Svalbard
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About Svalbard
Svalbard is an archipelago located in the Arctic Ocean between the Barents Sea, Greenland Sea, and Norwegian Sea, north of Norway. The terrain features rugged mountains with much of the upland areas covered by ice, and the west coast remains clear of ice about half the year with fjords along the coast. The climate is arctic, tempered by the warm North Atlantic Current, with cool summers and cold winters. Longyearbyen serves as the administrative center, and Svalbard has a population of approximately 2,556 people.
Svalbard has a high-income economy centered on coal mining, tourism, and scientific research, and it is home to the Global Seed Vault. Natural resources include coal, iron ore, copper, zinc, phosphate, wildlife, and fish. Svalbard is a non-self-governing territory of Norway, and its economy is supported by Norwegian government activities and research station operations.
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Country Name
conventional short form: Svalbard (sometimes referred to as Spitsbergen, the largest island in the archipelago)
etymology: the archipelago was traditionally known as Spitsbergen, a Dutch name meaning "jagged peaks," but Norway renamed it Svalbard in the 1920s when it assumed sovereignty of the islands, from the Norwegian sval (cold) and bard (shore); the Norwegian name may have been used during the Norse era for other locations
Economy
Economic Overview
high-income Norwegian island economy; major coal mining, tourism, and research sectors; recently established northernmost brewery; key whaling and fishing base; home to the Global Seed Vault