Clipperton Island
Clipperton Island as the 2025 edition of the CIA World Factbook published it: 25 fields, one of 36 editions from 1990 to 2025.
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Introduction
1 fieldBackground
This isolated atoll was named for John CLIPPERTON, an English pirate who was rumored to have made it his hideout early in the 18th century. Annexed by France in 1855 and claimed by the US, it was seized by Mexico in 1897. Arbitration eventually awarded the island to France in 1931, which took possession in 1935.
Geography
Middle America, atoll in the North Pacific Ocean, 1,120 km southwest of Mexico
15 fieldsLand useshare of 6 sq km
People and Society
1 fieldEnvironment
3 fieldsLand use(2018 est.)
Government
4 fieldsCountry name
- conventional long form:
- none
- conventional short form:
- Clipperton Island
- local long form:
- none
- local short form:
- Ile Clipperton
- former:
- sometimes referred to as Ile de la Passion or Atoll Clipperton
- etymology:
- named after an 18th-century English pirate who is alleged to have used the island as a base starting in 1705
Military and Security
1 fieldCite this entry
Central Intelligence Agency. “Clipperton Island.” The World Factbook 2025. Archived by The Factbook, thefactbook.org/clipperton-island.