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

• 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

total:

40.8 years (2024 est.)

male:

40.1 years

female:

41.5 years

• 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

at birth:

1.05 male(s)/female

0-14 years:

1.05 male(s)/female

15-64 years:

1.05 male(s)/female

65 years and over:

0.9 male(s)/female

total population:

1.02 male(s)/female (2024 est.)

total:

1.8 deaths/1,000 live births (2024 est.)

male:

2.1 deaths/1,000 live births

female:

1.5 deaths/1,000 live births

total population:

82.9 years (2024 est.)

male:

81.3 years

female:

84.6 years

total:

6.05 liters of pure alcohol (2019 est.)

beer:

2.63 liters of pure alcohol (2019 est.)

wine:

2.23 liters of pure alcohol (2019 est.)

spirits:

1 liters of pure alcohol (2019 est.)

other alcohols:

0.19 liters of pure alcohol (2019 est.)

total:

16.2% (2020 est.)

male:

17% (2020 est.)

female:

15.4% (2020 est.)

total population:

NA

male:

NA

female:

NA

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

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

urban population:

84% of total population (2023)

rate of urbanization:

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

note: data include Svalbard and Jan Mayen Islands

particulate matter emissions:

6.3 micrograms per cubic meter (2019 est.)

carbon dioxide emissions:

41.02 megatons (2016 est.)

methane emissions:

4.81 megatons (2020 est.)

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:

780 million cubic meters (2020 est.)

industrial:

1.07 billion cubic meters (2020 est.)

agricultural:

840 million cubic meters (2020 est.)

total global geoparks and regional networks:

4

global geoparks and regional networks:

• Gea Norvegica;
• Magma;
• Sunnhordland;
• Trollfjell (2023)

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 (union with Sweden declared 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 2023

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

chief of state:

King HARALD V (since 17 January 1991)

head of government:

Prime Minister Jonas Gahr STORE (since 14 October 2021)

cabinet:

Council of State appointed by the monarch, approved by Parliament

elections/appointments:

the monarchy is hereditary; following parliamentary elections, the leader of the majority party or majority coalition usually appointed prime minister by the monarch with the approval of the parliament

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 by 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 - men 94, women 75, percentage women 44.4%

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;
• 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
• Christian Democratic Party or KrF
• Conservative Party or H
• Green Party or MDG
• Labor Party or Ap
• Liberal Party or V
• Patient Focus or PF
• Progress Party or FrP
• Red Party or R
• Socialist Left Party or SV

chief of mission:

Ambassador Anniken Scharning HUITFELDT (since 18 September 2024)

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:

New York, San Francisco

chief of mission:

Ambassador (vacant); Chargé d'Affaires Sharon HUDSON-DEAN (since February 2024)

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 King," serves as the royal anthem

total World Heritage Sites:

8 (7 cultural, 1 natural)

selected World Heritage Site locales:

• Bryggen (c);
• Urnes Stave Church (c);
• Røros Mining Town and the Circumference (c);
• Rock Art of Alta (c);
• Vegaøyan – The Vega Archipelago (c);
• Struve Geodetic Arc (c);
• West Norwegian Fjords – Geirangerfjord and Nærøyfjord (n);
• Rjukan-Notodden Industrial Heritage Site (c)

• high-income, non-EU economy with trade links via European Economic Area (EEA);
• key European energy security role as leader in oil, gas, and electricity exports;
• major fishing, forestry, and extraction industries;
• oil sovereign fund supports generous welfare system;
• low unemployment;
• inflation and response hampering growth in non-energy sectors

Fitch rating:

AAA (1995)

Moody's rating:

Aaa (1997)

Standard & Poors rating: AAA (1975)

note: The year refers to the year in which the current credit rating was first obtained.

agriculture:

2.1% (2023 est.)

industry:

39% (2023 est.)

services:

50% (2023 est.)

note: figures may not total 100% due to non-allocated consumption not captured in sector-reported data

total:

11% (2023 est.)

male:

11.3% (2023 est.)

female:

10.6% (2023 est.)

note: % of labor force ages 15-24 seeking employment

on food:

12.4% of household expenditures (2022 est.)

on alcohol and tobacco:

4% of household expenditures (2022 est.)

lowest 10%:

3.4% (2019 est.)

highest 10%:

22.4% (2019 est.)

note: % share of income accruing to lowest and highest 10% of population

production:

117,000 metric tons (2022 est.)

consumption:

1.201 million metric tons (2022 est.)

exports:

84,000 metric tons (2022 est.)

imports:

1.204 million metric tons (2022 est.)

proven reserves:

2 million metric tons (2022 est.)

total petroleum production:

2.02 million bbl/day (2023 est.)

refined petroleum consumption:

229,000 bbl/day (2023 est.)

crude oil estimated reserves:

8.122 billion barrels (2021 est.)

production:

123.727 billion cubic meters (2022 est.)

consumption:

4.548 billion cubic meters (2022 est.)

exports:

121.285 billion cubic meters (2022 est.)

imports:

67.96 million cubic meters (2022 est.)

proven reserves:

1.544 trillion cubic meters (2021 est.)

general assessment:

Norway has a sophisticated telecom market with high broadband and mobile penetration rates and a highly developed digital media sector. Although not a member of the European Union, the country’s telecoms sector is synchronized with relevant EC legislation; Norway enjoys near comprehensive LTE coverage with upgrades to 5G technologies in the future (2023)

domestic:

fixed-line is 7 per 100 and mobile-cellular nearly 110 per 100 (2021)

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 - Eutelsat, 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)

total ports:

141 (2024)

large:

1

medium:

10

small:

34

very small:

90

size unknown:

6

ports with oil terminals:

54

key ports:

Bergen, Drammen, Hammerfest, Harstad, Horten, Karsto, Mongstad, Oslo, Stavanger, Tromso, Trondheim

• the military's inventory includes a mix of modern, imported Western European and US, as well as domestically produced weapons systems and equipment;
• in 2024, the Norwegian Government announced a new defense plan which would double defense spending over the following 12 years with priorities placed in such areas as the acquisition of air defenses and naval capabilities;
• Norway has a defense industry with a focus in niche capabilities and participates in joint development and production of weapons systems with other European countries (2024)