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: 62,045 sq km
[see also: Area - total country ranks ]
land: 62,045 sq km
[see also: Area - land country ranks ]
water: 0 sq km
[see also: Area - water country ranks ]
note: includes Spitsbergen and Bjornoya (Bear Island)
country comparison to the world: 125

Area - comparative:
slightly smaller than West Virginia

Land boundaries:
0 km
[see also: Land boundaries country ranks ]

Coastline:
3,587 km
[see also: Coastline country ranks ]

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 navigable most of the year

Terrain:
rugged mountains; much of the upland areas are ice covered; west coast clear of ice about half the year; fjords along west and north coasts

Elevation:
mean elevation: NA
[see also: Mean Elevation country ranks ]
elevation extremes: lowest point: Arctic Ocean 0 m highest point: Newtontoppen 1,717 m

Natural resources:
coal, iron ore, copper, zinc, phosphate, wildlife, fish

Land use:
agricultural land: 0% arable land 0%; permanent crops 0%; permanent pasture 0%
[see also: Land use - agricultural land country ranks ]
forest: 0%
[see also: Land use - forest country ranks ]
other: 100% (2011 est.)
[see also: Land use - other country ranks ]

Population - distribution:
the small population is primarily concentrated on the island of Spitsbergen in a handful of settlements on the south side of the Isfjorden, with Longyearbyen being the largest

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:
NA

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