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Updates: 

Joshua Holman sent me a link to source [2], which has census data for 1980-2000, and [3], 1960-1980. They disagreed with the figures I had previously reported for the 1970 and 1990 censuses, so I replaced them. The 2000 populations are new. I also used area data from source [2], which differed slightly from what I had before. Sources [2] and [3] disagree about the 1980 population of Midway Islands; I used source [2], since it's more recent and may incorporate a correction.

The U.S. Census Bureau doesn't currently report populations for these islands. The naval base at Midway was closed in the 1990s, and a wildlife refuge took its place. The chemical weapons disposal facility on Johnston Atoll was closed in 2003. Populations reported below for 2010 are approximations of the number of workers present at any one time.

Country overview: 

Short name	UNITED STATES MINOR OUTLYING ISLANDS
ISO code	UM
GEC code	UM
Language	English (en)
Time zone	(see table)
Capital	none

 

These islands were acquired haphazardly by the United States, and because of their isolation, they were administered separately from the states. Some of them were occupied by the Japanese during World War II.

Other names of country: 

1. Dutch: Ver afgelegen eilandjes van de Verenigde Staten
2. French: Îles fp mineures éloignées des États-Unis mp
3. German: Amerikanisch-Ozeanien n, Amerikanische kleinere abgelegene Inseln fp im Pazifik m, Kleinere Amerikanische Überseeinseln
4. Turkish: Minor Outlying Adaları Birleşik Devletleri

Origin of name: 

descriptive

Primary subdivisions: 

United States Minor Outlying Islands is divided into eight unincorporated territories and one incorporated territory.

Territory	HASC	ISO	GEC	FIPS#	GENC	Tz	Population	Area(km.²)	Area(mi.²)
Baker Island	UM.FQ	81	FQ	050	XB,XBK	-12	0	3	1
Howland Island	UM.HQ	84	HQ	100	XH,XHO	-12	0	3	1
Jarvis Island	UM.DQ	86	DQ	150	XQ,XJV	-10	0	4	2
Johnston Atoll	UM.JQ	67	JQ	200	XU,XJA	-10	0	3	1
Kingman Reef	UM.KQ	89	KQ	250	XM,XKR	-11	0	1	0
Midway Islands	UM.MQ	71	MQ	300	QM,XMW	-11	40	6	2
Navassa Island	UM.BQ	76	BQ	350	XV,XNV	-5	0	5	2
Palmyra Atoll	UM.LQ	95	LQ	400	XL,XPL	-11	0	12	5
Wake Island	UM.WQ	79	WQ	450	QW,XWK	12	150	6	3
9 territories							190	41	16
Territory: Palmyra Atoll is incorporated; the rest are unincorporated. HASC: Hierarchical administrative subdivision codes. ISO: Codes from ISO 3166-2. They originated in a FIPS Standard. In table 2 of FIPS PUB 5-2, U.S. Minor Outlying Islands is listed as a state-level division of the United States. As such, its State Numeric Code is 74 and its State Alpha Code is UM. In table 3, its nine divisions are listed. They are assigned the codes in this column, under the heading "FIPS State Numeric Code". GEC: Codes from GEC, in which these entities are treated as separate countries. FIPS#: Three-digit county codes from FIPS PUB 55-2, where these entities are treated as counties and United States Minor Outlying Islands is treated as a state or territory. GENC: Two-letter and three-letter country codes from GENC. Tz: Offset from GMT to local time in hours. Daylight saving time is not observed. Population: 2010 estimates. Capitals: These islands, even when inhabited, don't have named cities on them.

Territorial extent: 

1. Johnston Atoll includes Johnston, Sand, Hikina, and Akan islands.
2. Midway Islands includes Sand and Eastern islands.
3. Palmyra Atoll is a cluster of islands, of which Cooper is the largest.
4. Wake Island includes Wake, Peale, and Wilkes atolls.
5. All of these islands are in the Pacific Ocean except for Navassa, which is in the Caribbean.

The UN LOCODE page  for United States Minor Outlying Islands lists locations in the country, some of them with their latitudes and longitudes, some with their ISO 3166-2 codes for their subdivisions. This information can be put together to approximate the territorial extent of subdivisions.

Origins of names: 

1. Johnston Island: named for Charles James Johnston, who discovered the island in 1807.
2. Kingman Reef: discovered by Captain W. E. Kingman in 1853.
3. Midway Islands: about midway between California and Japan.
4. Wake Island: discovered by Captain William Wake in 1796.

Change history: 

1. 1912: The United States annexed Palmyra Atoll to Hawaii. It had previously been claimed by both Great Britain and Hawaii.
2. 1922: U.S. annexed Kingman Reef.
3. 1935: Baker and Howland Islands, formerly claimed by Great Britain, became U.S. territories. United States laid claim to Jarvis Island.
4. 1959-08-21: Palmyra Atoll split from Hawaii when the latter became a state.

Other names of subdivisions: 

1. Jarvis Island: Jervis Island (variant)
2. Midway Islands: Îles Midway (French); Ilhas Midway (Portuguese); Islas Midway (Spanish); Midwayinseln (German); Brooks Islands (obsolete)

Population history:

Division	1930	1940	1950	1960	1970	1980	1990	2000	2010
Baker, Howland, and Jarvis Islands	N/A	10	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
Johnston Atoll	N/A	69	46	156	1,007	327	173	315	0
Midway Islands	36	437	416	2,356	2,220	453	13	0	40
Wake Island	N/A	N/A	349	1,097	1,647	302	7	1	150
Total	N/A	N/A	821	3,609	4,874	1,082	193	316	190

 

All census dates are April 1.

Sources: 

1. [1] A Department of the Interior web page titled "Palmyra Atoll" explained the legal fluke through which Palmyra Atoll is an incorporated territory (http://www.doi.gov/oia/Islandpages/palmyrapage.htm, dead link, retrieved 2005-10-16).
2. [2] United States Summary: 2000 . U.S. Census Bureau, 2000 Census of Population and Housing, Population and Housing Unit Counts PHC-3-1, United States Summary. Washington, DC, 2004. Table 1: Population and Housing Units 1980 to 2000 and Area Measurements 2000 (retrieved 2013-10-17).
3. [3] Population . U.S. Census Bureau, 1981. Table No. 6 (retrieved 2013-10-23).