Atlantic Ocean countries
The 64 countries with an Atlantic coast, on four continents, counting the Caribbean, the Gulf of Mexico and the North Sea, but not the Mediterranean, the Black Sea or the Baltic.
64 countriesAs of September 2026Short notes, not sourcedSuggest a correction
The Atlantic is the second-largest ocean, about 106 million km², stretching from the Arctic to the Southern Ocean between the Americas on one side and Europe and Africa on the other. Down its middle runs the Mid-Atlantic Ridge, where the plates are pulling apart and the ocean is still widening, by a few centimetres a year. Iceland sits on top of it.
More countries border it than any other ocean. The Gulf Stream carries warm water from the Caribbean towards Europe, making north-western Europe milder than places at the same latitude in Canada. From the 16th to the 19th century it was the ocean of the slave trade, which carried more than twelve million Africans to the Americas.
Europe11
Counting the North Sea, but not the Baltic or the Mediterranean.
IcelandSits astride the Mid-Atlantic Ridge.
DenmarkIts west coast faces the North Sea.
GermanyIts North Sea coast, with Hamburg and Bremen, counts.
NetherlandsAbout a quarter of it lies below sea level, kept dry by dikes against the North Sea.
SpainAlso has the Canary Islands, off the coast of Africa.
PortugalIts whole coast is Atlantic, and so are the Azores and Madeira.
Africa23
From Morocco round the bulge of West Africa and the Gulf of Guinea to the Cape.
SenegalDakar is the westernmost city on the African mainland.
Cape VerdeIslands about 600 km off Senegal.
São Tomé and PríncipeIslands in the Gulf of Guinea, close to where the Equator meets the Prime Meridian.
DR CongoIts coast, at the mouth of the Congo River, is only about 40 km long.
NamibiaThe cold Benguela Current offshore helps keep the Namib, along the coast, one of the driest deserts on Earth.
South AfricaIts west coast faces the Atlantic, and Cape Agulhas is where it meets the Indian Ocean.
North and Central America9
Counting the Gulf of Mexico and the Caribbean.
MexicoIts east coast is on the Gulf of Mexico and the Caribbean.
The Caribbean islands13
South America8
Close calls
Seas with their own clue
The Mediterranean, the Black Sea and the Baltic all connect to the Atlantic, but the Grid gives each its own clue, so a country with a coast only on one of them, like Italy, Poland or Greece, isn’t on this list.
Sweden
Sweden’s west coast is on the Kattegat and Skagerrak, the straits between the North Sea and the Baltic. Here they count with the Baltic, so Sweden isn’t on the list.
Territories
Greenland, Bermuda, the Falklands, St Helena, the Faroe Islands and French Guiana all face the Atlantic but belong to other countries.
More country lists
- Amazon rainforest countries
- Andean countries
- Arab League member states
- Arctic Ocean countries
- ASEAN member countries
- Baltic Sea countries
- Black Sea countries
- BRICS member countries
- Caribbean Sea countries
- Commonwealth member countries
- Countries in the Arctic Circle
- Countries in the European Union
- Countries of the former Yugoslavia
- Countries on the Equator
- Countries that drive on the left
- Countries that use the euro
- Countries with a monarch
- Countries with nuclear weapons
- Danube countries
- FIFA World Cup host countries
- Former Soviet republics
- G20 member countries
- Indian Ocean countries
- Island nations
- Landlocked countries
- Mediterranean countries
- Mekong countries
- NATO member countries
- OECD member countries
- OPEC member countries
- Pacific Ocean countries
- Persian Gulf countries
- Red Sea countries
- Sahara Desert countries
- Schengen Area countries
- Summer Olympics host countries
- Winter Olympics host countries