Norfolk Island (2005) | Svalbard (2002) | |
Administrative divisions | none (territory of Australia) | - |
Age structure | 0-14 years: 20.2%
15-64 years: 63.9% 65 years and over: 15.9% (2005 est.) |
0-14 years: NA%
15-64 years: NA% 65 years and over: NA% |
Agriculture - products | Norfolk Island pine seed, Kentia palm seed, cereals, vegetables, fruit; cattle, poultry | - |
Airports | 1 (2004 est.) | 4 (2001) |
Airports - with paved runways | total: 1
1,524 to 2,437 m: 1 (2004 est.) |
total: 2
1,524 to 2,437 m: 1 (2002) |
Airports - with unpaved runways | - | total: 2
under 914 m: 2 (2002) |
Area | total: 34.6 sq km
land: 34.6 sq km water: 0 sq km |
total: 62,049 sq km
land: 62,049 sq km water: 0 sq km note: includes Spitsbergen and Bjornoya (Bear Island) |
Area - comparative | about 0.2 times the size of Washington, DC | slightly smaller than West Virginia |
Background | Two British attempts at establishing the island as a penal colony (1788-1814 and 1825-55) were ultimately abandoned. In 1856, the island was resettled by Pitcairn Islanders, descendants of the Bounty mutineers and their Tahitian companions. | First discovered by the Norwegians in the 12th century, the islands served as an international whaling base during the 17th and 18th centuries. Norway's sovereignty was recognized in 1920; five years later it officially took over the territory. |
Birth rate | NA | NA births/1,000 population |
Budget | revenues: $20 million
expenditures: $20 million, including capital expenditures of $2 million (FY99/00) |
revenues: $11.5 million
expenditures: $11.5 million, including capital expenditures of $NA (1998 est.) (1998 est.) |
Capital | Kingston | Longyearbyen |
Climate | subtropical; mild, little seasonal temperature variation | 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 |
Coastline | 32 km | 3,587 km |
Constitution | Norfolk Island Act of 1979 | - |
Country name | conventional long form: Territory of Norfolk Island
conventional short form: Norfolk Island |
conventional long form: none
conventional short form: Svalbard (sometimes referred to as Spitzbergen) |
Currency | - | Norwegian krone (NOK) |
Death rate | NA | NA deaths/1,000 population |
Debt - external | NA | - |
Dependency status | territory of Australia; Canberra administers Commonwealth responsibilities on Norfolk Island through the Department of Environment, Sport, and Territories | territory of Norway; administered by the Polar Department of the Ministry of Justice, through a governor (sysselmann) residing in Longyearbyen, Spitsbergen; by treaty (9 February 1920) sovereignty was awarded to Norway |
Diplomatic representation from the US | none (territory of Australia) | - |
Diplomatic representation in the US | none (territory of Australia) | - |
Disputes - international | none | despite recent discussions, Russia and Norway dispute their maritime limits in the Barents Sea and Russia's fishing rights beyond Svalbard's territorial limits within the Svalbard Treaty zone |
Economic aid - recipient | NA | $8.2 million from Norway (1998) |
Economy - overview | Tourism, the primary economic activity, has steadily increased over the years and has brought a level of prosperity unusual among inhabitants of the Pacific islands. The agricultural sector has become self-sufficient in the production of beef, poultry, and eggs. | Coal mining is the major economic activity on Svalbard. The treaty of 9 February 1920 gives the 41 signatories 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 Russian. 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. |
Electricity - consumption | NA kWh | NA kWh |
Electricity - production | NA kWh | NA kWh |
Electricity - production by source | - | fossil fuel: NA%
hydro: NA% nuclear: NA% other: NA% |
Elevation extremes | lowest point: Pacific Ocean 0 m
highest point: Mount Bates 319 m |
lowest point: Arctic Ocean 0 m
highest point: Newtontoppen 1,717 m |
Environment - current issues | NA | NA |
Ethnic groups | descendants of the Bounty mutineers, Australian, New Zealander, Polynesians | Norwegian 55.4%, Russian and Ukrainian 44.3%, other 0.3% (1998) |
Exchange rates | Australian dollars per US dollar - 1.3598 (2004), 1.5419 (2003), 1.8406 (2002), 1.9334 (2001), 1.7248 (2000) | Norwegian kroner per US dollar - 8.9684 (January 2002), 8.9917 (2001), 8.8018 (2000), 7.7992 (1999), 7.5451 (1998), 7.0734 (1997) |
Executive branch | chief of state: Queen ELIZABETH II (since 6 February 1952); the UK and Australia are represented by Administrator Grant TAMBLING (since 1 November 2003)
head of government: Assembly President and Chief Minister Geoffrey Robert GARDNER (since 5 December 2001) cabinet: Executive Council is made up of four of the nine members of the Legislative Assembly; the council devises government policy and acts as an advisor to the administrator elections: the monarch is hereditary; administrator appointed by the governor general of Australia; chief minister elected by the Legislative Assembly for a term of not more than three years; election last held 20 Ocotber 2004 (next to be held by December 2007) election results: Geoffrey Robert GARDNER elected chief minister; percent of Legislative Assembly vote - 17.2% |
chief of state: King HARALD V of Norway (since 17 January 1991)
head of government: Governor Morten RUUD (since NA November 1998) and Assistant Governor Odd Redar HUMLEGAARD (since NA) elections: none; the monarch is hereditary; governor and assistant governor responsible to the Polar Department of the Ministry of Justice |
Exports | $1.5 million f.o.b. (FY99/00) | $NA |
Exports - commodities | postage stamps, seeds of the Norfolk Island pine and Kentia palm, small quantities of avocados | - |
Exports - partners | Australia, other Pacific island countries, NZ, Asia, Europe | - |
Fiscal year | 1 July - 30 June | - |
Flag description | three vertical bands of green (hoist side), white, and green with a large green Norfolk Island pine tree centered in the slightly wider white band | the flag of Norway is used |
GDP | - | purchasing power parity - $NA |
GDP - composition by sector | agriculture: NA
industry: NA services: NA |
- |
GDP - per capita | purchasing power parity - NA | purchasing power parity - $NA |
GDP - real growth rate | NA | NA% |
Geographic coordinates | 29 02 S, 167 57 E | 78 00 N, 20 00 E |
Geography - note | most of the 32-km coastline consists of almost inaccessible cliffs, but the land slopes down to the sea in one small southern area on Sydney Bay, where the capital of Kingston is situated | northernmost part of the Kingdom of Norway; consists of nine main islands; glaciers and snowfields cover 60% of the total area |
Highways | total: 80 km
paved: 53 km unpaved: 27 km (2001) |
total: NA km
paved: NA km unpaved: NA km |
Household income or consumption by percentage share | lowest 10%: NA
highest 10%: NA |
lowest 10%: NA%
highest 10%: NA% |
Imports | $17.9 million c.i.f. (FY91/92) | $NA |
Imports - commodities | NA | - |
Imports - partners | Australia, other Pacific island countries, NZ, Asia, Europe | - |
Independence | none (territory of Australia) | none (territory of Norway) |
Industrial production growth rate | NA | NA% |
Industries | tourism, light industry, ready mixed concrete | - |
Infant mortality rate | total: NA
male: NA female: NA |
NA deaths/1,000 live births |
Inflation rate (consumer prices) | NA | NA% |
International organization participation | UPU | none |
Internet Service Providers (ISPs) | - | 13 (Svalbard and Jan Mayen) (2000) |
Irrigated land | NA | NA sq km |
Judicial branch | Supreme Court; Court of Petty Sessions | - |
Labor force | 1,345 | NA |
Labor force - by occupation | tourism 90%, subsistence agriculture 10% | - |
Land boundaries | 0 km | 0 km |
Land use | arable land: 0%
permanent crops: 0% other: 100% (2001) |
arable land: 0%
permanent crops: 0% other: 100% (no trees, and the only bushes are crowberry and cloudberry) (1998 est.) |
Languages | English (official), Norfolk a mixture of 18th century English and ancient Tahitian | Russian, Norwegian |
Legal system | based on the laws of Australia, local ordinances and acts; English common law applies in matters not covered by either Australian or Norfolk Island law | NA |
Legislative branch | unicameral Legislative Assembly (9 seats; members elected by electors who have nine equal votes each but only four votes can be given to any one candidate; members serve three-year terms)
elections: last held 20 October 2004 (next to be held by December 2007) election results: percent of vote - NA%; seats - independents 9 (note - no political parties) |
- |
Life expectancy at birth | total population: NA
male: NA female: NA |
total population: NA years
male: NA years female: NA years |
Literacy | NA | NA |
Location | Oceania, island in the South Pacific Ocean, east of Australia | Northern Europe, islands between the Arctic Ocean, Barents Sea, Greenland Sea, and Norwegian Sea, north of Norway |
Map references | Oceania | Arctic Region |
Maritime claims | territorial sea: 12 nm
exclusive fishing zone: 200 nm |
exclusive fishing zone: 200 NM unilaterally claimed by Norway but not recognized by Russia
territorial sea: 4 NM |
Merchant marine | - | none (2002 est.) |
Military - note | defense is the responsibility of Australia | demilitarized by treaty (9 February 1920) |
National holiday | Bounty Day (commemorates the arrival of Pitcairn Islanders), 8 June (1856) | NA |
Nationality | noun: Norfolk Islander(s)
adjective: Norfolk Islander(s) |
- |
Natural hazards | typhoons (especially May to July) | 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 |
Natural resources | fish | coal, copper, iron ore, phosphate, zinc, wildlife, fish |
Net migration rate | NA | NA migrant(s)/1,000 population |
Political parties and leaders | none | - |
Political pressure groups and leaders | none | - |
Population | 1,828 (July 2005 est.) | 2,868 (July 2002 est.) |
Population below poverty line | NA | NA% |
Population growth rate | -0.01% (2005 est.) | -1.99% (2002 est.) |
Ports and harbors | none; loading jetties at Kingston and Cascade | Barentsburg, Longyearbyen, Ny-Alesund, Pyramiden |
Radio broadcast stations | AM 1, FM 3, shortwave 0 (2005) | AM 1, FM 1 (plus 2 repeaters), shortwave 0 (1998) |
Radios | - | NA |
Railways | - | 0 km |
Religions | Anglican 34.9%, Roman Catholic 11.7%, Uniting Church in Australia 11.2%, Seventh-Day Adventist 2.8%, Australian Christian 2.4%, Jehovah's Witness 0.9%, other 2.7%, unspecified 15.3%, none 18.1% (2001 census) | - |
Sex ratio | NA | NA |
Suffrage | 18 years of age; universal | - |
Telephone system | general assessment: adequate
domestic: free local calls international: country code - 672; undersea coaxial cable links with Australia, New Zealand, and Canada; satellite earth station |
general assessment: probably adequate
domestic: local telephone service international: satellite earth station - 1 of unknown type (for communication with Norwegian mainland only) |
Telephones - main lines in use | 2,532; note - a mix of analog (2500) and digital (32) circuits (2004) | NA |
Telephones - mobile cellular | 0 (proposed cellular service disallowed in August 2002 island referendum) (2002) | NA |
Television broadcast stations | 1 (local programming station plus two repeaters that bring in Australian programs by satellite) (2005) | NA |
Terrain | volcanic formation with mostly rolling plains | 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 |
Total fertility rate | NA | NA children born/woman |
Unemployment rate | 0% | - |
Waterways | - | none |