World Factbook
Montserrat
Last updated: 2026-03-28 (today)
Area
land
102 sq km
water
0 sq km
total
102 sq km
Climate
tropical; little daily or seasonal temperature variation
Terrain
volcanic island, mostly mountainous, with small coastal lowland
Land use
other
45.8% (2023 est.)
forest
24.2% (2023 est.)
agricultural land
30% (2023 est.)
agricultural land: arable land
arable land: 20% (2023 est.)
agricultural land: permanent crops
permanent crops: 0% (2022 est.)
agricultural land: permanent pasture
permanent pasture: 10% (2023 est.)
Location
Caribbean, island in the Caribbean Sea, southeast of Puerto Rico
Coastline
40 km
Elevation
lowest point
Caribbean Sea 0 m
highest point
Soufriere Hills volcano pre-eruption height was 915 m; current lava dome is subject to periodic build up and collapse; estimated dome height was 1,050 m in 2015
Irrigated land
0 sq km (2022)
Map references
Central America and the Caribbean
Land boundaries
total
0 km
Maritime claims
territorial sea
12 nm
exclusive fishing zone
200 nm
Natural hazards
volcanic eruptions; severe hurricanes (June to November) volcanism: Soufrière Hills volcano (915 m) has erupted continuously since 1995; a massive eruption in 1997 destroyed most of the capital, Plymouth, and made about half of the island uninhabitable; the island of Montserrat is part of the volcanic island arc of the Lesser Antilles that extends from Saba in the north to Grenada in the south
Geography - note
the island is entirely volcanic in origin and composed of three major volcanic centers of differing ages
Natural resources
NEGL
Area - comparative
about 0.6 times the size of Washington, D.C.
Geographic coordinates
16 45 N, 62 12 W
Population distribution
only the northern half of the island is populated; the southern portion is uninhabitable due to volcanic activity