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.

Geographic coordinates: 62 00 N, 10 00 E

Map reference: Europe

Area
Total: 324,220 km²
Land: 307,860 km²
Water: 16,360 km²
Comparative: slightly larger than New Mexico

Land boundaries
Total: 2,515 km
Border countries: (3) 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)

Maritime claims
Contiguous zone: 10 nm
Continental shelf: 200 nm
Exclusive economic zone: 200 nm
Territorial sea: 4 nm

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
Extremes lowest point: Norwegian Sea 0 m
Extremes highest point: Glittertinden 2,472 m

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

Land use
Arable land: 3%
Permanent crops: NA%
Permanent pastures: 0%
Forests and woodland: 27%
Other: 70% (1993 est.)

Irrigated land: 970 km² (1993 est.)

Natural hazards: NA

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 most rugged and longest coastlines in world; Norway and Turkey only NATO members having a land boundary with Russia

Population: 4,399,993 (July 1997 est.)
Growth rate: 0.47% (1997 est.)

Nationality
Noun: Norwegian(s)
Adjective: Norwegian

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

Languages: Norwegian (official)
Note: small Lapp- and Finnish-speaking minorities

Religions: Evangelical Lutheran 87.8% (state church), other Protestant and Roman Catholic 3.8%, none 3.2%, unknown 5.2% (1980)

Age structure
0-14 years: 19% (male 440,621; female 417,331)
15-64 years: 65% (male 1,446,739; female 1,399,291)
65 years and over: 16% (male 289,426; female 406,585) (July 1997 est.)

Population growth rate: 0.47% (1997 est.)

Birth rate: 13.25 births/1000 population (1997 est.)

Death rate: 10.22 deaths/1000 population (1997 est.)

Net migration rate: 1.66 migrant(s)/1000 population (1997 est.)

Environment
Current issues: water pollution; acid rain damaging forests and adversely affecting lakes, threatening fish stocks; air pollution from vehicle emissions

Sex ratio
At birth: 1.06 male(s)/female
Under 15 years: 1.06 male(s)/female
15-64 years: 1.03 male(s)/female
65 years and over: 0.71 male(s)/female
Total population: 0.98 male(s)/female (1997 est.)

Infant mortality rate: 5.1 deaths/1000 live births (1997 est.)

Life expectancy at birth
Total population: 78.09 years
Male: 75.29 years
Female: 81.07 years (1997 est.)

Total fertility rate: 1.83 children born/woman (1997 est.)

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

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: 19 provinces (fylker, singular - fylke; Akershus, Aust-Agder, Buskerud, Finnmark, Hedmark, Hordaland, More og Romsdal, Nordland, Nord-Trondelag, Oppland, Oslo, Ostfold, Rogaland, Sogn og Fjordane, Sor-Trondelag, Telemark, Troms, Vest-Agder, Vestfold

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

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

Suffrage: 18 years of age; universal

Executive branch
Chief of state: King HARALD V (since 17 January 1991); Heir Apparent Crown Prince HAAKON MAGNUS (born 20 July 1973)
Head of government: Prime Minister Thorbjoern JAGLAND (since 25 October 1996)
Cabinet: State Council appointed by the king with the approval of the Parliament
Elections: none; the king is a hereditary monarch; following parliamentary elections, the leader of the majority party or leader of a majority coalition is usually appointed prime minister by the king with the approval of the Parliament

Legislative branch: modified unicameral Parliament or Storting which, for certain purposes, divides itself into two chambers (165 seats; members are elected by popular vote by proportional representation to serve four-year terms)
Elections: last held 13 September 1993 (next to be held NA September 1997)
Election results: percent of vote by party - Labor 37.1%, Center Party 18.5%, Conservatives 15.6%, Christian People's 8.4%, Socialist Left 7.9%, Progress 6%, Left Party 3.6%, Red Electoral Alliance 1.2%; seats by party - Labor 67, Center Party 32, Conservatives 18, Christian People's 13, Socialist Left 13, Progress 10, Left Party 1, Red Electoral Alliance 1, unawarded 10
Note: for certain purposes, the Parliament divides itself into two chambers and elects one-fourth of its membership to an upper house or Lagting

Judicial branch: Supreme Court or Hoyesterett, justices appointed by the king

International organization participation: AfDB, AsDB, Australia Group, BIS, CBSS, CCC, CE, CERN, EBRD, ECE, EFTA, ESA, FAO, IADB, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, ICC, ICFTU, ICRM, IDA, IEA, IFAD, IFC, IFRCS, IHO, ILO, IMF, IMO, Inmarsat, Intelsat, Interpol, IOC, IOM, ISO, ITU, MINURSO, MTCR, NACC, NAM (guest), NATO, NC, NEA, NIB, NSG, OECD, OSCE, PCA, UN, UNAVEM III, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNHCR, UNIDO, UNIFIL, UNMOP, UNPREDEP, UNTAES, UNTSO, UPU, WEU (associate), WHO, WIPO, WMO, WTrO, ZC

Diplomatic representation
In the us chief of mission: Ambassador Tom-Erik VRAALSON
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) 337-0870
In the us consulates general: Houston, Minneapolis, New York, and San Francisco
In the us consulates: Miami
From the us chief of mission: Ambassador Thomas A. LOFTUS
From the us embassy: Drammensveien 18, 0244 Oslo
From the us mailing address: PSC 69, Box 1000, APO AE 9,707
From the us telephone: [47] 22 44 85 50
From the us FAX: [47] 22 44 33 63

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)

Economy overview: Norway is a prosperous bastion of welfare capitalism. The economy consists of 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 maintains an extensive welfare system that helps propel public sector expenditures to more than 50% of GDP and results in one of the highest average tax levels in the world (46%). 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. Only Saudi Arabia exports more oil than Norway. Norway imports more than half its food needs. Economic growth, only 1.6% in 1993, has improved steadily over the past few years, resulting in a budget surplus in 1996. Oslo opted to stay out of the EU during a referendum in November 1994. Despite their high per capita income - outstripped among major nations only by the US - and their generous welfare benefits, the Norwegians worry about that time in the 21st century when the oil and gas run out.

Real gdp growth rate: 4.8% (1996 est.)

Real gdp per capita: purchasing power parity - $26,200 (1996 est.)

Gdp composition by sector of origin
Agriculture: 2.9%
Industry: 34.7%
Services: 62.4% (1991)

Agriculture products: oats, other grains; beef, milk; livestock output exceeds value of crops; among world's top 10 fishing nations; fish catch of 2.33 million metric tons in 1994

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

Industrial production growth rate: 3% (1996 est.)

Labor force
Total: 2.13 million
By occupation services: 71%
By occupation industry: 23%
By occupation agriculture forestry and fishing: 6% (1993)

Unemployment rate: 4.5% (1996 est.)

Budget
Revenues: $48.6 billion
Expenditures: $53 billion, including capital expenditures of $N/A (1994 est.)

Fiscal year: calendar year

Exports
Total value: $41.7 billion (f.o.b., 1995)
Commodities: petroleum and petroleum products 43%, metals and products 11%, foodstuffs (mostly fish) 9%, chemicals and raw materials 25%, natural gas 6.0%, ships 5.4%
Partners: EU 77.2% (UK 19.8%, Germany 12.7%, Netherlands 9.1%, France 7.8%, Sweden 9.8%), US 6.0% (1995)

Imports
Total value: $32.7 billion (c.i.f., 1995)
Commodities: machinery and equipment and manufactured consumer goods 54%, chemicals and other industrial inputs 39%, foodstuffs 6%
Partners: EU 71.0% (Sweden 15.4%, Germany 13.8%, UK 9.7%, Denmark 7.5%, Netherlands 4.4%), US 6.6% (1995)

Debt external: $NA

Exchange rates: Norwegian kroner (NKr) per US$1 - 6.4475 (January 1997), 6.4498 (1996), 6.3352 (1995), 7.0576 (1994), 7.0941 (1993), 6.2145 (1992)

Electricity
Capacity: 26.43 million kW (1994)
Production: 123.2 billion kWh (1995)
Consumption per capita: 24,586 kWh (1995 est.)

Telephones: 2.39 million (1994 est.), 470,000 mobile phones in use in 1994

Telephone system: high-quality domestic and international telephone, telegraph, and telex services
Domestic: NA domestic satellite earth stations
International: 2 buried coaxial cable systems; 4 coaxial submarine cables; satellite earth stations - NA Eutelsat, NA Intelsat (Atlantic Ocean), and 1 Inmarsat (Atlantic and Indian Ocean Regions); note - Norway shares the Inmarsat earth station with the other Nordic countries (Denmark, Finland, Iceland, and Sweden)

Military expenditures
Dollar figure: $3.7 billion (1995)
Percent of gdp: 2.9% (1995)

Airports: 102 (1996 est.)
With paved runways total: 97
With paved runways over 3047 m: 1
With paved runways 2438 to 3047 m: 11
With paved runways 15-24 to 2437 m: 14
With paved runways 914 to 1523 m: 12
With paved runways under 914 m: 59 (1996 est.)
With unpaved runways total: 5
With unpaved runways 914 to 1523 m: 5 (1996 est.)

Heliports: 1 (1996 est.)

Pipelines: refined products 53 km

Railways
Total: 4,027 km
Standard gauge: 4,027 km 1.435-m gauge (2,422 km electrified; 96 km double track) (1995)

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

Merchant marine
Total: 718 ships (1,000 GRT or over) totaling 19,401,580 GRT/31,740,273 DWT
Ships by type: bulk 102, cargo 106, chemical tanker 83, combination bulk 9, combination ore/oil 33, container 16, liquefied gas tanker 87, multi-function large load carrier 1, oil tanker 148, passenger 14, passenger-cargo 1, railcar carrier 1, refrigerated cargo 10, roll-on/roll-off cargo 49, short-sea passenger 24, vehicle carrier 34
Note: the government has created an internal register, the Norwegian International Ship register (NIS), as a subset of the Norwegian register; ships on the NIS enjoy many benefits of flags of convenience and do not have to be crewed by Norwegians (1996 est.)

Disputes international: territorial claim in Antarctica (Queen Maud Land; Svalbard is the focus of a maritime boundary dispute in the Barents Sea between Norway and Russia

Illicit drugs: minor transshipment point for drugs shipped via the CIS and Baltic states for the European market; increasing domestic consumption of cannabis and amphetamines