_#_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 half the year; fjords along west and north coasts
_#_Natural resources: coal, copper, iron ore, phosphate, zinc, wildlife, fish
_#_Land use: arable land 0%; permanent crops 0%; meadows and pastures 0%; forest and woodland 0%; other 100%; there are no trees and the only bushes are crowberry and cloudberry
_#_Environment: great calving glaciers descend to the sea
_#_Note: located 445 km north of Norway where the Arctic Ocean, Barents Sea, Greenland Sea, and Norwegian Sea meet
_*People #_Population: 3,942 (July 1991), growth rate NA% (1991); about one-third of the population resides in the Norwegian areas (Longyearbyen and Svea on Vestspitsbergen) and two-thirds in the Soviet areas (Barentsburg and Pyramiden on Vestspitsbergen); about 9 persons live at the Polish research station
_#_Birth rate: NA births/1,000 population (1991)
_#_Death rate: NA deaths/1,000 population (1991)
_#_Net migration rate: NA migrants/1,000 population (1991)