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 Norwegians live in the south where the climate is milder and there is better connectivity to mainland Europe;
• population clusters are found all along the North Sea coast in the southwest, and Skaggerak in the southeast;
• the interior areas of the north remain sparsely populated

• 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 the most rugged and longest coastlines in the world

noun:

Norwegian(s)

adjective:

Norwegian

• most Norweigans live in the south where the climate is milder and there is better connectivity to mainland Europe;
• population clusters are found all along the North Sea coast in the southwest, and Skaggerak in the southeast;
• the interior areas of the north remain sparsely populated

at birth:

1.06 male(s)/female

0-14 years:

1.05 male(s)/female

15-24 years:

1.05 male(s)/female

25-54 years:

1.06 male(s)/female

55-64 years:

1.02 male(s)/female

65 years and over:

0.84 male(s)/female

total population:

1.02 male(s)/female (2016 est.)

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 "nordr" 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

history:

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

amendments:

• 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;
• amended over 400 times, last in 2015 (2016)

citizenship by birth:

no

citizenship by descent only:

at least one parent must be a citizen of Norway

dual citizenship recognized:

no

residency requirement for naturalization:

7 years

description:

unicameral Parliament or Storting (169 seats; members directly elected in multi-seat constituencies by proportional representation vote; members serve 4-year terms)

elections:

last held on 11 September 2017 (next to be held in September 2021)

election results:

• percent of vote by party - Ap 27.4%, H 25%, FrP 15.2%, SP 10.3%, SV 6%, V 4.4%, KrF 4.2%, MDG 3.2%, R 2.4%, other/invalid 1.9%;
• seats by party - Ap 49, H 45, FrP 27, SP 19, SV 11, V 8, KrF 8, MDG 1, R 1

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) upon the recommendation of the Judicial Appointments Board; justice retirement mandatory at age 70

subordinate courts:

• Courts of Appeal or Lagmensrett;
• 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 [Trygve Slagsvold VEDUM]
• Christian Democratic Party or KrF [Knut Arild HAREIDE]
• Conservative Party or H [Erna SOLBERG]
• Green Party or MDG [Rasmus HANSSON and Une Aina BASTHOLM]
• Labor Party or Ap [Jonas Gahr STORE]
• Liberal Party or V [Trine SKEI GRANDE]
• Progress Party or FrP [Siv JENSEN]
• Socialist Left Party or SV [Audun LYSBAKKEN]

chief of mission:

Ambassador Kare Reidar AAS (since 17 September 2013)

chancery:

2720 34th Street NW, Washington, DC 20008

telephone:

[1] (202) 333-6000

FAX:

[1] (202) 459-3990

consulate(s) general:

Houston, New York, San Francisco

chief of mission:

Ambassador (vacant); Charge d'Affaires James P. DEHART (since 12 January 2017)

embassy:

Morgedalsvegen 36, 0378 Oslo;

mailing address:

PSC 69, Box 1000, APO AE 09707

telephone:

[47] 21-30-85-40

FAX:

[47] 22-44-33-63, 22-56-27-51

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

name:

"Ja, vi elsker dette landet" (Yes, We Love This Country)

lyrics/music:

lyrics/music: Bjornstjerne BJORNSON/Rikard NORDRAAK

note: adopted 1864; in addition to the national anthem, "Kongesangen" (Song of the King), which uses the tune of "God Save the Queen," serves as the royal anthem

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

agriculture:

2.1%

industry:

19.3%

services:

78.6% (2016 est.)

lowest 10%:

3.8%

highest 10%:

21.2% (2014)

general assessment:

modern in all respects; one of the most advanced telecommunications networks in Europe

domestic:

Norway has a domestic satellite system; the prevalence of rural areas encourages the wide use of mobile-cellular 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) (2016)

• state-owned public radio-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 roughly another 25 local TV stations broadcasting;
• nearly 75% of households have access to multi-channel cable or satellite TV;
• 2 privately owned radio stations broadcast nationwide and another 240 stations operate locally;
• Norway is the first country in the world to phase out FM radio in favor of Digital Audio Broadcasting (DAB), a process scheduled for completion in late 2017 (2017)

number of registered air carriers:

3; inventory of registered aircraft operated by air carriers: 106

annual passenger traffic on registered air carriers:

12,277,220

annual freight traffic on registered air carriers:

0 mt-km (2015)

total:

4,250 km

standard gauge:

4,250 km 1.435-m gauge (2,518 km electrified) (2014)

country comparison to the world: 41

total:

93,870 km (includes 393 km of expressways)

paved:

75,754 km

unpaved:

18,116 km (2013)

country comparison to the world: 53

total:

1,585

by type:

bulk carrier 99, general cargo 240, oil tanker 80, other 1,166 (2017)

country comparison to the world: 16

major seaport(s):

Bergen, Haugesund, Maaloy, Mongstad, Narvik, Sture

LNG terminal(s) (export):

Kamoy, Kollsnes, Melkoya Island

LNG terminal(s) (import):

Fredrikstad, Mosjoen

• 19-35 years of age for male and female compulsory military service;
• 16 years of age in wartime;
• 17 years of age for male volunteers;
• 18 years of age for women;
• 19-month service obligation (2017)

• Norway asserts a territorial claim in Antarctica (Queen Maud Land and its continental shelf);
• Denmark (Greenland) and Norway have made submissions to the Commission on the Limits of the Continental Shelf (CLCS) and Russia is collecting additional data to augment its 2001 CLCS submission;
• Norway and Russia signed a comprehensive maritime boundary agreement in 2010

refugees (country of origin):

• 15,062 (Eritrea);
• 11,537 (Syria);
• 8,379 (Somalia);
• 6,568 (Afghanistan) (2016)

stateless persons:

3,251 (2016)