Officially, Antarctica is not ruled by anybody; the entire continent is terra nullius: land that belongs to noone. After the Moon, it is the largest terra nullius area that men have walked on.

Seven countries (the United Kingdom, New Zealand, Australia, France, Norway, Chile and Argentina) have claimed sections of Antarctica, but those claims are not universally recognised, and in some cases overlap.

L-R: The Australian and New Zealander claims. Both were previously part of the UK’s claim.

L-R: The overlapping Argentinian and Chilean claims.

L-R: The Norwegian and French claims.

The United Kingdom’s claim. Note the overlap with the Argentinian and Chilean claims.

When all the existing claims are taken into account that still leaves a small area adjacent to the Norwegian claim, and the entire area between 90°W and 150°W (1.6 million square kilometres, three times the size of France) unclaimed by anyone.

Under the terms of the Antarctic Treaty Peru, South Africa, the USA and Russia have formally reserved the right to make a claim to land in Antarctica, but have yet failed to do so.