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Norway Country Guide

Explore Norway in Europe

Norway with the capital city Oslo is located in Europe (Northern Europe, bordering the North Sea and the North Atlantic Ocean). It covers some 324,220 square kilometres (slightly larger than New Mexico) with 4,644,000 citizens.

Interactive map of Norway

The landscape offers glaciated with mostly high plateaus and rugged mountains broken by fertile valleys, small, scattered plains, coastline deeply indented by fjords and arctic tundra in north. The average density of population is approximately 14 per km². The notable climate conditions in Norway can be described as temperate along coast, modified by North Atlantic Current with colder interior with increased precipitation and colder summers and rainy year-round on west coast. Potential threats by nature are rockslides, avalanches.

To reach someone in Norway dial +47 prior to a number. There are 1,900,000 installed telephones. And there are 5,336,000 registered mobile phones. The cellular networks commonly support frequencies of MHz. Websites registered in this country end with the top level domain ".no". If you want to bring electric equipment on your trip (e.g. laptop power supply), note the local power outlet of .

About the flag and history of Norway

Norway Flag Icon

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); the colors recall Norway's past political unions with Denmark (red and white) and Sweden (blue).


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. 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.



Geography Quick-Facts

SummaryContinent: Europe
Neighbours: Finland, Russia, Sweden
Capital: Oslo
Size324,220 square kilometers (km² or sqkm) or 125,182 square miles (mi² or sqmi)
slightly larger than New Mexico
Population4,644,000
CurrencyName Krone, Currency Code:NOK
Country Top Level Domain (cTLD).no
Telephone Country Prefix+47
Mobile Phone Connections5,336,000
Landline Phone Connections1,900,000

Country Position in World Rankings

Information about single country attributes and how these compare against the rest of the world. The information below is compiled with data from 2013. As such, it may differ a bit to the Information above in the text (which is from 2010).

Geography

Value nameValueWorld Rank
Area323,802 (sq km)68

People and Society

Value nameValueWorld Rank
Population4,722,701 120
Population growth rate0.33 (%)166
Birth rate10.80 (births/1,000 population)177
Death rate9.21 (deaths/1,000 population)61
Net migration rate1.68 (migrant(s)/1,000 population)47
Maternal mortality rate7.00 (deaths/100,000 live births)168
Infant mortality rate3.47 (deaths/1,000 live births)211
Life expectancy at birth80.44 (years)27
Total fertility rate1.77 (children born/woman)159
Health expenditures9.50 (% of GDP)36
HIV/AIDS - adult prevalence rate0.10 (%)150
HIV/AIDS - people living with HIV/AIDS4,000 121
HIV/AIDS - deaths100 147
Obesity - adult prevalence rate21.50 (%)84
Education expenditures7.30 (% of GDP)21
Unemployment, youth ages 15-248.60 (%)116

Economy

Value nameValueWorld Rank
GDP (purchasing power parity)281,700,000,000 46
GDP - real growth rate3.00 (%)111
GDP - per capita (PPP)55,900 9
Labor force2,645,000 109
Unemployment rate3.10 (%)25
Distribution of family income - Gini index25.00 131
Investment (gross fixed)21.40 (% of GDP)79
Taxes and other revenues56.50 (% of GDP)11
Budget surplus (+) or deficit (-)15.20 (% of GDP)5
Public debt30.30 (% of GDP)112
Inflation rate (consumer prices)0.60 (%)7
Central bank discount rate1.75 (%)125
Commercial bank prime lending rate4.40 (%)164
Stock of narrow money149,400,000,000 26
Stock of broad money309,200,000,000 30
Stock of domestic credit694,200,000,000 22
Market value of publicly traded shares250,900,000,000 30
Industrial production growth rate-4.30 (%)161
Current account balance76,100,000,000 7
Exports162,700,000,000 31
Imports86,780,000,000 38
Reserves of foreign exchange and gold49,400,000,000 39
Debt - external659,100,000,000 21
Stock of direct foreign investment - at home192,500,000,000 25
Stock of direct foreign investment - abroad197,500,000,000 23

Energy

Value nameValueWorld Rank
Electricity - production122,200,000,000 (kWh)30
Electricity - consumption110,800,000,000 (kWh)30
Electricity - exports7,123,000,000 (kWh)24
Electricity - imports14,670,000,000 (kWh)14
Electricity - installed generating capacity30,950,000 (kW)28
Electricity - from fossil fuels2.60 (% of total installed capacity)201
Electricity - from hydroelectric plants91.10 (% of total installed capacity)11
Electricity - from other renewable sources2.00 (% of total installed capacity)58
Crude oil - production1,998,000 (bbl/day)15
Crude oil - exports1,759,000 (bbl/day)8
Crude oil - imports19,960 (bbl/day)70
Crude oil - proved reserves5,320,000,000 (bbl)24
Refined petroleum products - production324,000 (bbl/day)41
Refined petroleum products - consumption255,200 (bbl/day)52
Refined petroleum products - exports412,600 (bbl/day)20
Refined petroleum products - imports98,340 (bbl/day)50
Natural gas - production103,100,000,000 (cu m)9
Natural gas - consumption4,809,000,000 (cu m)62
Natural gas - exports98,300,000,000 (cu m)4
Natural gas - proved reserves2,007,000,000,000 (cu m)19
Carbon dioxide emissions from consumption of energy41,800,000 (Mt)68

Communications

Value nameValueWorld Rank
Telephones - main lines in use1,529,000 66
Telephones - mobile cellular5,700,000 100
Internet hosts3,588,000 29
Internet users4,431,000 53

Transportation

Value nameValueWorld Rank
Airports98 60
Railways4,169 (km)39
Roadways93,509 (km)48
Waterways1,577 (km)52
Merchant marine585 19

Military

Value nameValueWorld Rank
Military expenditures1.90 (% of GDP)72

Data based on CIA facts book 2010 & 2013, wikipedia, national statistical offices and their census releases

List of current world heritage sites

NameSince
Bryggen
Bryggen, the old wharf of Bergen, is a reminder of the town’s importance as part of the Hanseatic League’s trading empire from the 14th to the mid-16th century. Many fires, the last in 1955, have ravaged the characteristic wooden houses of Bryggen. ...
1979
Rock Art of Alta
This group of petroglyphs in the Alta Fjord, near the Arctic Circle, bears the traces of a settlement dating from c. 4200 to 500 B.C. The thousands of paintings and engravings add to our understanding of the environment and human activities on the fr ...
1985
Røros Mining Town and the Circumference
Røros Mining Town and the Circumference is linked to the copper mines, established in the 17th century and exploited for 333 years until 1977. The site comprises the Town and its industrial-rural cultural landscapes; Femundshytta, a smelter with its ...
1980
Urnes Stave Church
The wooden church of Urnes (the stavkirke) stands in the natural setting of Sogn og Fjordane. It was built in the 12th and 13th centuries and is an outstanding example of traditional Scandinavian wooden architecture. It brings together traces of Celt ...
1979
Vegaøyan -- The Vega Archipelago
A cluster of dozens of islands centred on Vega, just south of the Arctic Circle, forms a cultural landscape of 103,710 ha, of which 6,930 ha is land. The islands bear testimony to a distinctive frugal way of life based on fishing and the harvesting o ...
2004
West Norwegian Fjords – Geirangerfjord and Nærøyfjord
Situated in south-western Norway, north-east of Bergen, Geirangerfjord and Nærøyfjord, set 120 km from one another, are part of the west Norwegian fjord landscape, which stretches from Stavanger in the south to Andalsnes, 500 km to the north-east. Th ...
2005