title: Exclusive economic zone of Portugal
text: # Exclusive economic zone of Portugal
  
  Portugal has the 5th largest exclusive economic zone (EEZ) within Europe, 3rd largest of the EU and the 20th largest EEZ in the world, at 1,727,408 $km^2.$
  
  ## Portugal's exclusive economic zone
  
  * Continental Portugal 327,667 $km^2$
  * Madeira Islands 446,108 $km^2$
  * Azores Islands 953,633 $km^2$
  * Total: 1,727,408 $km^2$
  
  Portugal submitted a claim to extend its jurisdiction over additional 2.15 million square kilometers of the neighboring continental shelf in May 2009, which would result in a marine territory of more than 3,877,408 $km^2.$
  
  ## Resolved Dispute with Spain
  
  Until 2009, Spain disputed the EEZ's southern border, maintaining that it should be drawn halfway between Madeira and the Canary Islands. Portugal exercises sovereignty over the Savage Islands, a small archipelago north of the Canaries, hence claiming an EEZ border further south. Spain had objected by arguing that the Savage Islands do not have a separate continental shelf, citing article 121 of the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea. On the basis of this article, Spain claimed that the Savage Islands were not islands, but instead uninhabitable rocks. The Savage Islands are a protected Portuguese natural reserve, and thus its only year-round inhabitants are workers of Madeira Natural Park who look over the isolated natural reserve, protecting its wildlife. Over the years, the Portuguese authorities have seized some Spanish fishing boats around the area for illegal fishing.
  
  