Map of Norway | Geography | People | Government | Economy | Energy | Communication
Military | Transportation | Transnational Issues | Year: Guide1989199019911992199319941995199619971998199920002001200220032004200520062007200820092010201120122013201420152016201720182019202020212022202320242025 | More stats

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Background: Two centuries of Viking raids into Europe tapered off following the adoption of Christianity by King Olav TRYGGVASON in 994; conversion of the Norwegian kingdom occurred over the next several decades. In 1397, Norway was absorbed into a union with Denmark that lasted more than four centuries. In 1814, Norwegians resisted the cession of their country to Sweden and adopted a new constitution. Sweden then invaded Norway but agreed to let Norway keep its constitution in return for accepting the union under a Swedish king. Rising nationalism throughout the 19th century led to a 1905 referendum granting Norway independence. Although Norway remained neutral in World War I, it suffered heavy losses to its shipping. Norway proclaimed its neutrality at the outset of World War II, but was nonetheless occupied for five years by Nazi Germany (1940-45). In 1949, Norway abandoned neutrality and became a member of NATO. Discovery of oil and gas in adjacent waters in the late 1960s boosted Norway's economic fortunes. In referenda held in 1972 and 1994, Norway rejected joining the EU. Key domestic issues include immigration and integration of ethnic minorities, maintaining the country's extensive social safety net with an aging population, and preserving economic competitiveness.


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Location: Northern Europe, bordering the North Sea and the North Atlantic Ocean, west of Sweden

Geographic coordinates: 62 00 N, 10 00 E

Map reference: Europe

Area
Total: 323,802 km²
Land: 304,282 km²
Water: 19,520 km²
Comparative: slightly larger than twice the size of Georgia; slightly larger than New Mexico

Land boundaries
Total: 2,566 km
Border countries: (3) Finland 709 km; , Sweden 1666 km; , Russia 191 km

Coastline: 25,148 km (includes mainland 2,650 km, as well as long fjords, numerous small islands, and minor indentations 22,498 km; length of island coastlines 58,133 km)

Maritime claims
Territorial sea: 12 nm
Contiguouszone: 10 nm
Exclusive economic zone: 200 nm
Continental shelf: 200 nm

Climate: temperate along coast, modified by North Atlantic Current; colder interior with increased precipitation and colder summers; 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
Highest point: Galdhopiggen 2,469 m
Lowest point: Norwegian Sea 0 m
Mean elevation: 460 m

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

Land use
Agricultural land: 2.7% (2018 est.)
Agricultural land arable land: 2.2% (2018 est.)
Agricultural land permanent crops: 0% (2018 est.)
Agricultural land permanent pasture: 0.5% (2018 est.)
Forest: 27.8% (2018 est.)
Other: 69.5% (2018 est.)

Irrigated land: 900 km² (2012)

Major rivers

Major watersheds area km²

Total water withdrawal
Municipal: 775.3 million cubic meters (2017 est.)
Industrial: 1.071 billion cubic meters (2017 est.)
Agricultural: 844.9 million cubic meters (2017 est.)

Total renewable water resources: 393 billion cubic meters (2017 est.)

Natural hazards: rockslides, avalanches

Geography
Note: about two-thirds mountains; some 50,000 islands off its much-indented coastline; strategic location adjacent to sea lanes and air routes in North Atlantic; one of the most rugged and longest coastlines in the world


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Population
Distribution: most Norweigans live in the south where the climate is milder and there is better connectivity to mainland Europe; population clusters are found all along the North Sea coast in the southwest, and Skaggerak in the southeast; the interior areas of the north remain sparsely populated: 5,509,591 (July 2021 est.)
Growth rate: 0.8% (2021 est.)
Below poverty line: 12.7% (2018 est.)

Nationality
Noun: Norwegian(s)
Adjective: Norwegian

Ethnic groups: Norwegian 81.5% (includes about 60,000 Sami), other European 8.9%, other 9.6% (2021 est.)

Languages: Bokmal Norwegian (official), Nynorsk Norwegian (official), small Sami- and Finnish-speaking minorities; note - Sami has three dialects: Lule, North Sami, and South Sami; Sami is an official language in nine municipalities in Norway's three northernmost counties: Finnmark, Nordland, and Troms
Major language samples:

Religions: Church of Norway (Evangelical Lutheran - official) 67.5%, Muslim 3.1%, Roman Catholic 3.1%, other Christian 3.8%, other 2.6%, unspecified 19.9% (2021 est.)

Demographic profile

Age structure
0-14 years: 17.96% (male 503,013/female 478,901)
15-24 years: 12.02% (male 336,597/female 320,720)
25-54 years: 40.75% (male 1,150,762/female 1,077,357)
55-64 years: 11.84% (male 328,865/female 318,398)
65 years and over: 17.43% (male 442,232/female 510,594) (2020 est.)

Dependency ratios
Total dependency ratio: 53.3
Youth dependency ratio: 26.5
Elderly dependency ratio: 26.9
Potential support ratio: 3.7 (2020 est.) data include Svalbard and Jan Mayen Islands

Median age
Total: 39.5 years
Male: 38.8 years
Female: 40.2 years (2020 est.)

Population growth rate: 0.8% (2021 est.)

Birth rate: 12.09 births/1000 population (2021 est.)

Death rate: 8.01 deaths/1000 population (2021 est.)

Net migration rate: 3.95 migrant(s)/1000 population (2021 est.)

Population distribution: most Norweigans live in the south where the climate is milder and there is better connectivity to mainland Europe; population clusters are found all along the North Sea coast in the southwest, and Skaggerak in the southeast; the interior areas of the north remain sparsely populated

Urbanization
Urban population: 83.3% of total population (2021)
Rate of urbanization: 1.32% annual rate of change (2020-25 est.)
Note: data include Svalbard and Jan Mayen Islands

Major urban areas
Population: 1.056 million OSLO (capital) (2021)

Environment
Current issues: water pollution; acid rain damaging forests and adversely affecting lakes, threatening fish stocks; air pollution from vehicle emissions
International agreements party to: Air Pollution, Air Pollution-Heavy Metals, Air Pollution-Multi-effect Protocol, Air Pollution-Nitrogen Oxides, Air Pollution-Persistent Organic Pollutants, Air Pollution-Sulphur 85, Air Pollution-Sulphur 94, Air Pollution-Volatile Organic Compounds, Antarctic-Environmental Protection, Antarctic-Marine Living Resources, Antarctic Seals, Antarctic Treaty, Biodiversity, Climate Change, Climate Change-Kyoto Protocol, Climate Change-Paris Agreement, Comprehensive Nuclear Test Ban, Desertification, Endangered Species, Environmental Modification, Hazardous Wastes, Law of the Sea, Marine Dumping-London Convention, Marine Dumping-London Protocol, Nuclear Test Ban, Ozone Layer Protection, Ship Pollution, Tropical Timber 2006, Wetlands, Whaling
International agreements signed but not ratified: none of the selected agreements

Air pollutants
Particulate matter emissions: 7.02 micrograms per cubic meter (2016 est.)
Carbon dioxide emissions: 41.02 megatons (2016 est.)
Methane emissions: 4.81 megatons (2020 est.)

Sex ratio
At birth: 1.05 male(s)/female
0-14 years: 1.05 male(s)/female
15-24 years: 1.05 male(s)/female
25-54 years: 1.07 male(s)/female
55-64 years: 1.03 male(s)/female
65 years and over: 0.87 male(s)/female
Total population: 1.02 male(s)/female (2020 est.)

Mothers mean age at first birth: 29.7 years (2019 est.)
Note: data is calculated based on actual age at first births

Maternal mortality ratio: 2 deaths/100,000 live births (2017 est.)

Infant mortality rate
Total: 2.34 deaths/1000 live births
Male: 2.68 deaths/1000 live births
Female: 1.98 deaths/1000 live births (2021 est.)

Life expectancy at birth
Total population: 82.35 years
Male: 80.21 years
Female: 84.6 years (2021 est.)

Total fertility rate: 1.84 children born/woman (2021 est.)

Contraceptive prevalence rate: NA

Drinking water source
Improved urban: 100% of population
Improved rural: 100% of population
Improved total: 100% of population
Unimproved urban: 0% of population
Unimproved rural: 0% of population
Unimproved total: 0% of population (2017 est.)

Current health expenditure: 10.1% (2018)

Physicians density: 2.92 physicians/1000 population (2018)

Hospital bed density: 3.5 beds/1000 population (2018)

Sanitation facility access
Improved urban: 100% of population
Improved rural: 100% of population
Improved total: 100% of population
Unimproved urban: 0% of population
Unimproved rural: 0% of population
Unimproved total: 0% of population (2017 est.)

Hiv/Aids
Adult prevalence rate: 0.1% (2018 est.)
People living with hivaids: 5,800 (2018 est.)
Deaths: <100 (2020 est.)

Major infectious diseases

Obesity adult prevalence rate: 23.1% (2016)

Alcohol consumption

Tobacco use

Children under the age of 5 years underweight: NA

Education expenditures: 7.6% of GDP (2018)

Literacy

School life expectancy primary to tertiary education
Total: 18 years
Male: 18 years
Female: 19 years (2019)

Youth unemployment
Rate ages 15-24 total: 11.3%
Rate ages 15-24 male: 12.1%
Rate ages 15-24 female: 10.5% (2020 est.)


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Country name
Conventional long form: Kingdom of Norway
Conventional short form: Norway
Local long form: Kongeriket Norge
Local short form: Norge
Etymology: derives from the Old Norse words 'nordr' and 'vegr' meaning 'northern way' and refers to the long coastline of western Norway

Government type: parliamentary constitutional monarchy

Capital
Name: Oslo
Geographic coordinates: 59 55 N, 10 45 E
Time difference: UTC+1 (6 hours ahead of Washington, DC, during Standard Time)
Daylight saving time: +1hr, begins last Sunday in March; ends last Sunday in October
Etymology: the medieval name was spelt 'Aslo'; the 'as' component refered either to the Ekeberg ridge southeast of the town ('as' in modern Norwegian), or to the Aesir (Norse gods); 'lo' refered to 'meadow,' so the most likely interpretations would have been either 'the meadow beneath the ridge' or 'the meadow of the gods'; both explanations are considered equally plausible

Administrative divisions: 18 counties (fylker, singular - fylke); Akershus, Aust-Agder, Buskerud, Finnmark, Hedmark, Hordaland, More og Romsdal, Nordland, Oppland, Oslo, Ostfold, Rogaland, Sogn og Fjordane, Telemark, Troms, Trondelag, Vest-Agder, Vestfold

Dependent areas: (3) Bouvet Island, Jan Mayen, Svalbard

Independence: 7 June 1905 (declared the union with Sweden dissolved); 26 October 1905 (Sweden agreed to the repeal of the union); notable earlier dates: ca. 872 (traditional unification of petty Norwegian kingdoms by HARALD Fairhair); 1397 (Kalmar Union of Denmark, Norway, and Sweden); 1524 (Denmark-Norway); 17 May 1814 (Norwegian constitution adopted); 4 November 1814 (Sweden-Norway union confirmed)

National holiday: Constitution Day, 17 May (1814)

Constitution
History: drafted spring 1814, adopted 16 May 1814, signed by Constituent Assembly 17 May 1814
Amendments: proposals submitted by members of Parliament or by the government within the first three years of Parliament's four-year term; passage requires two-thirds majority vote of a two-thirds quorum in the next elected Parliament; amended over 400 times, last in 2020

Legal system: mixed legal system of civil, common, and customary law; Supreme Court can advise on legislative acts

International law organization participation: accepts compulsory ICJ jurisdiction with reservations; accepts ICCt jurisdiction

Citizenship
Citizenship by birth: no
Citizenship by descentonly: at least one parent must be a citizen of Norway
Dual citizenship recognized: no
Residency requirement for naturalization: 7 years

Suffrage: 18 years of age; universal

Executive branch
Chief of state: King HARALD V (since 17 January 1991); Heir Apparent Crown Prince HAAKON MAGNUS (son of the monarch, born 20 July 1973)
Head of government: Prime Minister Jonas Gahr STORE (since 14 October 2021); note - Prime Minister Erna SOLBERG resigned on 12 October 2021
Cabinet: Council of State appointed by the monarch, approved by Parliament
Elections and appointments: the monarchy is hereditary; following parliamentary elections, the leader of the majority party or majority coalition usually appointed prime minister by the monarch with the approval of the parliament

Legislative branch
Description: unicameral Parliament or Storting (169 seats; members directly elected in multi-seat constituencies by list proportional representation vote; members serve 4-year terms)
Elections: last held on 13 September 2021 (next to be held on 30 September 2025)
Election results: percent of vote by party - Ap 26.3%, H 20.5%, SP 13.6%, FrP 11.7%, SV 7.6%, R 4.7%, V 4.6%, MDG 3.9%, KrF 3.8%, PF 0.2%, other 3.1%; seats by party - Ap 48, H 36, SP 28, FrP 21, SV 13, R 8, V 8, , KrF 3, MDG 3, PF 1; composition (as of October 2021) men 93, women 76, percent of women 45%

Judicial branch
Highest courts: Supreme Court or Hoyesterett (consists of the chief justice and 18 associate justices)
Judge selection and term of office: justices appointed by the monarch (King in Council) upon the recommendation of the Judicial Appointments Board; justices can serve until mandatory retirement at age 70
Subordinate courts: Courts of Appeal or Lagmennsrett; regional and district courts; Conciliation Boards; ordinary and special courts; note - in addition to professionally trained judges, elected lay judges sit on the bench with professional judges in the Courts of Appeal and district courts

Political parties and leaders: Center Party or Sp [Trygve Slagsvold VEDUM]
Christian Democratic Party or KrF [Olaug BOLLESTAD]
Conservative Party or H [Erna SOLBERG]
Green Party or MDG [Une Aina BASTHOLM] 
Labor Party or Ap [Jonas Gahr STORE]
Liberal Party or V [Guri MELBY]
Patient Focus or PF [Irene OJALA]
Progress Party or FrP [Sylvi LISTHAUG]
Red Party or R [Bionar MOXNES]
Socialist Left Party or SV [Audun LYSBAKKEN]

International organization participation: ADB (nonregional member), AfDB (nonregional member), Arctic Council, Australia Group, BIS, CBSS, CD, CE, CERN, EAPC, EBRD, EFTA, EITI (implementing country), ESA, FAO, FATF, IADB, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, ICC (national committees), ICCt, ICRM, IDA, IEA, IFAD, IFC, IFRCS, IGAD (partners), IHO, ILO, IMF, IMO, IMSO, Interpol, IOC, IOM, IPU, ISO, ITSO, ITU, ITUC (NGOs), MIGA, MINUSMA, NATO, NC, NEA, NIB, NSG, OAS (observer), OECD, OPCW, OSCE, Paris Club, PCA, Schengen Convention, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNHCR, UNIDO, UNITAR, UNMISS, UNRWA, UNTSO, UNWTO, UPU, WCO, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WTO, ZC

Diplomatic representation
In the us chief of mission: Ambassador Anniken Ramberg KRUTNES (since 17 September 2020)
In the us chancery: 2,720 34th Street NW, Washington, DC 20,008
In the us telephone: [1] (202) 333-6,000
In the us FAX: [1] (202) 469-3,990
In the us email address and website:
From the us chief of mission: Ambassador (vacant); Charge d'Affaires Sharon HUDSON-DEAN (since 29 July 2021)
From the us embassy: Morgedalsvegen 36, 0378 Oslo
From the us mailing address: 5,460 Oslo Place,  Washington DC  20,521-5,460
From the us telephone: [47] 21-30-85-40
From the us FAX: [47] 22-56-27-51
From the us email address and website:

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