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High population turnover and increasing diversity in Svalbard
On January 1st, 2026, 2,512 people lived in Longyearbyen and Ny-Ålesund, and 392 people lived in Barentsburg and Pyramiden. The Svalbard population is characterized by a lot of immigration and emigration, and generally short residence times.
At the same time, the archipelago is experiencing increasing diversity of citizenship. At the turn of the year, 66 distinct citizenships were represented among the population.
This is reported by Statistics Norway.
The residence rate in Svalbard remains low. Of all residents of Longyearbyen and Ny-Ålesund at the beginning of 2025, just under 80 percent were still living there one year later. By comparison, the average population turnover in mainland municipalities was around 5 percent in the same period. This shows that a significant proportion of the population in Svalbard changes every year.
Record number of official visits to Svalbard last year
Svalbard Governor Lars Fause had 94 official visits to Svalbard in 2025. This is the highest number ever, writes Klassekampen.
"There is increased international interest in the archipelago," Fause tells the newspaper.
Among the guests were high-ranking representatives from both Russia and the United States, who showed great interest in the Arctic.