How many countries have a coastline on the Mediterranean Sea?
Guess before you scroll — the answer is below
The answer
21 countries
Twenty-one countries border the Mediterranean, spanning three continents: Europe, Africa and Asia. That makes it one of the few seas that touches so many nations in such a small area, which is exactly why coordinating pollution control across the Mediterranean has needed its own dedicated UN action plan since 1975.
How to get close to this number
Go round the coast. Southern Europe contributes the most, then the Levant, then the whole North African shore, plus the island states. Circumnavigating a sea in your head, naming countries as you go, is the reliable method — and the sheer number of them is what makes this sea unusual.
The surprise is the density. This is not a large ocean, yet more than twenty countries border it across three continents. Most seas that touch this many nations are far bigger; here the coastline is intricate and the political geography is fragmented, which packs an unusual number of borders into a small body of water.
That density has a practical consequence, and the explanation names it: pollution in a nearly enclosed sea is everyone's problem and nobody's jurisdiction, which is why it needed a dedicated multinational action plan decades ago. Counts like this vary slightly by source depending on whether island microstates and disputed territories are included.
Where this number comes from
| Source | United Nations Environment Programme, Mediterranean Action Plan |
|---|---|
| Figure refers to | 2023 |
| Last checked | |
| Unit | countries |
Numbers move. If this one has drifted from its source, let us know.
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