1992 Edition
CIA World Factbook 1992 (Project Gutenberg)
Geography
Climate
temperate along coast, modified by North Atlantic Current; colder interior; rainy year-round on west coast
Coastline
21,925 km; includes mainland 3,419 km, large islands 2,413 km, long fjords, numerous small islands, and minor indentations 16,093 km
Comparative area
slightly larger than New Mexico
Contiguous zone
10 nm
Continental shelf
to depth of exploitation
Disputes
territorial claim in Antarctica (Queen Maud Land); Denmark has challenged Norway's maritime claims between Greenland and Jan Mayen; maritime boundary dispute with Russia over portion of Barents Sea
Environment
air and water pollution; acid rain; note - strategic location adjacent to sea lanes and air routes in North Atlantic; one of most rugged and longest coastlines in world; Norway and Turkey only NATO members having a land boundary with Russia
Exclusive economic zone
200 nm
Land area
307,860 km2
Land boundaries
2,515 km total; Finland 729 km, Sweden 1,619 km, Russia 167 km
Land use
arable land 3%; permanent crops 0%; meadows and pastures NEGL%; forest and woodland 27%; other 70%; includes irrigated NEGL%
Natural resources
crude oil, copper, natural gas, pyrites, nickel, iron ore, zinc, lead, fish, timber, hydropower
Terrain
glaciated; mostly high plateaus and rugged mountains broken by fertile valleys; small, scattered plains; coastline deeply indented by fjords; arctic tundra in north
Territorial sea
4 nm
Total area
324,220 km2
People and Society
Birth rate
14 births/1,000 population (1992)
Death rate
10 deaths/1,000 population (1992)
Ethnic divisions
Germanic (Nordic, Alpine, Baltic) and racial-cultural minority of 20,000 Lapps
Infant mortality rate
7 deaths/1,000 live births (1992)
Labor force
2,167,000 (September 1990); services 34.7%, commerce 18%, mining and manufacturing 16.6%, banking and financial services 7.5%, transportation and communications 7.2%, construction 7.2%, agriculture, forestry, and fishing 6.4% (1989)
Languages
Norwegian (official); small Lapp- and Finnish-speaking minorities
Life expectancy at birth
74 years male, 81 years female (1992)
Literacy
99% (male NA%, female NA%) age 15 and over can read and write (1976 est.)
Nationality
noun - Norwegian(s); adjective - Norwegian
Net migration rate
2 migrants/1,000 population (1992)
Organized labor
66% of labor force (1985)
Population
4,294,876 (July 1992), growth rate 0.5% (1992)
Religions
Evangelical Lutheran (state church) 87.8%, other Protestant and Roman Catholic 3.8%, none 3.2%, unknown 5.2% (1980)
Total fertility rate
1.8 children born/woman (1992)
Government
Administrative divisions
19 provinces (fylker, singular - fylke); Akershus, Aust-Agder, Buskerud, Finnmark, Hedmark, Hordaland, More og Romsdal, Nordland, Nord-Trondelag, Oppland, Oslo, OCstfold, Rogaland, Sogn og Fjordane, Sor-Trondelag, Telemark, Troms, Vest-Agder, Vestfold
Capital
Oslo
Chief of State
King HARALD V (since 17 January 1991); Heir Apparent Crown Prince HAAKON MAGNUS (born 20 July 1973)
Communists
15,500 est.; 5,500 Norwegian Communist Party (NKP); 10,000 Workers Communist Party Marxist-Leninist (AKP-ML, pro-Chinese)
Constitution
17 May 1814, modified in 1884
Dependent areas
Bouvet Island, Jan Mayen, Svalbard
Diplomatic representation
Ambassador Kjeld VIBE; Chancery at 2720 34th Street NW, Washington, DC 20008; telephone (202) 333-6000; there are Norwegian Consulates General in Houston, Los Angeles, Minneapolis, New York, and San Francisco, and Consulates in Miami and New Orleans US: Ambassador Loret Miller RUPPE; Embassy at Drammensveien 18, 0244 Oslo 2 (mailing address is APO AE 09707); telephone [47] (2) 44-85-50; FAX [47] (2) 43-07-77
Executive branch
monarch, prime minister, State Council (cabinet)
Flag
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)
Head of Government
Prime Minister Gro Harlem BRUNDTLAND (since 3 November 1990)
Independence
26 October 1905 (from Sweden)
Judicial branch
Supreme Court (Hoiesterett)
Legal system
mixture of customary law, civil law system, and common law traditions; Supreme Court renders advisory opinions to legislature when asked; accepts compulsory ICJ jurisdiction, with reservations
Legislative branch
unicameral Parliament (Storting) with an Upper Chamber (Lagting) and a Lower Chamber (Odelsting)
Long-form name
Kingdom of Norway
Member of
AfDB, AsDB, Australia Group, BIS, CCC, CE, CERN, COCOM, CSCE, EBRD, ECE, EFTA, ESA, FAO, GATT, IADB, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, ICC, ICFTU, IDA, IEA, IFAD, IFC, ILO, IMF, IMO, INMARSAT, INTELSAT, INTERPOL, IOC, IOM, ISO, ITU, LORCS, MTCR, NACC, NATO, NC, NEA, NIB, NSG, OECD, PCA, UN, UNAVEM, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNHCR, UNIDO, UNIFIL, UNIIMOG, UNMOGIP, UNTSO, UPU, WHO, WIPO, WMO, ZC
National holiday
Constitution Day, 17 May (1814)
Political parties and leaders
Labor, Gro Harlem BRUNDTLAND; Conservative, Kaci Kullmann FIVE; Center Party, Anne Enger LAHNSTEIN; Christian People's, Kjell Magne BONDEVIK; Socialist Left, Erick SOLHEIM; Norwegian Communist, Kare Andre NILSEN; Progress, Carl I. HAGEN; Liberal, Odd Einar DORUM; Finnmark List, leader NA
Storting
last held on 11 September 1989 (next to be held 6 September 1993); results - Labor 34.3%, Conservative 22.2%, Progress 13.0%, Socialist Left 10.1%, Christian People's 8.5%, Center Party 6.6%, Finnmark List 0.3%, other 5%; seats - (165 total) Labor 63, Conservative 37, Progress 22, Socialist Left 17, Christian People's 14, Center Party 11, Finnmark List 1
Suffrage
universal at age 18
Type
constitutional monarchy
Economy
Agriculture
accounts for 2.8% of GDP and 6.4% of labor force; among world's top 10 fishing nations; livestock output exceeds value of crops; over half of food needs imported; fish catch of 1.76 million metric tons in 1989
Budget
revenues $47.9 billion; expenditures $52.7 billion, including capital expenditures of $NA (1991)
Currency
Norwegian krone (plural - kroner); 1 Norwegian krone (NKr) = 100 re
Economic aid
donor - ODA and OOF commitments (1970-89), $4.4 billion
Electricity
26,735,000 kW capacity; 121,685 million kWh produced, 28,950 kWh per capita (1991)
Exchange rates
Norwegian kroner (NKr) per US$1 - 6.1956 (January 1992), 6.4829 (1991), 6.2597 (1990), 6.9045 (1989), 6.5170 (1988), 6.7375 (1987)
Exports
$34.2 billion (f.o.b., 1991) commodities: petroleum and petroleum products 36.5%, natural gas 7.5%, fish 7%, aluminum 6%, ships 6.2%, pulp and paper partners: EC 66.5%, Nordic countries 19.5%, developing countries 7.8%, US 4.6%, Japan 1.9% (1991)
External debt
$10.2 billion (1991)
Fiscal year
calendar year
GDP
purchasing power equivalent - $72.9 billion, per capita $17,100; real growth rate 4.1% (1991 est.)
Imports
$25.1 billion (c.i.f., 1991) commodities: machinery, fuels and lubricants, transportation equipment, chemicals, foodstuffs, clothing, ships partners: EC 46.8%, Nordic countries 26.1%, developing countries 12.3%, US 7.8%, Japan 4.7% (1991)
Industrial production
growth rate 4.7% (1991)
Industries
petroleum and gas, food processing, shipbuilding, pulp and paper products, metals, chemicals, timber, mining, textiles, fishing
Inflation rate (consumer prices)
3.5% (1991)
Overview
Norway has a mixed economy involving a combination of free market activity and government intervention. The government controls key areas, such as the vital petroleum sector, through large-scale state enterprises and extensively subsidizes agricultural, fishing, and other sectors. Norway also maintains an extensive welfare system that helps propel public-sector expenditures to slightly more than 50% of the GDP and results in one of the highest average tax burdens in the world (54%). A small country with a high dependence on international trade, Norway is basically an exporter of raw materials and semiprocessed goods, with an abundance of small- and medium-sized firms, and is ranked among the major shipping nations. The country is richly endowed with natural resources - petroleum, hydropower, fish, forests, and minerals - and is highly dependent on its oil sector to keep its economy afloat. Although one of the government's main priorities is to reduce this dependency, this situation is not likely to improve for years to come. The government also hopes to reduce unemployment and strengthen and diversify the economy through tax reform and an expansionary 1992 budget. Forecasters predict that economic growth will rise slightly in 1992 because of public-sector expansion and moderate improvements in private investment and demand. Inflation will remain about 3%, while unemployment continues at record levels of over 5% because of the weakness of the economy outside the oil sector. Oslo, a member of the European Free Trade Area, is continuing to deregulate and harmonize with EC regulations to prepare for the European Economic Area (EEA) - which creates a EC/EFTA market with free movement of capital, goods, services, and labor - which takes effect in 1993.
Unemployment rate
5.4% (1991, excluding people in job-training programs)
Communications
Airports
103 total, 102 usable; 64 with permanent-surface runways; none with runways over 3,659 m; 12 with runways 2,440-3,659 m; 16 with runways 1,220-2,439 m
Civil air
76 major transport aircraft
Highways
79,540 km total; 38,580 km paved; 40,960 km gravel, crushed stone, and earth
Inland waterways
1,577 km along west coast; 2.4 m draft vessels maximum
Merchant marine
864 ships (1,000 GRT or over) totaling 22,978,202 GRT/40,128,177 DWT; includes 12 passenger, 20 short-sea passenger, 118 cargo, 2 passenger-cargo, 19 refrigerated cargo, 16 container, 49 roll-on/roll-off, 22 vehicle carrier, 1 railcar carrier, 180 oil tanker, 93 chemical tanker, 83 liquefied gas, 28 combination ore/oil, 211 bulk, 10 combination bulk; note - the government has created a captive register, the Norwegian International Ship Register (NIS), as a subset of the Norwegian register; ships on the NIS enjoy many benefits of flags of convenience and do not have to be crewed by Norwegians; the majority of ships (777) under the Norwegian flag are now registered with the NIS
Pipelines
refined products 53 km
Ports
Oslo, Bergen, Fredrikstad, Kristiansand, Stavanger, Trondheim
Railroads
4,223 km 1.435-meter standard gauge; Norwegian State Railways (NSB) operates 4,219 km (2,450 km electrified and 96 km double track); 4 km other
Telecommunications
high-quality domestic and international telephone, telegraph, and telex services; 2 buried coaxial cable systems; 3,102,000 telephones; broadcast stations - 46 AM, 350 private and 143 government FM, 54 (2,100 repeaters) TV; 4 coaxial submarine cables; 3 communications satellite earth stations operating in the EUTELSAT, INTELSAT (1 Atlantic Ocean), MARISAT, and domestic systems
Military and Security
Branches
Norwegian Army, Royal Norwegian Navy, Royal Norwegian Air Force, Home Guard
Defense expenditures
exchange rate conversion - $3.8 billion, 3.8% of GDP (1991)
Manpower availability
males 15-49, 1,129,871; 944,290 fit for military service; 33,175 reach military age (20) annually