Who owns the Gulf of Mexico?

The Gulf of Mexico (also called the Gulf of America) covers an area of some 600,000 square miles (1,550,000 square km), and a little more than 2 percent of it is classified as international waters. The remainder is claimed by the three countries that border it: Cuba, Mexico, and the United States. However, it is important to remember that the ocean cannot literally be owned by any individual, group, or government. Under the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea, which came into force in 1994, a country may assert sovereignty over territorial waters that extend up to 12 nautical miles (22 km) from its coast. In addition, a country may claim an area of the ocean extending up to 200 nautical miles (370 km) immediately offshore as its exclusive economic zone (EEZ). Within this area, that country retains exclusive rights to the exploration and exploitation of natural resources. Mexico claims the largest part of the Gulf of Mexico—nearly 48 percent—as its EEZ, the United States claims about 45 percent, and Cuba claims a little more than 5 percent.