Facts about Longyearbyen

Longyearbyen – a unique Arctic town

Longyearbyen is the administrative center of Svalbard and the largest settlement with around 2,600 inhabitants from more than 50 countries.
The Norwegian government's policy is that Longyearbyen should be a robust local community. However, it should not be a lifelong community, nor should it have the same level of services as municipalities on the mainland. Longyearbyen is located in the middle of a varied and beautiful Arctic landscape with excellent opportunities for outdoor activities. It is a modern town with good services and a varied range of associations, sports and cultural activities.
The business community is diverse and primarily based on the main pillars of coal, tourism, research and education, space-related activities, and Arctic logistics.

The establishment of the Longyearbyen Local Council in 2002 led to the creation of local democracy in Longyearbyen. Our elected body is the local council, which consists of 15 members. This is also the highest body in the Longyearbyen Local Council.
The establishment of the Longyearbyen Local Council has given the local population a say in important areas such as community and land-use planning, infrastructure, business development, and growing up conditions.
The Longyearbyen Local Council's area of responsibility is limited to its own planning area in and around Longyearbyen, covering approximately 260 km2. In this area, the LL can carry out activities of public interest that are not provided for by the state.
The Longyearbyen Local Authority has responsibilities that are similar to those of a municipality on the mainland, including primary and secondary schools, cultural schools, after-school programs, kindergartens, libraries, sports and culture, and infrastructure.
Here you can read a report from Statistics Norway from 2023 on social conditions in Svalbard External link.

The Norwegian archipelago of Svalbard comprises all islands, islets, and skerries between 10 and 35 degrees east longitude and 74 and 81 degrees north latitude. The total land area is 61,022 km2, which is about 1/5 of Norway's mainland area.
Around 60 percent of the archipelago is covered by glaciers. With an area of 39,000 km2, Spitsbergen is the largest of the islands. Svalbard has a total population of around 2,900, almost all of whom live either in the Norwegian settlement of Longyearbyen or in the Russian settlement of Barentsburg.

Updated 11. February 2026