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

• 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

• Bokmal Norwegian (official), Nynorsk Norwegian (official), small Sami- and Finnish-speaking minorities;
• note - Sami has three dialects:
  • Lule,
  • North Sami,
  • and South Sami
  ;
• Sami is an official language in nine municipalities in Norway's three northernmost counties:
  • Finnmark,
  • Nordland,
  • and Troms

major-language sample(s):

Verdens Faktabok, den essensielle kilden for grunnleggende informasjon. (Norwegian); The World Factbook, the indispensable source for basic information.

• 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.)

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

particulate matter emissions:

7.02 micrograms per cubic meter (2016 est.)

carbon dioxide emissions:

41.02 megatons (2016 est.)

methane emissions:

4.81 megatons (2020 est.)

• temperate along coast, modified by North Atlantic Current;
• colder interior with increased precipitation and colder summers;
• rainy year-round on west coast

urban population:

83.3% of total population (2021)

rate of urbanization:

1.32% annual rate of change (2020-25 est.)

note: data include Svalbard and Jan Mayen Islands

municipal solid waste generated annually:

2.187 million tons (2015 est.)

municipal solid waste recycled annually:

572,119 tons (2015 est.)

percent of municipal solid waste recycled:

26.2% (2015 est.)

municipal:

775.3 million cubic meters (2017 est.)

industrial:

1.071 billion cubic meters (2017 est.)

agricultural:

844.9 million cubic meters (2017 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

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 list proportional representation vote; members serve 4-year terms)

elections:

last held on 13 September 2021 (next to be held on 30 September 2025)

election results:

• percent of vote by party - Ap 26.3%, H 20.5%, SP 13.6%, FrP 11.7%, SV 7.6%, R 4.7%, V 4.6%, MDG 3.9%, KrF 3.8%, PF 0.2%, other 3.1%;
• seats by party - Ap 48, H 36, SP 28, FrP 21, SV 13, R 8, V 8, , KrF 3, MDG 3, PF 1;
• composition (as of October 2021) men 93, women 76, percent of women 45%

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 [Olaug BOLLESTAD]
• Conservative Party or H [Erna SOLBERG]
• Green Party or MDG [Une Aina BASTHOLM]
• Labor Party or Ap [Jonas Gahr STORE]
• Liberal Party or V [Guri MELBY]
• Patient Focus or PF [Irene OJALA]
• Progress Party or FrP [Sylvi LISTHAUG]
• 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

email address and website:

[email protected]; https://www.norway.no/en/usa/

consulate(s) general:

Houston, New York, San Francisco

chief of mission:

Ambassador (vacant); Charge d'Affaires Sharon HUDSON-DEAN (since 29 July 2021)

embassy:

Morgedalsvegen 36, 0378 Oslo

mailing address:

5460 Oslo Place, Washington DC 20521-5460

telephone:

[47] 21-30-85-40

FAX:

[47] 22-56-27-51

email address and website:

[email protected]; https://no.usembassy.gov/

• 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)

agriculture:

2.1%

industry:

19.3%

services:

78.6% (2016 est.)

total:

11.3%

male:

12.1%

female:

10.5% (2020 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:

1,644

by type:

bulk carrier 109, container ship 1, general cargo 242, oil tanker 96, other 1,196 (2021)

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 a variety of other countries, including
  • France,
  • Italy,
  • South Korea,
  • and Spain (2020)

Norway is a member of NATO and was one of the original 12 countries to sign the North Atlantic Treaty (also known as the Washington Treaty) in 1949

the Norwegian Armed Forces cooperate closely with the militaries of other Nordic countries through the Nordic Defense Cooperation (NORDEFCO), which consists of Denmark, Finland, Iceland, Norway, and Sweden; areas of cooperation include armaments, education, human resources, training and exercises, and operations; NORDEFCO was established in 2009 (2021)

• 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):

15,311 (Syria), 12,520 (Eritrea), 5,263 (Somalia) (2020)

stateless persons:

4,206 (2020)