Who has claimed ownership of Antarctica?

Answer 1

There is no one country that owns Antarctica and no permanent human settlers or any evidence of and existing or pre-historic indigenous population. In 1961 a treaty was established on the ownership of Antarctica. 45 countries (¾ of the world population) have signed the treaty to agree on the claims and the treatment of Antarctica. This treaty is one of the only international 20th century agreements to have succeeded. The Antarctic treaty bans all military activity. Every decision that the treaty makes is made by consensus so that there are no disagreements and arguments. In the 1980's mining companies wanted to search for minerals in Antarctica. Some environmental groups such as green peace campaigned that mining should be banned forever in Antarctica. At first the treaty could not come to a decision, but eventually they agreed to put in place a new protocol on environment protection in 1998. The rules of the protocol are that wildlife and habitats must be conserved and pollution controlled. There are seven countries that have made claims: Argentina, Australia, Chile, France, New Zealand, Norway, and the UK, though Australia has the biggest claim. Russia and the USA have tried to make claims but they have not yet been accepted.

Answer 2

No single country or person claims ownership of Antarctica. The continent is governed by the Antarctic Treaty System, an international agreement that designates Antarctica as a region for peaceful scientific cooperation and prohibits military activities.

Answer 3

australia has the biggest claim, and there are seven countries with their own areas and work stations in antarctica.