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Country Comparison :: Maritime claims
This entry includes the following claims, the definitions of which are excerpted from the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS), which alone contains the full and definitive descriptions:
territorial sea - the sovereignty of a coastal state extends beyond its land territory and internal waters to an adjacent belt of sea, described as the territorial sea in the UNCLOS (Part II); this sovereignty extends to the air space over the territorial sea as well as its underlying seabed and subsoil; every state has the right to establish the breadth of its territorial sea up to a limit not exceeding 12 nautical miles; the normal baseline for measuring the breadth of the territorial sea is the mean low-water line along the coast as marked on large-scale charts officially recognized by the coastal state; where the coasts of two states are opposite or adjacent to each other, neither state is entitled to extend its territorial sea beyond the median line, every point of which is equidistant from the nearest points on the baseline from which the territorial seas of both states are measured; the UNCLOS describes specific rules for archipelagic states.
contiguous zone - according to the UNCLOS (Article 33), this is a zone contiguous to a coastal state's territorial sea, over which it may exercise the control necessary to: prevent infringement of its customs, fiscal, immigration, or sanitary laws and regulations within its territory or territorial sea; punish infringement of the above laws and regulations committed within its territory or territorial sea; the contiguous zone may not extend beyond 24 nautical miles from the baselines from which the breadth of the territorial sea is measured (e.g., the US has claimed a 12-nautical mile contiguous zone in addition to its 12-nautical mile territorial sea); where the coasts of two states are opposite or adjacent to each other, neither state is entitled to extend its contiguous zone beyond the median line, every point of which is equidistant from the nearest points on the baseline from which the contiguous zone of both states are measured.
exclusive economic zone (EEZ) - the UNCLOS (Part V) defines the EEZ as a zone beyond and adjacent to the territorial sea in which a coastal state has: sovereign rights for the purpose of exploring and exploiting, conserving and managing the natural resources, whether living or non-living, of the waters superjacent to the seabed and of the seabed and its subsoil, and with regard to other activities for the economic exploitation and exploration of the zone, such as the production of energy from the water, currents, and winds; jurisdiction with regard to the establishment and use of artificial islands, installations, and structures; marine scientific research; the protection and preservation of the marine environment; the outer limit of the exclusive economic zone shall not exceed 200 nautical miles from the baselines from which the breadth of the territorial sea is measured.
continental shelf - the UNCLOS (Article 76) defines the continental shelf of a coastal state as comprising the seabed and subsoil of the submarine areas that extend beyond its territorial sea throughout the natural prolongation of its land territory to the outer edge of the continental margin, or to a distance of 200 nautical miles from the baselines from which the breadth of the territorial sea is measured where the outer edge of the continental margin does not extend up to that distance; the continental margin comprises the submerged prolongation of the landmass of the coastal state, and consists of the seabed and subsoil of the shelf, the slope and the rise; wherever the continental margin extends beyond 200 nautical miles from the baseline, coastal states may extend their claim to a distance not to exceed 350 nautical miles from the baseline or 100 nautical miles from the 2,500-meter isobath, which is a line connecting points of 2,500 meters in depth; it does not include the deep ocean floor with its oceanic ridges or the subsoil thereof.
exclusive fishing zone - while this term is not used in the UNCLOS, some states (e.g., the United Kingdom) have chosen not to claim an EEZ, but rather to claim jurisdiction over the living resources off their coast; in such cases, the term exclusive fishing zone is often used; the breadth of this zone is normally the same as the EEZ or 200 nautical miles.
Download Data
Rank
country Maritime claims Date of Information
1 Antigua and Barbuda
200.00
NA
2 Antigua and Barbuda
200.00
NA
3 United Arab Emirates
200.00
NA
4 United Arab Emirates
200.00
NA
5 Angola
200.00
NA
6 American Samoa
200.00
NA
7 Argentina
200.00
NA
8 Argentina
200.00
NA
9 Australia
200.00
NA
10 Australia
200.00
NA
11 Ashmore and Cartier Islands
200.00
NA
12 Anguilla
200.00
NA
13 Barbados
200.00
NA
14 Bermuda
200.00
NA
15 Bahamas, The
200.00
NA
16 Bangladesh
200.00
NA
17 Belize
200.00
NA
18 Burma
200.00
NA
19 Burma
200.00
NA
20 Benin
200.00
NA
21 Solomon Islands
200.00
NA
22 Solomon Islands
200.00
NA
23 Navassa Island
200.00
NA
24 Brazil
200.00
NA
25 Brazil
200.00
NA
26 Bulgaria
200.00
NA
27 Brunei
200.00
NA
28 Canada
200.00
NA
29 Canada
200.00
NA
30 Cambodia
200.00
NA
31 Cambodia
200.00
NA
32 Sri Lanka
200.00
NA
33 Sri Lanka
200.00
NA
34 Congo, Republic of the
200.00
NA
35 China
200.00
NA
36 China
200.00
NA
37 Chile
200.00
NA
38 Cayman Islands
200.00
NA
39 Cocos (Keeling) Islands
200.00
NA
40 Comoros
200.00
NA
41 Colombia
200.00
NA
42 Northern Mariana Islands
200.00
NA
43 Coral Sea Islands
200.00
NA
44 Costa Rica
200.00
NA
45 Costa Rica
200.00
NA
46 Cuba
200.00
NA
47 Cape Verde
200.00
NA
48 Cook Islands
200.00
NA
49 Cook Islands
200.00
NA
50 Denmark
200.00
NA
51 Djibouti
200.00
NA
52 Dominica
200.00
NA
53 Dominican Republic
200.00
NA
54 Dominican Republic
200.00
NA
55 Ecuador
200.00
NA
56 Egypt
200.00
NA
57 Ireland
200.00
NA
58 Equatorial Guinea
200.00
NA
59 El Salvador
200.00
NA
60 Fiji
200.00
NA
61 Falkland Islands (Islas Malvinas)
200.00
NA
62 Falkland Islands (Islas Malvinas)
200.00
NA
63 Micronesia, Federated States of
200.00
NA
64 Faroe Islands
200.00
NA
65 Faroe Islands
200.00
NA
66 French Polynesia
200.00
NA
67 France
200.00
NA
68 French Southern and Antarctic Lands
200.00
NA
69 Gambia, The
200.00
NA
70 Gabon
200.00
NA
71 Georgia
200.00
NA
72 Ghana
200.00
NA
73 Ghana
200.00
NA
74 Grenada
200.00
NA
75 Greenland
200.00
NA
76 Greenland
200.00
NA
77 Germany
200.00
NA
78 Guam
200.00
NA
79 Guatemala
200.00
NA
80 Guinea
200.00
NA
81 Guyana
200.00
NA
82 Guyana
200.00
NA
83 Haiti
200.00
NA
84 Heard Island and McDonald Islands
200.00
NA
85 Honduras
200.00
NA
86 Howland Island
200.00
NA
87 Iceland
200.00
NA
88 Iceland
200.00
NA
89 Indonesia
200.00
NA
90 India
200.00
NA
91 India
200.00
NA
92 British Indian Ocean Territory
200.00
NA
93 Clipperton Island
200.00
NA
94 Cote d'Ivoire
200.00
NA
95 Cote d'Ivoire
200.00
NA
96 Japan
200.00
NA
97 Jamaica
200.00
NA
98 Jamaica
200.00
NA
99 Jan Mayen
200.00
NA
100 Kenya
200.00
NA
101 Kenya
200.00
NA
102 Korea, North
200.00
NA
103 Kiribati
200.00
NA
104 Korea, South
200.00
NA
105 Christmas Island
200.00
NA
106 Latvia
200.00
NA
107 Liberia
200.00
NA
108 Madagascar
200.00
NA
109 Madagascar
200.00
NA
110 Montserrat
200.00
NA
111 Morocco
200.00
NA
112 Mauritius
200.00
NA
113 Mauritius
200.00
NA
114 Mauritania
200.00
NA
115 Mauritania
200.00
NA
116 Oman
200.00
NA
117 Maldives
200.00
NA
118 Mexico
200.00
NA
119 Mexico
200.00
NA
120 Malaysia
200.00
NA
121 Mozambique
200.00
NA
122 New Caledonia
200.00
NA
123 Niue
200.00
NA
124 Norfolk Island
200.00
NA
125 Vanuatu
200.00
NA
126 Vanuatu
200.00
NA
127 Nigeria
200.00
NA
128 Netherlands
200.00
NA
129 Norway
200.00
NA
130 Norway
200.00
NA
131 Nauru
200.00
NA
132 Suriname
200.00
NA
133 New Zealand
200.00
NA
134 New Zealand
200.00
NA
135 Pitcairn Islands
200.00
NA
136 Peru
200.00
NA
137 Peru
200.00
NA
138 Pakistan
200.00
NA
139 Pakistan
200.00
NA
140 Panama
200.00
NA
141 Portugal
200.00
NA
142 Papua New Guinea
200.00
NA
143 Palau
200.00
NA
144 Guinea-Bissau
200.00
NA
145 Marshall Islands
200.00
NA
146 Romania
200.00
NA
147 Philippines
200.00
NA
148 Puerto Rico
200.00
NA
149 Russia
200.00
NA
150 Saint Pierre and Miquelon
200.00
NA
151 Saint Kitts and Nevis
200.00
NA
152 Saint Kitts and Nevis
200.00
NA
153 Seychelles
200.00
NA
154 Seychelles
200.00
NA
155 South Africa
200.00
NA
156 South Africa
200.00
NA
157 Senegal
200.00
NA
158 Senegal
200.00
NA
159 Saint Helena, Ascension, and Tristan da Cunha
200.00
NA
160 Sierra Leone
200.00
NA
161 Sierra Leone
200.00
NA
162 Somalia
200.00
NA
163 Spain
200.00
NA
164 Saint Lucia
200.00
NA
165 Saint Lucia
200.00
NA
166 Svalbard
200.00
NA
167 South Georgia and South Sandwich Islands
200.00
NA
168 Trinidad and Tobago
200.00
NA
169 Trinidad and Tobago
200.00
NA
170 Thailand
200.00
NA
171 Turks and Caicos Islands
200.00
NA
172 Tokelau
200.00
NA
173 Tonga
200.00
NA
174 Togo
200.00
NA
175 Sao Tome and Principe
200.00
NA
176 Timor-Leste
200.00
NA
177 Tuvalu
200.00
NA
178 Taiwan
200.00
NA
179 Tanzania
200.00
NA
180 United Kingdom
200.00
NA
181 United States Pacific Island Wildlife Refuges
200.00
NA
182 Ukraine
200.00
NA
183 United States
200.00
NA
184 Uruguay
200.00
NA
185 Saint Vincent and the Grenadines
200.00
NA
186 Saint Vincent and the Grenadines
200.00
NA
187 Venezuela
200.00
NA
188 British Virgin Islands
200.00
NA
189 Vietnam
200.00
NA
190 Vietnam
200.00
NA
191 Virgin Islands
200.00
NA
192 Namibia
200.00
NA
193 Wallis and Futuna
200.00
NA
194 Wake Island
200.00
NA
195 Samoa
200.00
NA
196 Yemen
200.00
NA
197 Yemen
200.00
NA
198 Libya
62.00
NA
199 Togo
30.00
NA
200 Malta
25.00
NA
201 Bulgaria
24.00
NA
202 Canada
24.00
NA
203 Cambodia
24.00
NA
204 Sri Lanka
24.00
NA
205 China
24.00
NA
206 Chile
24.00
NA
207 Cameroon
24.00
NA
208 Cuba
24.00
NA
209 Cape Verde
24.00
NA
210 Cyprus
24.00
NA
211 United States
24.00
NA
212 Uruguay
24.00
NA
213 Saint Vincent and the Grenadines
24.00
NA
214 Vietnam
24.00
NA
215 Namibia
24.00
NA
216 Samoa
24.00
NA
217 Yemen
24.00
NA
218 Pakistan
24.00
NA
219 Panama
24.00
NA
220 Portugal
24.00
NA
221 Qatar
24.00
NA
222 Marshall Islands
24.00
NA
223 Romania
24.00
NA
224 Russia
24.00
NA
225 Saint Kitts and Nevis
24.00
NA
226 Seychelles
24.00
NA
227 South Africa
24.00
NA
228 Senegal
24.00
NA
229 Sierra Leone
24.00
NA
230 Spain
24.00
NA
231 Saint Lucia
24.00
NA
232 Syria
24.00
NA
233 Trinidad and Tobago
24.00
NA
234 Tunisia
24.00
NA
235 Timor-Leste
24.00
NA
236 Tuvalu
24.00
NA
237 Japan
24.00
NA
238 Jamaica
24.00
NA
239 Korea, South
24.00
NA
240 Madagascar
24.00
NA
241 Morocco
24.00
NA
242 Mauritania
24.00
NA
243 Malta
24.00
NA
244 Oman
24.00
NA
245 Maldives
24.00
NA
246 Mexico
24.00
NA
247 Vanuatu
24.00
NA
248 Netherlands
24.00
NA
249 Nauru
24.00
NA
250 Nicaragua
24.00
NA
251 New Zealand
24.00
NA
252 Denmark
24.00
NA
253 Djibouti
24.00
NA
254 Dominica
24.00
NA
255 Dominican Republic
24.00
NA
256 Egypt
24.00
NA
257 El Salvador
24.00
NA
258 Finland
24.00
NA
259 France
24.00
NA
260 Gabon
24.00
NA
261 Ghana
24.00
NA
262 Haiti
24.00
NA
263 Honduras
24.00
NA
264 India
24.00
NA
265 Iran
24.00
NA
266 Antigua and Barbuda
24.00
NA
267 United Arab Emirates
24.00
NA
268 Angola
24.00
NA
269 Argentina
24.00
NA
270 Australia
24.00
NA
271 Bahrain
24.00
NA
272 Belgium
24.00
NA
273 Burma
24.00
NA
274 Brazil
24.00
NA
275 Saudi Arabia
18.00
NA
276 Bangladesh
18.00
NA
277 Gambia, The
18.00
NA
278 Sudan
18.00
NA
279 Venezuela
15.00
NA
280 Taiwan
12.00
NA
281 Tanzania
12.00
NA
282 United Kingdom
12.00
NA
283 United States Pacific Island Wildlife Refuges
12.00
NA
284 Ukraine
12.00
NA
285 United States
12.00
NA
286 Uruguay
12.00
NA
287 Saint Vincent and the Grenadines
12.00
NA
288 Venezuela
12.00
NA
289 Vietnam
12.00
NA
290 Virgin Islands
12.00
NA
291 Namibia
12.00
NA
292 Wallis and Futuna
12.00
NA
293 Wake Island
12.00
NA
294 Samoa
12.00
NA
295 Yemen
12.00
NA
296 Pakistan
12.00
NA
297 Poland
12.00
NA
298 Panama
12.00
NA
299 Portugal
12.00
NA
300 Papua New Guinea
12.00
NA
301 Guinea-Bissau
12.00
NA
302 Qatar
12.00
NA
303 Marshall Islands
12.00
NA
304 Romania
12.00
NA
305 Puerto Rico
12.00
NA
306 Russia
12.00
NA
307 Saudi Arabia
12.00
NA
308 Saint Pierre and Miquelon
12.00
NA
309 Saint Kitts and Nevis
12.00
NA
310 Seychelles
12.00
NA
311 South Africa
12.00
NA
312 Senegal
12.00
NA
313 Saint Helena, Ascension, and Tristan da Cunha
12.00
NA
314 Slovenia
12.00
NA
315 Sierra Leone
12.00
NA
316 Spain
12.00
NA
317 Saint Lucia
12.00
NA
318 Sudan
12.00
NA
319 Sweden
12.00
NA
320 South Georgia and South Sandwich Islands
12.00
NA
321 Syria
12.00
NA
322 Trinidad and Tobago
12.00
NA
323 Thailand
12.00
NA
324 Turks and Caicos Islands
12.00
NA
325 Tokelau
12.00
NA
326 Tonga
12.00
NA
327 Sao Tome and Principe
12.00
NA
328 Tunisia
12.00
NA
329 Tunisia
12.00
NA
330 Timor-Leste
12.00
NA
331 Turkey
12.00
NA
332 Tuvalu
12.00
NA
333 Italy
12.00
NA
334 Cote d'Ivoire
12.00
NA
335 Iraq
12.00
NA
336 Japan
12.00
NA
337 Jersey
12.00
NA
338 Jamaica
12.00
NA
339 Kenya
12.00
NA
340 Korea, North
12.00
NA
341 Kiribati
12.00
NA
342 Korea, South
12.00
NA
343 Christmas Island
12.00
NA
344 Christmas Island
12.00
NA
345 Kuwait
12.00
NA
346 Lebanon
12.00
NA
347 Latvia
12.00
NA
348 Lithuania
12.00
NA
349 Libya
12.00
NA
350 Madagascar
12.00
NA
351 Montenegro
12.00
NA
352 Monaco
12.00
NA
353 Monaco
12.00
NA
354 Morocco
12.00
NA
355 Mauritius
12.00
NA
356 Mauritania
12.00
NA
357 Malta
12.00
NA
358 Oman
12.00
NA
359 Maldives
12.00
NA
360 Mexico
12.00
NA
361 Malaysia
12.00
NA
362 Mozambique
12.00
NA
363 New Caledonia
12.00
NA
364 Niue
12.00
NA
365 Norfolk Island
12.00
NA
366 Vanuatu
12.00
NA
367 Nigeria
12.00
NA
368 Netherlands
12.00
NA
369 Norway
12.00
NA
370 Nauru
12.00
NA
371 Suriname
12.00
NA
372 Nicaragua
12.00
NA
373 New Zealand
12.00
NA
374 Denmark
12.00
NA
375 Djibouti
12.00
NA
376 Dominica
12.00
NA
377 Egypt
12.00
NA
378 Ireland
12.00
NA
379 Equatorial Guinea
12.00
NA
380 Estonia
12.00
NA
381 Eritrea
12.00
NA
382 El Salvador
12.00
NA
383 Finland
12.00
NA
384 Finland
12.00
NA
385 Fiji
12.00
NA
386 Falkland Islands (Islas Malvinas)
12.00
NA
387 Micronesia, Federated States of
12.00
NA
388 French Polynesia
12.00
NA
389 France
12.00
NA
390 French Southern and Antarctic Lands
12.00
NA
391 Gambia, The
12.00
NA
392 Gabon
12.00
NA
393 Georgia
12.00
NA
394 Ghana
12.00
NA
395 Grenada
12.00
NA
396 Guernsey
12.00
NA
397 Germany
12.00
NA
398 Guam
12.00
NA
399 Greece
12.00
NA
400 Guatemala
12.00
NA
401 Guinea
12.00
NA
402 Guyana
12.00
NA
403 Haiti
12.00
NA
404 Heard Island and McDonald Islands
12.00
NA
405 Honduras
12.00
NA
406 Howland Island
12.00
NA
407 Croatia
12.00
NA
408 Iceland
12.00
NA
409 Indonesia
12.00
NA
410 Isle of Man
12.00
NA
411 Isle of Man
12.00
NA
412 India
12.00
NA
413 Clipperton Island
12.00
NA
414 Iran
12.00
NA
415 Israel
12.00
NA
416 Aruba
12.00
NA
417 Antigua and Barbuda
12.00
NA
418 United Arab Emirates
12.00
NA
419 Algeria
12.00
NA
420 Albania
12.00
NA
421 Angola
12.00
NA
422 American Samoa
12.00
NA
423 Argentina
12.00
NA
424 Australia
12.00
NA
425 Ashmore and Cartier Islands
12.00
NA
426 Ashmore and Cartier Islands
12.00
NA
427 Bahrain
12.00
NA
428 Barbados
12.00
NA
429 Bermuda
12.00
NA
430 Belgium
12.00
NA
431 Bahamas, The
12.00
NA
432 Bangladesh
12.00
NA
433 Belize
12.00
NA
434 Burma
12.00
NA
435 Solomon Islands
12.00
NA
436 Navassa Island
12.00
NA
437 Brazil
12.00
NA
438 Bulgaria
12.00
NA
439 Brunei
12.00
NA
440 Canada
12.00
NA
441 Cambodia
12.00
NA
442 Sri Lanka
12.00
NA
443 Congo, Democratic Republic of the
12.00
NA
444 China
12.00
NA
445 Chile
12.00
NA
446 Cayman Islands
12.00
NA
447 Cocos (Keeling) Islands
12.00
NA
448 Cameroon
12.00
NA
449 Comoros
12.00
NA
450 Colombia
12.00
NA
451 Northern Mariana Islands
12.00
NA
452 Costa Rica
12.00
NA
453 Cuba
12.00
NA
454 Cape Verde
12.00
NA
455 Cook Islands
12.00
NA
456 Cyprus
12.00
NA
457 Norway
10.00
NA
458 Jan Mayen
10.00
NA
459 Dominican Republic
6.00
NA
460 Turkey
6.00
NA
461 Bouvet Island
4.00
NA
462 Jan Mayen
4.00
NA
463 Svalbard
4.00
NA
464 Faroe Islands
3.00
NA
465 Gibraltar
3.00
NA
466 Guernsey
3.00
NA
467 Greenland
3.00
NA
468 Hong Kong
3.00
NA
469 British Indian Ocean Territory
3.00
NA
470 Anguilla
3.00
NA
471 Montserrat
3.00
NA
472 Jordan
3.00
NA
473 Jersey
3.00
NA
474 Singapore
3.00
NA
475 Palau
3.00
NA
476 Coral Sea Islands
3.00
NA
477 British Virgin Islands
3.00
NA
478 Pitcairn Islands
3.00
NA
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  The online Factbook is updated weekly. ISSN 1553-8133
For additional information on government leaders in selected foreign countries, go to World Leaders.