Jan Mayen

Svalbard og Jan Mayen

Updated August 11, 2026

Area

377 km²

CIA World Factbook archive

CIA World Factbook map of Jan Mayen, showing major cities, rivers and neighbouring countries — Map from The World Factbook, final edition. Public domain (17 U.S.C. § 105); boundary representation is not necessarily authoritative.

Region: Europe
Subregion: Northern Europe
Area: 377 km²
Languages: Norwegian

#205 of 252 in area

Reference

Languages: Norwegian
Currency: krone (NOK)
Calling code: +4779
Internet TLD: .sj
ISO codes: SJ · SJM · 744

The Factbook archive 27 fields · 7 categories

The complete World Factbook entry for Jan Mayen: 27 fields and 18 sub-entries across 7 categories, kept whole as historical reference. A United States Government work in the public domain, reflecting data as of the final December 2025 edition. Last CIA update: December 4, 2025.

Introduction 1 field

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.

Geography 16 fields

Location: Northern Europe, island between the Greenland Sea and the Norwegian Sea, northeast of Iceland
Geographic coordinates: 71 00 N, 8 00 W
Map references: Arctic Region
Area: total: 377 sq km
land: 377 sq km
water: 0 sq km
Area - comparative: slightly more than twice the size of Washington, D.C.
Land boundaries: total: 0 km
Coastline: 124.1 km
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
Climate: arctic maritime with frequent storms and persistent fog
Terrain: volcanic island, partly covered by glaciers
Elevation: highest point: Haakon VII Toppen on Beerenberg 2,277
lowest point: Norwegian/Greenland Seas 0 m
Natural resources: none
Land use: agricultural land: 0% (2011 est.)
other: 100% (2018 est.)
Irrigated land: 0 sq km (2022)
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
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)

People and Society 1 field

Population: total: no permanent inhabitants

Environment 3 fields

Environmental issues: pollutants transported from southerly latitudes by winds and ocean currents
Climate: arctic maritime with frequent storms and persistent fog
Land use: agricultural land: 0% (2011 est.)
other: 100% (2018 est.)

Government 4 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
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
Legal system: the laws of Norway apply
Flag: the flag of Norway is used

Communications 1 field

Broadcast media: a coastal radio station has been remotely operated since 1994

Military and Security 1 field

Military - note: defense is the responsibility of Norway

Location