Country-Geography: December 2013

Country Geography Index

This blog contains short geography profile of 220 countries all over the world.

Country Index

Svalbard

Map of Svalbard

Country	Svalbard (sometimes referred to as Spitsbergen)
Capital	Longyearbyen
Independence	none (territory of Norway)
Population	1,970 (July 2012 est.)
Languages	Norwegian, Russian
Location	Northern Europe, islands between the Arctic Ocean, Barents Sea, Greenland Sea, and Norwegian Sea, north of Norway
Geographic coordinates	78 00 N, 20 00 E
Map references	Arctic Region
Area	total: 62,045 sq km land: 62,045 sq km water: 0 sq km note: includes Spitsbergen and Bjornoya (Bear Island)
Area - comparative	slightly smaller than West Virginia
Land boundaries	0 km
Coastline	3,587 km
Maritime claims	territorial sea: 4 nm exclusive fishing zone: 200 nm unilaterally claimed by Norway but not recognized by Russia
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 one-half of the year; fjords along west and north coasts
Elevation extremes	lowest point: Arctic Ocean 0 m highest point: Newtontoppen 1,717 m
Natural resources	coal, iron ore, copper, zinc, phosphate, wildlife, fish
Land use	arable land: 0% permanent crops: 0% other: 100% (no trees; the only bushes are crowberry and cloudberry) (2005)
Irrigated land	NA
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
Environment - current issues	NA
Geography - note	northernmost part of the Kingdom of Norway; consists of nine main islands; glaciers and snowfields cover 60% of the total area; Spitsbergen Island is the site of the Svalbard Global Seed Vault, a seed repository established by the Global Crop Diversity Trust and the Norwegian Government

Suriname

Map of Suriname

Country name	Republic of Suriname
Capital	Paramaribo
Independence	25 November 1975 (from the Netherlands)
National holiday	: Independence Day, 25 November (1975)
Population	560,157 (July 2012 est.)
Sex ratio	1.05 male(s)/female under 15 years: 1.04 male(s)/female 15-64 years: 1.03 male(s)/female 65 years and over: 0.77 male(s)/female total population: 1.01 male(s)/female (2011 est.)
Nationality	Surinamer(s)
Religions	Hindu 27.4%, Protestant 25.2% (predominantly Moravian), Roman Catholic 22.8%, Muslim 19.6%, indigenous beliefs 5%
Languages	Dutch (official), English (widely spoken), Sranang Tongo (Surinamese, sometimes called Taki-Taki, is native language of Creoles and much of the younger population and is lingua franca among others), Caribbean Hindustani (a dialect of Hindi), Javanese
Literacy	age 15 and over can read and write total population: 89.6% male: 92% female: 87.2% (2004 census)
Location	Northern South America, bordering the North Atlantic Ocean, between French Guiana and Guyana
Population	560,157 (July 2012 est.)
Birth rate	17.44 births/1,000 population (2012 est.)
Sex ratio	1.05 male(s)/female under 15 years: 1.04 male(s)/female 15-64 years: 1.03 male(s)/female 65 years and over: 0.77 male(s)/female total population: 1.01 male(s)/female (2011 est.)
Geographic coordinates	4 00 N, 56 00 W
Map references	South America
Area	Total: 163,820 sq km Land: 156,000 sq km Water: 7,820 sq km
Area - comparative	Slightly larger than Georgia
Land boundaries	total: 1,703 km border countries: Brazil 593 km, French Guiana 510 km, Guyana 600 km
Coastline	386 km
Maritime claims	Territorial sea: 12 nm Exclusive economic zone: 200 nm
Climate	Tropical; moderated by trade winds
Terrain	Mostly rolling hills; narrow coastal plain with swamps
Elevation extremes	Lowest point: unnamed location in the coastal plain -2 m Highest point: Juliana Top 1,230 m
Natural resources	Timber, hydropower, fish, kaolin, shrimp, bauxite, gold, and small amounts of nickel, copper, platinum, iron ore
Exports - commodities	Alumina, gold, crude oil, lumber, shrimp and fish, rice, bananas
Imports - commodities	Capital equipment, petroleum, foodstuffs, cotton, consumer goods
Land use	Arable land: 0.36% Permanent crops: 0.06% Other: 99.58% (2005)
Irrigated land	510 sq km (2003)
Total renewable water resources	122 cu km (2003)
Freshwater withdrawal (domestic/industrial/agricultural)	Total: 0.67 cu km/yr (4%/3%/93%) Per capita: 1,489 cu m/yr (2000)
Natural hazards	NA
Environment - current issues	deforestation as timber is cut for export; pollution of inland waterways by small-scale mining activities
Environment - international agreements	party to: Biodiversity, Climate Change, Climate Change-Kyoto Protocol, Desertification, Endangered Species, Law of the Sea, Marine Dumping, Ozone Layer Protection, Ship Pollution, Tropical Timber 94, Wetlands, Whaling signed, but not ratified: none of the selected agreements
Geography - note	smallest independent country on South American continent; mostly tropical rain forest; great diversity of flora and fauna that, for the most part, is increasingly threatened by new development; relatively small population, mostly along the coast