Which country occupies Antarctica or is it its own country?

Answer 1

The policy of the United Nations is that no country may lay claim to Antarctica. The actual policy is that nations may only claim the territory that their permanent Antarctica base is built on. Any nation, or anyone, is allowed to come to Antarctica to explore or do research. Technically it isn't even a country since it is owned by the world.

So far the only resource found in quantity in Antarctica is coal, which is fairly easy to come by. If oil is found then all bets are off. Some science fiction stories have predicted that in that case a war over resources would be fought there.

One unpopular plan for Antarctic research is by the Russians. They plan on drilling down through the ice cap to a lake hidden deep below. They hope to extract samples of ancient water and anything else from this old lake. The lake is oldest of its kind and would have had its contents preserved for millions of years. The problem is that the lake is very deep and conventional drilling techniques won't work. The pipe needs to be pressurized and the Russians are planning on using gasoline to do it. If they reach this lake then they could contaminate it with the gasoline. I learned about this plan from Popular Science Magazine. Currently there is no legal way to stop the Russians from doing this.

Answer 2

Antarctica isn't occupied by any country. It is governed by the Antarctic Treaty. This was first signed in 1959 and then put in force June 23, 1961. 43 different countries have periodic meetings to discuss the administration of the continent. Some of the countries claim that parts of the continent are actually territories, however 20 of the nations do not. The US does not recognize any such claims of territory.
List of nations that signed the treaty - Argentina, Australia, Chile, France, New Zealand, Norway, and the UK. Nonclaimant consultative nations are--Belgium, Brazil (1983), Bulgaria (1978) China (1985), Ecuador (1990), Finland (1989), Germany (1981), India (1983), Italy (1987), Japan, South Korea (1989), Netherlands (1990), Peru (1989), Poland (1977), Russia, South Africa, Spain (1988), Sweden (1988), Uruguay (1985), and the US. Acceding (nonvoting) members, with year of accession in parentheses, are--Austria (1987), Canada (1988), Colombia (1988), Cuba (1984), Czech Republic (1993), Denmark (1965), Greece (1987), Guatemala (1991), Hungary (1984), North Korea (1987), Papua New Guinea (1981), Romania (1971), Slovakia (1993), Switzerland (1990), Turkey (1995), and Ukraine (1992).

Answer 3

Antarctica isn't a country. It doesn't have a government. There are claims but these are not internationally recognized. Countries do have year round scientific stations, and as such "occupy" it in places.

Answer 4

No one country owns Antarctica, 7 countries have claims on portions of it (Argentina, Australia, Britain, Chile, France, New Zealand, Norway). US & Russia reserve rights to claim. 44 countries signed a Treaty designating it for peaceful research and study

Answer 5

Antarctica is occupied by several countries which have stations there, from what I remember. The former Soviet Union had a station there.

Answer 6

Quite a few states have laid claim to various territories but all claims of sovereignty were suspended when the Antarctic treaty came into force. Lots of countries now carry out scientific research which gives them a say in the management of Antarctica.
See here- http://www.antarctica.ac.uk/About_Antarctica/Treaty/ for a better explanation.

Answer 7

It is not a country, it is a continent.....and no one owns it, I do not think....it is a multi-national scientific land mass......any country that wants to can occupy it....and there is not one person yelling about us or any other country occupying it.....could this be taken as hypocracy?

Answer 8

None! All of the Super powers in the '50s decided to leave it be. There aren't any Citys or anything because it is mostly uninhabitable.