World Factbook
Svalbard and Jan Mayen
Last updated: 2026-03-28 (today)
Area
land
377 sq km
water
0 sq km
total
377 sq km
Climate
arctic maritime with frequent storms and persistent fog
Terrain
volcanic island, partly covered by glaciers
Land use
other
100% (2018 est.)
agricultural land
0% (2011 est.)
Location
Northern Europe, island between the Greenland Sea and the Norwegian Sea, northeast of Iceland
Coastline
124.1 km
Elevation
note
note: Beerenberg volcano has numerous peaks; the highest point on the volcano rim is named Haakon VII Toppen, after Norway's first king following the reestablishment of Norwegian independence in 1905
lowest point
Norwegian/Greenland Seas 0 m
highest point
Haakon VII Toppen on Beerenberg 2,277
Irrigated land
0 sq km (2022)
Map references
Arctic Region
Land boundaries
total
0 km
Maritime claims
contiguous zone
24 nm
territorial sea
12 nm
continental shelf
200-m depth or to the depth of exploitation
exclusive economic zone
200 nm
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)
Natural resources
none
Area - comparative
slightly more than twice the size of Washington, D.C.
Geographic coordinates
71 00 N, 8 00 W