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

• 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:

0.87 male(s)/female

total population:

1.02 male(s)/female (2020 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

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 2020 (2020)

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 on 13 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 Anniken Ramberg KRUTNES (since 17 September 2020)

chancery:

2720 34th Street NW, Washington, DC 20008

telephone:

[1] (202) 333-6000

FAX:

[1] (202) 469-3990

consulate(s) general:

Houston, New York, San Francisco

chief of mission:

Ambassador (vacant); Charge d'Affaires Richard RILEY (since 17 September 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

Fitch rating:

AAA (1995)

Moody's rating:

Aaa (1997)

Standard & Poors rating: AAA (1975)

• 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)

• 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)

total:

4,200 km (2019)

standard gauge:

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

total:

1,576

by type:

bulk carrier 98, general cargo 216, oil tanker 87, other 1,175 (2019)

major seaport(s):

Bergen, Haugesund, Maaloy, Mongstad, Narvik, Sture

LNG terminal(s) (export):

Kamoy, Kollsnes, Melkoya Island

LNG terminal(s) (import):

Fredrikstad, Mosjoen

• the Norwegian Armed Forces inventory includes mostly imported European and US weapons systems, as well as a limited mix of domestically-produced equipment, particularly small naval craft;
• since 2010, the US is the leading supplier of weapons systems to Norway, followed by France, Italy, South Korea, and Spain (2019 est.)

• 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)

• 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):

14,359 (Syria), 14,038 (Eritrea), 6,518 (Somalia), 5,108 (Afghanistan) (2019)

stateless persons:

2,272 (2019)