According to the CIA Factbook (http://www.odci.gov/cia/publications/factbook) many nations of the world are landlocked. Several of these nations – located in Europe – are among the well-developed, more prosperous nations of the world. However, the majority of landlocked nations which are located in Africa, Asia and South America, are among the world's least-developed, poorer nations. Being landlocked appears to correlate highly with lacking modern technology and being economically underdeveloped. Students might investigate whether or not this is true, and also attempt to see if they can find reasons to explain their findings. See if individuals/teams can locate and label all landlocked nations on a world map. Have students research economic data (e.g., trade, income, GNP figures) and quality of life data (e.g., longevity figures, birth and death rates, education levels, doctors per thousand people, infant mortality, or number of newspapers available) and graph or otherwise record their findings for discussion and analysis. What types of governments do these nations have? Which of them are former possessions of which colonial powers? Which of these nations appear to have the best chance in the future of catching-up to the more developed nations? Can students cite hard data to support their opinions?