Svalbard Population: 1,970
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| Background | |
| First discovered by the Norwegians in the 12th century, the islands served as an international whaling base during the 17th and 18th centuries. Norway's sovereignty was recognized in 1920; five years later it officially took over the territory. |
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| Geography | |
| Northernmost part of the Kingdom of Norway; consists of nine main islands; glaciers and snowfields cover 60% of the total area; Spitsbergen Island is the site of the Svalbard Global Seed Vault, a seed repository established by the Global Crop Diversity Trust and the Norwegian Government | |
| Location: | Northern Europe, islands between the Arctic Ocean, Barents Sea, Greenland Sea, and Norwegian Sea, north of Norway |
| Geographic coordinates: | 78 00 N, 20 00 E |
| Area: | total: 62,045 sq km land: 62,045 sq km water: 0 sq km note: includes Spitsbergen and Bjornoya (Bear Island) Size comparison: slightly smaller than West Virginia |
| Land Boundaries: | 0 km |
| Coastline: | 3,587 km |
| Maritime claims: | territorial sea: 4 nm exclusive fishing zone: 200 nm unilaterally claimed by Norway but not recognized by Russia |
| Climate: | arctic, tempered by warm North Atlantic Current; cool summers, cold winters; North Atlantic Current flows along west and north coasts of Spitsbergen, keeping water open and navigable most of the year |
| Terrain: | wild, rugged mountains; much of high land ice covered; west coast clear of ice about one-half of the year; fjords along west and north coasts |
| Elevation extremes: | lowest point: Arctic Ocean 0 m highest point: Newtontoppen 1,717 m |
| Natural resources: | coal, iron ore, copper, zinc, phosphate, wildlife, fish |
| Land use: | arable land: 0% permanent crops: 0% other: 100% (no trees; the only bushes are crowberry and cloudberry) (2005) |
| Irrigated land: | NA |
| Natural hazards: | ice floes often block the entrance to Bellsund (a transit point for coal export) on the west coast and occasionally make parts of the northeastern coast inaccessible to maritime traffic |
| Current Environment Issues: | NA |
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| People | |
| Population: | 1,970 (July 2012 est.) |
| Age structure: | |
| Median age: | |
| Population growth rate: | -0.025% (2012 est.) |
| Birth rate: | -9 births/1,000 population NA |
| Death rate: | -9 deaths/1,000 population NA |
| Net migration rate: | NA |
| Sex ratio: | NA |
| Infant mortality rate: | total: NA male: NA female: NA |
| Life expectancy at birth: | total population: NA male: NA female: NA |
| Total fertility rate: | NA |
| HIV/AIDS - adult prevalence rate: | 0% (2001) |
| HIV/AIDS - people living with HIV/AIDS: | 0 (2001) |
| HIV/AIDS - deaths: | 0 (2001) |
| Nationality: | |
| Ethnic groups: | Norwegian 55.4%, Russian and Ukrainian 44.3%, other 0.3% (1998) |
| Religions: | |
| Languages: | Norwegian, Russian |
| Literacy: | NA |
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| Government | |
| Country name: | conventional long form: none conventional short form: Svalbard (sometimes referred to as Spitsbergen) |
| Government type: | NA |
| Capital: | name: Longyearbyen geographic coordinates: 78 13 N, 15 38 E time difference: UTC+1 (6 hours ahead of Washington, DC during Standard Time) daylight saving time: +1hr, begins last Sunday in March; ends last Sunday in October |
| Administrative divisions: | |
| Independence: | none (territory of Norway) |
| National holiday: | |
| Constitution: | |
| Legal system: | the laws of Norway where applicable apply |
| Suffrage: | |
| Executive branch: | chief of state: King HARALD V of Norway (since 17 January 1991) head of government: Governor Odd Olsen INGERO (since September 2009); Assistant Governor Lars Erik ALHEIM elections: none; the monarchy is hereditary; governor and assistant governor responsible to the Polar Department of the Ministry of Justice |
| Legislative branch: | |
| Judicial branch: | |
| Political parties and leaders: | |
| Political pressure groups and leaders: | NA |
| International organization participation: | none |
| Diplomatic representation in the US: | |
| Diplomatic representation from the US: | |
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| Economy | |
| Coal mining, tourism, and international research are the major revenue sources on Svalbard. Coal mining is the dominant economic activity and a treaty of 9 February 1920 gave the 41 signatories equal rights to exploit mineral deposits, subject to Norwegian regulation. Although US, UK, Dutch, and Swedish coal companies have mined in the past, the only companies still engaging in this are Norwegian and Russian. The settlements on Svalbard are essentially company towns. The Norwegian state-owned coal company employs nearly 60% of the Norwegian population on the island, runs many of the local services, and provides most of the local infrastructure. There is also some hunting of seal, reindeer, and fox. Goods such as alcohol, tobacco, and vehicles, normally highly taxed on mainland Norway, are considerably cheaper in Svalbard in an effort by the Norwegian government to entice more people to live on the Arctic archipelago. By law, the Norwegians collect only enough taxes to pay for the needs of the local government. None of tax proceeds go to Norway. | |
| GDP (purchasing power parity): | GDP (purchasing power parity): $6.313 billion |
| GDP (official exchange rate): | |
| GDP - real growth rate: | NA% |
| GDP - per capita (PPP): | |
| GDP - composition by sector: | |
| Labor force: | 1,234 (2003) (2003) |
| Labor force - by occupation: | |
| Unemployment rate: | |
| Population below poverty line: | |
| Household income or consumption by percentage share: | |
| Inflation rate (consumer prices): | |
| Budget: | revenues: $NA expenditures: $NA (2004 est.) |
| Agriculture - products: | |
| Industries: | |
| Industrial production growth rate: | |
| Exports: | $NA (2000) |
| Exports - commodities: | |
| Imports: | $NA |
| Imports - commodities: | |
| Debt - external: | |
| Exchange rates: | Norwegian kroner (NOK) per US dollar - 5.882 (2012) 5.6065 (2011) 6.0442 (2010) 6.288 (2009) 5.6361 (2008) |
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| Communications | |
| Telephones in use: | |
| Cellular Phones in use: | |
| Telephone system: | general assessment: adequate domestic: local telephone service international: country code - 47-790; satellite earth station - 1 of unknown type (for communication with Norwegian mainland only) (2005) |
| Radio broadcast stations: | |
| Television broadcast stations: | |
| Internet country code: | .sj |
| Internet hosts: | |
| Internet users: | |
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| Transportation | |
| Airports: | 4 (2012) country comparison to the world: 189 |
| Airports (paved runways): | total: 1 2,438 to 3,047 m: 1 (2012) |
| Airports (unpaved runways): | total: 3 under 914 m: 3 (2012) |
| Heliports: | 1 (2012) |
| Roadways: | |
| Ports and terminals: | Barentsburg, Longyearbyen, Ny-Alesund, Pyramiden |
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| Military | |
| Svalbard is a territory of Norway, demilitarized by treaty on 9 February 1920; Norwegian military activity is limited to fisheries surveillance by the Norwegian Coast Guard | |
| Military branches: | no regular military forces |
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