COUNTRIES WITH ACCESS TO OCEANS

There are currently about 200 independent states in the world. Most of them have access to the world's oceans, the waters of which cover just over 70 per cent of the Earth's surface. However, 44 countries are landlocked. Usually states are washed by one of 5 oceans – Atlantic, Pacific, Indian, Arctic or Southern. But a small number of countries are lucky enough to border two or more oceans at once.

Next, let's distinguish countries with access to two and three oceans.

COUNTRIES WITH ACCESS TO THREE OCEANS

№	Country	Continent/part of the world	Oceans
1.	South Africa	Africa	Atlantic, Indian, Southern
2.	Russia	Europe	Atlantic, Pacific, Arctic
3.	Canada	North America	Atlantic, Pacific, Arctic
4.	USA	North America	Atlantic, Pacific, Arctic
5.	Argentina	South America	Atlantic, Pacific, Southern
6.	Chile	South America	Atlantic, Pacific, Southern
7.	Australia	Oceania	Atlantic, Indian, Southern

COUNTRIES WITH ACCESS TO TWO OCEANS

№	Country	Continent/part of the world	Oceans
1.	East Timor	Asia	Pacific, Indian
2.	Egypt	Asia/Africa	Atlantic, Indian
3.	Indonesia Asia	Asia/Oceania	Pacific, Indian
4.	Israel	Asia	Atlantic, Indian
5.	Malaysia	Asia	Pacific, Indian
6.	Thailand	Asia	Pacific, Indian
7.	Norway	Europe	Atlantic, Arctic
8.	Guatemala	North America	Pacific, Indian
9.	Honduras	North America	Pacific, Indian
10.	Greenland	North America	Atlantic, Arctic
11.	Colombia	North America	Pacific, Indian
12.	Costa Rica	North America	Pacific, Indian
13.	Mexico	North America	Pacific, Atlantic
14.	Nicaragua	North America	Pacific, Indian
15.	Panama	North America	Pacific, Indian

An interesting fact is that under the UN Law of the Sea of 1982, coastal countries were given ownership of 200 miles of ocean around their continental shelf, the so-called Exclusive Economic Zones. So today 83 nations are now made up of more water than land, and 54 are more than 80 per cent ocean. And several small island states are now more than 90 per cent under water.

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