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
note: includes Spitsbergen and Bjornoya (Bear Island)
country comparison to the world (CIA rank, may be based on non-current data): 126

Area - comparative:
slightly smaller than West Virginia

Land boundaries:
0 km

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

Maritime claims:
territorial sea: 12 nm
[see also: Maritime claims - territorial sea country ranks ]
contiguous zone: 24 nm
[see also: Maritime claims - contiguous zone country ranks ]
continental shelf: extends to depth of exploitation
[see also: Maritime claims - continental shelf country ranks ]
exclusive fishing zone: 200 nm
[see also: Maritime claims - exclusive fishing zone country ranks ]

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:
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% (2011 est.)
[see also: Land use - agricultural land country ranks ]
arable land: 0% (2011 est.)
[see also: Land use - arable land country ranks ]
permanent crops: 0% (2011 est.)
[see also: Land use - permanent crops country ranks ]
permanent pasture: 0% (2011 est.)
[see also: Land use - permanent pasture country ranks ]
forest: 0% (2011 est.)
[see also: Land use - forest country ranks ]
other: 100% (2011 est.)
[see also: Land use 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:
ice floes are a maritime hazard; past exploitation of mammal species (whale, seal, walrus, and polar bear) severely depleted the populations, but a gradual recovery seems to be occurring

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