the challenges facing landlocked developing countries: a case study ...

of transit. In fact, the landlocked countries of western Africa receive only 23% of the already
low levels of FDI per capita of their regional neighbors.
The political challenges of this region are exacerbated by the extremely poor transport
infrastructure, both in the landlocked countries and their transit neighbors. Contributing to
such poor infrastructure are the difficult geographic conditions of the region, in particular the
heavy rainy seasons. These rains can often leave the main roads flooded for months at a time
and have devastating effects on the rural feeder roads. Prolonged dry seasons, on the other
hand, often render the region’s many rivers impassable. The effects are particularly acute for
the large countries Niger, Mali and Chad, where significant areas of land are often cut off
from the rest of the country for much of the year.
Attempts to ease such transit challenges through regional integration have thus far been
unsuccessful, largely as a result of continuing political instability. Reflecting such instability,
severe corruption and bureaucratic limitations persist.
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