130 lines
10 KiB
Plaintext
130 lines
10 KiB
Plaintext
SVALBARD
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(territory of Norway)
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GEOGRAPHY
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Total area: 62,049 km2; land area: 62,049 km2; includes Spitsbergen
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and Bjornoya (Bear Island)
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Comparative area: slightly smaller than West Virginia
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Land boundaries: none
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Coastline: 3,587 km
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Maritime claims:
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Exclusive fishing zone: 200 nm unilaterally claimed by Norway,
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not recognized by USSR;
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Territorial sea: 4 nm
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Disputes: focus of maritime boundary dispute between Norway
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and USSR
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Climate: arctic, tempered by warm North Atlantic Current;
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cool summers, cold winters; North Atlantic Current flows along west and
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north coasts of Spitsbergen, keeping water open and navigable most of the
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year
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Terrain: wild, rugged mountains; much of high land ice covered;
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west coast clear of ice about half the year; fjords along west and north
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coasts
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Natural resources: coal, copper, iron ore, phosphate, zinc,
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wildlife, fish
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Land use: arable land 0%; permanent crops 0%; meadows and pastures
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0%; forest and woodland 0%; other 100%; there are no trees and the only
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bushes are crowberry and cloudberry
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Environment: great calving glaciers descend to the sea
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Note: located 445 km north of Norway where the Arctic Ocean,
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Barents Sea, Greenland Sea, and Norwegian Sea meet
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PEOPLE
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Population: 3,942 (July 1991), growth rate NA% (1991); about
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one-third of the population resides in the Norwegian areas (Longyearbyen
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and Svea on Vestspitsbergen) and two-thirds in the Soviet areas
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(Barentsburg and Pyramiden on Vestspitsbergen); about 9 persons live at
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the Polish research station
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Birth rate: NA births/1,000 population (1991)
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Death rate: NA deaths/1,000 population (1991)
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Net migration rate: NA migrants/1,000 population (1991)
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Infant mortality rate: NA deaths/1,000 live births (1991)
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Life expectancy at birth: NA years male, NA years female (1991)
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Total fertility rate: NA children born/woman (1991)
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Ethnic divisions: Russian 64%, Norwegian 35%, other 1% (1981)
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Language: Russian, Norwegian
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Literacy: NA% (male NA%, female NA%)
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Labor force: NA
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Organized labor: none
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GOVERNMENT
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Long-form name: none
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Type: territory of Norway administered by the Ministry of Industry,
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Oslo, through a governor (sysselmann) residing in Longyearbyen,
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Spitsbergen; by treaty (9 February 1920) sovereignty was given to Norway
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Capital: Longyearbyen
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Leaders:
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Chief of State--King HARALD V (since 17 January 1991);
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Head of Government--Governor Leif ELDRING (since NA)
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Member of: none
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Flag: the flag of Norway is used
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ECONOMY
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Overview: Coal mining is the major economic activity on Svalbard.
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By treaty (9 February 1920), the nationals of the treaty powers have
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equal rights to exploit mineral deposits, subject to Norwegian
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regulation. Although US, UK, Dutch, and Swedish coal companies have mined
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in the past, the only companies still mining are Norwegian and Soviet.
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Each company mines about half a million tons of coal annually. The
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settlements on Svalbard are essentially company towns. The Norwegian
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state-owned coal company employs nearly 60% of the Norwegian population
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on the island, runs many of the local services, and provides most of the
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local infrastructure. There is also some trapping of seal, polar bear,
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fox, and walrus.
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Budget: revenues $13.3 million, expenditures $13.3 million,
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including capital expenditures of $NA (1990)
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Electricity: 21,000 kW capacity; 45 million kWh produced,
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11,420 kWh per capita (1989)
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Currency: Norwegian krone (plural--kroner);
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1 Norwegian krone (NKr) = 100 ore
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Exchange rates: Norwegian kroner (NKr) per US$1--5.9060 (January
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1991), 6.2597 (1990), 6.9045 (1989), 6.5170 (1988), 6.7375 (1987), 7.3947
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(1986), 8.5972 (1985)
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COMMUNICATIONS
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Ports: limited facilities--Ny-Alesund, Advent Bay
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Airports: 4 total, 4 usable; 1 with permanent-surface runways;
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none with runways over 2,439 m; 1 with runways 1,220-2,439 m
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Telecommunications: 5 meteorological/radio stations;
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stations--1 AM, 1 (2 relays) FM, 1 TV
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DEFENSE FORCES
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Note: demilitarized by treaty (9 February 1920)
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