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.

Northern Europe, islands between the Arctic Ocean, Barents Sea, Greenland Sea, and Norwegian Sea, north of Norway
78 00 N, 20 00 E
Arctic Region
total: 61,020 sq km ; land: 61,020 sq km ; water: 0 sq km ; note: includes Spitsbergen and Bjornoya (Bear Island)
slightly smaller than West Virginia
0 km
3,587 km
territorial sea: 4 nm ; exclusive fishing zone: 200 nm unilaterally claimed by Norway but not recognized by Russia
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
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
lowest point: Arctic Ocean 0 m ; highest point: Newtontoppen 1,717 m
coal, iron ore, copper, zinc, phosphate, wildlife, fish
arable land: 0% ; permanent crops: 0% ; other: 100% (no trees; the only bushes are crowberry and cloudberry) (2005)
NA


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
NA

northernmost part of the Kingdom of Norway; consists of nine main islands; glaciers and snowfields cover 60% of the total area; site of future seed repository under construction by the Global Crop Diversity Trust and the Norwegian Government
2,214 (July 2007 est.)
0-14 years: NA ; 15-64 years: NA ; 65 years and over: NA

-0.007% (2007 est.)
NA
NA
NA
NA (2007 est.)
total: NA ; male: NA ; female: NA
total population: NA ; male: NA ; female: NA
NA
0% (2001)
0 (2001)
0 (2001)

Norwegian 55.4%, Russian and Ukrainian 44.3%, other 0.3% (1998)

Norwegian, Russian
NA


conventional long form: none ; conventional short form: Svalbard (sometimes referred to as Spitzbergen)
NA
name: Longyearbyen ; geographic coordinates: 78 13 N, 15 33 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


none (territory of Norway)


the laws of Norway, where applicable, apply

chief of state: King HARALD V of Norway (since 17 January 1991) ; head of government: Governor Per SEFLAND (since 1 October 2005); Assistant Governor Rune Baard HANSEN (since 2003) ; elections: none; the monarch is hereditary; governor and assistant governor responsible to the Polar Department of the Ministry of Justice




none
the flag of Norway is used


territory of Norway; administered by the Polar Department of the Ministry of Justice, through a governor (sysselmann) residing in Longyearbyen, Spitsbergen; by treaty (9 February 1920) sovereignty was awarded to Norway




Coal mining is the major economic activity on Svalbard. The 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 mining 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.
$NA

NA%


NA







revenues: $25.07 million ; expenditures: $NA (2004 est.)





fossil fuel: 57.9984% ; hydro: 42.0016% ; nuclear: 0% ; other: 0%














$197.6 million (2004)


$NA







Norwegian krone (NOK)
NOK
Norwegian kroner per US dollar - 5.8396 (2007), 6.4117 (2006), 6.4425 (2005), 6.7408 (2004), 7.0802 (2003)

$8.2 million from Norway (1998)
NA

general assessment: probably adequate ; domestic: local telephone service ; international: country code - 47-790; satellite earth station - 1 of unknown type (for communication with Norwegian mainland only)
AM 1, FM 1 (plus 2 repeaters), shortwave 0 (1998)
NA
NA
NA
.sj

13 (Svalbard and Jan Mayen) (2000)
NA

4 (2007)
total: 1 ; 1,524 to 2,437 m: 1 (2007)
total: 3 ; under 914 m: 3 (2007)
1 (2007)





Barentsburg, Longyearbyen, Ny-Alesund, Pyramiden







demilitarized by treaty on 9 February 1920
despite recent discussions, Russia and Norway dispute their maritime limits in the Barents Sea and Russia's fishing rights beyond Svalbard's territorial limits within the Svalbard Treaty zone



