Archipelagic State Status
Status International Law Preferred
Legal status of a State constituted wholly by one or more archipelagos, entitling it to draw archipelagic baselines.
Independent referenceNot an official or legal definition
Sources citedSee the sources at the end of this page
Status Under reviewLast updated 11 October 2026
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Definition
In plain language
Some countries consist entirely of groups of islands, such as Indonesia or the Philippines. International law lets them treat the waters between their islands as part of their territory under special rules.
Academic definition
Part IV of UNCLOS (Articles 46 to 54) recognises archipelagic States and lets them draw straight archipelagic baselines joining the outermost points of their outermost islands, provided that the ratio of water to land inside the baselines is between 1:1 and 9:1 and that the baselines do not exceed 100 nautical miles in length, with a limited 3 per cent allowance up to 125 nautical miles (Article 47). The status was a bargain between island States seeking unity of their territory and maritime powers seeking navigation rights, resolved by creating archipelagic sea lanes passage (Article 53). Only a State consisting wholly of archipelagos qualifies; a continental State with island groups does not.
Classification
- Term type
- Status
- Category
- International Law
- Subject field
- Law of the Sea
- Subfield
- Archipelagic Regime
- Difficulty level
- Advanced
- Grammatical category
- noun phrase
Language variants
- Alternative terms
- archipelagic State
- archipelagic regime
- Non-preferred terms
- not_applicable
- Abbreviations
- not_applicable
- Acronyms
- not_applicable
- Native terms
- not_applicable
- Transliteration
- not_applicable
- Pronunciation
- not_applicable
Context
Legal effect: Binding
Scope
Covers the status and the entitlement to archipelagic baselines; the waters enclosed are dealt with under 'Archipelagic Waters', and ordinary straight baselines for coastal archipelagos are a different regime.
Legal context
UNCLOS Article 46(a) defines an archipelagic State, Article 47 sets the baseline conditions, Article 48 provides that the territorial sea, contiguous zone, EEZ and continental shelf are measured from the archipelagic baselines, and Article 53 grants archipelagic sea lanes passage. Indonesia's 1957 Djuanda Declaration, the Philippines' claims and the Bahamas and Fiji are early practice.
Diplomatic context
Archipelagic States have lobbied for recognition, notified baselines and designated sea lanes through the International Maritime Organization; maritime powers monitor claims that exceed Article 47 limits.
Institutional context
Handled by national maritime authorities and the UN Division for Ocean Affairs and the Law of the Sea, which receives deposited charts, and the IMO for sea lanes.
Historical context
The concept was championed by Indonesia, the Philippines, Fiji and Mauritius in the 1950s to 1970s and codified in UNCLOS in 1982.
Why it matters
It determines the size of an island nation's territory and maritime zones and the routes through which foreign ships and aircraft may pass.
Usage
Register: Legal
Usage note
Use 'archipelagic State' for the legal status; 'archipelago' alone is a geographical term with no legal consequences.
Example
As an archipelagic State, the country published coordinates for its archipelagic baselines and deposited them with the United Nations.
Example scenario
State A is made up of hundreds of islands. It draws archipelagic baselines around the outer islands that satisfy the water-to-land ratio, designates sea lanes for foreign shipping and deposits the charts with the Secretary-General, who gives them due publicity.
Common misuse
Assuming any State with islands, such as a continental State with offshore islands, can claim archipelagic status.
Not to be confused with
- Coastal archipelago with ordinary straight baselines
- Archipelagic waters
- Small island developing State
Sources
- United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (1982), United Nations, Articles 46-54. un.org
- Official definition. not_found_in_source
- Treaty reference. un.org
- Churchill and Lowe, The Law of the Sea. not_found_in_source
- not_found_in_source. not_found_in_source
Source type: Treaty. Source reliability: Primary.
This entry is an independent reference definition, not an official or legally binding text. Where an official definition exists, it is linked above and is authoritative. Read our methodology.
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