Laos is the only landlocked country in Southeast Asia. It has no coastline and is surrounded by Myanmar, China, Vietnam, Cambodia, and Thailand in mainland Southeast Asia.
The country’s geography is dominated by mountains, forested highlands, plateaus, and the Mekong River. The Mekong forms much of Laos’s western boundary with Thailand, but it does not provide a route to the open sea because waterfalls and other geographic barriers interrupt navigation in the south.
Laos’s lack of a coastline has shaped its history, trade, and transport links. The country has traditionally depended on overland routes and river connections with its neighbors. Its capital, Vientiane, lies on the Mekong opposite Thailand and is one of the region’s best-known river cities.
A common confusion is grouping Laos with all mainland Southeast Asian countries that are not island nations. Myanmar, Thailand, Vietnam, Cambodia, and Malaysia have coastlines; Laos alone in the region has none. Laos is also distinct from Nepal and Bhutan, which are landlocked elsewhere in Asia.