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, neutrality was abandoned and Norway became a member of NATO. Discovery of oil and gas in adjacent waters in the late 1960s boosted Norway's economic fortunes. The current focus is on containing spending on the extensive welfare system and planning for the time when petroleum reserves are depleted. In referenda held in 1972 and 1994, Norway rejected joining the EU.

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

62 00 N, 10 00 E

total: 324,220 sq km
land: 307,860 sq km
water: 16,360 sq km

total: 2,542 km
border countries: Finland 727 km, Sweden 1,619 km, Russia 196 km

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)

territorial sea: 12 nm
contiguous zone: 10 nm
exclusive economic zone: 200 nm
continental shelf: 200 nm

temperate along coast, modified by North Atlantic Current; colder interior with increased precipitation and colder summers; rainy year-round on west coast

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

lowest point: Norwegian Sea 0 m
highest point: Galdhopiggen 2,469 m

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

arable land: 2.7%
permanent crops: 0%
other: 97.3% (2005)

1,270 sq km (2003)

rockslides, avalanches

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

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 the world

4,610,820 (July 2006 est.)

0-14 years: 19.3% (male 455,122/female 434,009)
15-64 years: 65.9% (male 1,542,439/female 1,496,745)
65 years and over: 14.8% (male 288,509/female 393,996) (2006 est.)

total: 38.4 years
male: 37.6 years
female: 39.3 years (2006 est.)

0.38% (2006 est.)

11.46 births/1,000 population (2006 est.)

9.4 deaths/1,000 population (2006 est.)

1.73 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2006 est.)

at birth: 1.05 male(s)/female
under 15 years: 1.05 male(s)/female
15-64 years: 1.03 male(s)/female
65 years and over: 0.73 male(s)/female
total population: 0.98 male(s)/female (2006 est.)

total: 3.67 deaths/1,000 live births
male: 4.03 deaths/1,000 live births
female: 3.29 deaths/1,000 live births (2006 est.)

total population: 79.54 years
male: 76.91 years
female: 82.31 years (2006 est.)

1.78 children born/woman (2006 est.)

0.1% (2001 est.)

2,100 (2001 est.)

less than 100 (2003 est.)

noun: Norwegian(s)
adjective: Norwegian

Norwegian, Sami 20,000

Church of Norway 85.7%, Pentecostal 1%, Roman Catholic 1%, other Christian 2.4%, Muslim 1.8%, other 8.1% (2004)

Bokmal Norwegian (official), Nynorsk Norwegian (official), small Sami- and Finnish-speaking minorities; note - Sami is official in six municipalities

definition: age 15 and over can read and write
total population: 100%
male: 100%
female: 100%

conventional long form: Kingdom of Norway
conventional short form: Norway
local long form: Kongeriket Norge
local short form: Norge

constitutional monarchy

Oslo

19 counties (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

Bouvet Island, Jan Mayen, Svalbard

7 June 1905 (Norway declared the union with Sweden dissolved); 26 October 1905 (Sweden agreed to the repeal of the union)

Constitution Day, 17 May (1814)

17 May 1814; amended many times

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

18 years of age; universal

modified unicameral Parliament or Storting (169 seats; members are elected by popular vote by proportional representation to serve four-year terms)
elections: last held 12 September 2005 (next to be held September 2009)
election results: percent of vote by party - Labor Party 32.7%, Progress Party 22.1%, Conservative Party 14.1%, Socialist Left Party 8.8%, Christian People's Party 6.8%, Center Party 6.5%, Liberal Party 5.9%, Red Electoral Alliance 1.2%, other 1.9%; seats by party - Labor Party 61, Progress Party 38, Conservative Party 23, Socialist Left Party 15, Christian People's Party 11, Center Party 11, Liberal Party 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

Supreme Court or Hoyesterett (justices appointed by the monarch)

The Norwegian economy is a prosperous bastion of welfare capitalism, featuring 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). The country is richly endowed with natural resources - petroleum, hydropower, fish, forests, and minerals - and is highly dependent on its oil production and international oil prices, with oil and gas accounting for one-third of exports. Only Saudi Arabia and Russia export more oil than Norway. Norway opted to stay out of the EU during a referendum in November 1994; nonetheless, it contributes sizably to the EU budget. The government has moved ahead with privatization. Norwegians worry about that time in the next two decades when the oil and gas will begin to run out; accordingly, Norway has been saving its oil-boosted budget surpluses in a Government Petroleum Fund, which is invested abroad and now is valued at more than $150 billion. After lackluster growth of 1% in 2002 and 0.5% in 2003, GDP growth picked up to 3.3% in 2004 and to 3.7% in 2005.

$194.7 billion (2005 est.)

$257.9 billion (2005 est.)

3.7% (2005 est.)

$42,400 (2005 est.)

agriculture: 2.2%
industry: 37.2%
services: 60.6% (2005 est.)

2.4 million (2005 est.)

agriculture: 4%
industry: 22%
services: 74% (1995)

4.2% (2005 est.)

lowest 10%: 4.1%
highest 10%: 21.8% (1995)

25.8 (2000)

2.1% (2005 est.)

18.6% of GDP (2005 est.)

revenues: $176.1 billion
expenditures: $131.3 billion; including capital expenditures of $NA (2005 est.)

36% of GDP (2005 est.)

barley, wheat, potatoes; pork, beef, veal, milk; fish

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

2.9% (2005 est.)

105.6 billion kWh (2003)

106.1 billion kWh (2003)

5.6 billion kWh (2003)

13.5 billion kWh (2003)

3.22 million bbl/day (2005 est.)

257,200 bbl/day (2003 est.)

3.466 million bbl/day (2001)

88,870 bbl/day (2001)

9.859 billion bbl (1 January 2002)

73.4 billion cu m (2003 est.)

4.14 billion cu m (2003 est.)

50.5 billion cu m (2001 est.)

0 cu m (2001 est.)

2.118 trillion cu m (1 January 2002)

$51.5 billion (2005 est.)

$111.2 billion f.o.b. (2005 est.)

petroleum and petroleum products, machinery and equipment, metals, chemicals, ships, fish

UK 22.3%, Germany 12.9%, Netherlands 9.9%, France 9.6%, US 8.4%, Sweden 6.7% (2004)

$58.12 billion f.o.b. (2005 est.)

machinery and equipment, chemicals, metals, foodstuffs

Sweden 15.7%, Germany 13.6%, Denmark 7.3%, UK 6.5%, China 5%, US 4.9%, Netherlands 4.4%, France 4.3%, Finland 4.1% (2004)

$43.94 billion (2004 est.)

$281 billion; note - Norway is a net external creditor (30 June 2005)

ODA, $1.4 billion (1998)

Norwegian krone (NOK)

calendar year

2.228 million (2003)

4,163,400 (2003)

general assessment: modern in all respects; one of the most advanced telecommunications networks in Europe
domestic: Norway has a domestic satellite system; moreover, the prevalence of rural areas encourages the wide use of cellular mobile systems instead of fixed-wire systems
international: country code - 47; 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) (1999)

AM 5, FM at least 650, shortwave 1 (1998)

360 (plus 2,729 repeaters) (1995)

.no

1,342,667 (2005)

3.14 million (2005)

100 (2005)

total: 67
2,438 to 3,047 m: 13
1,524 to 2,437 m: 12
914 to 1,523 m: 13
under 914 m: 29 (2005)

total: 33
914 to 1,523 m: 6
under 914 m: 27 (2005)

1 (2005)

condensate 411 km; gas 6,199 km; oil 2,213 km; oil/gas/water 746 km; unknown (oil/water) 38 km (2004)

total: 4,077 km
standard gauge: 4,077 km 1.435-m gauge (2,518 km electrified) (2004)

total: 91,916 km
paved: 71,235 km (including 213 km of expressways)
unpaved: 20,681 km (2003)

1,577 km (2002)

total: 694 ships (1000 GRT or over) 15,804,021 GRT/21,843,570 DWT
by type: barge carrier 4, bulk carrier 45, cargo 145, chemical tanker 142, combination ore/oil 16, container 2, liquefied gas 80, passenger/cargo 115, petroleum tanker 72, refrigerated cargo 6, roll on/roll off 21, specialized tanker 2, vehicle carrier 44
foreign-owned: 161 (China 3, Cyprus 2, Denmark 31, Estonia 1, Finland 4, Germany 2, Hong Kong 50, Iceland 3, Italy 4, Japan 1, Lithuania 1, Monaco 3, Netherlands 3, Poland 3, Saudi Arabia 7, Singapore 4, Sweden 22, UK 4, US 13)
registered in other countries: 794 (Antigua and Barbuda 10, Australia 1, The Bahamas 258, Barbados 24, Bermuda 6, Brazil 2, Cambodia 1, Canada 1, Cayman Islands 2, Comoros 1, Cook Islands 1, Cyprus 14, Denmark 3, Dominica 1, Estonia 2, Faroe Islands 4, Finland 1, French Southern and Antarctic Lands 3, Gibraltar 9, Hong Kong 22, Ireland 1, Isle of Man 23, Liberia 46, Malta 43, Marshall Islands 35, Mexico 1, Netherlands 6, Netherlands Antilles 2, Nigeria 1, Panama 57, Portugal 8, Russia 1, Saint Vincent and the Grenadines 17, Singapore 96, Spain 7, Sweden 8, Thailand 30, Tonga 1, UK 40, US 2, unknown 3) (2005)

Borg Havn, Bergen, Mo i Rana, Molde, Mongstad, Narvik, Oslo, Sture

Norwegian Army (Haeren), Royal Norwegian Navy (Kongelige Norske Sjoeforsvaret, RNoN; includes Coastal Rangers and Coast Guard (Kystvakt)), Royal Norwegian Air Force (Kongelige Norske Luftforsvaret, RNoAF), Home Guard (Heimevernet, HV) (2006)

Norway asserts a territorial claim in Antarctica (Queen Maud Land and its continental shelf); despite recent discussions, Russia and Norway continue to dispute their maritime limits in the Barents Sea and Russia's fishing rights beyond Svalbard's territorial limits within the Svalbard Treaty zone