From Statistics Norway:
This Is Svalbard, 2016:
pp 15
Can count themselves lucky
Svalbard is a virtually duty-free community. For an average household, prices
were therefore 14 per cent lower than for a mainland household in 2013, the
last year for which Statistics Norway has figures available. However, there
are large variations between different sorts of goods.The cheapest goods
are those for which the highest duties are charged in Norwegian shops. For
example, on Svalbard, tobacco and alcohol cost only about a third of the price
elsewhere in Norway. Transport is also cheaper in the archipelago. However,
the price level for foodstuffs and non-alcoholic beverages was somewhat
higher for Svalbard households than for those on the mainland in 2013. The
greatest price differences were found in groups of foodstuffs such as fruit,
dairy products, vegetables and bread. Until 2006, prices rose more slowly on
Svalbard than on the mainland, but in the years leading up to 2013 prices
rose somewhat faster. From 2001 to 2013, the consumer price index for
Svalbard rose by 30 per cent, compared to 24 per cent on the mainland.Higher alcohol consumption than in mainland Norway
Permanent Svalbard residents can buy as much duty-free wine as they wish,
but the sale of duty-free beer (and spirits) is regulated by a quota system. In
2009, nearly three in every ten Svalbardians reported drinking alcohol at
least twice per week, men somewhat more frequently than women. On the
mainland, this proportion was 18 per cent....
....MUCH MORE, (28 page PDF)
However, it's not all fun and games.
From IcePeople (the world's northernmost newspaper), January 25, 2020:
ROUGH JUSTICE: Monica Mæland presided over the shutdown of most of Svalbard’s mining; she’s now the archipelago’s new ‘ruler’ after the collapse of Norway’s government last week
Since her most notable Svalbard moment is a horde of emotionally-charged torch-wielding citizens cornering her in a dark parking lot, Monica Mæland is at the very least well-qualified to cope with tumultuous times after being named “ruler” of the archipelago in the wake of the collapse of Norway’s government last week....
....MUCH MORE
The anniversary approaches.
Coming this weekend: Svalbard, minute by minute
