Wake Island is a small, remote atoll in the North Pacific Ocean that serves as one of the United States (U.S.) military bases and scientific research centers. The inaccessible island is under the jurisdiction of the Department of the Interior and the U.S. Air Force. Discovered by the Spanish in 1568, it was eventually named after British Captain William Wake, who visited it in 1796.

Poverty in Wake Island

How does a small, remote island with no indigenous population have poverty? Well, it doesn’t. Poverty in Wake Island is nonexistent because it has no indigenous people. In 1898, the island was annexed by the U.S., which would utilize its strategic position as a commercial air station en route to Asia. Wake Island was later seized by the Japanese in 1941, leading U.S. forces to bomb the island until Japan’s surrender in 1945.

In later years, the island became a refueling site for military and commercial aircraft traveling through the Pacific. Since 1974, the island has been used by the U.S. military and serves fundamentally for emergency landings. The U.S. Air Force has fully renovated the island’s airfield and facilities, thus maintaining its strategic passageway in the Pacific region.

Wake Island’s Population

Approximately 100 military personnel and civilian contractors live on the island to maintain and operate the airfield and facilities, serving as the island’s only population. This tropical island extends 6.5 square kilometers, providing a strategic location in the North Pacific Ocean. As an unorganized, unincorporated territory of the U.S., all activities on the island are conducted by the U.S. Air Force.

Economic Activity

The U.S. regulates Wake Island’s economic activity and provides the necessary services to military personnel and contractors living on the atoll. Importing food and manufactured goods eliminates the possibility of poverty on Wake Island.

Final Remark

Located about 2,000 miles west of Hawaii and 600 miles north of the Marshall Islands, Wake Island has served as an ideal location for this U.S. defensive base. The U.S.’s financial and economic support has guaranteed a lack of poverty on Wake Island. These attributes have demonstrated the island’s importance for the U.S. Air Force and Pacific travel for military personnel.

– Brandon Johnson

Photo: Flickr
Updated: June 11, 2024