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Background:
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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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Location:
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Northern
Europe, islands between the Arctic Ocean, Barents Sea,
Greenland Sea, and Norwegian Sea, north of Norway |
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Geographic coordinates:
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78 00 N,
20 00 E |
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Map references:
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Arctic
Region |
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Area:
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total:
62,049 sq km
land: 62,049 sq km
water: 0 sq km
note: includes Spitsbergen and Bjornoya (Bear
Island) |
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Area - comparative:
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slightly
smaller than West Virginia |
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Land boundaries:
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0 km |
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Coastline:
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3,587 km
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Maritime claims:
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territorial sea: 4 nm
exclusive fishing zone: 200 nm unilaterally
claimed by Norway but not recognized by Russia |
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Climate:
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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 |
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Terrain:
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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 |
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Elevation extremes:
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lowest
point: Arctic Ocean 0 m
highest point: Newtontoppen 1,717 m |
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Natural resources:
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coal,
iron ore, copper, zinc, phosphate, wildlife, fish |
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Land use:
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arable
land: 0%
permanent crops: 0%
other: 100% (no trees, and the only bushes are
crowberry and cloudberry) (2001) |
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Irrigated land:
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NA sq km
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Natural hazards:
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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 |
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Environment - current issues:
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NA |
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Geography - note:
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northernmost part of the Kingdom of Norway; consists of
nine main islands; glaciers and snowfields cover 60% of
the total area |
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Population:
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2,701
(July 2005 est.) |
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Age structure:
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0-14
years: NA
15-64 years: NA
65 years and over: NA |
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Population growth rate:
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-0.02%
(2005 est.) |
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Birth rate:
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NA
births/1,000 population |
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Death rate:
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NA
deaths/1,000 population |
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Net migration rate:
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NA
migrant(s)/1,000 population |
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Sex ratio:
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NA% |
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Infant mortality rate:
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total:
NA
male: NA
female: NA |
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Life expectancy at birth:
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total
population: NA years
male: NA years
female: NA years |
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Total fertility rate:
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NA
children born/woman |
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HIV/AIDS - adult prevalence rate:
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0% (2001)
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HIV/AIDS - people living with HIV/AIDS:
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0 (2001)
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HIV/AIDS - deaths:
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0 (2001)
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Ethnic groups:
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Norwegian
55.4%, Russian and Ukrainian 44.3%, other 0.3% (1998)
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Languages:
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Norwegian, Russian |
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Literacy:
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NA |
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Country name:
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conventional long form: none
conventional short form: Svalbard (sometimes
referred to as Spitzbergen) |
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Dependency status:
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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 |
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Government type:
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NA |
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Capital:
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Longyearbyen |
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Independence:
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none
(territory of Norway) |
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National holiday:
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NA |
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Legal system:
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NA |
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Executive branch:
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chief
of state: King HARALD V of Norway (since 17 January
1991)
head of government: Governor Odd Olsen INGERO
(since 8 June 2001) and Assistant Governor Rune Baard
HANSEN (since NA)
elections: none; the monarch is hereditary;
governor and assistant governor responsible to the Polar
Department of the Ministry of Justice |
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International organization participation:
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none |
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Flag description:
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the flag
of Norway is used |
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Economy - overview:
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Coal
mining is the major economic activity on Svalbard. The
treaty of 9 February 1920 gives 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. |
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GDP (purchasing power parity):
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$NA |
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GDP - real growth rate:
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NA% |
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Labor force:
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NA |
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Budget:
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revenues: $11.5 million
expenditures: $11.5 million, including capital
expenditures of NA (1998 est.) |
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Electricity - production by source:
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fossil
fuel: 57.9984%
hydro: 42.0016%
nuclear: 0%
other: 0% |
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Exports:
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$NA |
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Imports:
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$NA |
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Economic aid - recipient:
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$8.2
million from Norway (1998) |
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Currency (code):
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Norwegian
krone (NOK) |
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Currency code:
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NOK |
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Exchange rates:
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Norwegian
kroner per US dollar - 6.7408 (2004), 7.0802 (2003),
7.9838 (2002), 8.9917 (2001), 8.8018 (2000) |
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Telephones - main lines in use:
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NA |
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Telephones - mobile cellular:
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NA |
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Telephone system:
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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) |
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Radio broadcast stations:
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AM 1, FM
1 (plus 2 repeaters), shortwave 0 (1998) |
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Radios:
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NA |
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Television broadcast stations:
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NA |
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Televisions:
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NA |
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Internet country code:
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.sj |
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Internet Service Providers (ISPs):
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13
(Svalbard and Jan Mayen) (2000) |
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Internet users:
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NA |
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Highways:
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total:
NA km
paved: NA km
unpaved: NA km |
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Ports and harbors:
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Barentsburg, Longyearbyen, Ny-Alesund, Pyramiden |
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Airports:
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4 (2004
est.) |
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Airports - with paved runways:
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total:
2
1,524 to 2,437 m: 1
914 to 1523 m: 1 (2004 est.) |
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Airports - with unpaved runways:
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total:
2
under 914 m: 2 (2004 est.) |
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Military - note:
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demilitarized by treaty on 9 February 1920 |
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Disputes - international:
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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 |
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This page was last updated on
20 October, 2005 |
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