Largest population growth in a decade for world's northernmost town
Longyearbyen now has close to 2,400 inhabitants.
121 persons moved to Longyearbyen and Ny-Ålesund this first six months of 2019, Svalbardposten reports with reference to Statistics Norway. This is the biggest growth for the town located at 78 degrees North since 2009.
707 of the people living in the world’s northernmost town are from other countries than Norway, that counts for 36%.
Tourism and research are the two main activities, while coal mining is being downscaled.
Barentsburg, the Russian settlement on Svalbard, has not seen any changes in population during first half of 2019, Svalbardposten writes.
