Page last updated on February 22,

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:
Europe

Area:
total: 62,045 sq km
[see also: Area - total country ranks ]
country comparison to the world: 125
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)

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:
wild, rugged mountains; much of high land ice covered; west coast clear of ice about one-half of the year; fjords along west and north coasts

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

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

Land use:
arable land: 0%
[see also: Land use - arable land country ranks ]
permanent crops: 0%
[see also: Land use - permanent crops country ranks ]
other: 100% (no trees; the only bushes are crowberry and cloudberry) (2005)
[see also: Land use - other country ranks ]

Irrigated land:
NA
[see also: Irrigated land country ranks ]

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