Svalbard Islands (Arctic Norway)

Svalbard (formerly Spitsbergen) is a Norwegian archipelago (island group) in the Arctic Ocean. Svalbard is located north of mainland Europe, about midway between North Pole and mainland Norway. Svalbard has land area approx 61000 km2 (23560 ml2) and is dominated by Spitsbergen Island (over half of archipelago's land), followed by Nordaustlandet and Edgeoya. All settlements are on Spitsbergen, except two meteo outposts on Bjornoya and Hopen. Archipelago's total population is around 3,000 (including 439 Russians and Ukrainian, 10 Polish, 322 other non-Norwegians). Longyearbyen is Svalbard's administrative center and largest settlement.

Administratively, Svalbard is not a part of any Norwegian county. However, it forms an unincorporated region administered by a Governor appointed by Norway's Government. Since 2002, Svalbard's main settlement (Longyearbyen) has a local government, similarly to mainland municipalities. Svalbard is the world's northernmost settlement with permanent civilian population. Other settlements located farther north are populated only by groups of rotating scientists/researchers. Next map of Svalbard Islands shows all cruise ports/destinations in the archipelago.

The archipelago has Arctic climate, though with higher temperatures than other regions at the same latitude. Its flora take advantage of the midnight sun to compensate for polar nights. Svalbard is the breeding ground for plenty of seabirds, and also features reindeer, Arctic fox, polar bears, and certain marine mammals. 23 nature reserves and 7 national parks cover 2/3 of the archipelago, protecting the untouched, natural environment. Nearly 60% of Svalbard archipelago is covered with glaciers. The islands feature many fjords and mountains. No roads connect Svalbard's settlements. Snowmobiles, boats and aircraft serve inter-community transport. Longyear, Svalbard Airport, serves as archipelago's main gateway.

Jan Mayen Island and Svalbard are assigned ISO 3166-1 alpha-2 country code SJ. These areas are administered by Norway, even though they are separated by over 500 nautical miles distance (600 ml / 950 km) and have different administrative structures.