An Indian adventurer has declared himself the ruler of an unclaimed strip of land in North Africa and is encouraging interested parties to apply for citizenship.

Suyash Dixit travelled hundreds of miles to Bir Tawil, an 800 square mile piece of uninhabited land between Egypt and Sudan that neither country has claimed.

Bir Tawil is the only place on Earth where humans can live and survive that is not a part of any state or country, with the boundary quirk occurring as a result of a border drawn up by the British in 1899.

The new "ruler" faced a perilous journey after spending two nights planning his trip into the desert and convincing a local driver to take him to the remote outpost.

“The route that I took is under Egyptian military control and is an area of terrorists so military have 'shoot at sight' orders,” he explained.