There are very few places on earth that are claimed by no state, otherwise known as terra nullius. One of the best known areas with this status is found in the north-east Africa.
Bir Tawil is a geographical quirk that has been left unclaimed by virtue of Egypt and Sudan disputing their border.
The arid desert landscape, about the size of Cheshire or Worcestershire, at 2060 sq km, is rejected by both countries – but there are some people on earth who want it as their own.
One such person was Jeremiah Heaton, who decided to claim the barren land in order to fulfil his daughter’s wish to become a princess.
In 2014, Mr Heaton made the treacherous journey to the wasteland, taking with him a flag and declaring himself the king of the new state of the ‘Kingdom of North Sudan’.
Another person to claim the area was Suyash Dixit from Indore, India. In 2017, he ventured out to the unoccupied land, claiming it for himself.
He determined himself as the rules of the ‘Kingdom of Dixit’, and appointed his father as prime minister.
Neither claim is officially recognised by another state.
The reason Bir Tawil is unclaimed can be traced back to British colonial rule. In 1899, with both Egypt and Sudan under British rule, a border was established along the 22nd parallel.
This border gave Egypt Bir Tawil and Sudan the far more valuable Hala’ib Triangle, that had fertile land and access to the Red Sea.
However, three years later, Britain decided to move the border to accomodate the movement of tribespeople. The resultant border saw Egypt get the Hala’ib Triangle and Sudan were lumbered with the empty Bir Tawil.
When both countries got their independence, they each claimed that the border that gave them the Hala’ib Triangle was the legitimate one. That meant surrendering Bir Tawil.
Other areas of unclaimed land include areas of the border between Croatia and Serbia, and the vast 1,610,000 km² Mary Byrd Land in Antarctica.
