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Image courtesy of Longyearbyen Lokalstyre
Svalbard’s population hit a record high 2,936 residents as of July 1 despite massive layoffs and the worst economic setbacks in Norway during the COVID-19 pandemic that began in early 2020, according to Statistics Norway.
In addition to that oddity, nearly all new residents were Norwegians while the percentage of foreign residents dropped – both striking contrasts to long-term pre-pandemic trends. The latest numbers reveal both the extra hardship foreigners faced during layoffs and the Norwegian government’s efforts to boost Norwegian presence in the archipelago.
About Post Author
Mark Sabbatini
I'm a professional transient living on a tiny Norwegian island next door to the North Pole, where once a week (or thereabouts) I pollute our extreme and pristine environment with paper fishwrappers decorated with seemingly random letters that would cause a thousand monkeys with a thousand typewriters to die of humiliation.
Such is the wisdom one acquires after more than 25 years in the world's second-least-respected occupation, much of it roaming the seven continents in search of jazz, unrecognizable street food and escorts I f****d with by insisting they give me the platonic tours of their cities promised in their ads.
But it turns out this tiny group of islands known as Svalbard is my True Love and, generous contributions from you willing, I'll keep littering until they dig my body out when my climate-change-deformed apartment collapses or they exile my penniless ass because I'm not even worthy of washing your dirty dishes.