United States Minor Outlying Islands overview
The United States Minor Outlying Islands belongs to North America, and it is a dependent territory rather than a country in the political sense. The short and official forms of the name are the same. No capital is recorded for it — there is no permanent seat of government to name.
Its territory runs to 34 km², which ranks it 240th of the 250 countries and territories in this dataset — just behind Norfolk Island and just ahead of Sint Maarten. That makes it around a quarter larger than Tuvalu.
Its recorded population is just 300, among the smallest anywhere. Measured only against its own subregion, it is 7th of 7 in size and 7th in population.
How the United States Minor Outlying Islands sits on the globe
Its reference point sits at 19.3° north and 166.6° east, which puts it in the northern hemisphere, roughly 2,148 km from the equator, in what geographers would call tropical latitudes.
Countries on the same parallel, far away in longitude, include India, Mauritania and Oman.
There is no land frontier at all — every boundary it has is a coastline. That puts it among the 85 entries of 250 here with no land neighbours, so everything and everyone arrives by sea or by air.
Where United States Minor Outlying Islands is on the map
The map below is centred on United States Minor Outlying Islands at roughly 19.30°, 166.63°. Pan and zoom to see how it sits against its surroundings — the shape of a country's borders explains a surprising amount about its history.
Map data © OpenStreetMap contributors
United States Minor Outlying Islands at a glance
- Population
- 300
- Area
- 34 km²
- Region
- North America, Americas
- Languages
- English
- Currency
- United States dollar (USD)
- Calling code
- +268
- Internet TLD
- .us
- People per km²
- 9
How big is United States Minor Outlying Islands, really?
Put next to every other entry on this site, United States Minor Outlying Islands ranks 240th of 250 by area and 246th by population. That works out at less than a thousandth of a percent of the combined land area of all 250 entries and less than a thousandth of a percent of their combined population. Those denominators matter: this list includes territories and dependencies as well as UN member states, so a rank here is not the same as a rank among sovereign countries.
For a sense of scale, the entries immediately either side of United States Minor Outlying Islands in the size ordering are Norfolk Island at 36 km² and Sint Maarten at 34 km², against United States Minor Outlying Islands's 34 km². If you can already picture one of those, you can picture this one.
Density tells a different story from either raw figure. United States Minor Outlying Islands averages 9 people per square kilometre of total area, which makes it thinly settled by global standards — 225th of the 248 entries that have both a population and a measured area. Total area includes inland water, so the true figure for habitable land is higher than this.
What lies nearest to United States Minor Outlying Islands
United States Minor Outlying Islands has no land border with any country, which changes what "nearby" means. Measured centre to centre in a straight line, the closest other entry on this site is Marshall Islands, roughly 1,150 km away. These are approximate distances between representative points, not the shortest crossing between two shorelines, so treat them as a sense of scale rather than a sailing chart.
Being surrounded by water rather than by neighbours pushes a country's relationships outward. Marshall Islands, Micronesia, Kiribati, Nauru and Northern Mariana Islands sit in a different world region from United States Minor Outlying Islands yet rank among its closest geographic company — the kind of pairing that only shows up once you stop thinking in continents.
No land border also means no land crossing: everything and everyone arrives by sea or by air. That single fact drives a lot of what follows on this page, from how goods reach the shops to why United States Minor Outlying Islands's dialling code and internet domain are worth knowing before you travel.
| Nearest entry | Region | Approx. distance |
|---|---|---|
| Marshall Islands | different region | 1,150 km |
| Micronesia | different region | 1,650 km |
| Kiribati | different region | 2,100 km |
| Nauru | different region | 2,200 km |
| Northern Mariana Islands | different region | 2,300 km |
The status of United States Minor Outlying Islands
United States Minor Outlying Islands does not hold a United Nations seat of its own. It is administered as a dependency or overseas territory rather than as a sovereign state, which is why it sits outside the 193 member states while still appearing among the 250 entries on this site.
Not holding a UN seat is not the same as having no self-government, and the administrative details make that clear. United States Minor Outlying Islands has 4 of the five markers of separate administration tracked on this page — its own currency, its own dialling code, its own internet domain and its own iso codes. In day-to-day terms it is run substantially as its own jurisdiction.
- Its own currencyUSD
- Its own dialling code+268
- Its own internet domain.us
- Its own ISO codesum / UMI
- A designated capitalnone listed
United States Minor Outlying Islands codes and abbreviations
Every country carries a small set of codes that quietly run the practical world — phone networks, web addresses, passports, luggage tags and dropdown menus. Here are United States Minor Outlying Islands's, and what each one is actually for.
- Calling code+268
- Dial +268 after your international access code to reach a number in United States Minor Outlying Islands.
- Internet domain.us
- .us is the country-code top-level domain, so a web address ending in it is registered to United States Minor Outlying Islands.
- ISO two-letter codeum
- Used on vehicle plates, in currency pairs and in almost every dropdown list of countries.
- ISO three-letter codeUMI
- The form you will see on passports, at airports and in sports scoreboards.
- DemonymAmerican Islander
- The correct word for a person from United States Minor Outlying Islands, and for the adjective form.
Fun facts about United States Minor Outlying Islands
- It is a territory rather than a UN member state.
- It has no land border with any other country — one of 85 such entries in this dataset.
- In land area it is around a quarter larger than Tuvalu.
- Its currency, the United States dollar, is shared with 19 other entries.
- India and Mauritania sit at almost the same latitude, on the far side of the globe.
- People from the United States Minor Outlying Islands are known as American Islanders.
- Population density works out at roughly 8.8 people per square kilometre.
- Websites based there use the .us domain.
United States Minor Outlying Islands — frequently asked questions
- What is the population of the United States Minor Outlying Islands?
- The United States Minor Outlying Islands has a population of about 300, which makes it the 246th most populous of the 250 countries and territories listed on this site. The French Southern and Antarctic Lands sits just above it and the Pitcairn Islands just below.
- How big is the United States Minor Outlying Islands?
- The United States Minor Outlying Islands covers 34 km², ranking 240th of 250 by land area. That makes it around a quarter larger than Tuvalu.
- Is the United States Minor Outlying Islands a country?
- Not in the political sense. The United States Minor Outlying Islands is a dependent territory rather than a sovereign state, and it is not a UN member. The dataset points to the United States as the administering state. It appears on this site because it has its own flag, codes and statistics, but it does not have a seat at the United Nations.
- What language is spoken in the United States Minor Outlying Islands?
- The official language of the United States Minor Outlying Islands is English. It is also official in 90 other entries on this list.
- Does the United States Minor Outlying Islands border any other country?
- No. The United States Minor Outlying Islands has no land border with any other country, so every route in or out is by sea or air. 85 of the 250 entries on this site are in the same position.
- What currency does the United States Minor Outlying Islands use?
- The United States Minor Outlying Islands uses the United States dollar, written $ (currency code USD). It is shared with 19 other entries.
- Where is the United States Minor Outlying Islands located?
- The United States Minor Outlying Islands is in North America, part of the Americas. Its reference coordinates are 19.3° north and 166.6° east, roughly 2,148 km from the equator in tropical latitudes.
