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Wake Island

Wake Island flag
ⓘ

2021 Factbook flag mirror; image identity has not been individually audited. Source.

Last updated: October 29, 2026

Wake Island: CIA World Factbook map from 2021; original boundary notes preserved.
ⓘCIA World Factbook map, February 2021 media edition. Identity reviewed; current boundaries have not been audited. visual contact sheet or original identity check; does not verify current boundaries Boundaries, place names and designations may be dated or disputed; original annotations retained. SHA-256: b0e60d1ac12a3dd5bd220c3f9f5493d1b971181acb0fbeb1f6deef28b0b61f0a. Provenance and inspection record.

Introduction

Background:1

Early Micronesian and Polynesian settlers probably visited Wake Island, and oral legends tell of periodic voyages to the islands by people from the Marshall Islands. Wake Island was uninhabited when Spanish explorer Alvaro de Mendana de NEYRA became the first European to see it in 1568 and still had no inhabitants when English captain Samuel WAKE sailed by it in 1796. The United States Exploring Expedition visited the island in 1841, and the US annexed it in 1899 to use as a cable and refueling station for its newly acquired Pacific territories of Hawaii, the Philippines, and Guam. In the 1930s, Pan American Airways built facilities on Wake Island so that it could be used as a stopover for flights from the US to China. In 1941, the US began to install military assets on Wake Island, and Japan then captured the island and held it until the end of World War II. In 1946, commercial airlines resumed using Wake Island as a refueling stop.

In 1973, the Marshall Islands claimed Wake Island, based on the oral legends, although the US has not recognized these claims. In 1974, the US military took exclusive control of the island’s airstrip and restricted visitors. In 1978, Bikini Islanders from the Marshall Islands, who were evacuated in the 1950s and 1960s because of US nuclear tests, considered rehoming on Wake Island, but the US military rejected that plan. Since the 1970s, the island has been important for missile defense testing. In 2009, Wake Island was included in the Pacific Remote Islands Marine National Monument.

Geography

Location:2

Oceania, atoll in the North Pacific Ocean, about two-thirds of the way from Hawaii to the Northern Mariana Islands

Geographic coordinates:3

19 17 N, 166 39 E

Map references:4

Oceania

Area:5

total:7 sq km
land:6.5 sq km
water:0 sq km

Area - comparative:6

about 11 times the size of the National Mall in Washington, D.C.

Land boundaries:7

total:0 km

Coastline:8

19.3 km

Maritime claims:9

territorial sea:12 nm
exclusive economic zone:200 nm

Climate:10

tropical

Terrain:11

atoll of three low coral islands, Peale, Wake, and Wilkes, built up on an underwater volcano; central lagoon is former crater, islands are part of the rim

Elevation:12

highest point:unnamed location 8 m
lowest point:Pacific Ocean 0 m

Natural resources:13

none

Land use:14

agricultural land:0% (2018 est.)
other:100% (2018 est.)

Irrigated land:15

0 sq km (2022)

Natural hazards:16

subject to occasional typhoons

Geography - note:17

strategic location in the North Pacific Ocean

People and Society

Population:18

total:no permanent inhabitants
note:personnel maintain and operate the airfield and weather station

Environment

Environmental issues:19

limited potable water; hazardous waste disposal

Climate:20

tropical

Land use:21

agricultural land:0% (2018 est.)
other:100% (2018 est.)

Carbon dioxide emissions:22

total emissions:1.214 million metric tonnes of CO2 (2023 est.)
from petroleum and other liquids:1.214 million metric tonnes of CO2 (2023 est.)

Government

Country name:23

conventional long form:none
conventional short form:Wake Island
etymology:the name comes from one of two explorers who sighted the islands in the late 1700s; British Captain William WAKE visited in 1792, as did his relative, British Captain Samuel WAKE, in 1796, and sources disagree on which captain claimed the honor of naming the island

Dependency status:24

unincorporated, unorganized territory of the US; administered by the Department of the Interior; the 11th US Air Force currently conducts activities on the atoll, and it is managed from Pacific Air Force Support Center

Legal system:25

US common law

Citizenship:26

see United States

Independence:27

none (territory of the US)

Flag:28

the US flag is used

Energy

Electricity access:29

electrification - total population:100% (2021)

Petroleum:30

refined petroleum consumption:8,000 bbl/day (2023 est.)

Communications

Broadcast media:31

US Armed Forces Radio and Television Service (AFRTS) provides satellite radio/TV broadcasts (2018)

Transportation

Airports:32

1 (2025)

Ports:33

total ports:1 (2024)
large:0
medium:0
small:0
very small:1
ports with oil terminals:1
key ports:Wake Island

Military and Security

Military - note:34

defense is the responsibility of the US; the island serves as a trans-Pacific refueling stop for military aircraft and supports US Missile Defense Agency (MDA) testing activities; Wake is managed by the US Air Force (2025)

Historical observations

Notes & sources

  1. Background. Reference edition; observation: dates as stated in text. Field last updated: not supplied; profile fallback: 2025-08-28 05:45:47 -0400 (not a field revision date); needs review. Reference source. Edition last checked 2026-10-29 (retrieval only). ↩
  2. Location. Reference edition; observation: dates as stated in text. Field last updated: not supplied; profile fallback: 2025-08-28 05:45:47 -0400 (not a field revision date); needs review. Reference source. Edition last checked 2026-10-29 (retrieval only). ↩
  3. Geographic coordinates. Reference edition; observation: dates as stated in text. Field last updated: not supplied; profile fallback: 2025-08-28 05:45:47 -0400 (not a field revision date); needs review. Reference source. Edition last checked 2026-10-29 (retrieval only). ↩
  4. Map references. Reference edition; observation: dates as stated in text. Field last updated: not supplied; profile fallback: 2025-08-28 05:45:47 -0400 (not a field revision date); needs review. Reference source. Edition last checked 2026-10-29 (retrieval only). ↩
  5. Area. Reference edition; observation: dates as stated in text. Field last updated: not supplied; profile fallback: 2025-08-28 05:45:47 -0400 (not a field revision date); needs review. Reference source. Edition last checked 2026-10-29 (retrieval only). ↩
  6. Area - comparative. Reference edition; observation: dates as stated in text. Field last updated: not supplied; profile fallback: 2025-08-28 05:45:47 -0400 (not a field revision date); needs review. Reference source. Edition last checked 2026-10-29 (retrieval only). ↩
  7. Land boundaries. Reference edition; observation: dates as stated in text. Field last updated: not supplied; profile fallback: 2025-08-28 05:45:47 -0400 (not a field revision date); needs review. Reference source. Edition last checked 2026-10-29 (retrieval only). ↩
  8. Coastline. Reference edition; observation: dates as stated in text. Field last updated: not supplied; profile fallback: 2025-08-28 05:45:47 -0400 (not a field revision date); needs review. Reference source. Edition last checked 2026-10-29 (retrieval only). ↩
  9. Maritime claims. Reference edition; observation: dates as stated in text. Field last updated: not supplied; profile fallback: 2025-08-28 05:45:47 -0400 (not a field revision date); needs review. Reference source. Edition last checked 2026-10-29 (retrieval only). ↩
  10. Climate. Reference edition; observation: dates as stated in text. Field last updated: not supplied; profile fallback: 2025-08-28 05:45:47 -0400 (not a field revision date); needs review. Reference source. Edition last checked 2026-10-29 (retrieval only). ↩
  11. Terrain. Reference edition; observation: dates as stated in text. Field last updated: not supplied; profile fallback: 2025-08-28 05:45:47 -0400 (not a field revision date); needs review. Reference source. Edition last checked 2026-10-29 (retrieval only). ↩
  12. Elevation. Reference edition; observation: dates as stated in text. Field last updated: not supplied; profile fallback: 2025-08-28 05:45:47 -0400 (not a field revision date); needs review. Reference source. Edition last checked 2026-10-29 (retrieval only). ↩
  13. Natural resources. Reference edition; observation: dates as stated in text. Field last updated: not supplied; profile fallback: 2025-08-28 05:45:47 -0400 (not a field revision date); needs review. Reference source. Edition last checked 2026-10-29 (retrieval only). ↩
  14. Land use. Reference edition; observation: dates as stated in text. Field last updated: not supplied; profile fallback: 2025-08-28 05:45:47 -0400 (not a field revision date); needs review. Reference source. Edition last checked 2026-10-29 (retrieval only). ↩
  15. Irrigated land. Reference edition; observation: 2022. Field last updated: not supplied; profile fallback: 2025-08-28 05:45:47 -0400 (not a field revision date); needs review. Reference source. Edition last checked 2026-10-29 (retrieval only). ↩
  16. Natural hazards. Reference edition; observation: dates as stated in text. Field last updated: not supplied; profile fallback: 2025-08-28 05:45:47 -0400 (not a field revision date); needs review. Reference source. Edition last checked 2026-10-29 (retrieval only). ↩
  17. Geography - note. Reference edition; observation: dates as stated in text. Field last updated: not supplied; profile fallback: 2025-08-28 05:45:47 -0400 (not a field revision date); needs review. Reference source. Edition last checked 2026-10-29 (retrieval only). ↩
  18. Population. Reference edition; observation: dates as stated in text. Field last updated: not supplied; profile fallback: 2025-08-28 05:45:47 -0400 (not a field revision date); needs review. Reference source. Edition last checked 2026-10-29 (retrieval only). ↩
  19. Environmental issues. Reference edition; observation: dates as stated in text. Field last updated: not supplied; profile fallback: 2025-08-28 05:45:47 -0400 (not a field revision date); needs review. Reference source. Edition last checked 2026-10-29 (retrieval only). ↩
  20. Climate. Reference edition; observation: dates as stated in text. Field last updated: not supplied; profile fallback: 2025-08-28 05:45:47 -0400 (not a field revision date); needs review. Reference source. Edition last checked 2026-10-29 (retrieval only). ↩
  21. Land use. Reference edition; observation: dates as stated in text. Field last updated: not supplied; profile fallback: 2025-08-28 05:45:47 -0400 (not a field revision date); needs review. Reference source. Edition last checked 2026-10-29 (retrieval only). ↩
  22. Carbon dioxide emissions. Reference edition; observation: dates as stated in text. Field last updated: not supplied; profile fallback: 2025-08-28 05:45:47 -0400 (not a field revision date); needs review. Reference source. Edition last checked 2026-10-29 (retrieval only). ↩
  23. Country name. Reference edition; observation: dates as stated in text. Field last updated: not supplied; profile fallback: 2025-08-28 05:45:47 -0400 (not a field revision date); needs review. Reference source. Edition last checked 2026-10-29 (retrieval only). ↩
  24. Dependency status. Reference edition; observation: dates as stated in text. Field last updated: not supplied; profile fallback: 2025-08-28 05:45:47 -0400 (not a field revision date); needs review. Reference source. Edition last checked 2026-10-29 (retrieval only). ↩
  25. Legal system. Reference edition; observation: dates as stated in text. Field last updated: not supplied; profile fallback: 2025-08-28 05:45:47 -0400 (not a field revision date); needs review. Reference source. Edition last checked 2026-10-29 (retrieval only). ↩
  26. Citizenship. Reference edition; observation: dates as stated in text. Field last updated: not supplied; profile fallback: 2025-08-28 05:45:47 -0400 (not a field revision date); needs review. Reference source. Edition last checked 2026-10-29 (retrieval only). ↩
  27. Independence. Reference edition; observation: dates as stated in text. Field last updated: not supplied; profile fallback: 2025-08-28 05:45:47 -0400 (not a field revision date); needs review. Reference source. Edition last checked 2026-10-29 (retrieval only). ↩
  28. Flag. Reference edition; observation: dates as stated in text. Field last updated: not supplied; profile fallback: 2025-08-28 05:45:47 -0400 (not a field revision date); needs review. Reference source. Edition last checked 2026-10-29 (retrieval only). ↩
  29. Electricity access. Reference edition; observation: dates as stated in text. Field last updated: not supplied; profile fallback: 2025-08-28 05:45:47 -0400 (not a field revision date); needs review. Reference source. Edition last checked 2026-10-29 (retrieval only). ↩
  30. Petroleum. Reference edition; observation: dates as stated in text. Field last updated: not supplied; profile fallback: 2025-08-28 05:45:47 -0400 (not a field revision date); needs review. Reference source. Edition last checked 2026-10-29 (retrieval only). ↩
  31. Broadcast media. Reference edition; observation: 2018. Field last updated: not supplied; profile fallback: 2025-08-28 05:45:47 -0400 (not a field revision date); needs review. Reference source. Edition last checked 2026-10-29 (retrieval only). ↩
  32. Airports. Reference edition; observation: 2025. Field last updated: not supplied; profile fallback: 2025-08-28 05:45:47 -0400 (not a field revision date); needs review. Reference source. Edition last checked 2026-10-29 (retrieval only). ↩
  33. Ports. Reference edition; observation: dates as stated in text. Field last updated: not supplied; profile fallback: 2025-08-28 05:45:47 -0400 (not a field revision date); needs review. Reference source. Edition last checked 2026-10-29 (retrieval only). ↩
  34. Military - note. Reference edition; observation: 2025. Field last updated: not supplied; profile fallback: 2025-08-28 05:45:47 -0400 (not a field revision date); needs review. Reference source. Edition last checked 2026-10-29 (retrieval only). ↩
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