_#_Environment: great calving glaciers descend to the sea

_#_Note: located 445 km north of Norway where the Arctic Ocean,
Barents Sea, Greenland Sea, and Norwegian Sea meet

_*_People
_#_Population: 3,942 (July 1991), growth rate NA% (1991); about
one-third of the population resides in the Norwegian areas (Longyearbyen
and Svea on Vestspitsbergen) and two-thirds in the Soviet areas
(Barentsburg and Pyramiden on Vestspitsbergen); about 9 persons live at
the Polish research station

_#_Birth rate: NA births/1,000 population (1991)

_#_Death rate: NA deaths/1,000 population (1991)

_#_Net migration rate: NA migrants/1,000 population (1991)

_#_Infant mortality rate: NA deaths/1,000 live births (1991)

_#_Life expectancy at birth: NA years male, NA years female (1991)

_#_Total fertility rate: NA children born/woman (1991)

_#_Ethnic divisions: Russian 64%, Norwegian 35%, other 1% (1981)

_#_Language: Russian, Norwegian

_#_Literacy: NA% (male NA%, female NA%)

_#_Labor force: NA

_#_Organized labor: none

_*_Government
_#_Long-form name: none

_#_Type: territory of Norway administered by the Ministry of Industry,
Oslo, through a governor (sysselmann) residing in Longyearbyen,
Spitsbergen; by treaty (9 February 1920) sovereignty was given to Norway

_#_Capital: Longyearbyen

_#_Leaders:

Chief of State--King HARALD V (since 17 January 1991);

Head of Government--Governor Leif ELDRING (since NA)

_#_Member of: none

_#_Flag: the flag of Norway is used

_*_Economy
_#_Overview: Coal mining is the major economic activity on Svalbard.
By treaty (9 February 1920), the nationals of the treaty powers have
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 Soviet.
Each company mines about half a million tons of coal annually. 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 trapping of seal, polar bear,
fox, and walrus.

_#_Budget: revenues $13.3 million, expenditures $13.3 million,
including capital expenditures of $NA (1990)

_#_Electricity: 21,000 kW capacity; 45 million kWh produced,
11,420 kWh per