Wake Island
Wake Island
⌘K
Overview
- Background
- 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
Area
- Land
- 6.5 sq km
- Water
- 0 sq km
- Total
- 7 sq km
- 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
Land Use
- Other
- 100% (2018 est.)
- Agricultural land
- 0% (2018 est.)
- Location
- Oceania, atoll in the North Pacific Ocean, about two-thirds of the way from Hawaii to the Northern Mariana Islands
- Coastline
- 19.3 km
Elevation
- Lowest point
- Pacific Ocean 0 m
- Highest point
- unnamed location 8 m
- Irrigated land
- 0 sq km (2022)
- Map references
- Oceania
Land Boundaries
- Total
- 0 km
Maritime Claims
- Territorial sea
- 12 nm
- Exclusive economic zone
- 200 nm
- Natural hazards
- subject to occasional typhoons
- Geography note
- strategic location in the North Pacific Ocean
- Natural resources
- none
- Area comparative
- about 11 times the size of the National Mall in Washington, D.C.
- Geographic coordinates
- 19 17 N, 166 39 E
People & Society
Population
- Note
- note: personnel maintain and operate the airfield and weather station
- Total
- no permanent inhabitants
Government
- Flag
- the US flag is used
- Citizenship
- see United States
Country Name
- 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
- Conventional long form
- none
- Conventional short form
- Wake Island
- Independence
- none (territory of the US)
- Legal system
- US common law
- Dependency status
- 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
Energy
Petroleum
- Refined petroleum consumption
- 8,000 bbl/day (2023 est.)
Electricity Access
- Electrification total population
- 100% (2021)
Communications
- Broadcast media
- US Armed Forces Radio and Television Service (AFRTS) provides satellite radio/TV broadcasts (2018)
Transport
Ports
- Large
- 0
- Small
- 0
- Medium
- 0
- Key ports
- Wake Island
- Very small
- 1
- Total ports
- 1 (2024)
- Ports with oil terminals
- 1
- Airports
- 1 (2025)
Environment
- Climate
- tropical
Land Use
- Other
- 100% (2018 est.)
- Agricultural land
- 0% (2018 est.)
- Environmental issues
- limited potable water; hazardous waste disposal
Carbon Dioxide Emissions
- 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.)
Military & Security
- Military note
- 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)
Cite this page
Cite this page
Civica. (2026). Civica Atlas — Wake Island — vintage 2026-Q1: Wake Island factbook. Civica Atlas. Retrieved May 7, 2026, from https://civicaatlas.org/factbook/wake-island
Sources: CIA World Factbook