on:

18 years of age (est.); recruitment is voluntary, with personnel
drawn almost exclusively from the Creole community (2007)

Manpower available for military service:

males age 16-49: 130,534
females age 16-49: 130,243 (2008 est.)

Manpower fit for military service:

males age 16-49: 105,770
females age 16-49: 109,666 (2008 est.)

Manpower reaching militarily significant age annually:

male: 4,329
female: 4,350 (2008 est.)

Military expenditures:

0.6% of GDP (2006 est.)

Transnational Issues
Suriname

Disputes - international:

area claimed by French Guiana between Riviere Litani and Riviere
Marouini (both headwaters of the Lawa); Suriname claims a triangle
of land between the New and Kutari/Koetari rivers in a historic
dispute over the headwaters of the Courantyne; Guyana seeks United
Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS) arbitration to
resolve the long-standing dispute with Suriname over the axis of the
territorial sea boundary in potentially oil-rich waters

Illicit drugs:

growing transshipment point for South American drugs destined for
Europe via the Netherlands and Brazil; transshipment point for
arms-for-drugs dealing

This page was last updated on 18 December, 2008

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@Svalbard

Introduction
Svalbard

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.

Geography
Svalbard

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

Map references:

Arctic Region

Area:

total: 61,020 sq km
land: 61,020 sq km
water: 0 sq km
note: includes Spitsbergen and Bjornoya (Bear Island)

Area - comparative:

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 navi