Background: The Paracel Islands are surrounded by productive fishing grounds and by potential oil and gas reserves. In 1932, French Indochina annexed the islands and set up a weather station on Pattle Island; maintenance was continued by its successor, Vietnam. China has occupied all the Paracel Islands since 1974, when its troops seized a South Vietnamese garrison occupying the western islands. China built a military installation on Woody Island with an airfield and artificial harbor. The islands also are claimed by Taiwan and Vietnam.

Geographic coordinates: 16 30 N, 112 00 E

Map reference: Southeast Asia

Area
Total: 7.75 km²
Note: ca.
Land: 7.75 km²
Water: 0 km²
Rank: 244
Comparative: land area is about 13 times the size of the National Mall in Washington, DC

Land boundaries: 0 km

Coastline: 518 km

Maritime claims: NA

Climate: tropical

Terrain: mostly low and flat

Elevation: 0 m
Note: lowest point: South China Sea

Natural resources: none

Land use
Agricultural land: 0% (2011 est.)
Forest: 0% (2011 est.)
Other: 100% (2011 est.)

Irrigated land: 0 km² (2012)

Natural hazards: typhoons

Geography
Note: composed of 130 small coral islands and reefs divided into the northeast Amphitrite Group and the western Crescent Group

Population
Distribution: a population of over 1,000 Chinese resides on Woody Island, the largest of the Paracels; there are scattered Chinese garrisons on some other islands:
Rank: 234

Population distribution: a population of over 1,000 Chinese resides on Woody Island, the largest of the Paracels; there are scattered Chinese garrisons on some other islands

Environment
Current issues: China's use of dredged sand and coral to build artificial islands harms reef systems; ongoing human activities, including military operations, infrastructure construction, and tourism endangers local ecosystem including birds, fish, marine mammals, and marine reptiles

Country name
Conventional long form: none
Conventional short form: Paracel Islands
Etymology: Portuguese navigators began to refer to the Ilhas do Pracel in the 16th century as a designation of low lying islets, sandbanks, and reefs scattered over a wide area; over time the name changed to parcel and then paracel

Economy overview: The islands have the potential for oil and gas development. Waters around the islands support commercial fishing, but the islands themselves are not populated on a permanent basis.

Airports: 1 (2013)
Rank: 233
With paved runways total: 1 (2017)
With paved runways 15-24 to 2437 m: 1 (2017)

Ports and terminals: small Chinese port facilities on Woody Island and Duncan Island

Disputes international: occupied by China, also claimed by Taiwan and Vietnam