Population of Svalbard, 1 January 2012

On 1 January 2012, a total of 2 504 people were registered as living on Svalbard; 2 115 in the Norwegian settlements, 380 in the Russian Barentsburg and nine at the Polish research station at Hornsund.

Stable male surplus

In the Norwegian settlements there are more men than women in all ages, except for those under 20, where the balance between the sexes varies from year to year. However, more than half of the foreigners are women, and more than a third of them are from Thailand.

Both reproduction and replacement

During the second half of 2011, 15 children were born to parents (mothers) living in the Norwegian settlements at Svalbard, one person died, 281 moved in and 285 moved out. In 2011 as a whole, 29 children were born, 495 people moved in and 428 moved out.

Many small households

As many as 53 per cent of the households in the Norwegian settlements are one person households, and 27 per cent of the population lives alone. On the mainland, the figures are 40 per cent and 18 per cent respectively. The differences between men and women on Svalbard are considerable, with 33 per cent of the men living alone, but only 17 per cent of the women. There are no such differences on the mainland, where 18 per cent of both men and women live alone.

Tables:

• Table 1 Population in the settlements. Svalbard
• Table 2 Population in the Norwegian settlements at Svalbard, by sex and age. 1 January 2012
• Table 3 Population in the Norwegian settlements at Svalbard, by sex and place of residence outside Svalbard. 1 January 2012
• Table 4 Population per 1 January 2012 and population changes during 2nd half of 2011. The Norwegian settlements at Svalbard
• Table 5 Private households and persons in private households, by size of household. The Norwegian settlements at Svalbard. 1 January 2012. Numbers and per cent
• Table 6 Population per 1 January 2012 and population changes during 2011. The Norwegian settlements at Svalbard