Statistical information Wake Island 2023
Wake Island in the World
Wake Island - Introduction 2023
top of pageBackground:
Wake Island was probably visited by Micronesian and Polynesian settlers, 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 human 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 between 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 January 1941, the US began to install military assets on Wake Island. In early December of that year, Japan 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.
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.
Wake Island - Geography 2023
top of pageLocation: Oceania, atoll in the North Pacific Ocean, about two-thirds of the way from Hawaii to the Northern Mariana Islands
Geographic coordinates: 19 17 N, 166 39 E
Map reference: Oceania
Area
Total: 7 km²
Land: 6.5 km²
Water: 0 km²
Comparative: about 11 times the size of the National Mall in Washington, DC
Land boundaries
Total: 0 km
Coastline: 19.3 km
Maritime claims
Territorial sea: 12 nm
Exclusive economic zone: 200 nm
Climate: tropical
Terrain: 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
Highest point: unnamed location 8 m
Lowest point: Pacific Ocean 0 m
Natural resources: none
Land use
Land use
Agricultural land: 0% (2018 est.)
Other: 100% (2018 est.)
Irrigated land: 0 km² (2022)
Major rivers
Major watersheds area km²
Total water withdrawal
Total renewable water resources
Natural hazards: subject to occasional typhoons
Geography
Note: strategic location in the North Pacific Ocean; emergency landing location for transpacific flights
Wake Island - People 2023
top of pagePopulation: (2018 est.) no indigenous inhabitants
Note: approximately 100 military personnel and civilian contractors maintain and operate the airfield and communications facilities
Nationality
Ethnic groups
Languages
Religions
Demographic profile
Age structure
Age structure
0-14 years: NA
15-64 years: NA
65 years and over: NA
Dependency ratios
Total dependency ratio: NA
Youth dependency ratio: NA
Elderly dependency ratio: NA
Potential support ratio: NA
Median age
Population growth rate
Birth rate: NA
Death rate: NA
Net migration rate
Population distribution
Urbanization
Major urban areas
Environment
Current issues: potable water obtained through a catchment rainwater system and a desalinization plant for brackish ground water; hazardous wastes moved to an accumulation site for storage and eventual transport off site via barge
Air pollutants
Sex ratio
Mothers mean age at first birth
Maternal mortality ratio
Infant mortality rate
Life expectancy at birth
Total fertility rate
Contraceptive prevalence rate: NA
Drinking water source
Improved urban: NA
Improved rural: NA
Improved total: NA
Unimproved urban: NA
Unimproved rural: NA
Unimproved total: NA
Current health expenditure: NA
Physicians density
Hospital bed density
Sanitation facility access
Hiv/Aids
Major infectious diseases
Obesity adult prevalence rate
Alcohol consumption
Tobacco use
Children under the age of 5 years underweight: NA
Education expenditures: NA
Literacy
School life expectancy primary to tertiary education
Youth unemployment
Wake Island - Government 2023
top of pageCountry name
Conventional long form: none
Conventional short form: Wake Island
Etymology: although first discovered by British Captain William WAKE in 1792, the island is named after British Captain Samuel WAKE, who rediscovered the island in 1796
Government type
Capital
Administrative divisions
Dependent areas
Independence: none (territory of the US)
National holiday
Constitution
Legal system: US common law
International law organization participation
Citizenship: see United States
Suffrage
Executive branch
Legislative branch
Judicial branch
Political parties and leaders
International organization participation
Diplomatic representation
Flag description
: the flag of the US is usedNational symbols
National anthem
National heritage
Wake Island - Economy 2023
top of pageEconomy overview
Real gdp purchasing power parity
Real gdp growth rate
Real gdp per capita
Gross national saving
Gdp composition by sector of origin
Gdp composition by end use
Gdp composition by sector of origin
Agriculture products
Industries
Industrial production growth rate
Labor force
Labor force
Unemployment rate
Youth unemployment
Population below poverty line
Gini index
Household income or consumption by percentage share
Distribution of family income gini index
Budget
Taxes and other revenues
Public debt
Revenue
Fiscal year
Inflation rate consumer prices
Central bank discount rate
Commercial bank prime lending rate
Stock of narrow money
Stock of broad money
Stock of domestic credit
Market value of publicly traded shares
Current account balance
Exports
Imports
Reserves of foreign exchange and gold
Debt external
Stock of direct foreign investment at home
Stock of direct foreign investment abroad
Exchange rates
Wake Island - Energy 2023
top of pageElectricity
Access electrification-total population: 100% (2021)
Installed generating capacity: 0 kW (2020 est.)
Consumption: 0 kWh (2020 est.)
Exports: 0 kWh (2020 est.)
Imports: 0 kWh (2020 est.)
Transmission/distribution losses: 0 kWh (2019 est.)
Coal
Production: 0 metric tons (2020 est.)
Consumption: 0 metric tons (2020 est.)
Exports: 0 metric tons (2020 est.)
Imports: 0 metric tons (2020 est.)
Proven reserves: 0 metric tons (2019 est.)
Petroleum
Total petroleum production: 0 bbl/day (2021 est.)
Refined petroleum consumption: 9,500 bbl/day (2019 est.)
Crude oil and lease condensate exports: 0 bbl/day (2018 est.)
Crude oil and lease condensate imports: 0 bbl/day (2018 est.)
Crude oil estimated reserves: 0 barrels (2021 est.)
Crude oil
Refined petroleum
Natural gas
Production: 0 cubic meters (2021 est.)
Consumption: 0 cubic meters (2021 est.)
Exports: 0 cubic meters (2021 est.)
Imports: 0 cubic meters (2021 est.)
Proven reserves: 0 cubic meters (2021 est.)
Carbon dioxide emissions: 1.275 million metric tonnes of CO2 (2019 est.)
From coal and metallurgical coke: 0 metric tonnes of CO2 (2019 est.)
From petroleum and other liquids: 1.275 million metric tonnes of CO2 (2019 est.)
From consumed natural gas: 0 metric tonnes of CO2 (2019 est.)
Energy consumption per capita: 0 Btu/person (2019 est.)
Wake Island - Communication 2023
top of pageTelephones
Telephone system
Broadcast media: American Armed Forces Radio and Television Service (AFRTS) provides satellite radio/TV broadcasts (2018)
Internet
Broadband fixed subscriptions
Wake Island - Military 2023
top of pageMilitary expenditures
Military and security forces
Military service age and obligation
Space program
Terrorist groups
Wake Island - Transportation 2023
top of pageNational air transport system
Civil aircraft registration country code prefix
Airports: 1 (2021)
With paved runways: 1
With paved runways note: paved runways have a concrete or asphalt surface but not all have facilities for refueling, maintenance, or air traffic control; the length of a runway required for aircraft to safely operate depends on a number of factors including the type of aircraft, the takeoff weight (including passengers, cargo, and fuel), engine types, flap settings, landing speed, elevation of the airport, and average maximum daily air temperature; paved runways can reach a length of 5,000 m (16,000 ft.), but the “typical” length of a commercial airline runway is between 2,500-4,000 m (8,000-13,000 ft.)
Heliports
Pipelines
Railways
Roadways
Waterways
Merchant marine
Ports and terminals: none; two offshore anchorages for large ships
Wake Island - Transnational issues 2023
top of pageDisputes international: US-Marshall Islands: in May 2016, the Marshall Islands filed a declaration of authority with the UN over Wake Island, which is currently a US territory, reaffirming that it considers Wake Island part of its territory (the Marshall Islands refer to Wake as Enen Kio or Eneen Kio, meaning Island of the Kio Flower); control over Wake Island would drastically increase the Marshall Islands’ exclusive economic zone
Refugees and internally displaced persons
Illicit drugs