While nearly every significant piece of land on Earth is claimed by a sovereign nation, there are still a few rare instances of "Terra Nullius" (land belonging to no one). The most famous example is Marie Byrd Land in Antarctica, a massive, ice-covered region that remains the largest unclaimed territory on the planet because no nation has made a formal claim that is recognized under the Antarctic Treaty. Another example is Bir Tawil, a small trapezoidal piece of land between Egypt and Sudan; due to a 19th-century border dispute, both countries claim a different neighboring territory (the Hala'ib Triangle) and consequently reject ownership of Bir Tawil. There are also "new" islands that occasionally emerge due to volcanic activity, such as Surtsey in Iceland; however, international law generally dictates that these belong to the nation whose territorial waters they appear in. In 2026, while "micro-nations" often attempt to claim small reefs or sandbars, the reality of global geopolitics means that any habitable or strategically valuable land is already firmly under the control of an established government.