1993 Edition

Area

total area: 324,220 km2 land area: 307,860 km2 comparative area: slightly larger than New Mexico

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)

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

International disputes

territorial claim in Antarctica (Queen Maud Land); dispute between Denmark and Norway over maritime boundary in Arctic Ocean between Greenland and Jan Mayen is before the Interntional Court of Justice; maritime boundary dispute with Russia over portion of Barents Sea

Irrigated land

950 km2 (1989)

Land boundaries

total 2,515 km, Finland 729 km, Sweden 1,619 km, Russia 167 km

Land use

arable land: 3% permanent crops: 0% meadows and pastures: 0% forest and woodland: 27% other: 70%

Location

Northern Europe, bordering the North Atlantic Ocean, west of Sweden

Map references

Arctic Region, Europe, Standard Time Zones of the World

Maritime claims

contiguous zone: 10 nm continental shelf: to depth of exploitation exclusive economic zone: 200 nm territorial sea: 4 nm

Natural resources

petroleum, copper, natural gas, pyrites, nickel, iron ore, zinc, lead, fish, timber, hydropower

Note

about two-thirds mountains; some 50,000 islands off its much indented coastline

Terrain

glaciated; mostly high plateaus and rugged mountains broken by fertile valleys; small, scattered plains; coastline deeply indented by fjords; arctic tundra in north

Birth rate

13.75 births/1,000 population (1993 est.)

Death rate

10.54 deaths/1,000 population (1993 est.)

Ethnic divisions

Germanic (Nordic, Alpine, Baltic), Lapps 20,000

Infant mortality rate

6.4 deaths/1,000 live births (1993 est.)

Labor force

2.004 million (1992) by occupation: services 39.1%, commerce 17.6%, mining, oil, and manufacturing 16.0%, banking and financial services 7.6%, transportation and communications 7.8%, construction 6.1%, agriculture, forestry, and fishing 5.5% (1989)

Languages

Norwegian (official) note: small Lapp- and Finnish-speaking minorities

Life expectancy at birth

total population: 77.16 years male: 73.79 years female: 80.73 years (1993 est.)

Literacy

age 15 and over can read and write (1976) total population: 99% male: NA% female: NA%

Nationality

noun: Norwegian(s) adjective: Norwegian

Net migration rate

0.87 migrant(s)/1,000 population (1993 est.)

Population

4,297,436 (July 1993 est.)

Population growth rate

0.41% (1993 est.)

Religions

Evangelical Lutheran 87.8% (state church), other Protestant and Roman Catholic 3.8%, none 3.2%, unknown 5.2% (1980)

Total fertility rate

1.86 children born/woman (1993 est.)

Administrative divisions

19 provinces (fylker, singular - fylke); Akershus, Aust-Agder, Buskerud, Finnmark, Hedmark, Hordaland, More og Romsdal, Nordland, Nord-Trondelag, Oppland, Oslo, Ostfold, 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)

Constitution

17 May 1814, modified in 1884

Dependent areas

Bouvet Island, Jan Mayen, Svalbard

Digraph

NO

Diplomatic representation in US

chief of mission: Ambassador Kjeld VIBE chancery: 2720 34th Street NW, Washington DC 20008 telephone: (202) 333-6000

Executive branch

monarch, prime minister, State Council (cabinet)

FAX

(202) 337-0870 consulates general: Houston, Los Angeles, Minneapolis, New York, and San Francisco consulate: Miami

[47] (2) 43-07-77

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 (Hoyesterett)

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)

Member of

AfDB, AsDB, Australia Group, BIS, CBSS, 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, NAM (guest), NATO, NC, NEA, NIB, NSG, OECD, PCA, UN, UNAVEM II, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNHCR, UNIDO, UNIFIL, UNIKOM, UNMOGIP, UNOSOM, UNPROFOR, UNTSO, UPU, WHO, WIPO, WMO, ZC

Names

conventional long form: Kingdom of Norway conventional short form: Norway local long form: Kongeriket Norge local short form: Norge

National holiday

Constitution Day, 17 May (1814)

Political parties and leaders

Labor Party, Gro Harlem BRUNDTLAND; Conservative Party, Kaci Kullmann FIVE; Center Party, Anne ENGER LAHNSTEIN; Christian People's Party, Kjell Magne BONDEVIK; Socialist Left, Eric SOLHEIM; Norwegian Communist, Ingre IVERSEN; Progress Party, 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

18 years of age; universal

Type

constitutional monarchy

US diplomatic representation

chief of mission: (vacant) embassy: Drammensveien 18, 0244 Oslo 2 mailing address: PSC 69, Box 1000, APO AE 09707 telephone: [47] (2) 44-85-50

Agriculture

accounts for 2.6% of GDP and 5.5% 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 $50.6 billion; expenditures $57.0 billion, including capital expenditures of $NA (1992)

Currency

1 Norwegian krone (NKr) = 100 re

Economic aid

donor - ODA and OOF commitments (1970-89), $4.4 billion

Electricity

26,900,000 kW capacity; 111,000 million kWh produced, 25,850 kWh per capita (1992)

Exchange rates

Norwegian kroner (NKr) per US$1 - 6.8774 (January 1993), 6.2145 (1992), 6.4829 (1991), 6.2597 (1990), 6.9045 (1989), 6.5170 (1988)

Exports

$35.3 billion (f.o.b., 1992) commodities: petroleum and petroleum products 37.8%, metals and products 10.7%, natural gas 7.3%, fish 6.6%, chemicals 6.3%, ships 5.4% partners: EC 67%, Nordic countries 18.2%, developing countries 7.9%, US 5.1%, Japan 1.6% (1992)

External debt

$6.5 billion (1992 est.)

Fiscal year

calendar year

Illicit drugs

increasingly used as transshipment point for Latin American cocaine to Europe and gateway for Asian heroin shipped via the CIS and Baltic states for the European market

Imports

$26.8 billion (c.i.f., 1992) commodities: machinery, fuels and lubricants, transportation equipment, chemicals, foodstuffs, clothing, ships partners: EC 48.7%, Nordic countries 26.8%, developing countries 9.3%, US 8.6%, Japan 6.3% (1992)

Industrial production

growth rate 7.3% (1992)

Industries

petroleum and gas, food processing, shipbuilding, pulp and paper products, metals, chemicals, timber, mining, textiles, fishing

Inflation rate (consumer prices)

2.3% (1992)

National product

GDP - purchasing power equivalent - $76.1 billion (1992)

National product per capita

$17,700 (1992)

National product real growth rate

2.9% (1992)

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 agriculture, fishing, and areas with sparse resources. 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 a series of expansionary budgets. The budget deficit is expected to hit a record 8% of GDP because of welfare spending and bail-outs of the banking system. Unemployment continues at record levels of over 10% - including those in job programs - because of the weakness of the economy outside the oil sector. Overall economic growth is expected to be around 2% in 1993 while inflation is likely to rise slightly to 4%. Oslo, a member of the European Free Trade Area, has applied for EC membership and continues to deregulate and harmonize with EC regulations to prepare for the European Economic Area (EEA) - which creates an EC/EFTA market with free movement of capital, goods, services, and labor - to take effect in late 1993 and its EC bid.

Unemployment rate

5.9% (excluding people in job-training programs) (1992)

Airports

total: 103 usable: 102 with permanent-surface runways: 63 with runways over 3,659 m: with runways 2,440-3,659 m: 12 with runways 1,220-2,439 m: 16

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

829 ships (1,000 GRT or over) totaling 22,312,412 GRT/38,532,109 DWT; includes 13 passenger, 20 short-sea passenger, 106 cargo, 2 passenger-cargo, 19 refrigerated cargo, 15 container, 49 roll-on/roll-off, 23 vehicle carrier, 1 railcar carrier, 174 oil tanker, 91 chemical tanker, 82 liquefied gas, 25 combination ore/oil, 201 bulk, 8 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

Branches

Norwegian Army, Royal Norwegian Navy, Royal Norwegian Air Force, Home Guard

Defense expenditures

exchange rate conversion - $3.8 billion, 3.4% of GDP (1992)

Manpower availability

males age 15-49 1,120,744; fit for military service 934,968; reach military age (20) annually 31,903 (1993 est.)