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 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

• 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

0-14 years:

17.99% (male 495,403 /female 471,014)

15-24 years:

12.37% (male 340,672 /female 324,088)

25-54 years:

40.98% (male 1,136,373 /female 1,065,138)

55-64 years:

11.72% (male 318,898 /female 310,668)

65 years and over:

16.94% (male 420,178 /female 489,759) (2018 est.)

total dependency ratio:

52.1 (2015 est.)

youth dependency ratio:

27.3 (2015 est.)

elderly dependency ratio:

24.8 (2015 est.)

potential support ratio:

4 (2015 est.)

note: data include Svalbard and Jan Mayen Islands

total:

39.3 years (2018 est.)

male:

38.6 years

female:

40 years

• 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:

1.05 male(s)/female

0-14 years:

1.05 male(s)/female

15-24 years:

1.05 male(s)/female

25-54 years:

1.07 male(s)/female

55-64 years:

1.03 male(s)/female

65 years and over:

0.86 male(s)/female

total population:

1.02 male(s)/female (2018 est.)

total:

2.5 deaths/1,000 live births (2018 est.)

male:

2.8 deaths/1,000 live births

female:

2.2 deaths/1,000 live births

total population:

82 years (2018 est.)

male:

79.9 years

female:

84.1 years

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

etymology:

• the medieval name was spelt "Aslo";
• the "as" component refered either to the Ekeberg ridge southeast of the town ("as" in modern Norwegian), or to the Aesir (Norse gods);
• "lo" refered to "meadow," so the most likely interpretations would have been either "the meadow beneath the ridge" or "the meadow of the gods";
• both explanations are considered equally plausible

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

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 2018 (2018)

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;
• composition - men 99, women 70, percent of women 41.4%

highest courts:

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;
• 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 [Trygve Slagsvold VEDUM]
• Christian Democratic Party or KrF [Kjell Ingolf ROPSTADT]
• 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]
• Red Party or R [Bionar MOXNES]
• Socialist Left Party or SV [Audun LYSBAKKEN]

chief of mission:

Ambassador Kenneth BRAITHWAITE (since 8 February 2018)

telephone:

[47] 21-30-85-40

embassy:

Morgedalsvegen 36, 0378 Oslo

mailing address:

PO Box 4075 AMB 0244 Oslo

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;
• forward leaning in LTE-A developments;
• looking to close 3G and 2G networks by 2025 and preparing for 5G;
• broadband penetration rate is among the best in Europe (2018)

domestic:

• Norway has a domestic satellite system;
• the prevalence of rural areas encourages the wide use of mobile-cellular systems;
• fixed-line 14 per 100 and mobile-cellular 108 per 100 (2018)

international:

• country code - 47;
• landing points for the Svalbard Undersea Cable System, Polar Circle Cable, Bodo-Rost Cable, NOR5KE Viking, Celtic Norse, Tempnet Offshore FOC Network, England Cable, Denmark-Norwary6, Havfrue/AEC-2, Skagerrak 4, and the Skagenfiber West & East submarine cables providing links to other Nordic countries, Europe and the US;
• 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) (2019)

• 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 (2019)

• 19-35 years of age for male and female selective compulsory military service;
• 17 years of age for male volunteers (16 in wartime);
• 18 years of age for women;
• 19-month service obligation;
• conscripts first serve 12 months from 19-28, and then up to 4-5 refresher training periods until age 35, 44, 55, or 60 depending on rank and function. (2019)

number of registered air carriers:

3 (2015)

inventory of registered aircraft operated by air carriers: 106 (2015)

annual passenger traffic on registered air carriers:

12,277,220 (2015)

annual freight traffic on registered air carriers:

0 mt-km (2015)

total:

4,200 km (2019)

standard gauge:

4,200 km 1.435-m gauge (2,480 km electrified) (2019)

total:

1,581

by type:

bulk carrier 102, general cargo 249, oil tanker 81, other 1149 (2018)

major seaport(s):

Bergen, Haugesund, Maaloy, Mongstad, Narvik, Sture

LNG terminal(s) (export):

Kamoy, Kollsnes, Melkoya Island

LNG terminal(s) (import):

Fredrikstad, Mosjoen

• 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):

15,246 (Eritrea), 13,914 (Syria), 7,183 (Somalia), 6,065 (Afghanistan) (2018)

stateless persons:

2,809 (2018)