diff --git a/lib/internal/main/print_help.js b/lib/internal/main/print_help.js
index 62269956be9faf..d99f23f42520ec 100644
--- a/lib/internal/main/print_help.js
+++ b/lib/internal/main/print_help.js
@@ -72,17 +72,17 @@ const envVars = new SafeMap(ArrayPrototypeConcat([
     'libuv\'s threadpool' }],
 ], hasIntl ? [
   ['NODE_ICU_DATA', { helpText: 'data path for ICU (Intl object) data' +
-    hasSmallICU ? '' : ' (will extend linked-in data)' }],
-] : []), (hasNodeOptions ? [
+    (hasSmallICU ? '' : ' (will extend linked-in data)') }],
+] : [], hasNodeOptions ? [
   ['NODE_OPTIONS', { helpText: 'set CLI options in the environment via a ' +
     'space-separated list' }],
-] : []), hasCrypto ? [
+] : [], hasCrypto ? [
   ['OPENSSL_CONF', { helpText: 'load OpenSSL configuration from file' }],
   ['SSL_CERT_DIR', { helpText: 'sets OpenSSL\'s directory of trusted ' +
     'certificates when used in conjunction with --use-openssl-ca' }],
   ['SSL_CERT_FILE', { helpText: 'sets OpenSSL\'s trusted certificate file ' +
     'when used in conjunction with --use-openssl-ca' }],
-] : []);
+] : []));
 
 
 function indent(text, depth) {
diff --git a/test/parallel/test-cli-node-print-help.js b/test/parallel/test-cli-node-print-help.js
index f42129eb133026..478ddea73929c9 100644
--- a/test/parallel/test-cli-node-print-help.js
+++ b/test/parallel/test-cli-node-print-help.js
@@ -36,6 +36,47 @@ function validateNodePrintHelp() {
   ];
 
   cliHelpOptions.forEach(testForSubstring);
+
+  validateEnvVarSection();
+}
+
+// Verify that the "Environment variables:" section lists the expected
+// entries. Each entry is printed at the start of its own line, so matching
+// against the start of a line avoids false positives from names that also
+// appear inside an option's description (e.g. `--icu-data-dir` mentions
+// "overrides NODE_ICU_DATA" and `--openssl-config` mentions
+// "overrides OPENSSL_CONF"). These checks guard against malformed
+// construction of the environment-variable list that would silently drop
+// entries from the help output.
+function validateEnvVarSection() {
+  const { internalBinding } = require('internal/test/binding');
+  const { hasNodeOptions } = internalBinding('config');
+
+  const start = stdOut.indexOf('Environment variables:');
+  assert.ok(start !== -1, 'Missing "Environment variables:" section');
+  const end = stdOut.indexOf('Documentation can be found', start);
+  const envSection = stdOut.slice(start, end === -1 ? undefined : end);
+
+  const expectedEnvVars = [
+    { name: 'FORCE_COLOR', present: true },
+    { name: 'NODE_PATH', present: true },
+    { name: 'NODE_ICU_DATA', present: common.hasIntl },
+    { name: 'NODE_OPTIONS', present: hasNodeOptions },
+    { name: 'OPENSSL_CONF', present: common.hasCrypto },
+    { name: 'SSL_CERT_DIR', present: common.hasCrypto },
+    { name: 'SSL_CERT_FILE', present: common.hasCrypto },
+  ];
+
+  for (const { name, present } of expectedEnvVars) {
+    const re = new RegExp(`^${name}\\b`, 'm');
+    if (present) {
+      assert.match(envSection, re,
+                   `Missing environment variable ${name} in:\n${envSection}`);
+    } else {
+      assert.doesNotMatch(envSection, re,
+                          `Unexpected environment variable ${name} in:\n${envSection}`);
+    }
+  }
 }
 
 function testForSubstring(options) {