The land nobody wants
Bir Tawil
A 2,060 square kilometer desert wedge between Egypt and Sudan that both countries refuse to claim.
Bir Tawil is one of the only pieces of land on the planet that no sovereign state claims. It sits along the Egypt-Sudan border, a barren 2,060 square kilometer trapezoid of rock and sand with no permanent residents and no water infrastructure. Its bizarre legal status comes from two competing colonial-era border lines drawn by Britain, an 1899 political boundary and a 1902 administrative boundary, which diverged around this parcel and the far more valuable, coastal Halaib Triangle nearby. Egypt claims the 1899 line, which puts Halaib in Egypt and Bir Tawil in Sudan. Sudan claims the 1902 line, which puts Halaib in Sudan and Bir Tawil in Egypt. Because each country wants the valuable Halaib Triangle and not the worthless desert strip, both governments effectively disown Bir Tawil to strengthen their claim on Halaib. The result is a genuine no man's land that has attracted flag-planting adventurers, YouTubers, and at least one man who tried to declare himself king.
A quirk of colonial cartography
The dispute traces back to British administration of Egypt and Sudan. In 1899 an Anglo-Egyptian condominium agreement set the border at the 22nd parallel, a straight political line. In 1902 the British drew a second, administrative boundary that better matched how local tribes actually used the land, shifting the Halaib Triangle to Sudanese administration and Bir Tawil to Egyptian administration. Nobody expected these two lines to matter once Egypt and Sudan became independent nations, but they created a legal loophole that persists to this day.
Why nobody claims it
Halaib is a resource-rich coastal region with access to the Red Sea, so both Egypt and Sudan want it badly. But claiming Halaib under one treaty line means abandoning your claim to Bir Tawil under the same logic, since the two areas are legally linked as a package under each treaty. Both nations chose the treaty that gives them Halaib, leaving Bir Tawil in permanent limbo. Neither country has ever formally renounced or accepted it outright, they simply do not administer it.
Micronation dreams
Because it belongs to no state, Bir Tawil has become a magnet for people wanting to found their own country. In 2014 American Jeremiah Heaton planted a homemade flag there and declared it the Kingdom of North Sudan, hoping to make his daughter a real princess. Other self-styled monarchs and YouTubers have made similar treks. None of these claims carry any legal weight since terra nullius, land belonging to no one, cannot simply be claimed by planting a flag under modern international law.
Life on the ground
Despite the internet fascination, Bir Tawil has no permanent population, no infrastructure, and no natural water source, making sustained habitation nearly impossible. Small numbers of nomadic Ababda people occasionally pass through with livestock. The terrain is rocky desert hills rising toward the Red Sea mountains. Visiting requires crossing through Egypt or Sudan, both of which restrict access to the border region, so despite technically being unclaimed, actually getting there is a serious logistical and diplomatic challenge.
Fun facts
- Bir Tawil covers about 2,060 square kilometers, roughly the size of Luxembourg's larger cousin.
- It is one of the very few places on Earth classified as terra nullius, land claimed by no state.
- The dispute exists because both Egypt and Sudan want the neighboring Halaib Triangle instead.
- An American father declared it the Kingdom of North Sudan in 2014 to make his daughter a princess.
- There is no permanent water source, ruling out any lasting settlement.
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Text on this page is original Terralocate editorial. Background facts compiled from the public sources listed above. Images via Wikimedia Commons under their respective licenses (typically CC BY-SA or public domain).