Norway

constitutional monarchyIndependence 26 October 1905 (from Sweden)

Norway as the 1994 edition of the CIA World Factbook published it: 127 fields, one of 36 editions from 1990 to 2025.

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CapitalOslo
LocationNordic State, Northern Europe, bordering the North Atlantic Ocean,
1994

Every edition of Norway

Populationas each edition published it
4.31 million July 1994 est. · 4.25m in 1990
Population growth% a year
0.39% 1994 est. · 0.41% in 1993
Median ageyears
Not in this edition 37.7 yrs in 2003
Life expectancyyears at birth
Not in this edition 77.16 yrs in 1993
Fertility ratechildren per woman
1.81 children per woman 1994 est. · 1.8 in 1990
Infant mortalitydeaths per 1,000 live births
6.3 deaths per 1,000 live births 1994 est. · 7 in 1990
GDP per capitaeach edition's own dollars
$20,800 1993 · $17,700 in 1993
GDP real growth% a year
1.6% 1993 · 2.9% in 1993

Geography

Nordic State, Northern Europe, bordering the North Atlantic Ocean, | west of Sweden

25 fields
Coastline
21,925km
(includes mainland 3,419 km, large islands 2,413 km, long fjords, numerous small islands, and minor indentations 16,093 km)
Land boundaries
2,515km
total · Finland 729 km, Sweden 1,619 km, Russia 167 km
Irrigated land
950sq km
(1989)

Location

Nordic State, Northern Europe, bordering the North Atlantic Ocean, west of Sweden

Map references

Arctic Region, Europe, Standard Time Zones of the World

total area

324,220 sq km

land area

307,860 sq km

comparative area

slightly larger than New Mexico

contiguous zone

10 nm

continental shelf

to depth of exploitation

exclusive economic zone

200 nm

territorial sea

4 nm

International disputes

  • territorial claim in Antarctica (Queen Maud Land);
  • dispute between Denmark and Norway over maritime boundary in Arctic Ocean between Greenland and Jan Mayen has been settled by the International Court of Justice;
  • maritime boundary dispute with Russia over portion of Barents Sea

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

Natural resources

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

arable land

3%

permanent crops

0%

meadows and pastures

0%

forest and woodland

27%

other

70%

current issues

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

natural hazards

NA

international agreements

  • party to - Air Pollution, Air Pollution-Nitrogen Oxides, Air Pollution-Sulphur, Air Pollution-Volatile Organic Compounds, Antarctic-Environmental Protocol, Antarctic Treaty, Biodiversity, Climate Change, Endangered Species, Environmental Modification, Hazardous Wastes, Marine Dumping, Nuclear Test Ban, Ozone Layer Protection, Ship Pollution, Tropical Timber, Wetlands, Whaling;
  • signed, but not ratified - Law of the Sea

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

People

22 fields
Population
4,314,604
(July 1994 est.)growth rate: 0.39% (1994 est.)

Per 1,000 population(1994 est.)

Birth
13.32Death
10.44Net migration
1.01

Religions(1980)

Evangelical Lutheran 87.8% (state church)other Protestant and Roman Catholic 3.8%none 3.2%unknown 5.2% (1980)
Labor force
2.004million
(1992)
Literacy
15and over can read and write
age · (1976 est.)

Infant mortality rate

6.3 deaths/1,000 live births (1994 est.)

total population

77.38 years

male

74.02 years

female

80.94 years (1994 est.)

Total fertility rate

1.81 children born/woman (1994 est.)

noun

Norwegian(s)

adjective

Norwegian

Ethnic divisions

Germanic (Nordic, Alpine, Baltic), Lapps (Sami) 20,000

Languages

Norwegian (official)

note

small Lapp- and Finnish-speaking minorities

total population

99%

male

NA%

female

NA%

by occupation

services 39.1%, commerce 17.6%, mining, oil, and manufacturing 16.0%, banking and financial services 7.6%, transportation and communications 7.8%, construction 6.1%, agriculture, forestry, and fishing 5.5% (1989)

Government

Constitutional monarchy

35 fields

Presidential electionpercent of vote

37.1%
Labor 37.1%Center Party 18.5%Conservatives 15.6%Christian Peoples' 8.4%Socialist Left 7.9%Progress 6%Left Party 3.6%Red Electoral Alliance 1.2%

Legislature, 165 seatsone dot, one seat

Labor 67Center Party 32Consevatives 18Christian Peoples' 13Socialist Left 13Progress 10Left Party 1Red Electoral Alliance 1unawarded 10

conventional long form

Kingdom of Norway

conventional short form

Norway

local long form

Kongeriket Norge

local short form

Norge

Type

constitutional monarchy

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

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

Suffrage

18 years of age; universal

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 Gro Harlem BRUNDTLAND (since 3 November 1990)

cabinet

State Council; appointed by the king in accordance with the will of the Storting

Legislative branch

unicameral Parliament (Storting)

Storting

  • elections last held on 13 September 1993 (next to be held September 1997);
  • results - Labor 37.1%, Center Party 18.5%, Conservatives 15.6%, Christian Peoples' 8.4%, Socialist Left 7.9%, Progress 6%, Left Party 3.6%, Red Electoral Alliance 1.2%;
  • seats - (165 total) Labor 67, Center Party 32, Consevatives 18, Christian Peoples' 13, Socialist Left 13, Progress 10, Left Party 1, Red Electoral Alliance 1, unawarded 10

Lagting

Storting elects one-fourth of its member to upper house

Judicial branch

Supreme Court (Hoyesterett)

Political parties and leaders

  • Labor Party, Thorbjorn JAGLUND;
  • Conservative Party, Jan PETERSEN;
  • Center Party, Anne ENGER LAHNSTEIN;
  • Christian People's Party, Kjell Magne BONDEVIK;
  • Socialist Left, Eric SOLHEIM;
  • Norwegian Communist, Ingre IVERSEN;
  • Progress Party, Carl I. HAGEN;
  • Liberal, Odd Einar DORUM;
  • Finnmark List, leader NA;
  • Left Party;
  • Red Electoral Alliance

Member of

AfDB, AsDB, Australia Group, BIS, CBSS, CCC, CE, CERN, COCOM, CSCE, EBRD, ECE, EFTA, ESA, FAO, GATT, IADB, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, ICC, ICFTU, IDA, IEA, IFAD, IFC, ILO, IMF, IMO, INMARSAT, INTELSAT, INTERPOL, IOC, IOM, ISO, ITU, LORCS, MTCR, NACC, NAM (guest), NATO, NC, NEA, NIB, NSG, OECD, ONUSAL, PCA, UN, UNAVEM II, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNHCR, UNIDO, UNIFIL, UNIKOM, UNMOGIP, UNOSOM, UNPROFOR, UNTAC, UNTSO, UPU, WEU (associate), WHO, WIPO, WMO, ZC

chief of mission

Ambassador Kjeld VIBE

chancery

2720 34th Street NW, Washington, DC 20008

telephone

(202) 333-6000

FAX

(202) 337-0870

consulate(s) general

Houston, Los Angeles, Minneapolis, New York, and San Francisco

consulate(s)

Miami

chief of mission

Ambassador Thomas A. LOFTUS

embassy

Drammensveien 18, 0244 Oslo 2

mailing address

PSC 69, Box 1000, APO AE 09707

telephone

[47] 22-44-85-50

FAX

[47] 22-43-07-77

Flag

  • 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

Norway has a mixed economy involving a combination of free market | activity and government intervention.

26 fields
GDP per capita, PPP
$20,800
(1993)
Real growth rate
1.6%
(1993)industrial production growth: growth rate 6.2% (1992); accounts for 14% of GDP
Unemployment rate
5.5%
(excluding people in job-training programs; 1993 est.)

Overview

Norway has a mixed economy involving 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 also maintains an extensive welfare system that helps propel public sector expenditures to slightly more than 50% of the GDP and results in one of the highest average tax burdens in the world (54%). 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 to keep its economy afloat. Although one of the government's main priorities is to reduce this dependency, this situation is not likely to improve for years to come.

The government also hopes to reduce unemployment and strengthen and diversify the economy through tax reform and a series of expansionary budgets. The budget deficit is expected to hit a record 8% of GDP because of welfare spending and bail-outs of the banking system. Unemployment continues at record levels of over 10% - including those in job programs - because of the weakness of the economy outside the oil sector.

Economic growth was only 1.6% in 1993, while inflation was a moderate 2.3%. Oslo, a member of the European Free Trade Area, has applied for membership in the European Union and continues to deregulate and harmonize with EU regulations. Membership is expected in early 1995.

National product

GDP - purchasing power equivalent - $89.5 billion (1993)

revenues

$45.3 billion

expenditures

$51.8 billion, including capital expenditures of $NA (1993)

Exports

$32.1 billion (f.o.b., 1993)

commodities

petroleum and petroleum products 40%, metals and products 10.6%, fish and fish products 6.9%, chemicals 6.4%, natural gas 6.0%, ships 5.4%

partners

EC 66.3%, Nordic countries 16.3%, developing countries 8.4%, US 6.0%, Japan 1.8% (1993)

Imports

$24.8 billion (c.i.f., 1993)

commodities

machinery and equipment 38.9%, chemicals and other industrial inputs 26.6%, manufactured consumer goods 17.8%, foodstuffs 6.4%

partners

EC 48.6%, Nordic countries 25.1%, developing countries 9.6%, US 8.1%, Japan 8.0% (1993)

External debt

$6.5 billion (1992 est.)

capacity

26,900,000 kW

production

111 billion kWh

consumption per capita

25,850 kWh (1992)

Industries

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

Agriculture

  • accounts for 3% of GDP and about 6% of labor force;
  • among world's top 10 fishing nations;
  • livestock output exceeds value of crops;
  • over half of food needs imported;
  • fish catch of 1.76 million metric tons in 1989

Illicit drugs

transshipment point for drugs shipped via the CIS and Baltic states for the European market

donor

ODA and OOF commitments (1970-89), $4.4 billion

Currency

1 Norwegian krone (NKr) = 100 oere

Exchange rates

Norwegian kroner (NKr) per US$1 - 7.4840 (January 1994), 7.0941 (1993), 6.2145 (1992), 6.4829 (1991), 6.2597 (1990), 6.9045 (1989)

Fiscal year

calendar year

Communications

16 fields

Networkskm

Railroads
4,223Inland waterways
1,577
Railroads: ; Norwegian State Railways (NSB) operates 4,219 km (2,450 km electrified and 96 km double track); 4 km other · Inland waterways: ; 2.4 m draft vessels maximum

Railroads

  • 4,223 km 1.435-meter standard gauge;
  • Norwegian State Railways (NSB) operates 4,219 km (2,450 km electrified and 96 km double track);
  • 4 km other

total

88,800 km

paved

38,580 km

unpaved

gravel, crushed stone, earth 50,220 km

Inland waterways

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

Pipelines

refined products 53 km

Ports

Oslo, Bergen, Fredrikstad, Kristiansand, Stavanger, Trondheim

Merchant marine

764 ships (1,000 GRT or over) totaling 20,793,968 GRT/35,409,472 DWT, bulk 159, cargo 92, chemical tanker 85, combination bulk 8, combination ore/oil 28, container 17, liquefied gas 81, oil tanker 162, passenger 13, passenger-cargo 2, railcar carrier 1, refrigerated cargo 13, roll-on/roll-off cargo 54, short-sea passenger 21, vehicle carrier 28

note

  • the government has created a captive 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;
  • the majority of ships (761) under the Norwegian flag are now registered with the NIS

total

103

usable

102

with permanent-surface runways

65

with runways over 3,659 m

0

with runways 2,440-3,659 m

13

with runways 1,220-2,439 m

15

Telecommunications

  • high-quality domestic and international telephone, telegraph, and telex services;
  • 2 buried coaxial cable systems;
  • 3,102,000 telephones;
  • broadcast stations - 46 AM, 350 private and 143 government FM, 54 (2,100 repeaters) TV;
  • 4 coaxial submarine cables;
  • 3 communications satellite earth stations operating in the EUTELSAT, INTELSAT (1 Atlantic Ocean), MARISAT, and domestic systems

Defense Forces

Norwegian Army, Royal Norwegian Navy, Royal Norwegian Air Force, Home | Guard

3 fields

Branches

Norwegian Army, Royal Norwegian Navy, Royal Norwegian Air Force, Home Guard

Manpower availability

  • males age 15-49 1,119,405;
  • fit for military service 932,438;
  • reach military age (20) annually 30,557 (1994 est.)

Defense expenditures

exchange rate conversion - $3.1 billion, 3.2% of GDP (1993)

Central Intelligence Agency. “Norway.” The World Factbook 1994. Archived by The Factbook, thefactbook.org/norway/1994.

How to cite ← 1993 edition 1995 edition →