Norway ......
facts, facts and even more facts |
The home of Giants, Trolls, Henrik Ibsen and ....., ME |
Introduction |
....a picture that shows a view of a Norwegian fjord. But the country is much more..... |
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.
Location: Northern Europe, bordering the North Sea and the North Atlantic Ocean, west of Sweden Geographic coordinates: 62 00 N, 10 00 E Map references: Europe
Area:
Areacomparative: slightly larger than New Mexico
Land boundaries:
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:
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:
Natural resources: petroleum, copper, natural gas, pyrites, nickel, iron ore, zinc, lead, fish, timber, hydropower
Land use:
Irrigated land: 970 sq km (1993 est.) Natural hazards: NA Environmentcurrent issues: water pollution; acid rain damaging forests and adversely affecting lakes, threatening fish stocks; air pollution from vehicle emissions
Environmentinternational agreements:
Geographynote: 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 is the only NATO member having a land boundary with Russia
Population: 4,438,547 (July 1999 est.)
Age structure:
Population growth rate: 0.4% (1999 est.) Birth rate: 12.54 births/1,000 population (1999 est.) Death rate: 10.12 deaths/1,000 population (1999 est.) Net migration rate: 1.62 migrant(s)/1,000 population (1999 est.)
Sex ratio:
Infant mortality rate: 4.96 deaths/1,000 live births (1999 est.)
Life expectancy at birth:
Total fertility rate: 1.77 children born/woman (1999 est.)
Nationality:
Ethnic groups: Germanic (Nordic, Alpine, Baltic), Lapps (Sami) 20,000 Religions: Evangelical Lutheran 87.8% (state church), other Protestant and Roman Catholic 3.8%, none 3.2%, unknown 5.2% (1980)
Languages:
Norwegian (official)
Literacy:
Country name:
Data code: NO Government type: constitutional monarchy Capital: Oslo Administrative divisions: 19 provinces (fylker, singularfylke); 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: 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:
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)
Judicial branch: Supreme Court or Hoyesterett, justices appointed by the monarch Political parties and leaders: Labor Party [Thorbjorn JAGLAND]; Conservative Party [Jan PETERSEN]; Center Party [Anne ENGER LAHNSTEIN]; Christian People's Party [Valgerd SVARSTAD HAUGLAND]; Socialist Left Party [Kristin HALVORSEN]; Norwegian Communist Party [Kare Andre NILSEN]; Progress Party [Carl I. HAGEN]; Liberal Party [Lars SPONHEIM]; Red Electoral Alliance [Aslak Sira MYHRE] International organization participation: AfDB, AsDB, Australia Group, BIS, CBSS, CCC, CE, CERN, EAPC, 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, MONUA, MTCR, NAM (guest), NATO, NC, NEA, NIB, NSG, OPCW, OSCE, PCA, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNHCR, UNIDO, UNMIBH, UNMOP, UNPREDEP, UPU, WEU (associate), WHO, WIPO, WMO, WTrO, ZC
Diplomatic representation in the US:
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)
Economyoverview: 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. A major shipping nation, with a high dependence on international trade, Norway is basically an exporter of raw materials and semiprocessed goods. The country is richly endowed with natural resourcespetroleum, hydropower, fish, forests, and mineralsand is highly dependent on its oil production and international oil prices. Only Saudi Arabia exports more oil than Norway. Norway imports more than half its food needs. Norway opted to stay out of the EU during a referendum in November 1994. Economic growth in 1999 should drop to about 1%. Despite their high per capita income and generous welfare benefits, Norwegians worry about that time in the 21st century when the oil and gas run out. GDP: purchasing power parity$109 billion (1998 est.) GDPreal growth rate: 2.4% (1998 est.) GDPper capita: purchasing power parity$24,700 (1998 est.)
GDPcomposition by sector:
Population below poverty line: NA%
Household income or consumption by percentage share:
Inflation rate (consumer prices): 2.3% (1998 est.) Labor force: 2.3 million (1998 est.) Labor forceby occupation: services 71%, industry 23%, agriculture, forestry, and fishing 6% (1993) Unemployment rate: 2.6% (yearend 1997)
Budget:
Industries: petroleum and gas, food processing, shipbuilding, pulp and paper products, metals, chemicals, timber, mining, textiles, fishing Industrial production growth rate: 2.7% (1998 est.) Electricityproduction: 103.374 billion kWh (1996)
Electricityproduction by source:
Electricityconsumption: 112.374 billion kWh (1996) Electricityexports: 4.2 billion kWh (1996) Electricityimports: 13.2 billion kWh (1996) Agricultureproducts: oats, other grains; beef, milk; fish Exports: $39.8 billion (f.o.b., 1998) Exportscommodities: petroleum and petroleum products 55%, machinery and equipment, metals, chemicals, ships, fish (1997) Exportspartners: EU 76% (UK 19%, Germany 10%, Netherlands 11%, Sweden 9%, France 8%), US 6% (1997) Imports: $37.1 billion (f.o.b., 1998) Importscommodities: machinery and equipment, chemicals, metals, foodstuffs Importspartners: EU 68% (Sweden 16%, Germany 14%, UK 9%, Denmark 7%, Netherlands 4%), US 6%, Japan 4%(1997) Debtexternal: noneNorway is a net external creditor Economic aiddonor: ODA, $1.4 billion (1998) Currency: 1 Norwegian krone (NKr) = 100 oere Exchange rates: Norwegian kroner (NKr) per US$17.4524 (January 1999), 7.5451 (1998), 7.0734 (1997), 6.4498 (1996), 6.3352 (1995), 7.0576 (1994) Fiscal year: calendar year
Telephones: 2.39 million (1994 est.); 470,000 cellular telephone subscribers (1994)
Telephone system:
high-quality domestic and international telephone, telegraph, and telex
services
Radio broadcast stations: AM 46, FM 493 (350 private and 143 government), shortwave 0 Radios: 3.3 million (1993 est.) Television broadcast stations: 209 (1997) Televisions: 1.5 million (1993 est.)
Railways:
Highways:
Waterways: 1,577 km along west coast; navigable by 2.4 m draft vessels maximum Pipelines: refined petroleum products 53 km Ports and harbors: Bergen, Drammen, Floro, Hammerfest, Harstad, Haugesund, Kristiansand, Larvik, Narvik, Oslo, Porsgrunn, Stavanger, Tromso, Trondheim
Merchant marine:
Airports: 103 (1998 est.)
Airportswith paved runways:
Airportswith unpaved runways:
Heliports: 1 (1998 est.)
Military branches: Norwegian Army, Royal Norwegian Navy (includes Coast Artillery and Coast Guard), Royal Norwegian Air Force, Home Guard Military manpowermilitary age: 20 years of age
Military manpoweravailability:
Military manpowerfit for military service:
Military manpowerreaching military age annually:
Military expendituresdollar figure: NA Military expenditurespercent of GDP: 2.2% (1998)
Disputesinternational: 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 Information obtained from CIA, The World Factbook 1999 and modified. |