World · permanent entity record · XJ
Jan Mayen
Thirty-second orientation
Jan Mayen at a glance
- Population
- total: no permanent inhabitants note: military personnel present on the south side of the island; meteorological stations
- CIA World Factbook historical record · as of 2025-12-04
- Area
- total : 377 sq km land: 377 sq km water: 0 sq km
- CIA World Factbook historical record · as of 2025-12-04
Claims are attributed · classifications are dated
Claims and contested status
Maintained classification
Dependency or area of special sovereignty
Norway
U.S. Department of State, Dependencies and Areas of Special Sovereignty · as of 2026-03-31A claim’s appearance records that the cited source reports it. It does not constitute an Almanac ruling on sovereignty.
Maintained profile
- Classification
- Dependency or area of special sovereignty
- U.S. Department of State, Dependencies and Areas of Special Sovereignty · Federal classification and wording follow the current State Department register.
- Sovereignty or administration
- Norway
- U.S. Department of State, Dependencies and Areas of Special Sovereignty ·
- Administrative center
- Administered from Oslo
- U.S. Department of State, Dependencies and Areas of Special Sovereignty ·
Preserved public-domain record · not maintained current data
Final CIA World Factbook profile
This is the preserved historical baseline from the Factbook’s final public snapshot. It is presented as the CIA stated it, not as a current Standard American Almanac finding. Current, independently maintained facts appear above when available.
CIA World Factbook historical record · final public snapshot · profile updated · pinned source record · commit d81154954b8b
Introduction1 fields
- Background
- This desolate, mountainous island in the Arctic Ocean was named after a Dutch whaling captain who indisputably discovered it in 1614 (earlier claims are inconclusive). Visited only occasionally by seal hunters and trappers over the centuries, the island came under Norwegian sovereignty in 1929. The long dormant Beerenberg volcano, the northernmost active volcano on earth, resumed activity in 1970, and the most recent eruption occurred in 1985.
- CIA World Factbook historical record · as of · source
Geography16 fields
- Location
- Northern Europe, island between the Greenland Sea and the Norwegian Sea, northeast of Iceland
- CIA World Factbook historical record · as of · source
- Area
- total : 377 sq km land: 377 sq km water: 0 sq km
- CIA World Factbook historical record · as of · source
- Area - comparative
- slightly more than twice the size of Washington, D.C.
- CIA World Factbook historical record · as of · source
- Maritime claims
- territorial sea: 12 nm contiguous zone: 24 nm exclusive economic zone: 200 nm continental shelf: 200-m depth or to the depth of exploitation
- CIA World Factbook historical record · as of · source
- Climate
- arctic maritime with frequent storms and persistent fog
- CIA World Factbook historical record · as of · source
- Terrain
- volcanic island, partly covered by glaciers
- CIA World Factbook historical record · as of · source
- Elevation
- highest point: Haakon VII Toppen on Beerenberg 2,277 lowest point: Norwegian/Greenland Seas 0 m note: Beerenberg volcano has numerous peaks; the highest point on the volcano rim is named Haakon VII Toppen, after Norway's first king following the reestablishment of Norwegian independence in 1905
- CIA World Factbook historical record · as of · source
- Land use
- agricultural land: 0% (2011 est.) other: 100% (2018 est.)
- CIA World Factbook historical record · as of · source
- Natural hazards
- dominated by the volcano Beerenberg volcanism: Beerenberg (2,227 m) is Norway's only active volcano; volcanic activity resumed in 1970; the most recent eruption occurred in 1985
- CIA World Factbook historical record · as of · source
- Geography - note
- barren volcanic spoon-shaped island with some moss and grass flora; island consists of two parts: a larger northeast Nord-Jan (the spoon "bowl") and the smaller Sor-Jan (the "handle"), linked by a 2.5 km-wide isthmus (the "stem") with two large lakes, Sorlaguna (South Lagoon) and Nordlaguna (North Lagoon)
- CIA World Factbook historical record · as of · source
People and Society1 fields
- Population
- total: no permanent inhabitants note: military personnel present on the south side of the island; meteorological stations
- CIA World Factbook historical record · as of · source
Environment3 fields
- Environmental issues
- pollutants transported from southerly latitudes by winds and ocean currents
- CIA World Factbook historical record · as of · source
- Climate
- arctic maritime with frequent storms and persistent fog
- CIA World Factbook historical record · as of · source
- Land use
- agricultural land: 0% (2011 est.) other: 100% (2018 est.)
- CIA World Factbook historical record · as of · source
Government4 fields
- Country name
- conventional long form: none conventional short form: Jan Mayen etymology: named after Dutch Captain Jan Jacobszoon MAY, one of the first explorers to reach the island in 1614
- CIA World Factbook historical record · as of · source
- Dependency status
- territory of Norway; since 1994, administered from Oslo through the county governor (fylkesmann) of Nordland; however, authority has been delegated to a station commander of the Norwegian Defense Communication Service; in 2010, Norway designated the majority of Jan Mayen as a nature reserve
- CIA World Factbook historical record · as of · source
Communications1 fields
- Broadcast media
- a coastal radio station has been remotely operated since 1994
- CIA World Factbook historical record · as of · source
Military and Security1 fields
- Military - note
- defense is the responsibility of Norway
- CIA World Factbook historical record · as of · source
The underlying United States government material is public domain. The Almanac’s reuse terms do not change the legal status of this preserved source layer.