NORWAY

NORWAY / NORGE - NOREG.

International Geophysical Year.
Map of Svalbard Archipelago.
Second stamp in a set of 3, issued on 01.07.1957.
Face value: 35 Norwegian øre.
Printed by Emil Moestue trykkeri, Oslo.
Printing: Photogravure.
Print: 9,875,000 copies.
Size: 24 x 40 mm.

Catalogs
- AFA No. 426.
- Michel No. 412.
- Norgeskatalogen No. 449.
- Scott No. 356.
- StampWorld No. 428.
- Stanley Gibbons No. 468.
- Yvert et Tellier No. 377.

On December 1, 1959, the twelve countries that had carried out scientific activities in and around Antarctica during the 1957-1958 International Geophysical Year signed the Antarctic Treaty in Washington. The Treaty entered into force on June 23, 1961, and has been accepted by many other nations. The Treaty recognizes, among other things, the interest of all humankind that Antarctica continue to be used exclusively for peaceful purposes and shall not become the scene or object of international discord. The signatory countries were: Argentina, Australia, Belgium, Chile, France, Japan, New Zealand, Norway, South Africa, the Soviet Union, the United Kingdom, and the United States.

Svalbard, also known as Spitsbergen, or Spitzbergen, is a Norwegian archipelago in the Arctic Ocean. North of mainland Europe, it is about midway between the northern coast of Norway and the North Pole. Approximately 60% of the archipelago is covered with glaciers, and the islands feature many mountains and fjords. On February 9, 1920, following the Paris Peace Conference, the Svalbard Treaty was signed, granting full sovereignty to Norway. However, all signatory countries were granted non-discriminatory rights to fishing, hunting, and mineral resources. The treaty took effect on August 14, 1925. After the WWII, the Soviet Union established mining facilities in the archipelago, and at times the population of Russian origin accounted for two-thirds of the total population, then estimated at about 4,000 inhabitants; currently the population has been reduced (in 2016 it was 2,667 inhabitants), and is made up of Norwegian, Russian, Ukrainian, Polish, German, Swedish, Danish and Thai citizens.