot race called the Atacama Crossing is a race in which the competitors cross the various landscapes of the Atacama.[48]
An event called Volcano Marathon takes place near the Lascar volcano in the Atacama Desert.[49]
Solar car racing[edit]
Eighteen solar powered cars were displayed in front of the presidential palace (La Moneda) in Santiago in November 2012.[50] The cars were then raced 1,300 kilometres (810 mi) through the desert from 15–19 November 2012.[51]
Tourism[edit]
Most people who go to tour the sites in the desert stay in the town of San Pedro de Atacama.[52] The Atacama Desert is in the top three tourist locations in Chile. The specially commissioned ESO hotel is reserved for astronomers.[53] The Tierra Atacama Boutique Hotel & Spa is five star hotel based in San Pedro de Atacama.[54]
El Tatio Geyser[edit]
Main article: El Tatio
There are geysers 80 km from the town of San Pedro de Atacama. There are about 80 geysers that lie in a valley. They are closer to the town of Chiu Chiu.[55]
Termas Baños de Puritama[edit]
Baños de Puritama are rock pools which are 37 miles from the geysers.[56]
Gallery[edit]
"Icy Penitents by Moonlight"
Valle de la Luna, near San Pedro de Atacama
Laguna Verde
Valley in Atacama
Vista before sunset.
Chajnantor Plateau in the Chilean Andes, home to the ESO/NAOJ/NRAO ALMA
Salt evaporation ponds in the Atacama Desert
Paranal Observatory
Flowering desert
Llamas
Valley of Death
Machuca chapel
Protected areas[edit]
Pan de Azúcar National Park
Pampa del Tamarugal National Reserve
La Chimba National Reserve
Legends[edit]
Alicanto
Atacama Giant
See also[edit]
Puna de Atacama
Norte Grande, Chile
2010 Copiapó mining accident
Atacama border dispute
Salar de Atacama
List of deserts by area
Llano de Chajnantor Observatory
Transverse Valleys
Mano del Desierto
Pulpería
The asteroid 18725 Atacama has been named after the Atacama Desert.
Paposo
Lomas
Camanchaca
References[edit]
Notes[edit]
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Bibliography[edit]
Braudel, Fernand (1984) [1979]. The perspective of the world. Civilization and Capitalism. 3. Berkeley: University of California Press. ISBN 978-0-520-08116-1. OCLC 505033669.
Sagaris, Lake (2000). Bone and dream: into the world's driest desert. Toronto: Alfred A. Knopf Canada. ISBN 978-0-676-97223-8. OCLC 57692400.
External links[edit]
Wikimedia Commons has media related to Atacama Desert.
"Mars-like Soils in the Atacama Desert, Chile, and the Dry Limit of Microbial Life", NASA press release
"Roving robot finds desert life", article in Nature
"A Lady in the Atacama Desert, from the travel blog A Lady in London
Detailed article issued by the Geological Society of America on the history of aridity of the Atacama Desert
Atacama Desert Photo Gallery, photos of many different landscapes, flora and fauna of the Atacama Desert
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Insurance regulatory law
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Jump to navigation Jump to search
Insurance regulatory law is the body of statutory law, administrative regulations and jurisprudence that governs and regulates the insurance industry and those engaged in the business of insurance. Insurance regulatory law is primarily enforced through regulations, rules and directives by state insurance departments as authorized and directed by statutory law enacted by the state legislatures. However, federal law, court decisions and administrative adjudications also play an important role.[1]
Contents
1 Purpose
2 History (United States)
2.1 State-based insurance regulation
2.1.1 Model laws
2.2 Expanding federal influence
3 Practice
4 Rate regulation
4.1 Rebating
5 Solvency regulation
6 See also
7 References
8 External links
Purpose[edit]
Insurance is characterized as a business vested or affected with the public interest.[2] Thus, the business of insurance, although primarily a matter of private contract, is nevertheless of such concern to the public as a whole that it is subject to governmental regulation to protect the public’s interests.[1]
Therefore, the fundamental purpose of insurance regulatory law is to protect the public as insurance consumers and policyholders. Functionally, this involves:
Licensing and regulating insurance companies and others involved in the insurance industry;
Monitoring and preserving the financial solvency of insurance companies;
Regulating and standardizing insurance policies and products;
Controlling market conduct and preventing unfair trade practices; and
Regulating other aspects of the insurance industry.[3]
History (United States)[edit]
State-based insurance regulation[edit]
Historically, the insurance industry has been regulated almost exclusively by the individual state governments. The first state commissioner of insurance was appointed in New Hampshire in 1851 and the state-based insurance regulatory system grew as quickly as the insurance industry itself.[4] Prior to this period, insurance was primarily regulated by corporate charter, state statutory law and de facto regulation by the courts in judicial decisions.[5][6] States coordinate through a nonprofit trade association of state regulatory agencies called the National Association of Insurance Commissioners, which proposes model laws which may be adopted by the members.
As the various state governments each developed its own set of insurance regulations, insurance companies with multi-state business were hampered by the inconsistency of the dissimilar rules and requirements, as well as localism by the state regulators. These companies and their stakeholders joined a growing movement for federal insurance regulation – but, considering the lack of any significant federal regulatory framework, this movement may have been more about avoiding regulation rather than actually promoting federal superiority.[7]
In 1869, the United States Supreme Court cemented state-based insurance regulation as the law of the land when it ruled in Paul v. Virginia[8] that the issuance of a policy of insurance was not the transaction of commerce, and therefore beyond the scope of federal legislation.[9]
More than 70 years, later, however, the Supreme Court overturned that decision in United States v. South-Eastern Underwriters Association, holding that insurance was subject to certain federal legislation such as the federal antitrust statute.[10] Although the South-Eastern case focused primarily on the application of federal anti-trust legislation (the Sherman Act) to the insurance industry, some thought the decision opened the floodgates to widespread federal regulation of the insurance industry and signaled the demise of the state-based insurance regulatory system.[11]
The United State Congress responded almost immediately: in 1945, Congress passed the McCarran-Ferguson Act. The McCarran-Ferguson Act specifically provides that the regulation of the business of insurance by the state governments is in the public interest. Further, the Act states that no federal law should be construed to invalidate, impair or supersede any law enacted by any state government for the purpose of regulating the business of insurance, unless the federal law specifically relates to the business of insurance.[12]
After the McCarran-Ferguson Act, the business of insurance remained substantially regulated by state statutory and administrative laws through the years. Additionally, efforts such as the accreditation standards of the National Association of Insurance Commissioners, and other cooperative endeavors, have increased the uniformity of insurance regulation across the various states.[13]
Model laws[edit]
In 1972, the model law Unfair Claims Settlement Act was written, which has since been adopted by most states with various modifications.[14]
Expanding federal influence[edit]
Despite the long history of state-based insurance regulation, federal regulatory influence has been expanding in the past several decades.
Early federal laws passed included the National Flood Insurance Act of 1968, and a Federal Crime Insurance Program was implemented which the Government Accountability Office recommended terminating in 1982.[15]
In the mid 1970s, for example, the concept of an optional federal charter for insurance companies was raised in Congress. With a wave of solvency and capacity issues facing property and casualty insurers, the proposal was to establish an elective federal regulatory scheme that insurers could opt into from the traditional state system, somewhat analogous to the dual-charter regulation of banks. Although the optional federal chartering proposal was defeated in the 1970s, it became the precursor for a modern debate over optional federal chartering in the last decade.[16]
In the 1980s, the ability to form risk retention groups which were exempt from state regulation was expanded.
From 1986 to 1992, there were 276 insurer bankruptcies. In response to the disruption, the National Association of Insurance Commissioners (“NAIC”) adopted several model reforms for state insurance regulation, including risk-based capital requirements, financial regulation accreditation standards,[17] guaranty associations and an initiative to codify accounting principles into the modern Statutory Accounting Principles. There was renewed discussion of federal insurance regulation, including new legislation for a dual state and federal system of insurance solvency regulation. However, as more and more states enacted versions of these model reforms into law, the pressure for federal reform of insurance regulation waned.[18]
In 1999, Congress passed the Gramm-Leach-Bliley Financial Modernization Act, which sets out certain minimum standards that state insurance laws and regulations were required to meet or else face preemption by federal law.[4]
Over the past decade, renewed calls for optional federal regulation of insurance companies have sounded, including the proposed National Insurance Act of 2006.[19]
The most recent challenges to the state insurance regulatory system are arguably the most significant, as well, showing further erosion of state primacy. Both the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (“PPACA”) and the Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act (“Dodd-Frank”) are material forays of federal law into the insurance industry.[20]
Practice[edit]
The practice of insurance regulatory law requires knowledge and understanding of administrative law, general business and corporate law, contract law, trends and jurisprudence in insurance litigation, legislative developments and a variety of other topics and areas of law. An insurance regulatory attorney provides legal services and practical business solutions on a wide variety of administrative, corporate, insurance, transactional and regulatory issues.
The practice of insurance regulatory law involves providing legal services and counseling on a wide variety of administrative, corporate, insurance, transactional and regulatory issues such as the following:
The formation, acquisition, sale, merger, restructuring, reorganization and dissolution of insurance companies, their affiliates and other businesses in the insurance industry;
Negotiating, structuring and executing associated transactions, such as the purchase or sale of blocks of insurance business, or providing compliance services relative to public and private financing;
Drafting and submitting National Association of Insurance Commissioners (NAIC) Uniform Certificate of Authority Applications (UCAA) and related documentation with respect to insurance company formation, admission, licensing, expansion, re-domestication and other transactions;
Drafting and submitting other required applications and related documentation with respect to the formation, admission, licensing, expansion, redomestication and other transactions of insurance affiliates, holding companies and other businesses in the insurance industry;
Representing insurance industry clients before state insurance regulatory and other government agencies with respect to compliance issues, complaint resolution, administrative hearings and other administrative processes;
Creating, drafting, developing, submitting for regulatory approval, negotiating, revising, supplementing and withdrawing various types of insurance products, policies, contracts, forms, rates, fees, schedules and other regulatory filings, including compliance programs required under state and federal law; and
Providing general advice and counsel to the officers, directors and management of companies in the insurance industry with respect to issues from day-to-day insurance operations up to board and shareholder/member level matters.[21]
Rate regulation[edit]
Historically, and continuing to modern day in many states, regulators practice strict price control called "rate regulation" and can deny or approve any rate change. The statute typically states that rates shall not be inadequate or excessive, as inadequate rates increase the risk of bankruptcy and excessive rates are regarded as unfair. A similar statute may prohibits "unfair discrimination" in rates, which is intended to prohibit discrimination which is not based upon a difference in risk.[22]
Rebating[edit]
Although rebating, which involves giving back some of the purchase price (or offering some sort of per customer discount) is common in some industries, as of 2009, 48 states and D.C. prohibited it in insurance by adopting a law based upon the NAIC Model Unfair Trade Practices.[23]
Solvency regulation[edit]
After the 2008 financial crisis, a model law called the Standard Valuation Model Law was revised to adopt a "principles-based" approach to life insurance reserving,[24] which was adopted by a number of states.[25]
See also[edit]
General insurance topics:
Insurance
Insurance law
History of insurance

US insurance topics:
Insurance in the United States
National Association of Insurance Commissioners
Insurance Regulatory Information System

Insurance in other countries:
Insurance in the United Kingdom
Insurance in Australia
Insurance in India
Insurance Regulatory and Development Authority
China Insurance Regulatory Commission
References[edit]
^ Jump up to: a b Mayhall, Van, III, Insurance Regulatory Law: Defined, Insurance Regulatory Law. Retrieved 2011-06-02.
Jump up ^ See, for example: Louisiana Revised Statutes, Title 22, § 2A(1); Morgan Stanley Mortgage Capital, Inc v. Insurance Commissioner of the State of California, 18 F.3d 790, Bankr. L. Rep. P. 75,755 (9th Cir. 1994).
Jump up ^ Klein, Robert W. (2008), An Overview of the Insurance Industry and Its Regulation, Center for Risk Management & Insurance Regulation, Georgia State University.
^ Jump up to: a b National Association of Insurance Commissioners, State Insurance Regulation: History, Purpose and Structure.
Jump up ^ Randall, Susan (1999). Insurance Regulation in the United States: Regulatory Federalism and the National Association of Insurance Commissioners, Florida State University Law Review, Vol. 26:625.
Jump up ^ Stempel, Jeffery W. (2007). Stempel on Insurance Contracts, 3rd Ed., Vol. 1, § 2.07.
Jump up ^ Baker, Tobin (2006). The Case for Federal Regulation of Insurance.
Jump up ^ Paul vs. Virginia, 75 U.S. 168, 19 L.Ed. 357 (1868).
Jump up ^ Mayhall, Van, III, A Brief Chronicle of Insurance Regulation in the United States, Part I: From De Facto Judicial Regulation to South-Eastern Underwriters Ass'n , Insurance Regulatory Law. Retrieved 2011-06-02.
Jump up ^ United States v. South-Eastern Underwriters Association, 322 U.S. 533 (1944).
Jump up ^ See, for example, United States v. South-Eastern Underwriters Association, 322 U.S. 533, 562 (1944) (Stone, C.J., dissenting).
Jump up ^ The McCarran–Ferguson Act, 15 U.S.C. §§ 1011-1015.
Jump up ^ Mayhall, Van, III, A Brief Chronicle of Insurance Regulation in the United States, Part II: From McCarran-Ferguson to Dodd-Frank, Insurance Regulatory Law. Retrieved 2011-06-02.
Jump up ^ "How your state's Unfair Claims Settlement Practices Act can help you". insure.com. Retrieved 2016-01-18.
Jump up ^ "The Federal Crime Insurance Program: An Overview". www.gao.gov. Retrieved 2016-01-18.
Jump up ^ Berrington, Craig (2007). Federal Insurance Regulation Optional Federal Chartering Bills Come to the Big Top.
Jump up ^ "Insurance Regulation: The NAIC Accreditation Program Can Be Improved". www.gao.gov. Retrieved 2016-01-18.
Jump up ^ Brown, Elizabeth F. (2008). The Fatal Flaw of Proposals to Federalize Insurance Regulation, Research Symposium on Insurance Markets and Regulation: Optional Federal Chartering.
Jump up ^ Kwon, W. Jean (2007). Uniformity and Efficiency in Insurance Regulation: Consolidation and Outsourcing of Regulatory Activities at the State Level, Networks Financial Institute, Indiana State University.
Jump up ^ The Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act, Pub.L 11-148, 124 Stat. 119; the Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act, Pub.L 111-203, H.R. 4173.
Jump up ^ Mayhall, Van, III, The Practice of Insurance Regulatory Law, Part II: More Specifically, Insurance Regulatory Law. Retrieved 2011-06-02.
Jump up ^ Harrington, Scott (1984-01-01). "The Impact of Rate Regulation on Prices and Underwriting Results in the Property-Liability Insurance Industry: A Survey". The Journal of Risk and Insurance. 51 (4): 577–623. doi:10.2307/252665. JSTOR 252665.
Jump up ^ "YOU CAN'T GET -- OR GIVE --SOMETHING FOR NOTHING". Federation of Regulatory Counsel, Inc. Retrieved 2016-01-18.
Jump up ^ "NAIC Moves towards Principles Based Reserving for Life Insurance Martindale.com". www.martindale.com. Retrieved 2016-01-18.
Jump up ^ "Florida Revises Insurer Solvency Review Process". www.insurancejournal.com. Retrieved 2016-01-18.
External links[edit]
National Association of Insurance Commissioners
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Landlocked country
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
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"Landlocked" redirects here. For property inaccessible by a public road, see Landlocked parcel.
Landlocked countries: 42 landlocked (green), 2 doubly landlocked (purple)
A landlocked state or landlocked country is a sovereign state entirely enclosed by land, or whose only coastlines lie on closed seas. There are currently 49 such countries, including five partially recognised states. Only two, Bolivia and Paraguay in South America, lie outside Afro-Eurasia (the Old World).
As a rule, being landlocked creates political and economic handicaps that access to the high seas avoids. For this reason, states large and small across history have striven to gain access to open waters, even at great expense in wealth, bloodshed, and political capital.[1]
The economic disadvantages of being landlocked can be alleviated or aggravated depending on degree of development, language barriers, and other considerations. Some landlocked countries are quite affluent, such as Switzerland, Liechtenstein, Luxembourg, and Austria, all of which frequently employ neutrality to their political advantage. The majority, however, are classified as Landlocked Developing Countries (LLDCs).[2] Nine of the twelve countries with the lowest Human Development Indices (HDI) are landlocked.[3]
Contents
1 Significance
1.1 Efforts to avoid being landlocked
1.2 Trade agreements
1.3 Political repercussions
2 By degree
2.1 Landlocked by a single country
2.2 Landlocked by two countries
2.3 Doubly landlocked
3 List of landlocked countries and territories
4 See also
5 References
Significance[edit]
Bolivia's loss of its coastline in the War of the Pacific (1879–1884) remains a major political issue
Historically, being landlocked has been disadvantageous to a country's development. It cuts a nation off from important sea resources such as fishing, and impedes or prevents direct access to seaborne trade, a crucial component of economic and social advance. As such, coastal regions tended to be wealthier and more heavily populated than inland ones. Paul Collier in his book The Bottom Billion argues that being landlocked in a poor geographic neighborhood is one of four major development "traps" by which a country can be held back. In general, he found that when a neighboring country experiences better growth, it tends to spill over into favorable development for the country itself. For landlocked countries, the effect is particularly strong, as they are limited in their trading activity with the rest of the world. He states, "If you are coastal, you serve the world; if you are landlocked, you serve your neighbors."[4] Others have argued that being landlocked may actually be a blessing as it creates a "natural tariff barrier" which protects the country from cheap imports. In some instances, this has led to more robust local food systems.[5][6]
Landlocked developing countries have significantly higher costs of international cargo transportation compared to coastal developing countries (in Asia the ratio is 3:1).[7]
Efforts to avoid being landlocked[edit]
This section needs additional citations for verification. Please help improve this article by adding citations to reliable sources. Unsourced material may be challenged and removed. (August 2018) (Learn how and when to remove this template message)
Countries thus have made particular efforts to avoid being landlocked, by acquiring land that reaches the sea:
As result of a 2005 territorial exchange with Ukraine, Moldova received a 600 m-long bank of the Danube River (which is an international waterway),[8] subsequently building its Port of Giurgiulești there.
The International Congo Society, which owned the territory now constituting the Democratic Republic of the Congo, was awarded a narrow piece of land cutting through Angola to connect it to the sea by the Conference of Berlin in 1885.
The Republic of Ragusa once gave the town of Neum to the Ottoman Empire because it did not want to have a land border with Venice; this small municipality was inherited by Bosnia and Herzegovina and now provides limited sea access, splitting the Croatian part of the Adriatic coast in two. Since Bosnia and Herzegovina is a new country, railways and ports have not been built for its need. There is no freight port along its short coastline at Neum, making it effectively landlocked, although there are plans to change this. Instead the port of Ploče in Croatia is used.
After World War I, in the Treaty of Versailles, a part of Germany designated "the Polish corridor" was given to the new Second Polish Republic, for access to the Baltic Sea. This gave Poland a short coastline, but without a large harbour. This was also the pretext for making Danzig (now Gdańsk) with its harbour the Free City of Danzig, to which Poland was given free access. However, the Germans placed obstacles to this free access, especially when it came to military material. In response, the small fishing harbour of Gdynia was soon greatly enlarged.
Until the dissolution of Austria–Hungary in 1918 at the end of World War I, Austrians, Hungarians and that empire's other nationalities had served in that country's navy, but since then, Austria and Hungary have both been landlocked countries.
Trade agreements[edit]
This section does not cite any sources. Please help improve this section by adding citations to reliable sources. Unsourced material may be challenged and removed. (August 2018) (Learn how and when to remove this template message)
Countries can make agreements on getting free transport of goods through neighbour countries:
The Treaty of Versailles required Germany to offer Czechoslovakia a lease for 99 years of parts of the ports in Hamburg and Stettin, allowing Czechoslovakia sea trade via the Elbe and Oder rivers. Stettin was annexed by Poland after World War II, but Hamburg continued the contract so that part of the port (now called Moldauhafen) may still be used for sea trade by a successor of Czechoslovakia, the Czech Republic.
The Danube is an international waterway, and thus landlocked Austria, Hungary, Moldova, Serbia, and Slovakia have secure access to the Black Sea (the same access is given to inland parts of Germany and Croatia, though Germany and Croatia are not landlocked). However, oceangoing ships cannot use the Danube, so cargo must be transloaded anyway, and many overseas imports into Austria and Hungary use land transport from Atlantic and Mediterranean ports. A similar situation exists for the Rhine river where Switzerland has boat access, but not oceangoing ships. Luxembourg has such through the Moselle, but Liechtenstein has no boat access, even though it is located along the Rhine, as the Rhine is not navigable that far upstream.
The Mekong is an international waterway so that landlocked Laos has access to the South China Sea (since Laos became independent from French Indochina). However, it is not navigable above the Khone Phapheng Falls.
Free ports allow transshipment to short-distance ships or river vessels.
The TIR Treaty allows sealed road transport without customs checks and charges, mostly in Europe.
Political repercussions[edit]
This section needs additional citations for verification. Please help improve this article by adding citations to reliable sources. Unsourced material may be challenged and removed. (August 2018) (Learn how and when to remove this template message)
Losing access to the sea is generally a great blow to a nation, politically, militarily, and economically. The following are examples of countries becoming landlocked.
The independence of Eritrea, brought about by successful separatist movements, has caused Ethiopia to become landlocked.
Montenegro's decision to abandon the State Union of Serbia and Montenegro caused the federal unit of Serbia to become a landlocked independent state.
Bolivia lost its coastline to Chile in the War of the Pacific and accepted it in treaties signed in 1884 and 1904. The last treaty gives port storage facilities and special treatment for the transit of goods from and to Bolivia through Chilean ports and territory. Peru and Argentina have also given special treatment for the transit of goods. A fluvial Bolivian Navy, which did not exist at the time of the War of the Pacific, was created later and both trains and operates in Lake Titicaca and rivers. The Bolivian people annually celebrate a patriotic "Dia del Mar" (Day of the Sea) to remember its territorial loss, which included both the coastal city of Antofagasta and what has proven to be one of the most significant and lucrative copper deposits in the world. Early in the 21st century, the selection of the route of gas pipes from Bolivia to the sea fueled popular uprisings, as people were against the option of laying the pipes through Chilean territory.
Austria and Hungary also lost their access to the sea as a consequence of the Treaty of Saint-Germain-en-Laye (1919) and the Treaty of Trianon (1920) respectively. Previously, although Croatia had a limited constitutional autonomy within the Kingdom of Hungary, the City of Fiume/Rijeka on the Croatian coast was governed directly from Budapest by an appointed governor as a corpus separatum, to provide Hungary with its only international port in the periods 1779–1813, 1822–1848 and 1868–1918.
By 1801, the Nizam's dominion of Hyderabad State assumed the shape it is now remembered for: that of a landlocked princely state with territories in central Deccan, bounded on all sides by British India, whereas 150 years earlier it had had a considerable coastline on the Bay of Bengal which was annexed by the British.[9]
It is possible that one of the causes of the Paraguayan War was Paraguay's lack of direct ocean access (although this is disputed; see the linked article).
When the Entente Powers divided the former Ottoman Empire under the Treaty of Sèvres at the close of World War I, Armenia was promised part of the Trebizond vilayet (roughly corresponding to the modern Trabzon and Rize provinces in Turkey). This would have given Armenia access to the Black Sea. However, the Sèvres treaty collapsed with the Turkish War of Independence and was superseded by the Treaty of Lausanne (1923), which firmly established Turkish rule over the area.
In 2011, South Sudan broke off from Sudan, causing the former to become landlocked. There still remains conflict over the oil fields in South Sudan between the two countries.
The United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea now gives a landlocked country a right of access to and from the sea without taxation of traffic through transit states. The United Nations has a programme of action to assist landlocked developing countries,[10] and the current responsible Undersecretary-General is Anwarul Karim Chowdhury.
Some countries have a long coastline, but much of it may not be readily usable for trade and commerce. For instance, in its early history, Russia's only ports were on the Arctic Ocean and frozen shut for much of the year. The wish to gain control of a warm-water port was a major motivator of Russian expansion towards the Baltic Sea, Black Sea and Pacific Ocean. On the other hand, some landlocked countries can have access to the ocean along wide navigable rivers. For instance, Paraguay (and Bolivia to a lesser extent) have access to the ocean by the Paraguay and Parana rivers.
Several countries have coastlines on landlocked seas, such as the Caspian and the Dead. Since these seas are in effect lakes without access to wider seaborne trade, countries such as Kazakhstan are still considered landlocked. Although the Caspian Sea is connected to the Black Sea via the man-made Volga–Don Canal, large oceangoing ships are unable to traverse it.
By degree[edit]
Landlocked countries may be bordered by a single country having direct access to the high seas, two or more such countries, or be surrounded by other landlocked countries, making a country doubly landlocked.
Landlocked by a single country[edit]
Three countries are landlocked by a single country (enclaved countries):
Lesotho, a state surrounded by South Africa.
San Marino, a state surrounded by Italy.
Vatican City, a state forming part of Rome, thus surrounded by Italy.
Landlocked by two countries[edit]
Seven landlocked countries are surrounded by only two mutually bordering neighbours (semi-enclaved countries):
Andorra (between France and Spain)
Bhutan (between India and China)
Liechtenstein (one of the "doubly landlocked" countries, between Switzerland and Austria)
Moldova (between Ukraine and Romania)
Mongolia (between Russia and China)
Nepal (between India and China)
Swaziland (between South Africa and Mozambique)
To this group could be added three de facto states with no or limited international recognition:
South Ossetia (between Russia and Georgia)
Transnistria (between Ukraine and Moldova)
Kosovo (between Albania, Macedonia, Montenegro and Serbia)
Doubly landlocked[edit]
A country is "doubly landlocked" or "double-landlocked" when it is surrounded entirely by one or more landlocked countries (requiring the crossing of at least two national borders to reach a coastline).[11][12] There are two such countries:
Liechtenstein in Central Europe, surrounded by Switzerland and Austria.[13]
Uzbekistan in Central Asia, surrounded by Afghanistan, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, and Turkmenistan.[14]
There were no doubly landlocked countries from the unification of Germany in 1871 until the end of World War I. Liechtenstein bordered the Austro-Hungarian Empire, which had an Adriatic coastline, and Uzbekistan was then part of the Russian Empire, which had both ocean and sea access.
With the dissolution of Austria-Hungary in 1918 and creation of an independent, landlocked Austria, Liechtenstein became the sole doubly landlocked country until 1938. In the Nazi Anschluss that year, Austria was absorbed into the Third Reich, which possessed a border on the Baltic Sea and the North Sea. After World War II, Austria regained its independence and Liechtenstein once again became doubly landlocked.
Uzbekistan, which had been absorbed by the Soviet Union upon the toppling of the Russian throne in 1917, gained its independence with the dissolution of the U.S.S.R. in 1991 and became the second doubly landlocked country.
However, Uzbekistan's doubly landlocked status depends on the Caspian Sea's status dispute: some countries, especially Iran and Turkmenistan, claim that the Caspian Sea should be considered as a real sea (mainly because this way they would have larger oil and gas fields), which would make Uzbekistan only a simple landlocked country because its neighbours Turkmenistan and Kazakhstan have access to the Caspian Sea.[citation needed]
List of landlocked countries and territories[edit]
Country
Area (km2)
Population
Cluster
Surrounding countries
Count
Afghanistan 652,230 33,369,945 Central Asia Iran, Turkmenistan, Uzbekistan, Tajikistan, China, Pakistan 6
Andorra 468 84,082 (none) France, Spain 2
Armenia[e] 29,743 3,254,300 Caucasia Iran, Turkey, Georgia, Azerbaijan 4
Artsakh[c] 11,458 146,600 Caucasia Armenia, Azerbaijan, Iran 3
Austria 83,871 8,823,054 Central Europe Germany, Czech Republic, Slovakia, Hungary, Slovenia, Italy, Liechtenstein, Switzerland 8
Azerbaijan[a][e] 86,600 8,997,401 Caucasia Russia, Georgia, Armenia, Iran, Turkey 4
Belarus 207,600 9,484,300 (none) Poland, Lithuania, Russia, Ukraine, Latvia 5
Bhutan 38,394 691,141 (none) India, China 2
Bolivia 1,098,581 10,907,778 South America Peru, Brazil, Chile, Argentina, Paraguay 5
Botswana 582,000 1,990,876 Southern Africa Namibia, Zambia, Zimbabwe, South Africa 4
Burkina Faso 274,222 15,746,232 Central Africa Mali, Niger, Benin, Togo, Ghana, Ivory Coast 6
Burundi 27,834 10,557,259 Central Africa Rwanda, Tanzania, Democratic Republic of the Congo 3
Central African Republic 622,984 4,422,000 Central Africa Chad, Cameroon, Congo, Democratic Republic of the Congo, Sudan, South Sudan 6
Chad 1,284,000 13,670,084 Central Africa Libya, Niger, Sudan, Central African Republic, Nigeria, Cameroon 6
Czech Republic 78,867 10,674,947 Central Europe Austria, Germany, Poland, Slovakia 4
Ethiopia 1,104,300 101,853,268 Central Africa Djibouti, Eritrea, Kenya, Somalia, South Sudan, Sudan 6
Hungary 93,028 9,797,561 Central Europe Austria, Croatia, Romania, Serbia, Slovakia, Slovenia, Ukraine 7
Kazakhstan[a] 2,724,900 16,372,000 Central Asia China, Kyrgyzstan, Russia, Turkmenistan, Uzbekistan 5
Kosovo[c] 10,908 1,804,838 Central Europe Albania, Macedonia, Montenegro, Serbia 4
Kyrgyzstan 199,951 5,482,000 Central Asia China, Kazakhstan, Tajikistan, Uzbekistan 4
Laos 236,800 6,320,000 (none) Myanmar, China, Vietnam, Cambodia, Thailand 5
Lesotho[d] 30,355 2,067,000 (none) South Africa 1
Liechtenstein 160 35,789 Central Europe Switzerland, Austria 2
Luxembourg 2,586 502,202 (none) Belgium, Germany, France 3
Macedonia 25,713 2,114,550 Central Europe Kosovo, Serbia, Bulgaria, Greece, Albania 5
Malawi 118,484 15,028,757 Southern Africa Zambia, Tanzania, Mozambique 3
Mali 1,240,192 14,517,176 Central Africa Algeria, Niger, Burkina Faso, Ivory Coast, Guinea, Senegal, Mauritania 7
Moldova 33,846 3,559,500 (Eastern Europe) Romania, Ukraine 2
Mongolia 1,566,500 2,892,876 (none) China, Russia 2
Nepal 147,181 26,494,504 (none) China, India 2
Niger 1,267,000 15,306,252 Central Africa Libya, Chad, Nigeria, Benin, Burkina Faso, Mali, Algeria 7
Paraguay 406,752 6,349,000 South America Argentina, Brazil, Bolivia 3
Rwanda 26,338 10,746,311 Central Africa Uganda, Tanzania, Burundi, Democratic Republic of the Congo 4
San Marino[d] 61 31,716 (none) Italy 1
Serbia 88,361 7,306,677 Central Europe Hungary, Romania, Bulgaria, Macedonia, Croatia, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Montenegro, Albania (via Kosovo and Metohija[c]) 8
Slovakia 49,035 5,429,763 Central Europe Austria, Czech Republic, Poland, Ukraine, Hungary 5
South Ossetia[c] 3,900 72,000 (none) Georgia, Russia 2
South Sudan 619,745 8,260,490 Central Africa Sudan, Ethiopia, Kenya, Uganda, Democratic Republic of the Congo, Central African Republic 6
Swaziland 17,364 1,185,000 (none) Mozambique, South Africa 2
Switzerland 41,284 8,401,120 Central Europe France, Germany, Liechtenstein, Austria, Italy 5
Tajikistan 143,100 7,349,145 Central Asia Afghanistan, Uzbekistan, Kyrgyzstan, China 4
Transnistria[c] 4,163 505,153 (Eastern Europe) Moldova, Ukraine 2
Turkmenistan[a] 488,100 5,110,000 Central Asia Kazakhstan, Uzbekistan, Afghanistan, Iran 4
Uganda 241,038 40,322,768 Central Africa Kenya, South Sudan, Democratic Republic of the Congo, Rwanda, Tanzania 5
Uzbekistan 449,100 32,606,007 Central Asia Kazakhstan, Tajikistan, Kyrgyzstan, Afghanistan, Turkmenistan 5
Vatican City[d] 0.44 826 (none) Italy 1
West Bank[b][c] 5,655 2,862,485 (none) Israel, Jordan 2
Zambia 752,612 12,935,000 Southern Africa Democratic Republic of the Congo, Tanzania, Malawi, Mozambique, Zimbabwe, Botswana, Namibia, Angola 8
Zimbabwe 390,757 12,521,000 Southern Africa South Africa, Botswana, Zambia, Mozambique 4
Total
14,776,228 475,818,737
Percentage of World
11.4% 6.9%
a Has a coastline on the saltwater Caspian Sea
b Has a coastline on the saltwater Dead Sea
c Disputed region with limited international recognition
d Landlocked by just one country
e Not fully recognized
They can be grouped in contiguous groups as follows:[15]
Central Asian cluster (6): Afghanistan, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan, Uzbekistan
Central European cluster (9): Austria, Czech Republic, Hungary, Kosovo (partially recognized), Liechtenstein, Macedonia, Serbia, Slovakia and Switzerland
West, Central and East African cluster (10): Burkina Faso, Burundi, Central African Republic, Chad, Ethiopia, Mali, Niger, Rwanda, South Sudan, Uganda
South African cluster (4): Botswana, Malawi, Zambia, Zimbabwe
Caucasian cluster (3): Armenia, Azerbaijan, Artsakh (unrecognized)
South American cluster (2): Bolivia, Paraguay
If Transnistria is included then Moldova and Transnistria form their own cluster, listed in parentheses in the table.
If it were not for the 40 km (25 mi) of coastline at Muanda, Democratic Republic of the Congo would join the two African clusters into one, making them the biggest contiguous group in the world. Also, the Central Asian and Caucasian clusters can be considered contiguous, joined by the landlocked Caspian Sea. Mongolia is almost part of this cluster too, being separated from Kazakhstan by only 30 km (19 mi), across Russian or Chinese territory.
There are the following "single" landlocked countries (each of them borders no other landlocked country):
Africa (2): Lesotho, Swaziland
Asia (5): Bhutan, Laos, Mongolia, Nepal, West Bank (partially recognized)
Europe (6): Andorra, Belarus, Luxembourg, Moldova (if Transnistria is excluded), San Marino, and the State of the Vatican City
Caucasus (1): South Ossetia (partially recognized)
If the Caucasian countries and Kazakhstan are counted as part of Europe, then Europe has the most landlocked countries, at 20. If these transcontinental countries are included in Asia, then Africa has the most, at 16. Depending on the status of the three transcontinental countries, Asia has between 9 and 15, while South America has only 2. North America and Australia are the only continents with no landlocked countries (not including Antarctica, which has no countries).
See also[edit]
Geography portal
Convention on Transit Trade of Land-locked States
Declaration recognising the Right to a Flag of States having no Sea-coast
Enclave and exclave
List of countries and territories by land and maritime borders
List of countries that border only one other country
List of landlocked U.S. states
Navies of landlocked countries
References[edit]
Jump up ^ Munim, Ziaul Haque; Haralambides, Hercules (2018). "Competition and cooperation for intermodal container transhipment: A network optimization approach". Research in Transportation Business & Management. 26: 87–99. doi:10.1016/j.rtbm.2018.03.004.
Jump up ^ Paudel, R. C. (2012). "Landlockedness and Economic Growth: New Evidence". Growth and Export Performance of Developing Countries: Is Landlockedness Destiny? (PDF). Canberra, Australia: Australian National University. pp. 13–72.
Jump up ^ Faye, M. L.; McArthur, J. W.; Sachs, J. D.; Snow, T. (2004). "The Challenges Facing Landlocked Developing Countries". Journal of Human Development. 5 (1): 31–68 [pp. 31–32]. doi:10.1080/14649880310001660201.
Jump up ^ Collier, Paul (2007). The Bottom Billion. New York: Oxford University Press. pp. 56, 57. ISBN 978-0-19-537338-7.
Jump up ^ Moseley, W. G.; Carney, J.; Becker, L. (2010). "Neoliberal Policy, Rural Livelihoods and Urban Food Security in West Africa: A Comparative Study of The Gambia, Côte d'Ivoire and Mali". Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. USA. 107 (13): 5774–5779. Bibcode:2010PNAS..107.5774M. doi:10.1073/pnas.0905717107. PMC 2851933  .
Jump up ^ Moseley, W. G. (2011). "Lessons from the 2008 Global Food Crisis: Agro-Food Dynamics in Mali". Development in Practice. 21 (4–5): 604–612.
Jump up ^ United Nations Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD) (2010). Review of Maritime Transport, 2010 (PDF). New York and Geneva: United Nations. p. 160. ISBN 978-92-1-112810-9. [permanent dead link]
Jump up ^ "Danube River Basin". International Waterway Governance. Retrieved June 30, 2018. )
Jump up ^ Chopra, P. N.; Puri, B. N.; Das, M. N. A Comprehensive History of India. 3. p. 298.
Jump up ^ UN Report Archived 2011-09-28 at the Wayback Machine.
Jump up ^ Dempsey Morais, Caitlin. "Landlocked Countries". Geolounge. Retrieved November 4, 2015.
Jump up ^ "Landlocked Countries". About.com. Retrieved November 4, 2015.
Jump up ^ "IGU regional conference on environment and quality of life in central Europe". GeoJournal. 28 (4). 1992. doi:10.1007/BF00273120.
Jump up ^ CIA World Factbook Uzbekistan
Jump up ^ MacKellar, Landis; Wörgötter, Andreas; Wörz, Julia. "Economic Development Problems of Landlocked Countries" (PDF). Wien Institute for Advanced Studies. p. 12.
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