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

total:

2.4 cu km/yr (23%/67%/10%)

per capita:

519 cu m/yr (1996)

• 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

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:

0.74 male(s)/female

total population:

0.98 male(s)/female (2008 est.)

noun:

Norwegian(s)

adjective:

Norwegian

conventional long form:

Kingdom of Norway

conventional short form:

Norway

local long form:

Kongeriket Norge

local short form:

Norge

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

• 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

• modified unicameral Parliament or Storting (169 seats; members are elected by popular vote by proportional representation to serve four-year terms);
• note - in 2009 the number of seats will change to 165

elections:

last held 12 September 2005 (next to be held in 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%, other 3.1%;
• 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 in the Lagting and three-fourths of its membership in the Odelsting

• Center Party [Aslaug Marie HAGA];
• Christian People's Party [Dagfinn HOYBRATEN];
• Conservative Party [Erna SOLBERG];
• Labor Party [Jens STOLTENBERG];
• Liberal Party [Lars SPONHEIM];
• Progress Party [Siv JENSEN];
• Socialist Left Party [Kristin HALVORSEN]

• Norwegian Aid Committee or NORWAC;
• Norwegian Association of the Disabled;
• Pure Salmon Campaign;
• The Consumer Council (consumer advocacy group)

other:

• environmental groups;
• media;
• reform movements

chief of mission:

Ambassador Wegger C. STROMMEN

chancery:

2720 34th Street NW, Washington, DC 20008

telephone:

[1] (202) 333-6000

FAX:

[1] (202) 337-0870

consulate(s) general:

Houston, Minneapolis, New York, San Francisco

chief of mission:

Ambassador Benson K. WHITNEY

embassy:

Henrik Ibsens gate 48, 0244 Oslo; note - the embassy will move to Huseby in the near future

mailing address:

PSC 69, Box 1000, APO AE 09707

telephone:

[47] (22) 44 85 50

FAX:

[47] (22) 44 33 63, 56 27 51

• 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)

agriculture:

4%

industry:

22%

services:

74% (1995)

lowest 10%:

3.9%

highest 10%:

23.4% (2000)

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

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;
• submarine cables provide links to other Nordic countries and Europe;
• 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)

total:

4,114 km

standard gauge:

4,114 km 1.435-m gauge (2,552 km electrified) (2008)

total:

92,946 km

paved:

72,033 km (includes 664 km of expressways)

unpaved:

20,913 km (2007)

• 18-44 years of age for male compulsory military service;
• 16 years of age in wartime;
• 17 years of age for male volunteers;
• 18 years of age for women;
• 12-month service obligation, in practice shortened to 8 to 9 months;
• although all males between ages of 18 and 44 are liable for service, in practice they are seldom called to duty after age 30;
• reserve obligation to age 35-60;
• 16 years of age for volunteers to the Home Guard, who serve 6-month duty tours (2006)

males age 16-49:

1,078,181

females age 16-49:

1,046,550 (2008 est.)

males age 16-49:

888,101

females age 16-49:

862,159 (2008 est.)

male:

32,185

female:

30,683 (2008 est.)

• Norway asserts a territorial claim in Antarctica (Queen Maud Land and its continental shelf);
• despite dialogue, 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