2000 Edition
CIA World Factbook 2000 (Project Gutenberg)
Geography
Area
- land
- 373 sq km
- total
- 373 sq km
- water
- 0 sq km
Area - comparative
slightly more than twice the size of Washington, DC
Climate
arctic maritime with frequent storms and persistent fog
Coastline
124.1 km
Elevation extremes
- highest point
- Haakon VII Toppen/Beerenberg 2,277 m
- lowest point
- Norwegian Sea 0 m
Environment - current issues
NA
Geographic coordinates
71 00 N, 8 00 W
Geography - note
barren volcanic island with some moss and grass
Irrigated land
0 sq km (1993)
Land boundaries
0 km
Land use
- arable land
- 0%
- forests and woodland
- 0%
- other
- 100%
- permanent crops
- 0%
- permanent pastures
- 0%
Location
Northern Europe, island between the Greenland Sea and the Norwegian Sea, northeast of Iceland
Map references
Arctic Region
Maritime claims
- contiguous zone
- 10 nm
- continental shelf
- 200-m depth or to the depth of exploitation
- exclusive economic zone
- 200 nm
- territorial sea
- 4 nm
Natural hazards
dominated by the volcano Haakon VII Toppen/Beerenberg; volcanic activity resumed in 1970
Natural resources
none
Terrain
volcanic island, partly covered by glaciers
People and Society
Population
- no indigenous inhabitants
- note
- there are personnel who operate the Long Range Navigation (Loran-C) base and the weather and coastal services radio station (July 2000 est.)
Government
Country name
- conventional long form
- none
- conventional short form
- Jan Mayen
Data code
JN
Dependency status
territory of Norway; administered from Oslo through a governor (sysselmann) resident in Longyearbyen (Svalbard); however, authority has been delegated to a station commander of the Norwegian Defense Communication Service
Flag description
the flag of Norway is used
Economy
Economy - overview
Jan Mayen is a volcanic island with no exploitable natural resources. Economic activity is limited to providing services for employees of Norway's radio and meteorological stations located on the island.
Communications
Radio broadcast stations
- AM NA, FM NA, shortwave NA
- note
- there is one radio and meteorological station (1998)
Transportation
Airports
1 (1999 est.)
Airports - with unpaved runways
- total
- 1 914 to 1,523 m: 1 (1999 est.)
Ports and harbors
none; offshore anchorage only
Military and Security
Military - note
defense is the responsibility of Norway
Transnational Issues
Disputes - international
- none
- JAPAN