Which country is the smallest landlocked state in the Americas?

Paraguay is the smallest landlocked state in the Americas by total area.

Paraguay covers about 406,752 square kilometres and lies in the centre of South America. It borders Argentina, Bolivia and Brazil, with no direct access to an ocean. The Paraguay and Paraná rivers provide important transport routes and connect the country to the Atlantic through the Río de la Plata system.

Paraguay is sometimes confused with Bolivia in questions about landlocked South American countries. Bolivia is also landlocked and has a larger area, while Paraguay is the smaller of the two. Paraguay’s lack of a coastline resulted from nineteenth-century territorial changes, especially after the War of the Triple Alliance.

The country is divided geographically by the Paraguay River. The eastern region is more densely populated and agriculturally productive, while the western Chaco is much less densely settled. As a small-country comparison, Paraguay is larger than every European microstate but remains the smallest sovereign landlocked country in the Americas.