GlossaryEN1 min readUpdated: Oct 6, 2026
Exclusive Economic Zone
The Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ) is a maritime area extending up to 200 nautical miles from a coastal state's baseline under the UN Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS).
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Source: https://www.un.org/depts/los/convention_agreements/texts/unclos/unclos_e.pdf
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Definition & Explanation
The Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ) is a maritime area extending up to 200 nautical miles from a coastal state's baseline under the UN Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS). Within it, the coastal state holds sovereign rights to explore, exploit and manage living and non-living natural resources (fisheries, oil, gas, offshore wind), but — unlike in its territorial sea, which extends only 12 nautical miles — does not exercise full territorial sovereignty. Other states retain freedoms such as navigation and overflight within the EEZ. The distinction matters for classifying incidents at sea: an attack within a state's EEZ is assessed differently under international law than one within its territorial waters, since the EEZ is not sovereign territory in the strict sense.
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