Misc
Slices of the Pie: Mapping Territorial Claims in Antarctica
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Slices of the Pie: Mapping Territorial Claims in Antarctica
For the 55% of the world’s population who reside in cities, land is viewed as a precious commodity—every square foot has a value attached to it. As the global population continues to rise toward the eight billion mark, it can seem like humans have laid claim to every available corner of the earth.
While this is mostly true, there is one place on the planet that is vast, empty, and even partially unclaimed: Antarctica.
Today’s map, originally created by the CIA World Factbook, visualizes the active claims on Antarctic territory, as well as the location of many permanent research facilities.
The History of Antarctic Territorial Claims
In the first half of the 20th Century, a number of countries began to claim wedge-shaped portions of territory on the southernmost continent. Even Nazi Germany was in on the action, claiming a large swath of land which they dubbed New Swabia.
After WWII, the Antarctic Treaty system—which established the legal framework for the management of the continent—began to take shape. In the 1950s, seven countries including Argentina, Australia, Chile, France, New Zealand, Norway, and the United Kingdom claimed territorial sovereignty over portions of Antarctica. A number of other nations, including the U.S. and Japan, were engaged in exploration but hadn’t put forward claims in an official capacity.
Territorial claims in Antarctica | Territory name | Area of claim |
---|---|---|
🇦🇺 Australia | Australian Antarctic Territory | 3,663,915 mi² (5,896,500 km²) |
🇳🇴 Norway | Queen Maud Land | 1,677,702 mi² (2,700,000 km²) |
🇬🇧 United Kingdom | British Antarctic Territory | 1,062,171 mi² (1,709,400 km²) |
🇦🇷 Argentina | Argentine Antarctica | 908,194 mi² (1,461,597 km²) |
🇨🇱 Chile | Chilean Antarctic Territory | 776,874 mi² (1,250,258 km²) |
🇳🇿 New Zealand | Ross Dependency | 279,617 mi² (450,000 km²) |
🇫🇷 France | Adélie Land | 268,432 mi² (432,000 km²) |
Despite the remoteness and inhospitable climate of Antarctica, the idea of claiming such large areas of landmass has proven appealing to countries. Even the smallest claim on the continent is equivalent to the size of Iraq.
A few of the above claims overlap, as is the case on the Antarctic Peninsula, which juts out geographically from the rest of the continent. This area is less remote with a milder climate, and is subject to claims by Argentina, Chile, and the United Kingdom (which governs the nearby Falkland Islands).
Interestingly, there is still a large portion of Antarctica that remains unclaimed today. Just east of the Ross Ice Shelf lies Marie Byrd Land, a vast, remote territory that is by far the largest unclaimed land area on Earth.
While Antarctica has no official government, it is administered through yearly meetings known as the Antarctic Treaty Consultative Meetings. These meetings involve a number of stakeholders, from member nations to observer organizations.
Frontage Theory: Another Way to Slice it
Of course, critics could argue that current claims are arbitrary, and that there is a more equitable way to partition land in Antarctica. That’s where Frontage Theory comes in.
Originally proposed by Brazilian geopolitical scholar Therezinha de Castro, the theory argues that sectors of the Antarctic continent should be distributed according to meridians (the imaginary lines running north–south around the earth). Wherever straight lines running north hit landfall, that country would have sovereignty over the corresponding “wedge” of Antarctic territory.
The map below shows roughly how territorial claims would look under that scenario.
While Brazil has obvious reasons for favoring this solution, it’s also a thought experiment that produces an interesting mix of territorial claims. Not only do nearby countries in Africa and South America get a piece of the pie, but places like Canada and Greenland would end up with territory adjacent to both of the planet’s poles.
Leaving the Pie Unsliced
Thanks to the Antarctic Treaty, there is no mining taking place in Antarctica, and thus far no country has set up a permanent settlement on the continent. Aside from scattered research stations and a few thousand researchers, claims in the region have a limited impact.
For the near future at least, the slicing of the Antarctic pie is only hypothetical.
Automotive
The Most Fuel Efficient Cars From 1975 to Today
This infographic lists the most fuel efficient cars over the past 46 years, including the current leader for 2023.

The Most Fuel Efficient Cars From 1975 to Today
When shopping for a new car, what is the most important factor you look for? According to Statista, it’s not design, quality, or even safety—it’s fuel efficiency.
Because of this, automakers are always looking for clever ways to improve gas mileage in their cars. Beating the competition by even the slimmest of margins can give valuable bragging rights within a segment.
In this infographic, we’ve used data from the EPA’s 2022 Automotive Trends Report to list off the most fuel efficient cars from 1975 to today.
Editor’s note: This is from a U.S. government agency, so the data shown skews towards cars sold in North America.
Data Overview
All of the information in the above infographic is listed in the table below. Data was only available in 5-year increments up until 2005, after which it switches to annual.
Model Year | Make | Model | Real World Fuel Economy (mpg) | Engine Type |
---|---|---|---|---|
1975 | Honda | Civic | 28.3 | Gas |
1980 | VW | Rabbit | 40.3 | Diesel |
1985 | Chevrolet | Sprint | 49.6 | Gas |
1990 | Geo | Metro | 53.4 | Gas |
1995 | Honda | Civic | 47.3 | Gas |
2000 | Honda | Insight | 57.4 | Hybrid |
2005 | Honda | Insight | 53.3 | Hybrid |
2006 | Honda | Insight | 53 | Hybrid |
2007 | Toyota | Prius | 46.2 | Hybrid |
2008 | Toyota | Prius | 46.2 | Hybrid |
2009 | Toyota | Prius | 46.2 | Hybrid |
2010 | Honda | FCX | 60.2 | FCEV |
2011 | BMW | Active E | 100.6 | EV |
2012 | Mitsubishi | i-MiEV | 109 | EV |
2013 | Toyota | iQ EV | 117 | EV |
2014 | BMW | i3 | 121.3 | EV |
2015 | BMW | i3 | 121.3 | EV |
2016 | BMW | i3 | 121.3 | EV |
2017 | Hyundai | Ioniq Electric | 132.6 | EV |
2018 | Hyundai | Ioniq Electric | 132.6 | EV |
2019 | Hyundai | Ioniq Electric | 132.6 | EV |
2020 | Tesla | 3 | 138.6 | EV |
2021 | Tesla | 3 | 139.1 | EV |
From this dataset, we can identify three distinct approaches to maximizing fuel efficiency.
Downsizing
Prior to 2000, the best way for automakers to achieve good fuel efficiency was by downsizing. Making cars smaller (lighter) meant they could also be fitted with very small engines.
For example, the 1985 Chevrolet Sprint was rated at 49.6 MPG, but had a sluggish 0-60 time of 15 seconds.
Hybrids
The 2000s saw the introduction of mass-market hybrid vehicles like the Honda Insight and Toyota Prius. By including a small battery to support the combustion engine, automakers could achieve good MPGs without sacrificing so heavily on size.
While the Insight achieved better fuel economy than the Prius, it was the latter that became synonymous with the term “hybrid”. This was largely due to the Prius’ more practical 4-door design.
The following table compares annual U.S. sales figures for both models. Insight sales have fluctuated drastically because Honda has produced the model in several short spans (1999-2006, 2009-2014, 2018-2022).
Year | Insight Sales | Prius Sales |
---|---|---|
2005 | 666 | 107,155 |
2006 | 722 | 106,971 |
2007 | 3 | 181,221 |
2008 | - | 158,884 |
2009 | 20,572 | 150,831 |
2010 | 20,962 | 140,928 |
2011 | 15,549 | 136,464 |
2012 | 6,619 | 236,655 |
2013 | 4,802 | 234,228 |
2014 | 3,965 | 207,372 |
2015 | 1,458 | 184,794 |
2016 | 67 | 136,629 |
2017 | 3 | 108,661 |
2018 | 12,513 | 87,590 |
2019 | 23,686 | 69,718 |
2020 | 15,932 | 43,525 |
2021 | 18,685 | 59,010 |
2022 | 7,628 | 33,352 |
Source: goodcarbadcar.net
The Prius may have dominated the hybrid market for a long time, but it too has run into troubles. Sales have been declining since 2014, even setting historic lows in recent years.
There are several reasons behind this trend, with one being a wider availability of hybrid models from other brands. We also can’t ignore the release of the Tesla Model 3, which began shipping to customers in 2017.
Electric Vehicles
We’re currently in the middle of a historic transition to electric vehicles. However, because EVs do not use fuel, the EPA had to develop a new system called MPGe (miles per gallon of gasoline-equivalent).
This new metric gives us the ability to compare the efficiency of EVs with traditional gas-powered cars. An underlying assumption of MPGe is that 33.7 kilowatt-hours (kWh) of electricity is comparable to the energy content of a gallon of fuel.
The most fuel efficient car you can buy today is the 2023 Lucid Air, which achieves 140 MPGe. Close behind it is the 2023 Tesla Model 3 RWD, which is rated at 132 MPGe.
Check out this page to see the EPA’s top 10 most efficient vehicles for 2023.
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