Map of Arctic Ocean | Geography | People | Government | Economy | Energy | Communication
Military | Transportation | Transnational Issues | Year: Guide198919901991199219931994199519961997199819992000200120022003200420052006200720082009201020112012201320142015201620172018201920202021202220232024 | More stats

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Background: The Arctic Ocean is the smallest of the world's fou oceans (after the Pacific Ocean, Atlantic Ocean and Indian Ocean).


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Location: Body of water mostly north of the Arctic Circle

Geographic coordinates

Map reference

Area
Total: total:14.056 million km²
Comparative: slightly more than 1.5 times the size of the U.S.; the Arctic ocean is the smallest of the world's four oceans (after Pacific Ocean, Atlantic Ocean, and Indian Ocean)
Comparative note: Includes Baffin Bay, Barents Sea, Beaufort Sea, Chukchi Sea, East Siberian Sea, Greenland Sea, Hudson Bay, Hudson Strait, Kara Sea, Laptev Sea, Northwest Passage, and other tributary water bodies

Land boundaries

Coastline: 45,389 km

Maritime claims

Climate: Polar climate characterized by persistent cold and relatively narrow annual temperature ranges; winters characterized by continuous darkness, cold and stable weather conditions, and clear skies; summers characterized by continuous daylight, damp and foggy weather, and weak cyclones with rain or snow

Terrain: Central surface covered by a perennial drifting polar icepack that averages about 3 meters in thickness, although pressure ridges may be three times that size; clockwise drift pattern in the Beaufort Gyral Stream, but nearly straight line movement from the New Siberian Islands (Russia) to Denmark Strait (between Greenland and Iceland; the icepack is surrounded by open seas during the summer, but more than doubles in size during the winter and extends to the encircling land masses; the ocean floor is about 50% continental shelf (highest percentage of any ocean) with the remainder a central basin interrupted by three submarine ridges (Alpha Cordillera, Nansen Cordillera, and Lomonsov Ridge)

Elevation
Extremes lowest point: Fram Basin -4,665 m
Extremes highest point: sea level 0 m

Natural resources:

Land use

Irrigated land

Major rivers

Major watersheds area km²

Total water withdrawal

Total renewable water resources

Natural hazards

Geography


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Population

Nationality

Ethnic groups

Languages

Religions

Demographic profile

Age structure

Dependency ratios

Median age

Population growth rate

Birth rate

Death rate

Net migration rate

Population distribution

Urbanization

Major urban areas

Environment
Current issues: endangered marine species include walruses and whales; fragile ecosystem slow to change and slow to recover from disruptions or damage
Current issues Natural hazards: ice islands occasionally break away from northern Ellesmere Island; icebergs calved from glaciers in western Greenland and extreme northeastern Canada; permafrost in islands; virtually icelocked from October to June; ships subject to superstructure icing from October to May
Current issues note: Major chokepoint is the southern Chukchi Sea (northern access to the Pacific Ocean via the Bering Strait); strategic location between North America and Russia; shortest marine link between the extremes of eastern and western Russia, floating research stations operated by the U.S. and Russia; maximum snow cover in March or April about 20 to 50 centimeters over the frozen ocean and lasts about 10 months

Air pollutants

Sex ratio

Mothers mean age at first birth

Maternal mortality ratio

Infant mortality rate

Life expectancy at birth

Total fertility rate

Contraceptive prevalence rate

Drinking water source

Current health expenditure

Physicians density

Hospital bed density

Sanitation facility access

Hiv/Aids

Major infectious diseases

Obesity adult prevalence rate

Alcohol consumption

Tobacco use

Children under the age of 5 years underweight

Education expenditures

Literacy

School life expectancy primary to tertiary education

Youth unemployment


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Country name

Government type

Capital

Administrative divisions

Dependent areas

Independence

National holiday

Constitution

Legal system

International law organization participation

Citizenship

Suffrage

Executive branch

Legislative branch

Judicial branch

Political parties and leaders

International organization participation

Diplomatic representation

Flag description

National symbols

National anthem

National heritage


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Economy overview: Economic activity is limited to the exploitation of natural resources, including petroleum, natural gas, fish, and seals.

Real gdp purchasing power parity

Real gdp growth rate

Real gdp per capita

Gross national saving

Gdp composition by end use

Gdp composition by sector of origin

Agriculture products

Industries

Industrial production growth rate

Labor force

Unemployment rate

Youth unemployment

Population below poverty line

Gini index

Household income or consumption by percentage share

Distribution of family income gini index

Budget

Taxes and other revenues

Public debt

Revenue

Fiscal year

Inflation rate consumer prices

Central bank discount rate

Commercial bank prime lending rate

Stock of narrow money

Stock of broad money

Stock of domestic credit

Market value of publicly traded shares

Current account balance

Exports

Imports

Reserves of foreign exchange and gold

Debt external

Stock of direct foreign investment at home

Stock of direct foreign investment abroad

Exchange rates


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Electricity

Coal

Petroleum

Crude oil

Refined petroleum

Natural gas

Carbon dioxide emissions

Energy consumption per capita


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Telephones

Telephone system: international:no submarine cables

Broadcast media

Internet

Broadband fixed subscriptions


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Military expenditures

Military and security forces

Military service age and obligation

Space program

Terrorist groups


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National air transport system

Civil aircraft registration country code prefix

Airports

Heliports

Pipelines

Railways

Roadways

Waterways

Merchant marine

Ports and terminals


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Disputes international

Refugees and internally displaced persons

Illicit drugs