Exclusive economic zone

An exclusive economic zone (EEZ), as prescribed by the 1982 United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea, is an area of the sea in which a sovereign state has exclusive rights regarding the exploration and use of marine resources, including energy production from water and wind.[1] EEZ does not define the ownership of any maritime features (islands, rocks and low-tide elevations) within the EEZ.

The world's exclusive economic zones by boundary types and EEZ types

It stretches from the outer limit of the territorial sea (22.224 kilometres or 12 nmi from the baseline) out 370.4 kilometres (or 200 nautical miles) from the coast of the state in question. It is also referred to as a maritime continental margin and, in colloquial usage, may include the continental shelf. The term does not include either the territorial sea or the continental shelf beyond the 200 nautical mile limit. The difference between the territorial sea and the exclusive economic zone is that the first confers full sovereignty over the waters, whereas the second is merely a "sovereign right" which refers to the coastal state's rights below the surface of the sea. The surface waters are international waters.[2]

Definition

Sea areas in international rights (top down view)

Generally, a state's exclusive economic zone is an area beyond and adjacent to the territorial sea, extending seaward to a distance of no more than 200 nmi (370 km) out from its coastal baseline.[3] The exception to this rule occurs when exclusive economic zones would overlap; that is, state coastal baselines are less than 400 nmi (741 km) apart. When an overlap occurs, it is up to the states to delineate the actual maritime boundary.[4] Generally, any point within an overlapping area defaults to the nearest state.[5]

The exclusive economic zone stretches much further into sea than the territorial waters, which end at 12 nmi (22 km) from the coastal baseline (if following the rules set out in the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea).[5] Thus, the exclusive economic zones includes the contiguous zone.

States also have rights to the seabed of what is called the continental shelf up to 350 nmi (648 km) from the coastal baseline, beyond the exclusive economic zones, but such areas are not part of their exclusive economic zones. The legal definition of the continental shelf does not correspond exactly to the geological meaning of the term, as it also includes the continental rise and slope, and the entire seabed within the exclusive economic zone.

Origin and history

The idea of allotting nations' EEZs to give them more control of maritime affairs outside territorial limits gained acceptance in the late 20th century.

Initially, a country's sovereign territorial waters extended 3 nmi (6 km) (range of cannon shot) beyond the shore.[citation needed] In modern times, a country's sovereign territorial waters extend to 12 nmi (22 km) beyond the shore.[citation needed] One of the first assertions of exclusive jurisdiction beyond the traditional territorial seas was made by the United States in the Truman Proclamation of 28 September 1945. However, it was Chile and Peru respectively that first claimed maritime zones of 200 nautical miles with the Presidential Declaration Concerning Continental Shelf of 23 June 1947[6] and Presidential Decree No. 781 of 1 August 1947[7][8]

It was not until 1982 with the UN Convention on the Law of the Sea that the 200 nautical mile exclusive economic zone was formally adopted.

Disputes

De facto territories in the Spratly Islands

The exact extent of exclusive economic zones is a common source of conflicts between states over marine waters:

Potential disputes

Regions where a permanent ice shelf extends beyond the coastline are also a source of potential dispute.[12]

Resolved disputes

  • The Cod Wars between the United Kingdom and Iceland occurred periodically over many decades until they were resolved with a final agreement in 1976.
  • In 1992, the Canada–France Maritime Boundary Case, which centred on the EEZ around the French islands of Saint Pierre and Miquelon, was decided by an arbitral tribunal that concurred on the whole with the arguments put forth by Canada. France was awarded 18% of the area it had originally claimed.
  • In 1999, following the Hanish Islands conflict, the Permanent Court of Arbitration ruled that the EEZs of Yemen and Eritrea should be demarcated equidistantly between the mainlands of the two nations, without taking account of sovereignty over the islands.[13][14]
  • In 2009, in a dispute between Romania and Ukraine over Snake Island, the UN International Court of Justice decided that Snake Island has no EEZ beyond 12 nautical miles of its own land.[15]
  • In 2010, a dispute between Norway and Russia about both territorial waters and EEZ with regard to the Svalbard archipelago as it affects Russia's EEZ due to its unique treaty status was resolved. A treaty was agreed in principle in April 2010 between the two states and subsequently officially ratified, resolving this demarcation dispute.[16] The agreement was signed in Murmansk on 15 September 2010.[17]
  • In 2014, the Netherlands and Germany resolved an old border dispute regarding the exact location of the border in the Dollart Bay.[18][19]

Transboundary stocks

Fisheries management, usually adhering to guidelines set by the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO), provides significant practical mechanisms for the control of EEZs. Transboundary fish stocks are an important concept in this control.[20]Transboundary stocks are fish stocks that range in the EEZs of at least two countries. Straddling stocks, on the other hand, range both within an EEZ as well as in the high seas, outside any EEZ. A stock can be both transboundary and straddling.[21]

By country

Various island countries

EEZs in the Caribbean Sea
EEZs in the Atlantic and Indian Oceans
EEZs in the Pacific Ocean

Algeria

Algeria on 17 April 2018 established an exclusive economic zone (EEZ) off its coasts by Presidential Decree No. 18-96 of 2 Rajab 1439 corresponding to 20 March 2018.[22][23] The permanent mission of Spain to the United Nations on 27 July 2018 declared its disagreement with the EEZ announced by Algeria and that the government of Spain indicated its willingness to enter into negotiations with the government of Algeria with a view to reaching a mutually acceptable agreement on the outer limits of their respective exclusive economic zones,[24] The same was done by the Italian mission on 28 November 2018.[25] The two countries indicated that the Algerian measure had been taken unilaterally and without consulting them.

On 25 November 2018, the Algerian Ministry of Foreign Affairs sent an oral note in response to the Spanish protest, explaining that the Algerian government does not recognize the largely exorbitant coordinates contained in Royal Decree 236/2013, which overlap with the coordinates of Presidential Decree n° 18–96 establishing an exclusive economic zone off the coast of Algeria. The Algerian government wished to emphasize that the unilateral delimitation carried out by Spain is not in conformity with the letter of the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea and has not taken into consideration the configuration, the specific characteristics, and the special circumstances of the Mediterranean Sea, in particular for the case of the two countries whose coasts are located face to face, as well as the objective rules and relevant principles of international law to govern the equitable delimitation of the maritime areas between Algeria and Spain, in accordance with article 74 of the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea. Algeria expressed its willingness to negotiate for a just solution.[26]

On 20 June 2019, a communication from Algeria was sent. It was addressed to the Italian embassy[27] and the Spanish embassy in Algiers[28] to show their eligibility in Algeria's exclusive economic zone.

Argentina

Argentina's exclusive economic zones, including its territorial claims (the Falklands and South Georgia, etc. plus its Antarctic claim)

Considering the maritime areas claimed, the total area of Argentina reaches 3,849,756 km2. The recognized Argentine EEZ area is 1,159,063 km2.

Australia

Australia's exclusive economic zones, including its Antarctic claim

Australia's exclusive economic zone was declared on 1 August 1994, and extends from 12 to 200 nautical miles from the coastline of Australia and its external territories, except where a maritime delimitation agreement exists with another state.[29][30] To the 12 nautical miles boundary is Australia's territorial waters. Australia has the third largest exclusive economic zone, behind France and the United States, but ahead of Russia, with a total area of 8,148,250 square kilometres, which actually exceeds its land territory.

The United Nations Commission on the Limits of the Continental Shelf (CLCS) confirmed, in April 2008, Australia's rights over an additional 2.5 million square kilometres of seabed beyond the limits of Australia's EEZ.[31][32] Australia also claimed, in its submission to the UN Commission on the Limits of the Continental Shelf, additional Continental Shelf past its EEZ from the Australian Antarctic Territory,[33] but these claims were deferred on Australia's request. However, Australia's EEZ from its Antarctic Territory is approximately 2 million square kilometres.[32]

RegionEEZ Area (km2)[32]
Mainland Australia (5 States and 3 Territories of the Australian Federation), Tasmania, and other minor islands6,048,681
Macquarie Island471,837
 Christmas Island463,371
 Norfolk Island428,618
Heard Island and McDonald Islands410,722
 Cocos Islands325,021
Australian Antarctic Territory2,000,000[note 1]
Total8,148,250

Brazil

Brazil's exclusive economic zones

Brazil's EEZ includes areas around the Fernando de Noronha Islands, Saint Peter and Saint Paul Archipelago, and the Trindade and Martim Vaz Islands. It is called the Blue Amazon.

RegionEEZ Area (km2)[34]
Mainland Brazil (9 States of the Brazilian Federation)2,570,917
Trindade and Martim Vaz Islands468,599
Saint Peter and Saint Paul Archipelago413,636
Fernando de Noronha Islands363,362
Total3,830,955

In 2004, Brazil submitted its claims to the United Nations Commission on the Limits of the Continental Shelf (CLCS) to extend its maritime continental margin.[35]

Canada

Canada's exclusive economic zone and territorial waters

Canada is unusual in that its exclusive economic zone, covering 5,599,077 km2 (2,161,816 sq mi), is slightly smaller than its territorial waters.[36] The latter generally extend only 12 nautical miles from the shore but also include inland marine waters such as Hudson Bay (about 300 nmi (560 km) across), the Gulf of Saint Lawrence and the internal waters of the Arctic Archipelago.

Chile

Chile's exclusive economic zones, including its Antarctic claim

Chile's EEZ includes areas around the Desventuradas Islands, Easter Island, and the Juan Fernández Islands.

RegionEEZ Area (km2)[37]Land Area (km2)Total
Mainland Chile1,987,371755,7572,743,128
Easter Island720,412164720,576
Juan Fernández Islands502,524100502,624
Desventuradas Islands449,8365449,841
Total3,660,143756,102.44,416,245.4

In 2020 and 2022, Chile submitted its partial claims to the United Nations Commission on the Limits of the Continental Shelf (CLCS) to extend its maritime continental margin.

China

Exclusive economic zone claimed by the People's Republic of China:
  China's undisputed EEZ –
960,556 km2[38]
  EEZ claimed by China, disputed by Taiwan – 1,148,485 km2[39]
  EEZ claimed by China, disputed by other countries – 210,926 km2
Total: 2,236,430 km2[40]

The first figure excludes all disputed waters, while the last figure indicates China's claimed boundaries, and does not take into account adjacent powers' claims.[clarification needed]

Croatia

Croatia's exclusive economic zone (dark blue) and Ecological and Fisheries Protection Zone

Croatia proclaimed Ecological and Fisheries Protection Zone in 2003, but it was not enforced toward other European Union states especially Italy and Slovenia. The zone was upgraded to EEZ in 2021 together with Italy and Slovenia.[41][42] Territorial waters has 18,981 km2, while internal waters located within the baseline cover an additional 12,498 km2, and EEZ covers 24,482 km2 for a total of 55,961 km2.

Cyprus

Cyprus EEZ covers 98,707 square km (38,100 square miles). Cyprus' EEZ borders those of Greece, Turkey, Syria, Lebanon, Israel and Egypt.

Denmark

The exclusive economic zones and territorial waters of the Kingdom of Denmark

The Kingdom of Denmark includes the constituent country (selvstyre) of Greenland and the constituent country (hjemmestyre) of the Faroe Islands.

RegionEEZ & TW Area (km2)[43]Land areaTotal
 Denmark105 98942 506149 083
 Faroe Islands260 9951 399262 394
 Greenland2,184,2542,166,0864,350,340
Total2,551,2382,210,5794,761,817

Ecuador

Ecuador's exclusive economic zone

Area: 1,077,231 km2

France

Exclusive economic zones of France, including its Antarctic territorial claim

Due to its numerous overseas departments and territories scattered on all oceans of the planet, France possesses the largest EEZ in the world, covering 11,691,000 km2 (4,514,000 sq mi).[44] The EEZ of France covers approximately 7% of the total surface of all the EEZs of the world, whereas the land area of the French Republic is only 0.45% of the total land area of Earth.

Germany

Germany declared the establishment of its exclusive economic zone in the North and Baltic Seas on 1 January 1995.[45] The relevant German legal provisions that are applicable within the EEZ include the Maritime Task Act (Seeaufgabengesetz) from 1965, the Maritime Facilities Act (Seeanlagengesetz) from 2017, and prior to that the Sea Facilities Ordinance (Seeanlagenverordnung) from 1997, the Federal Mining Act (Bundesberggesetz) and the Regional Planning Act (Raumordnungsgesetz).

The German EEZ has an area of 32,982 km2. About 70% of the EEZ covers Germany's entire North Sea area, while some 29% encompasses the Baltic Sea area.[46]

Greece

Exclusive Economic Zone of Greece

Greece forms the southernmost part of the Balkan peninsula in the Mediterranean Sea. It includes many small islands which vary between 1,200 and 6,000 in the Aegean Sea and the Ionian Sea.[47] The largest islands are Crete, Euboea, Lesbos, Rhodes and Chios.

Greece's EEZ is bordered to the west by Albania and Italy, to the south by Libya and Egypt, and to the east by Cyprus and Turkey.

EEZ Area of Greece[48]
Territorykm2sq miNotes
Total505,572195,202

India

India's exclusive economic zones
EEZArea (km2)
Mainland India (9 states and 2 union territories) and Lakshadweep union territory1,641,514 km2
Andaman and Nicobar Islands union territory663,629 km2
Total2,305,143 km2

India is currently seeking to extend its EEZ to 350 miles.[49]

Indonesia

Indonesia's exclusive economic zone

Indonesia has the 6th largest exclusive economic zone in the world. The total size is 6,159,032 km2 (2,378,016 sq mi). It claims an EEZ of 200 nautical miles from its shores. This is due to the 13,466 islands of the Indonesian Archipelago.[50] It has the 2nd largest coastline of 54,720 km (34,000 mi). The five main islands are: Sumatra, Java, Borneo, Sulawesi, and Western New Guinea. There are two major island groups (Nusa Tenggara and the Maluku Islands) and sixty smaller island groups.

Ireland

Ireland's exclusive economic zone was reported to be the location of a Russian military exercise in January 2022.[51] Russia's exercise was then moved outside the economic zone.[52]

Israel

In 2010, an agreement was signed with Cyprus concerning the limit of territorial waters between Israel and Cyprus at the maritime halfway point, a clarification essential for safeguarding Israel's rights to oil and underwater gas reservoirs. The agreement was signed in Nicosia by Israeli Infrastructure Minister Uzi Landau and the Cypriot Foreign Minister Markos Kyprianou. The two countries agreed to cooperate in the development of any cross-border resources discovered and to negotiate an agreement on dividing joint resources.

Italy

Italy's EEZ in the Mediterranean Sea

Italy has an EEZ of 541,915 km2 (209,235 sq mi).[48] The country claims an EEZ of 200 nautical miles from its shores, and its three coastlines are the Tyrrhenian Sea to the west, the Ionian Sea to the south and the Adriatic Sea to the east. Italy's EEZ is limited by maritime boundaries with neighboring countries to the northwest, east and southeast.

Italy's western sea territory stretches from the west coast of Italy on the Tyrrhenian Sea, including the island of Sardinia. The island of Sicily is in the southernmost area. Lampedusa, a tiny island in the Mediterranean Sea, is tbe country's southernmost point. Italy shares treaty-defined maritime boundaries with France, Spain, Algeria, Tunisia, Libya, Malta, Greece, Albania, Montenegro, Croatia and Slovenia.

Japan

Japan's exclusive economic zones:
  Japan's EEZ
  Joint regime with the Republic of Korea
  EEZ claimed by Japan, disputed by others

Japan has the world's eighth-largest exclusive economic zone, covering 4,479,674 km2 (1,729,612 sq mi).[53] It claims an EEZ of 200 nautical miles from its shores.

EEZ Areas of Japan
RegionEEZ Area (km2)EEZ Area (sq mi)
Ryukyu Islands1,394,676538,487
Pacific Ocean (Japan)1,162,334448,780
Nanpō Islands862,782333,122
Sea of Japan630,721243,523
Minami-Tori-shima428,875165,590
Sea of Okhotsk23591
Daitō Islands4417
Senkaku Islands72.7
Total[note 2]4,479,6741,729,612

Japan has disputes over its EEZ boundaries with all its Asian neighbors (China, Russia, South Korea, and Taiwan). The above, and relevant maps at the Sea Around Us Project[54][55][56] both indicate Japan's claimed boundaries, and do not take into account the claims of adjacent jurisdictions.

Japan also refers to various categories of "shipping area" – Smooth Water Area, Coasting Area, Major or Greater Coasting Area, Ocean Going Area – but it is unclear whether these are intended to have any territorial or economic implications.

Malaysia

Mexico

Exclusive economic zone of Mexico

Mexico's exclusive economic zones cover a total surface area of 3,269,386 km2,[48] and places Mexico among the countries with the largest areas in the world.

New Zealand

Exclusive economic zones of the Realm of New Zealand, including the Ross Dependency (shaded)

New Zealand's EEZ covers 4,083,744 km2 (1,576,742 sq mi),[57][58] which is approximately fifteen times the land area of the country. Sources vary significantly on the size of New Zealand's EEZ; for example, a recent government publication gave the area as roughly 4,300,000 km2.[59] These figures are for the EEZ of New Zealand proper, and do not include the EEZs of other territories in the Realm of New Zealand (the Cook Islands, Niue, Tokelau, and the Ross Dependency).

North Korea

The exclusive economic zone of North Korea

The exclusive economic zone of North Korea stretches 200 nautical miles from its basepoints in both the West Sea (Yellow Sea) and the Sea of Japan.[60] The EEZ was declared in 1977 after North Korea had contested the validity of the Northern Limit Lines (NLL) set up after the Korean War as maritime borders.[61] The EEZ has not been codified in law and North Korea has never specified its coordinates, making it difficult to determine its specific scope.[62]

In the West Sea, the EEZ remains unspecified in the Korea Bay because China has not determined its own EEZ in the area.[63] The border between the North Korean and South Korean EEZs in the West Sea cannot be determined because of potential overlap and disputes over certain islands.[64]

In the Sea of Japan, the North Korean EEZ can be approximated to be trapezoidal-shaped.[65] The border between North Korea and Russia's respective EEZs is the only such border that has been determined in East Asia.[66] Here, the EEZ does not cause many problems, even with regards to South Korea, because the sea is not thought to be rich in resources.[65]

Norway

Norway's exclusive economic zones, including the dependency of Bouvet Island

Norway has a large exclusive economic zone of 819,620 km2 around its coast. The country has a fishing zone of 1,878,953 km2, including fishing zones around Svalbard and Jan Mayen.[67]

In April 2009, the United Nations Commission for the Limits of the Continental Shelf approved Norway's claim to an additional 235,000 square kilometres of continental shelf. The commission found that Norway and Russia both had valid claims over a portion of the shelf in the Barents Sea.[68]

RegionEEZ and Territorial
Waters Area (km2)
Land Area (km2)Total (km2)
Mainland Norway1,273,482323,8021,597,284
Svalbard402,57461,002463,576
Jan Mayen273,118373273,491
Bouvet Island436,00449436,053
Total2,385,178385,2262,770,404

Pakistan

Area: 290,000 km2

Pakistan coast is a 1046 km long coast, extending from Sir Creek in the east to Gwadar Bay in the west and the EEZ extends up to 290,000sqkm which is more than 30% of its land area and ranks sixty-sixth in the world by area.

Pakistan had an EEZ of 240,000sq km before their case was accepted by UNCLCS. Pakistan Navy with the help of the National Oceanographic Organization (NIO) initiated the continental shelf case at ministerial level in 1995.

On 26 Aug 2013, a seven-member sub-commission with members from Japan, China, Mozambique, Kenya, Denmark, Georgia and Argentina was formulated at UNCLCS to evaluate the technical details of Pakistan's case and after a year accepted Pakistan's claim.

On 13 March 2015, UN Commission on the Limits of Continental Shelf (UNCLCS) accepted recommendations for extension of the outer limits of the continental shelf on Pakistan's case so far 80 countries had submitted claims to UNCLCS out of which recommendations of 22 countries including Pakistan had been finalised.

It was a historic event in the country's history when Pakistan became the first country in the region to have its continental shelf extended to 350 nm.

Some of the claimed territories overlapped the Omani claim. It is believed that the verdict in favour of Pakistan was announced after successful negotiation with Oman.

Peru

Peru's exclusive economic zone

Area: 857,000 km2[69]

Philippines

The exclusive economic zone of the Philippines shown in blue lines,[70] Eleven Dash-line shown in red lines, treaty line of the Treaty of Paris (1898) shown in green line.

The Philippines' EEZ covers 2,263,816 km2 (874,064 sq mi).[71]

Poland

The Polish EEZ covers the area of 30,533 km2 (11,789 sq mi) within the Baltic Sea.[72]

Portugal

Portugal's Exclusive Economic Zones plus submitted Extended Continental Shelf to the UN[73]

Portugal has the 20th largest EEZ in the world. Presently, it is divided in three non-contiguous sub-zones:

Portugal submitted a claim to extend its jurisdiction over an additional 2.15 million square kilometres of the adjacent continental shelf in May 2009,[74] resulting in an area with a total of more than 3,877,408 km2. The submission, as well as a detailed map, can be found in the Task Group for the extension of the Continental Shelf website.

Spain previously objected to the EEZ's southern border, maintaining that it should be drawn halfway between Madeira and the Canary Islands. But Portugal exercises sovereignty over the Savage Islands, a small archipelago north of the Canaries, claiming an EEZ border further south. Spain has no longer disputed the Portuguese claim since 2015.[75][76]

Romania

Area: 23,627 km2

Russia

Russia's exclusive economic zone

Russia's exclusive economic zone, the world's fourth largest, is composed of:

  • Kaliningrad (Baltic Sea) – 11,634 km2
  • Saint Petersburg (Baltic Sea) – 12,759 km2
  • Barents Sea – 1,308,140 km2
  • Black Sea (without the Crimean EEZ) – 66,854 km2
  • Pacific – 3,419,202 km2
  • Siberia – 3,277,292 km2
  • Total – 8,095,881 km2[77]

Senegal

Senegal's exclusive economic zone

Area: 158,861 km2

Somalia

Somalia's exclusive economic zone

Area: 825,052 km2

South Africa

South Africa's exclusive economic zone

South Africa's EEZ includes both that next to the African mainland and that around the Prince Edward Islands, totalling 1,535,538 km2.[48]

  • Mainland – 1,068,659 km2
  • Prince Edward islands – 466,879 km2

South Korea

South Korean exclusive economic zone:
  Korean EEZ
  EEZ claimed by Republic of Korea and Japan
  Joint regime with Japan

Area: 300,851 (225,214) km2

Spain

Spain's exclusive economic zone. (Labels in Spanish)

Area: 1,039,233 km2

Thailand

Thailand's exclusive economic zone

Area: 299,397 km2

Turkey

Turkey's EEZ is bordered by Georgia, Russia, Ukraine, Romania and Bulgaria in the Black Sea to the north, Greece in the Aegean Sea to the west, and Cyprus and Syria in the Mediterranean Sea to the south. Turkey is one of the few countries to not have signed UNCLOS and disputes Greece's and Cyprus' EEZ.

United Kingdom

The exclusive economic zones of the United Kingdom in blue, including the British Overseas Territories and the Crown Dependencies. The British claim in Antarctica is shown in shaded blue.[78]
UK, Ireland, Iceland & Faroes exclusive economic zones

The United Kingdom has the world's fifth-largest exclusive economic zone of 6,805,586 km2 (2,627,651 sq mi) square km. It comprises the EEZs surrounding the United Kingdom,[79] the Crown Dependencies, and the British Overseas Territories. The figure does not include the EEZ of the British Antarctic Territory.

The EEZ associated with the Falkland Islands and South Georgia are disputed by Argentina. The EEZ of the Chagos Archipelago, also known as the British Indian Ocean Territory, is also disputed with Mauritius which considers the archipelago as a part of its territory.

The EEZ areas of the United Kingdom, Crown Dependencies and British Overseas Territories (in decreasing size)[48]
TerritoryEEZ Area (km2)EEZ Area (sq mi)Notes
 South Georgia and the South Sandwich Islands1,449,532559,667Disputed with  Argentina.
 Pitcairn, Henderson, Ducie and Oeno Islands836,108322,823
 United Kingdom773,676298,718Including the  Isle of Man.
 Tristan da Cunha754,720291,400Including Gough Island.
 British Indian Ocean Territory638,568246,552Disputed with  Mauritius.
 Falkland Islands550,872212,693Disputed with  Argentina.
 Bermuda450,370173,890
 Saint Helena444,916171,783
 Ascension Island441,658170,525
 Turks and Caicos Islands154,06859,486
 Cayman Islands119,13745,999
 Anguilla92,17835,590
 British Virgin Islands80,11730,933
Channel Islands11,6584,501Including  Guernsey and  Jersey.
 Montserrat7,5822,927
 Gibraltar426164Disputed with  Spain.
 Sovereign Base Areas of Akrotiri and Dhekelia00No EEZ area. The relevant EEZ areas around Cyprus Island are claimed by the  Republic of Cyprus[80] and  Northern Cyprus.[81]
Total6,805,5862,627,651

A part of the overseas territory of  Saint Helena, Ascension and Tristan da Cunha, which together has an EEZ of 1,641,294 square km.

United States

The USA's Exclusive Economic Zones

The United States' exclusive economic zone is the second largest in the world, covering 11,351,000 km2. Areas of its EEZ are located in three oceans, the Gulf of Mexico, and the Caribbean Sea.

The EEZ (including territorial sea) areas of the territories of the U.S. (in decreasing size)[82]
TerritoryEEZ Area (km2)EEZ Area (sq mi)Notes
 Alaska3,770,0211,455,613A non-contiguous state in the northwest extremity of the North American continent.
 HawaiiNorthwestern Islands1,579,538609,863Including Midway Atoll, these islands form the Leeward Islands of the Hawaiian island chain.
U.S. East Coast915,763353,578The mainland coastal states of the Eastern United States. As a region, this term most often refers to the coastal states of Maine, New Hampshire, Massachusetts, Rhode Island, Connecticut, New York, New Jersey, Delaware, Maryland, Virginia, North Carolina, South Carolina, Georgia, and the Atlantic Coast of Florida.
 HawaiiSoutheastern Islands895,346345,695These islands form the Windward Islands of the Hawaiian island chain.
U.S. West Coast825,549318,746The mainland coastal states of the Western United States. As a region, this term most often refers to the coastal states of California, Oregon, Washington.
 Northern Mariana Islands749,268289,294An organized, unincorporated, Commonwealth of the United States.
U.S. Gulf Coast707,832273,295The mainland coastal states of the Southern United States. As a region, this term most often refers to the coastal states of Texas, Louisiana, Mississippi, Alabama, and the Gulf Coast of Florida
Johnston Atoll442,635170,902A National Wildlife Refuge in the U.S. Minor Outlying Islands.
Howland and Baker Islands434,921167,924Both territories are National Wildlife Refuges in the U.S. Minor Outlying Islands.
 Wake Island407,241157,237A National Wildlife Refuge in the U.S. Minor Outlying Islands.
 American Samoa404,391156,136The only inhabited, unorganized, unincorporated, territory of the United States.
Palmyra Atoll and Kingman Reef352,300136,000Both territories are National Wildlife Refuges in the U.S. Minor Outlying Islands.
Jarvis Island316,665122,265A National Wildlife Refuge in the U.S. Minor Outlying Islands.
 Guam221,50485,523An organized, unincorporated, territory of the United States.
 Puerto Rico177,68568,605An organized, unincorporated, Commonwealth of the United States.
 U.S. Virgin Islands33,74413,029An organized, unincorporated, territory of the United States.
Navassa IslandN/A[note 3]N/A[note 3]A National Wildlife Refuge in the U.S. Minor Outlying Islands.[note 4]
Total11,351,0004,383,000

Note, the totals in the table actually add up to 12,234,403 square km and 4,723,705 square miles.

Vietnam

Vietnam claims an exclusive economic zone (EEZ) of 1,395,096 km2 (538,650 sq mi) with 200 nautical miles from its shores.[86][87] These figures do not include the claimed EEZ areas of the Paracel Islands and the Spratly Islands. Vietnam has disputes mainly with the People's Republic of China due to the nine-dash line.

Countries with the most distant EEZs

Countries with the most distant EEZs

Rankings by area

This list includes dependent territories (including uninhabited territories) within their sovereign states, but does not include various claims on Antarctica. EEZ+TIA is exclusive economic zone (EEZ) plus total internal area (TIA) which includes territorial land and internal waters.

RankCountryEEZ km2[48]Shelf km2EEZ+TIA km2
1  United States[note 5]11,351,0002,193,52621,814,306
2  France[note 6]10,186,624725,29712,416,921
3  Australia[note 7]9,025,0532,194,00816,197,464
4  Russia7,566,6733,817,84324,664,915
5 United Kingdom[note 8]6,805,586872,8917,048,486
6  Indonesia6,159,0322,039,3818,063,601
7  Canada5,599,0772,644,79515,607,077
8  Japan4,479,388214,9764,857,318
9 New Zealand[note 9]4,420,565[57][58][88]272,898[57][58][88]4,688,285[89][90]
10  Brazil3,830,955774,56312,345,832
11  Chile3,681,989252,9474,431,381
12  Kiribati3,441,8107,5233,442,536
13  Mexico3,269,386419,1025,141,968
14  Federated States of Micronesia2,996,41919,4032,997,121
15 Denmark[note 10]2,551,238495,6574,761,811
16  Papua New Guinea2,402,288191,2562,865,128
17  Norway[note 11]2,385,178434,0202,770,404
18  India2,305,143402,9965,592,406
19  Marshall Islands1,990,53018,4111,990,711
 Cook Islands[note 12]1,960,0271,2131,960,267
20  Portugal[note 13]1,727,40828,0001,819,498
21  Philippines1,590,780272,9211,890,780
22  Solomon Islands1,589,47736,2821,618,373
23  South Africa1,535,538156,3372,756,575
24  Seychelles1,336,55939,0631,337,014
25  Mauritius1,284,99729,0611,287,037
26  Fiji1,282,97847,7051,301,250
27  Madagascar1,225,259101,5051,812,300
28  Argentina1,159,063856,3463,939,463[note 14]
29  Ecuador1,077,23141,0341,333,600
30  Spain1,039,23377,9201,545,225
31  Maldives923,32234,538923,622
32  Peru906,45482,0002,191,670
33  China877,019231,34010,473,980
34  Somalia825,05255,8951,462,709
35  Colombia808,15853,6911,949,906
36  Cape Verde800,5615,591804,594
37  Iceland751,345108,015854,345
38  Tuvalu749,7903,575749,816
39  Vanuatu663,25111,483675,440
40  Tonga659,5588,517660,305
41  Bahamas654,715106,323668,658
42  Palau603,9782,837604,437
43  Mozambique578,98694,2121,380,576
44  Morocco575,230115,1571,287,780
45  Costa Rica574,72519,585625,825
46  Namibia564,74886,6981,388,864
47  Yemen552,66959,2291,080,637
48  Italy541,915116,834843,251
49  Oman533,18059,071842,680
50  Myanmar532,775220,3321,209,353
51  Sri Lanka532,61932,453598,229
52  Angola518,43348,0921,765,133
53  Greece505,57281,451637,529
54  South Korea475,469342,522575,469
55  Venezuela471,50798,5001,387,950
56  Vietnam417,663365,198748,875
57  Ireland410,310139,935480,583
58  Libya351,58964,7632,111,129
59  Cuba350,75161,525460,637
60  Panama335,64653,404411,163
61  Malaysia334,671323,412665,474
 Niue[note 12]316,584284316,844
62  Nauru308,48041308,501
63  Equatorial Guinea303,5097,820331,560
64  Thailand299,397230,063812,517
65  Pakistan290,00051,3831,117,911
66  Egypt263,45161,5911,265,451
67  Turkey261,65456,0931,045,216
68  Jamaica258,1379,802269,128
69  Dominican Republic255,89810,738304,569
70  Liberia249,73417,715361,103
71  Honduras249,54268,718362,034
72  Tanzania241,88825,6111,186,975
73  Ghana235,34922,502473,888
74  Saudi Arabia228,633107,2492,378,323
75  Nigeria217,31342,2851,141,081
76  Sierra Leone215,61128,625287,351
77  Gabon202,79035,020470,458
78  Barbados186,898426187,328
79  Côte d'Ivoire176,25410,175498,717
80  Iran168,718118,6931,797,468
81  Mauritania165,33831,6621,190,858
82  Comoros163,7521,526165,987
83  Sweden160,885154,604602,255
84  Senegal158,86123,092355,583
85 Netherlands[note 15]154,01177,246192,345
86  Ukraine147,31879,142750,818
87  Uruguay142,16675,327318,381
88  Guyana137,76550,578352,734
89  São Tomé and Príncipe131,3971,902132,361
90  Samoa127,9502,087130,781
91  Suriname127,77253,631291,592
92  Haiti126,7606,683154,510
93  Algeria126,3539,9852,508,094
94  Nicaragua123,88170,874254,254
95  Guinea-Bissau123,72539,339159,850
96  Bangladesh118,81366,438230,390
97  Kenya116,94211,073697,309
98  Guatemala114,17014,422223,059
99  North Korea113,888[91][92]50,337[91][92]234,428[93]
100  Antigua and Barbuda110,0894,128110,531
101  Tunisia101,85767,126265,467
102  Cyprus98,7074,042107,958
103  El Salvador90,96216,852112,003
104  Finland[note 16]87,17185,109425,590
105  Republic of China (Taiwan)83,23143,016119,419
106  Eritrea77,72861,817195,328
107  Trinidad and Tobago74,19925,28479,329
108  East Timor70,32625,64885,200
109  Sudan68,14819,8271,954,216
110  Cambodia62,51562,515243,550
111  Guinea59,42644,755305,283
112  Croatia59,03250,277115,626
113  United Arab Emirates58,21857,474141,818
114  Germany57,48557,485414,599
115  Malta54,8235,30155,139
116  Estonia36,99236,99282,219
117  Saint Vincent and the Grenadines36,3021,56136,691
118  Belize35,35113,17858,317
119  Bulgaria34,30710,426145,186
120  Benin33,2212,721145,843
121  Qatar31,59031,59043,176
122  Republic of the Congo31,0177,982373,017
123  Poland29,79729,797342,482
124  Dominica28,98565929,736
125  Latvia28,45227,77293,011
126  Grenada27,4262,23727,770
127  Israel26,3523,74548,424
128  Romania23,62719,303262,018
129  Gambia23,1125,58134,407
130  Georgia21,9463,24391,646
131  Lebanon19,5161,06729,968
132  Cameroon16,54711,420491,989
133  Saint Lucia15,61754416,156
134  Albania13,6916,97942,439
135  Togo12,0451,26568,830
136  Kuwait11,02611,02628,844
137  Syria10,5031,085195,683
138  Bahrain10,22510,22510,975
139  Brunei10,0908,50915,855
140  Saint Kitts and Nevis9,97465310,235
141  Montenegro7,7453,89621,557
142  Djibouti7,4593,18730,659
143  Lithuania7,0317,03172,331
144  Belgium3,4473,44733,975
145  Democratic Republic of the Congo1,6061,5932,346,464
146  Singapore1,0671,0671,772
147  Iraq771771439,088
148  Monaco2882290
149  Palestine2562566,276
150  Slovenia22022020,493
151  Jordan1665989,508
152  Bosnia and Herzegovina505051,259
 Kazakhstan2,724,900
 Mongolia1,564,100
 Chad1,284,000
 Niger1,267,000
 Mali1,240,192
 Ethiopia1,104,300
 Bolivia1,098,581
 Zambia752,612
 Afghanistan652,090
 Central African Republic622,984
 South Sudan619,745
 Botswana582,000
 Turkmenistan488,100
 Uzbekistan447,400
 Paraguay406,752
 Zimbabwe390,757
 Burkina Faso274,222
 Uganda241,038
 Laos236,800
 Belarus207,600
 Kyrgyzstan199,951
   Nepal147,181
 Tajikistan143,100
 Malawi118,484
 Hungary93,028
 Azerbaijan86,600
 Austria83,871
 Czech Republic78,867
 Serbia77,474
 Slovakia49,035
  Switzerland41,284
 Bhutan38,394
 Moldova33,846
 Lesotho30,355
 Armenia29,743
 Burundi27,834
 Rwanda26,338
 North Macedonia25,713
 Eswatini17,364
 Luxembourg2,586
 Andorra468
 Liechtenstein160
 San Marino61
 Vatican City0.44
Total  United Nations137,926,51525,149,113274,891,722

See also

Notes

References

Works cited:

External links