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

top of page


Background: Norway gained its independence from Sweden in 1905. As a separate realm, Norway stayed free of World War I but suffered German occupation in World War II. Discovery of oil and gas in adjacent waters in the late 1960s gave a strong boost to Norway's economic fortunes. Norway is planning for the time when its oil and gas reserves are depleted and is focusing on containing spending on its extensive welfare system. It has decided at this time not to join the European Union and the new euro currency regime.


top of page


Location:

Geographic coordinates

Map reference: Arctic Region, Europe, Standard Time Zones of the World

Area
Total: 324,220 km²
Land: 307,860 km²

Land boundaries: total 2,515 km, Finland 729 km, Sweden 1,619 km, Russia 167 km

Coastline: 21,925 km (includes mainland 3,419 km, large islands 2,413 km, long fjords, numerous small islands, and minor indentations 16,093 km)
Continental shelf: to depth of exploitation
Exclusive economic zone: 200 nm
Territorial sea: 4 nm

Maritime claims

Climate: temperate along coast, modified by North Atlantic Current; colder interior; rainy year-round on west coast

Terrain: glaciated; mostly high plateaus and rugged mountains broken by fertile valleys; small, scattered plains; coastline deeply indented by fjords; arctic tundra in north

Elevation

Natural resources: petroleum, copper, natural gas, pyrites, nickel, iron ore, zinc, lead, fish, timber, hydropower

Land use
Arable land: 3%
Permanent crops: 0%
Meadows and pastures: 0%
Forest and woodland: 27%
Other: 70%

Irrigated land: 950 km² (1989)

Major rivers

Major watersheds area km²

Total water withdrawal

Total renewable water resources

Natural hazards

Geography


top of page


Population: 4,297,436 (July 1993 est.)
Growth rate: 0.41% (1993 est.)

Nationality
Noun: Norwegian(s)
Adjective: Norwegian

Ethnic groups: Germanic (Nordic, Alpine, Baltic), Lapps 20,000

Languages: Norwegian (official)

Religions:

Demographic profile

Age structure

Dependency ratios

Median age

Population growth rate: 0.41% (1993 est.)

Birth rate: 13.75 births/1000 population (1993 est.)

Death rate: 10.54 deaths/1000 population (1993 est.)

Net migration rate: 0.87 migrant(s)/1000 population (1993 est.)

Population distribution

Urbanization

Major urban areas

Environment
Current issues: air and water pollution; acid rain; note - strategic location adjacent to sea lanes and air routes in North Atlantic; one of most rugged and longest coastlines in world; Norway and Turkey only NATO members having a land boundary with Russia
Current issues note: about two-thirds mountains; some 50,000 islands off its much indented coastline

Air pollutants

Sex ratio

Mothers mean age at first birth

Maternal mortality ratio

Infant mortality rate: 6.4 deaths/1000 live births (1993 est.)

Life expectancy at birth
Male: 73.79 years
Female: 80.73 years (1993 est.)

Total fertility rate: 1.86 children born/woman (1993 est.)

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: age 15 and over can read and write (1976)
Total population: 99%
Male: NA%
Female: NA%

School life expectancy primary to tertiary education

Youth unemployment


top of page


Country name
Conventional long form: Kingdom of Norway
Conventional short form: Norway
Local long form: Kongeriket Norge
Local short form: Norge

Government type: constitutional monarchy

Capital: Oslo

Administrative divisions:

Dependent areas

Independence: 26 October 1905 (from Sweden)

National holiday: Constitution Day, 17 May (1814)

Constitution: 17 May 1814, modified in 1884

Legal system: mixture of customary law, civil law system, and common law traditions; Supreme Court renders advisory opinions to legislature when asked; accepts compulsory ICJ jurisdiction, with reservations

International law organization participation

Citizenship

Suffrage: 18 years of age; universal

Executive branch: monarch, prime minister, State Council (cabinet)

Legislative branch: unicameral Parliament (Storting) with an Upper Chamber (Lagting) and a Lower Chamber (Odelsting)

Judicial branch: Supreme Court (Hoyesterett)

Political parties and leaders

International organization participation:

Diplomatic representation
In the us chief of mission: Ambassador Kjeld VIBE
In the us chancery: 2,720 34th Street NW, Washington DC 20,008
In the us telephone: (202) 333-6,000
In the us fax:
In the us consulate: Miami
From the us chief of mission: (vacant)
From the us embassy: Drammensveien 18, 0244 Oslo 2
From the us mailing address: PSC 69, Box 1000, APO AE 9,707
From the us telephone: 47 (2) 44-85-50
From the us fax: 47 (2) 43-07-77

Flag description: red with a blue cross outlined in white that extends to the edges of the flag; the vertical part of the cross is shifted to the hoist side in the style of the Dannebrog (Danish flag)

National symbols

National anthem

National heritage


top of page


Economy overview: Norway has a mixed economy involving a combination of free market activity and government intervention. The government controls key areas, such as the vital petroleum sector (through large-scale state enterprises) and extensively subsidizes agriculture, fishing, and areas with sparse resources. Norway also maintains an extensive welfare system that helps propel public sector expenditures to slightly more than 50% of the GDP and results in one of the highest average tax burdens in the world (54%). A small country with a high dependence on international trade, Norway is basically an exporter of raw materials and semiprocessed goods, with an abundance of small- and medium-sized firms, and is ranked among the major shipping nations. The country is richly endowed with natural resources - petroleum, hydropower, fish, forests, and minerals - and is highly dependent on its oil sector to keep its economy afloat. Although one of the government's main priorities is to reduce this dependency, this situation is not likely to improve for years to come. The government also hopes to reduce unemployment and strengthen and diversify the economy through tax reform and a series of expansionary budgets. The budget deficit is expected to hit a record 8% of GDP because of welfare spending and bail-outs of the banking system. Unemployment continues at record levels of over 10% - including those in job programs - because of the weakness of the economy outside the oil sector. Overall economic growth is expected to be around 2% in 1993 while inflation is likely to rise slightly to 4%. Oslo, a member of the European Free Trade Area, has applied for EC membership and continues to deregulate and harmonize with EC regulations to prepare for the European Economic Area (EEA) - which creates an EC/EFTA market with free movement of capital, goods, services, and labor - to take effect in late 1993 and its EC bid.

Real gdp purchasing power parity

Real gdp growth rate: 2.9% (1992)

Real gdp per capita: $17,700 (1992)

Gross national saving

Gdp composition by end use

Gdp composition by sector of origin

Agriculture products: accounts for 2.6% of GDP and 5.5% of labor force; among world's top 10 fishing nations; livestock output exceeds value of crops; over half of food needs imported; fish catch of 1.76 million metric tons in 1989

Industries: petroleum and gas, food processing, shipbuilding, pulp and paper products, metals, chemicals, timber, mining, textiles, fishing

Industrial production growth rate: growth rate 7.3% (1992)

Labor force: 2.004 million (1992)
By occupation services: 39.1%
By occupation commerce: 17.6%
By occupation oil andmanufacturing: 16.0%
By occupation bankingandfinancialservices: 7.6%
By occupation transportationandcommunications: 7.8%
By occupation construction: 6.1%
By occupation agriculture forestry and fishing: 5.5% (1989)

Unemployment rate: 5.9% (excluding people in job-training programs) (1992)

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: calendar 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: $35.3 billion (f.o.b., 1992)
Commodoties: petroleum and petroleum products 37.8%, metals and products 10.7%, natural gas 7.3%, fish 6.6%, chemicals 6.3%, ships 5.4%
Partners: EC 67%, Nordic countries 18.2%, developing countries 7.9%, US 5.1%, Japan 1.6% (1992)

Imports: $26.8 billion (c.i.f., 1992)
Commodoties: machinery, fuels and lubricants, transportation equipment, chemicals, foodstuffs, clothing, ships
Partners: EC 48.7%, Nordic countries 26.8%, developing countries 9.3%, US 8.6%, Japan 6.3% (1992)

Reserves of foreign exchange and gold

Debt external

Stock of direct foreign investment at home

Stock of direct foreign investment abroad

Exchange rates: Norwegian kroner (NKr) per US$1 - 6.8774 (January 1993), 6.2145 (1992), 6.4829 (1991), 6.2597 (1990), 6.9045 (1989), 6.5170 (1988)


top of page


Electricity
Production: 26,900,000 kW capacity; 111,000 million kWh produced, 25,850 kWh per capita (1992)

Coal

Petroleum

Crude oil

Refined petroleum

Natural gas

Carbon dioxide emissions

Energy consumption per capita


top of page


Telephones

Telephone system

Broadcast media

Internet

Broadband fixed subscriptions


top of page


Military expenditures
Percent of gdp: exchange rate conversion - $3.8 billion, 3.4% of GDP (1992)

Military and security forces

Military service age and obligation

Space program

Terrorist groups


top of page


National air transport system

Civil aircraft registration country code prefix

Airports: 103
Usable: 102
With permanentsurface runways: 63
With runways over 3659 m: 0
With runways 2440-3659 m: 12
With runways 1220-2439 m: 16

Heliports

Pipelines: refined products 53 km

Railways

Roadways

Waterways: 1,577 km along west coast; 2.4 m draft vessels maximum

Merchant marine

Ports and terminals


top of page


Disputes international: territorial claim in Antarctica (Queen Maud Land; dispute between Denmark and Norway over maritime boundary in Arctic Ocean between Greenland and Jan Mayen is before the Interntional Court of Justice; maritime boundary dispute with Russia over portion of Barents Sea

Refugees and internally displaced persons

Illicit drugs: increasingly used as transshipment point for Latin American cocaine to Europe and gateway for Asian heroin shipped via the CIS and Baltic states for the European market