The 0.16-square-kilometre (40-acre) village had a population (2005) of 201 and a population density of 1,256 inhabitants per square kilometre (3,250/sq mi). Since 2005, the population and area data for this village area has not been separately tracked by Statistics Norway. In 2015, the population was about 200 people.
In 1994 the Soviet cruiser Murmansk (1955), en route to India for ship breaking, ran aground near the coast of Sørvær when its tow line broke. The removal of the ship was completed in 2013.