Svalbard (2002) | Tokelau (2005) | |
![]() | ![]() | |
Administrative divisions | - | none (territory of New Zealand) |
Age structure | 0-14 years: NA%
15-64 years: NA% 65 years and over: NA% |
0-14 years: 42%
15-64 years: 53% 65 years and over: 5% (2005 est.) |
Agriculture - products | - | coconuts, copra, breadfruit, papayas, bananas; pigs, poultry, goats |
Airports | 4 (2001) | none; lagoon landings are possible by amphibious aircraft (2004 est.) |
Airports - with paved runways | total: 2
1,524 to 2,437 m: 1 (2002) |
- |
Airports - with unpaved runways | total: 2
under 914 m: 2 (2002) |
- |
Area | total: 62,049 sq km
land: 62,049 sq km water: 0 sq km note: includes Spitsbergen and Bjornoya (Bear Island) |
total: 10 sq km
land: 10 sq km water: 0 sq km |
Area - comparative | slightly smaller than West Virginia | about 17 times the size of The Mall in Washington, DC |
Background | 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. | Originally settled by Polynesian emigrants from surrounding island groups, the Tokelau Islands were made a British protectorate in 1889. They were transferred to New Zealand administration in 1925. |
Birth rate | NA births/1,000 population | NA |
Budget | revenues: $11.5 million
expenditures: $11.5 million, including capital expenditures of $NA (1998 est.) (1998 est.) |
revenues: $430,800
expenditures: $2.8 million, including capital expenditures of $37,300 (1987 est.) |
Capital | Longyearbyen | none; each atoll has its own administrative center |
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 | tropical; moderated by trade winds (April to November) |
Coastline | 3,587 km | 101 km |
Constitution | - | administered under the Tokelau Islands Act of 1948; amended in 1970 |
Country name | conventional long form: none
conventional short form: Svalbard (sometimes referred to as Spitzbergen) |
conventional long form: none
conventional short form: Tokelau |
Currency | Norwegian krone (NOK) | - |
Death rate | NA deaths/1,000 population | NA |
Debt - external | - | $0 |
Dependency status | 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 | self-administering territory of New Zealand; note - Tokelauans are drafting a constitution and developing institutions and patterns of self-government as Tokelau moves toward free association with New Zealand |
Diplomatic representation from the US | - | none (territory of New Zealand) |
Diplomatic representation in the US | - | none (territory of New Zealand) |
Disputes - international | 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 | none |
Economic aid - recipient | $8.2 million from Norway (1998) | from New Zealand about $4 million annually |
Economy - overview | 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. | Tokelau's small size (three villages), isolation, and lack of resources greatly restrain economic development and confine agriculture to the subsistence level. The people rely heavily on aid from New Zealand - about $4 million annually - to maintain public services, with annual aid being substantially greater than GDP. The principal sources of revenue come from sales of copra, postage stamps, souvenir coins, and handicrafts. Money is also remitted to families from relatives in New Zealand. |
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: Arctic Ocean 0 m
highest point: Newtontoppen 1,717 m |
lowest point: Pacific Ocean 0 m
highest point: unnamed location 5 m |
Environment - current issues | NA | very limited natural resources and overcrowding are contributing to emigration to New Zealand |
Ethnic groups | Norwegian 55.4%, Russian and Ukrainian 44.3%, other 0.3% (1998) | Polynesian |
Exchange rates | Norwegian kroner per US dollar - 8.9684 (January 2002), 8.9917 (2001), 8.8018 (2000), 7.7992 (1999), 7.5451 (1998), 7.0734 (1997) | New Zealand dollars per US dollar - 1.5087 (2004), 1.7221 (2003), 2.1622 (2002), 2.3788 (2001), 2.2012 (2000) |
Executive branch | 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 |
chief of state: Queen ELIZABETH II (since 6 February 1952), represented by Governor General of New Zealand Dame Silvia CARTWRIGHT (since 4 April 2001); New Zealand is represented by Administrator Neil WALTER (since 1 March 2003)
head of government: Pio TUIA (since February 2005); note - position rotates annually among the three Faipule (village leaders) cabinet: the Council for the Ongoing Government of Tokelau, consisting of three Faipule (village leaders) and three Pulenuku (village mayors) functions as a cabinet elections: none; the monarch is hereditary; administrator appointed by the Minister of Foreign Affairs and Trade in New Zealand; the head of government is chosen from the Council of Faipule and serves a one-year term |
Exports | $NA | $98,000 f.o.b. (1983) |
Exports - commodities | - | stamps, copra, handicrafts |
Exports - partners | - | New Zealand (2000) |
Fiscal year | - | 1 April - 31 March |
Flag description | the flag of Norway is used | the flag of New Zealand 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 - $1,000 (1993 est.) |
GDP - real growth rate | NA% | NA |
Geographic coordinates | 78 00 N, 20 00 E | 9 00 S, 172 00 W |
Geography - note | northernmost part of the Kingdom of Norway; consists of nine main islands; glaciers and snowfields cover 60% of the total area | consists of three atolls, each with a lagoon surrounded by a number of reef-bound islets of varying length and rising to over three meters above sea level |
Highways | total: NA km
paved: NA km unpaved: NA km |
total: NA
paved: NA unpaved: NA |
Household income or consumption by percentage share | lowest 10%: NA%
highest 10%: NA% |
lowest 10%: NA
highest 10%: NA |
Imports | $NA | $323,000 c.i.f. (1983) |
Imports - commodities | - | foodstuffs, building materials, fuel |
Imports - partners | - | New Zealand (2000) |
Independence | none (territory of Norway) | none (territory of New Zealand) |
Industrial production growth rate | NA% | NA% |
Industries | - | small-scale enterprises for copra production, woodworking, plaited craft goods; stamps, coins; fishing |
Infant mortality rate | NA deaths/1,000 live births | total: NA
male: NA female: NA |
Inflation rate (consumer prices) | NA% | NA% |
International organization participation | none | UNESCO (associate), UPU |
Internet Service Providers (ISPs) | 13 (Svalbard and Jan Mayen) (2000) | - |
Irrigated land | NA sq km | NA sq km |
Judicial branch | - | Supreme Court in New Zealand exercises civil and criminal jurisdiction in Tokelau |
Labor force | NA | NA |
Land boundaries | 0 km | 0 km |
Land use | arable land: 0%
permanent crops: 0% other: 100% (no trees, and the only bushes are crowberry and cloudberry) (1998 est.) |
arable land: 0% (soil is thin and infertile)
permanent crops: 0% other: 100% (2001) |
Languages | Russian, Norwegian | Tokelauan (a Polynesian language), English |
Legal system | NA | New Zealand and local statutes |
Legislative branch | - | unicameral General Fono (21 seats; based upon proportional representation from the three islands elected by popular vote to serve three-year terms; Nukunonu has 6 seats, Fakaofo has 7 seats, Atafu has 8 seats); note - the Tokelau Amendment Act of 1996 confers limited legislative power on the General Fono
elections: last held January 2002 (next to be held January 2005) |
Life expectancy at birth | total population: NA years
male: NA years female: NA years |
total population: NA
male: -9 years female: -9 years (2005 est.) |
Literacy | NA | NA |
Location | Northern Europe, islands between the Arctic Ocean, Barents Sea, Greenland Sea, and Norwegian Sea, north of Norway | Oceania, group of three atolls in the South Pacific Ocean, about one-half of the way from Hawaii to New Zealand |
Map references | Arctic Region | Oceania |
Maritime claims | exclusive fishing zone: 200 NM unilaterally claimed by Norway but not recognized by Russia
territorial sea: 4 NM |
territorial sea: 12 nm
exclusive economic zone: 200 nm |
Merchant marine | none (2002 est.) | - |
Military - note | demilitarized by treaty (9 February 1920) | defense is the responsibility of New Zealand |
National holiday | NA | Waitangi Day (Treaty of Waitangi established British sovereignty over New Zealand), 6 February (1840) |
Nationality | - | noun: Tokelauan(s)
adjective: Tokelauan |
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 | lies in Pacific typhoon belt |
Natural resources | coal, copper, iron ore, phosphate, zinc, wildlife, fish | NEGL |
Net migration rate | NA migrant(s)/1,000 population | NA |
Political parties and leaders | - | none |
Political pressure groups and leaders | - | none |
Population | 2,868 (July 2002 est.) | 1,405 (July 2005 est.) |
Population below poverty line | NA% | NA |
Population growth rate | -1.99% (2002 est.) | -0.01% (2005 est.) |
Ports and harbors | Barentsburg, Longyearbyen, Ny-Alesund, Pyramiden | none; offshore anchorage only |
Radio broadcast stations | AM 1, FM 1 (plus 2 repeaters), shortwave 0 (1998) | AM NA, FM NA, shortwave NA
note: 1 radio station provides service to all islands (2002) |
Radios | NA | - |
Railways | 0 km | - |
Religions | - | Congregational Christian Church 70%, Roman Catholic 28%, other 2%
note: on Atafu, all Congregational Christian Church of Samoa; on Nukunonu, all Roman Catholic; on Fakaofo, both denominations, with the Congregational Christian Church predominant |
Sex ratio | NA | NA |
Suffrage | - | 21 years of age; universal |
Telephone system | general assessment: probably adequate
domestic: local telephone service international: satellite earth station - 1 of unknown type (for communication with Norwegian mainland only) |
general assessment: modern satellite-based communications system;
domestic: radiotelephone service between islands international: country code - 690; radiotelephone service to Samoa; government-regulated telephone service (TeleTok), with 3 satellite earth stations, established in 1997 |
Telephones - main lines in use | NA | 300 (2002) |
Telephones - mobile cellular | NA | 0 (2001) |
Television broadcast stations | NA | - |
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 | low-lying coral atolls enclosing large lagoons |
Total fertility rate | NA children born/woman | NA |
Unemployment rate | - | NA% |
Waterways | none | - |