What's missing? The countries with no airports, railways, trees and World Heritage Sites

Liechtenstein: lovely castle, but where's the airport?
Liechtenstein: lovely castle, but where's the airport? Credit: Vit Kovalcik - Fotolia

Some countries are spoiled when it comes to attractions and infrastructure. 

The US has 13,513 airports, surely more than is strictly necessary. Greedy Italy can boast 53 World Heritage Sites, enough to keep even the most workaholic travel writer busy. Sweden has a staggering 267,570 islands, too many to visit in a lifetime.

But what of the nations without? 

No airports

Just five countries, all in Europe, don't have an airport. Why? Because they are all very small and/or very mountainous. 

Andorra: no room for runways
  1. Andorra
  2. Liechtenstein
  3. Monaco 
  4. San Marino
  5. Vatican City

No railways

Surely every country has trains. Even the Vatican has a 1.27km railway. Not so. Iceland is among the most surprising on this list, but it has plans to introduce one, called the "Lava Express", with construction to start in 2020. Oman and Qatar have big plans for rail networks too. Some countries, like Libya and Malta, once had railways, but not any more. 

Iceland: no trains (yet) Credit: © Della Huff / Alamy Stock Photo/Della Huff / Alamy Stock Photo
  1. Andorra
  2. Bhutan
  3. Cyprus
  4. Timor-Leste
  5. Guinea-Bissau
  6. Iceland
  7. Kuwait
  8. Libya 
  9. Macau
  10. Malta
  11. Marshall Islands
  12. Mauritius
  13. Micronesia
  14. Niger
  15. Oman
  16. Papua New Guinea
  17. Qatar
  18. Rwanda
  19. San Marino
  20. Solomon Islands
  21. Somalia
  22. Suriname
  23. Tonga
  24. Trinidad and Tobago
  25. Tuvalu
  26. Vanuatu
  27. Yemen

No booze

The sale of booze is banned in a handful of Muslim-majority countries. Others, such as Maldives, Pakistan, and UAE, restrict its sale. 

Brunei: don't pack your hipflask Credit: azrisuratmin - Fotolia
  1. Afghanistan
  2. Brunei
  3. Kuwait
  4. Libya
  5. Mauritania
  6. Saudi Arabia
  7. Somalia
  8. Sudan
  9. Yemen

No World Heritage Sites

There are an incredible 1,073 World Heritage Sites, but some nations still have none. 

Sierra Leone: awaiting World Heritage Sites Credit: Credit: Nick Ledger / Alamy Stock Photo/Nick Ledger / Alamy Stock Photo
  1. Bhutan
  2. Guinea-Bissau
  3. Guyana
  4. Liberia
  5. Sierra Leone
  6. Somalia
  7. South Sudan

No mountains

The highest country on Earth? That's Bhutan, where the average altitude is a lofty 3,280 metres. It's paradise for hikers. Not so the following countries, the 15 lowest on Earth. 

  1. Maldives - 2m
  2. Qatar - 28m
  3. Netherlands - 30m
  4. The Gambia - 34m
  5. Denmark - 34m
  6. Estonia - 61m
  7. Senegal - 69m
  8. Guinea-Bissau - 70m
  9. Trinidad and Tobago - 83m
  10. Bangladesh - 85m
  11. Latvia - 87m
  12. Kuwait - 108m
  13. Cuba - 108m
  14. Uruguay - 109m
  15. Lithuania - 110m

No beaches

Canada has the most coast of all - a staggering 202,080 kilometres, according to the CIA World Factbook - though the chilly waters mean it's far from ideal for beachgoers. A far better bet would be Indonesia, with its 54,716km of seaside. That's a lot more than the following landlocked countries. 

Bolivia: flamingos, but no seaside Credit: NoraDoa - Fotolia
  1. Afghanistan
  2. Andorra
  3. Armenia
  4. Austria
  5. Azerbaijan
  6. Belarus
  7. Bhutan
  8. Bolivia
  9. Botswana
  10. Burkina Faso
  11. Burundi
  12. Central African Republic
  13. Chad
  14. Czech Republic
  15. Ethiopia
  16. Hungary
  17. Kazakhstan
  18. Kosovo
  19. Kyrgyzstan
  20. Laos
  21. Lesotho
  22. Liechtenstein
  23. Luxembourg
  24. Macedonia
  25. Malawi
  26. Mali
  27. Moldova
  28. Mongolia
  29. Nepal
  30. Niger
  31. Paraguay
  32. Rwanda
  33. San Marino
  34. Serbia
  35. Slovakia
  36. South Sudan
  37. Swaziland
  38. Switzerland
  39. Tajikistan
  40. Turkmenistan
  41. Uganda
  42. Uzbekistan
  43. Vatican City
  44. Zambia
  45. Zimbabwe

No borders

China's military spending was $215.7bn in 2016. Given that it shares a border with more territories than any other country, perhaps that should not come as a surprise. The most populous nation on the planet has 16 unique land neighbours, with 22,147km of land borders (also a record).They are: Afghanistan (76km), Bhutan (470km), Hong Kong (30km), India (3 borders totalling 3,380km), Kazakhstan (1,533km), North Korea (1,416km), Kyrgyzstan (858km), Laos (423km), Macau (0.34km), Mongolia (4,677km), Myanmar (2,185km), Nepal (1,236km), Pakistan (523km), Russia (2 borders totalling 3,645km), Tajikistan (414km) and Vietnam (1,281km). That's a lot of armed guards and passport control stations. The following have no land borders to speak of. 

  1. Australia
  2. New Zealand
  3. Cuba
  4. Iceland
  5. Madagascar
  6. Japan
  7. Malta
  8. Jamaica
  9. Barbados
  10. Bahamas
  11. Seychelles
  12. Saint Kitts and Nevis
  13. Saint Lucia
  14. Fiji
  15. Saint Vincent and the Grenadines
  16. Antigua and Barbuda
  17. Trinidad and Tobago
  18. Maldives
  19. Samoa
  20. Tonga
  21. Taiwan
  22. Tuvalu
  23. Cape Verde
  24. Marshall Islands
  25. Nauru
  26. Kiribati
  27. Vanuatu
  28. Comoros
  29. Grenada
  30. Palau
  31. Mauritius
  32. Solomon Islands
  33. Federated States of Micronesia
  34. São Tomé and Príncipe
  35. Dominica
  36. Philippines
  37. Bahrain
  38. Singapore

No trees

Which countries boast the most trees? The map below shows the world according to percentage of forest area, as recorded by World Bank Open Data. Suriname tops the pile with 95 per cent coverage. But the following four nations have zero, zip, nada. 

  1. San Marino
  2. Qatar
  3. Greenland
  4. Oman

No protected areas

According to data compiled by the World Bank, 14.8 per cent of the world’s land is currently protected; that’s an improvement on 1990 when that figure was just 8.2 per cent. Despite being one of the most dangerous and politically volatile countries on the planet, it is Venezuela that leads the way when it comes to conservation, having designated 53.9 per cent of its territory as protected. Four countries have none.

Macao: don't expect national parks Credit: © Fabio Nodari / Alamy Stock Photo/Fabio Nodari / Alamy Stock Photo
  1. Macao
  2. Nauru
  3. Sao Tome and Principe
  4. San Marino

No army

Peaceful places, one and all.

Costa Rica: who needs an army? Credit: Riviera Travel
  1. Andorra
  2. Costa Rica
  3. Dominica
  4. Grenada
  5. Kiribati
  6. Liechtenstein
  7. Marshall Islands
  8. Micronesia
  9. Palau
  10. Nauru
  11. Saint Lucia
  12. Saint Vincent and the Grenadines
  13. Samoa
  14. Solomon Islands
  15. Tuvalu
  16. Vatican City

No rivers

Don't pack your canoe. 

Saudi Arabia: a river doesn't run through it Credit: 2012 AFP/FAYEZ NURELDINE
  1. Bahrain
  2. Kiribati
  3. Maldives
  4. Marshall Islands
  5. Monaco 
  6. Nauru
  7. Saudi Arabia
  8. Tonga 
  9. Tuvalu

No Olympic medals

There's 73 countries in all. Way too many to list here. So check out the map below. 

No rural life

The map below shows the world according to urban population as a percentage of total population. Those countries or territories in dark blue have the most urbanised populations, those in lighter colours the least. More than half of the world's population (53.5 per cent) now lives in urban areas, up from 49 per cent in 2005 and 43 per cent in 1990. And there are seven places where 100 per cent of the population lives in urban areas, as defined by national statistical offices. 

  1. Hong Kong
  2. Singapore
  3. Bermuda
  4. Macao
  5. Cayman Islands
  6. Sint Maarten
  7. Monaco

CORRECTION: This article originally contained an inaccuracy that has been amended. The error and the correct position are set out on our website here.