NA

Natural hazards:

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

Environment - current issues:

Geography - note:

northernmost part of the Kingdom of Norway; consists of nine main islands; glaciers and snowfields cover 60% of the total area; Spitsbergen Island is the site of the Svalbard Global Seed Vault, a seed repository established by the Global Crop Diversity Trust and the Norwegian Government

People
Svalbard

Population:

2,165 (July 2008 est.)

Age structure:

0-14 years: NA 15-64 years: NA 65 years and over: NA

Population growth rate:

-0.023% (2008 est.)

Birth rate:

NA (2008 est.)

Death rate:

NA (2008 est.)

Net migration rate:

NA (2008 est.)

Sex ratio: