With the emergence of many newly independent states after the Second World War, the number of land-locked states or states having no sea coast, has also grown significantly. More than one-fourth of the states in the world are land-locked. In Asia, land-locked states are Afghanistan, Bhutan, Laos, Outer Mongolia and Nepal. But the largest number of land-locked states is in Africa. There are 14 in number, comprising almost half the number of land-locked states in the world.