WAn 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 special rights regarding the exploration and use of marine resources, including energy production from water and wind. It stretches from the baseline out to 200 nautical miles (nmi) 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, as can be seen in the map, are international waters.
WAustralia's exclusive economic zone (EEZ) 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. To the 12 nautical-mile boundary is Australia's territorial waters. Australia has the third-largest exclusive economic zone, behind the United States and France but ahead of Russia, with the total area of 8,148,250 square kilometres (3,146,060 sq mi), which exceeds its land territory.
WThe Blue Amazon or Brazilian maritime territory is the exclusive economic zone (EEZ) of Brazil. It is an offshore area of 3.6 million square km on the Brazilian coast, rich in marine biodiversity and energy resources. The size is equivalent to the surface of the Amazon rainforest. The name is a reference to the biologically rich region of the Brazilian Amazon, with the addition of the adjective blue denoting the ocean.
WThe exclusive economic zone of Canada is the area of the sea in which Canada has special rights regarding the exploration and use of marine resources, as prescribed by the 1982 United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea.
WThere are disputes between China, Japan, and South Korea over the extent of their respective exclusive economic zones (EEZs) in the East China Sea.
WThe Ecological and Fisheries Protection Zone is a protected fishing area over Croatia's exclusive economic zone.
WHowland Island and Baker Island are two uninhabited U.S. atolls in the Equatorial Pacific that are located close to one another. Both islands are wildlife refuges, the larger of which is Howland Island. They are both part of the larger political territory of the United States Minor Outlying Islands and they are also both part of the larger geographic grouping of the Phoenix Islands. Each is a National Wildlife Refuge managed by a division of Interior, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service. On January 6, 2009, President George Bush, included both islands to the Pacific Remote Islands Marine National Monument.
WIndonesia has the sixth-largest exclusive economic zone in the world with 6,159,032 km2 (2,378,016 sq mi). It claims an EEZ of 200 nautical miles (370 km) from its shores. This is due to the 13,466 islands of the Indonesian archipelago. It has the 3rd largest coastline of 54,720 km (34,000 mi). It is located in Southeast Asia between the Indian Ocean and the Pacific Ocean.
WItaly has the world's 48th largest exclusive economic zone (EEZ), with an area of 541,915 km2 (209,235 sq mi). It claims an EEZ of 200 nmi from its shores, which has long coastlines with the Tyrrhenian Sea to the west, the Ionian Sea to the south and the Adriatic Sea to the east. Its EEZ is limited by maritime boundaries with neighboring countries to the north-west, east and southeast.
WJapan has the eighth-largest exclusive economic zone (EEZ) in the world. The total area of Japan is about 377,975.24 km2. Japan's EEZ area is vast and the territorial waters and EEZ together is about 4.48 million km2.
WThe marine ecoregions of the South African exclusive economic zone are a set of geographically delineated regions of similar ecological characteristics on a fairly broad scale, covering the exclusive economic zone along the South African coast.
WNew Zealand's exclusive economic zone (EEZ) covers at least 4,083,744 square kilometres (1,576,742 sq mi), which is approximately 15 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. 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.
WThe exclusive economic zone of North Korea stretches 200 nautical miles from its basepoints in both the Yellow Sea and the Sea of Japan. The exclusive economic zone (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. The EEZ has not been codified in law and North Korea has never specified its coordinates, making it difficult to determine its specific scope.
WThe Philippines has an exclusive economic zone that covers 2,263,816 square kilometers (874,064 sq mi) of sea. It claims an EEZ of 200 nautical miles (370 km) from its shores. This is due to the 7,641 islands comprising the Philippine archipelago. The total land area, including inland bodies of water, of the Philippines is 300,000 square kilometers (120,000 sq mi). It has the fifth longest coastline in the world with 36,289 kilometers (22,549 mi). The coordinates are between 116° 40', and 126° 34' E longitude and 4° 40' and 21° 10' N latitude. It is bordered by the Philippine Sea to the east and north, the South China Sea to the west, and the Celebes Sea to the south.
WPortugal has the 5th largest exclusive economic zone (EEZ) within Europe, 3rd largest of the EU and the 20th largest EEZ in the world, at 1,727,408 km2.
WThe exclusive economic zone of Somalia covers 830,389 km2 in the Indian Ocean. It extends to a distance of 200 nautical miles from the baselines, from which the breadth of the nation's territorial waters is measured. In accordance with Law No. 37 passed in 1972, Somalia's EEZ falls under its territorial sovereignty.
WThailand has the world's 64th largest exclusive economic zone (EEZ), with an area of 299,397 km2 (115,598 sq mi). It claims an EEZ of 200 nmi from its shores, which has long coastlines with the Andaman Sea and Strait of Malacca to the west and the Gulf of Thailand to the east, although all of its EEZ is limited by maritime boundaries with neighbouring countries.
WThe United Kingdom's exclusive economic zone is the fifth largest in the world at 6,805,586 km2 (2,627,651 sq mi). It comprises the exclusive economic zones surrounding the United Kingdom, the Crown dependencies, and the British Overseas Territories. The figure does not include the EEZ of the British Antarctic Territory.