Norway

• 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

• most people live in the south;
• population clusters are found along the North Sea coast in the southwest and Skaggerak in the southeast;
• the interior areas of the north remain sparsely populated

• 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

noun:

Norwegian(s)

adjective:

Norwegian

total:

41 years (2025 est.)

male:

40.1 years

female:

41.5 years

• most people live in the south;
• population clusters are found along the North Sea coast in the southwest and Skaggerak in the southeast;
• the interior areas of the north remain sparsely populated

at birth:

1.05 male(s)/female

0-14 years:

1.05 male(s)/female

15-64 years:

1.05 male(s)/female

65 years and over:

0.9 male(s)/female

total population:

1.02 male(s)/female (2024 est.)

total:

1.8 deaths/1,000 live births (2025 est.)

male:

2.1 deaths/1,000 live births

female:

1.5 deaths/1,000 live births

total population:

82.9 years (2024 est.)

male:

81.3 years

female:

84.6 years

total:

6.05 liters of pure alcohol (2019 est.)

beer:

2.63 liters of pure alcohol (2019 est.)

wine:

2.23 liters of pure alcohol (2019 est.)

spirits:

1 liters of pure alcohol (2019 est.)

other alcohols:

0.19 liters of pure alcohol (2019 est.)

total:

12% (2025 est.)

male:

12.6% (2025 est.)

female:

11.3% (2025 est.)

women married by age 15:

0% (2022)

women married by age 18:

0% (2022)

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

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

urban population:

84% of total population (2023)

rate of urbanization:

1.32% annual rate of change (2020-25 est.)

note: data include Svalbard and Jan Mayen Islands

energy:

31 kt (2022-2024 est.)

agriculture:

99.8 kt (2019-2021 est.)

waste:

33 kt (2019-2021 est.)

other:

6.2 kt (2019-2021 est.)

municipal solid waste generated annually:

4.15 million tons (2024 est.)

percent of municipal solid waste recycled:

35.3% (2022 est.)

municipal:

773.41 million cubic meters (2022 est.)

industrial:

1.071 billion cubic meters (2022 est.)

agricultural:

844.9 million cubic meters (2022 est.)

total global geoparks and regional networks:

5 (2025)

global geoparks and regional networks:

• Gea Norvegica;
• Fjord Coast;
• Magma;
• Sunnhordland;
• Trollfjell (2025)

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 norre and vegr , meaning "northern way," and refers to the long coastline of western Norway

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 name may derive from the Old Norwegian word os , meaning "estuary" and referring to the city's location on a fjord;
• alternatively, the name may come from As, a Scandinavian god, and Lo, a nearby river

• 12 counties ( fylker , singular - fylke );
• Agder, Innlandet, More og Romsdal, Nordland, Oslo, Rogaland, Romsdal, Troms og Finnmark, Trondelag, Vestfold og Telemark, Vestland, Viken (2024)

history:

drafted spring 1814, adopted 16 May 1814, signed by Constituent Assembly 17 May 1814

amendment process:

• 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

citizenship by birth:

no

citizenship by descent only:

at least one parent must be a citizen of Norway

dual citizenship recognized:

yes

residency requirement for naturalization:

7 years

chief of state:

King HARALD V (since 17 January 1991)

head of government:

Prime Minister Jonas Gahr STORE (since 14 October 2021)

cabinet:

Council of State appointed by the monarch, approved by Parliament

election/appointment process:

the monarchy is hereditary; following legislative elections, the monarch usually appoints the leader of the majority party or majority coalition as prime minister, with the approval of Parliament

legislature name:

Parliament (Stortinget)

legislative structure:

unicameral

number of seats:

169 (all directly elected)

electoral system:

proportional representation

scope of elections:

full renewal

term in office:

4 years

most recent election date:

9/8/2025

parties elected and seats per party:

• Labour Party (53);
• Progress Party (47);
• Conservative Party (24);
• Socialist Left Party (9);
• Center Party (9);
• Red Party (9);
• Other (18)

percentage of women in chamber:

40.2%

expected date of next election:

September 2029

highest court(s):

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) on 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

• Center Party or Sp
• Christian Democratic Party or KrF
• Conservative Party or H
• Green Party or MDG
• Labor Party or Ap
• Liberal Party or V
• Patient Focus or PF
• Progress Party or FrP
• Red Party or R
• Socialist Left Party or SV

chief of mission:

Ambassador Anniken Scharning HUITFELDT (since 18 September 2024)

chancery:

2720 34th Street NW, Washington, DC 20008

telephone:

[1] (202) 333-6000

FAX:

[1] (202) 469-3990

email address and website:

[email protected]; https://www.norway.no/en/usa/

consulate(s) general:

New York, San Francisco

chief of mission:

Ambassador (vacant); Chargé d'Affaires Eric MEYER (since August 2024)

embassy:

Morgedalsvegen 36, 0378 Oslo

mailing address:

5460 Oslo Place, Washington DC 20521-5460

telephone:

[47] 21-30-85-40

FAX:

[47] 22-56-27-51

email address and website:

[email protected]; https://no.usembassy.gov/

• 7 June 1905 (union with Sweden declared dissolved);
• 26 October 1905 (Sweden agreed to the repeal of the union);
• notable earlier dates: ca. 872 (traditional unification of 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)

description:

• red with a blue cross outlined in white that extends to the edges of the flag;
• the the cross is shifted to the left side in the style of the Dannebrog (Danish flag)

meaning:

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

total World Heritage Sites:

8 (7 cultural, 1 natural)

selected World Heritage Site locales:

• Bryggen (c);
• Urnes Stave Church (c);
• Røros Mining Town and the Circumference (c);
• Rock Art of Alta (c);
• Vegaøyan – The Vega Archipelago (c);
• Struve Geodetic Arc (c);
• West Norwegian Fjords – Geirangerfjord and Nærøyfjord (n);
• Rjukan-Notodden Industrial Heritage Site (c)

• high-income, non-EU economy with trade links via European Economic Area (EEA);
• key role in European energy security as leader in oil, gas, and electricity exports;
• major fishing, forestry, and oil(?) extraction industries;
• oil sovereign fund supports generous welfare system;
• low unemployment;
• inflation moderating but remains above target level

agriculture:

2% (2024 est.)

industry:

37% (2024 est.)

services:

51.8% (2024 est.)

note: figures may not total 100% due to non-allocated consumption not captured in sector-reported data

total:

11.6% (2024 est.)

male:

12.3% (2024 est.)

female:

10.8% (2024 est.)

note: % of labor force ages 15-24 seeking employment

on food:

11.7% of household expenditures (2023 est.)

on alcohol and tobacco:

3.9% of household expenditures (2023 est.)

lowest 10%:

3.5% (2022 est.)

highest 10%:

22% (2022 est.)

note: % share of income accruing to lowest and highest 10% of population

production:

120,000 metric tons (2023 est.)

consumption:

1.096 million metric tons (2023 est.)

exports:

60,000 metric tons (2023 est.)

imports:

1.042 million metric tons (2023 est.)

proven reserves:

2 million metric tons (2023 est.)

total petroleum production:

2.02 million bbl/day (2023 est.)

refined petroleum consumption:

229,000 bbl/day (2024 est.)

crude oil estimated reserves:

8.122 billion barrels (2021 est.)

production:

121.637 billion cubic meters (2023 est.)

consumption:

5.082 billion cubic meters (2023 est.)

exports:

117.597 billion cubic meters (2023 est.)

imports:

104.744 million cubic meters (2023 est.)

proven reserves:

1.544 trillion cubic meters (2021 est.)

• state-owned public radio and TV broadcaster operates 3 nationwide TV stations, 3 nationwide radio stations, and 16 regional radio stations;
• roughly a dozen privately owned TV stations broadcast nationally, and another 25 locally;
• nearly 75% of households have access to multi-channel cable or satellite TV;
• 2 privately owned radio stations broadcast nationwide, with another 240 local stations;
• Norway was the first country to phase out FM radio in favor of Digital Audio Broadcasting (DAB) (2019)

total ports:

141 (2024)

large:

1

medium:

10

small:

34

very small:

90

size unknown:

6

ports with oil terminals:

54

key ports:

Bergen, Drammen, Hammerfest, Harstad, Horten, Karsto, Mongstad, Oslo, Stavanger, Tromso, Trondheim

• the military has an inventory of modern, domestically produced and imported Western European and US armaments;
• Norway's defense industry participates in joint development and production of weapons systems with other European countries (2025)

• jointly designs and builds satellites with foreign partners, including communications, remote sensing (RS), scientific, and navigational/positional satellites;
• develops and launches sounding rockets;
• researches and produces a range of other space-related technologies, including satellite/space launch vehicle (SLV) and space station components, telescopes, and robotics;
• conducts solar and telecommunications research;
• member of the ESA;
• participates in international programs such as the International Space Station;
• hosts training on the island of Svalbard for Mars landing missions;
• cooperates with a variety of foreign space agencies and industries, including those of Canada, ESA/EU member states, Japan, Russia, and the US;
• has an active and advanced private-sector space industry that works with domestic and foreign space programs (2025)

• 1962 - launched first research rocket
• 1992 - began operating first communications satellite (THOR-1)
• 2010 - built first satellite (AISSat-1) to monitor from polar orbit Automatic Identification Signals from ships (launched by India)
• 2017 - launched two microsatellites (NorSat-1 and -2) to track commercial sea vessels
• 2025 - signed US-led Artemis Accords for space and lunar exploration

refugees:

129,894 (2024 est.)

stateless persons:

1,621 (2024 est.)