1994 Edition

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

Agriculture

accounts for 3% of GDP and about 6% 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

Airports

total: 103 usable: 102 with permanent-surface runways: 65 with runways over 3,659 m: with runways 2,440-3,659 m: 13 with runways 1,220-2,439 m: 15

Area

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

Birth rate

13.32 births/1,000 population (1994 est.)

Branches

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

Budget

revenues: $45.3 billion expenditures: $51.8 billion, including capital expenditures of $NA (1993)

Capital

Oslo

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)

Constitution

17 May 1814, modified in 1884

Currency

1 Norwegian krone (NKr) = 100 oere

Death rate

10.44 deaths/1,000 population (1994 est.)

Defense expenditures

exchange rate conversion - $3.1 billion, 3.2% of GDP (1993)

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

Economic aid

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

Electricity

capacity: 26,900,000 kW production: 111 billion kWh consumption per capita: 25,850 kWh (1992)

Environment

current issues: water pollution; acid rain damaging forests and adversely affecting lakes, threatening fish stocks; air pollution from vehicle emissions natural hazards: NA international agreements: party to - Air Pollution, Air Pollution-Nitrogen Oxides, Air Pollution-Sulphur, Air Pollution-Volatile Organic Compounds, Antarctic-Environmental Protocol, Antarctic Treaty, Biodiversity, Climate Change, Endangered Species, Environmental Modification, Hazardous Wastes, Marine Dumping, Nuclear Test Ban, Ozone Layer Protection, Ship Pollution, Tropical Timber, Wetlands, Whaling; signed, but not ratified - Law of the Sea

Ethnic divisions

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

Exchange rates

Norwegian kroner (NKr) per US$1 - 7.4840 (January 1994), 7.0941 (1993), 6.2145 (1992), 6.4829 (1991), 6.2597 (1990), 6.9045 (1989)

Executive branch

chief of state: King HARALD V (since 17 January 1991); Heir Apparent Crown Prince HAAKON MAGNUS (born 20 July 1973) head of government: Prime Minister Gro Harlem BRUNDTLAND (since 3 November 1990) cabinet: State Council; appointed by the king in accordance with the will of the Storting

Exports

$32.1 billion (f.o.b., 1993) commodities: petroleum and petroleum products 40%, metals and products 10.6%, fish and fish products 6.9%, chemicals 6.4%, natural gas 6.0%, ships 5.4% partners: EC 66.3%, Nordic countries 16.3%, developing countries 8.4%, US 6.0%, Japan 1.8% (1993)

External debt

$6.5 billion (1992 est.)

FAX

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

[47] 22-43-07-77

Fiscal year

calendar year

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)

Highways

total: 88,800 km paved: 38,580 km unpaved: gravel, crushed stone, earth 50,220 km

Illicit drugs

transshipment point for drugs shipped via the CIS and Baltic states for the European market

Imports

$24.8 billion (c.i.f., 1993) commodities: machinery and equipment 38.9%, chemicals and other industrial inputs 26.6%, manufactured consumer goods 17.8%, foodstuffs 6.4% partners: EC 48.6%, Nordic countries 25.1%, developing countries 9.6%, US 8.1%, Japan 8.0% (1993)

Independence

26 October 1905 (from Sweden)

Industrial production

growth rate 6.2% (1992); accounts for 14% of GDP

Industries

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

Infant mortality rate

6.3 deaths/1,000 live births (1994 est.)

Inflation rate (consumer prices)

2.3% (1993 est.)

Inland waterways

1,577 km along west coast; 2.4 m draft vessels maximum

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 has been settled by the International Court of Justice; maritime boundary dispute with Russia over portion of Barents Sea

Irrigated land

950 sq km (1989)

Judicial branch

Supreme Court (Hoyesterett)

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)

Lagting

Storting elects one-fourth of its member to upper house

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%

Languages

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

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)

Life expectancy at birth

total population: 77.38 years male: 74.02 years female: 80.94 years (1994 est.)

Literacy

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

Location

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

Manpower availability

males age 15-49 1,119,405; fit for military service 932,438; reach military age (20) annually 30,557 (1994 est.)

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

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, ONUSAL, PCA, UN, UNAVEM II, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNHCR, UNIDO, UNIFIL, UNIKOM, UNMOGIP, UNOSOM, UNPROFOR, UNTAC, UNTSO, UPU, WEU (associate), WHO, WIPO, WMO, ZC

Merchant marine

764 ships (1,000 GRT or over) totaling 20,793,968 GRT/35,409,472 DWT, bulk 159, cargo 92, chemical tanker 85, combination bulk 8, combination ore/oil 28, container 17, liquefied gas 81, oil tanker 162, passenger 13, passenger-cargo 2, railcar carrier 1, refrigerated cargo 13, roll-on/roll-off cargo 54, short-sea passenger 21, vehicle carrier 28 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 (761) under the Norwegian flag are now registered with the NIS

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)

National product

GDP - purchasing power equivalent - $89.5 billion (1993)

National product per capita

$20,800 (1993)

National product real growth rate

1.6% (1993)

Nationality

noun: Norwegian(s) adjective: Norwegian

Natural resources

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

Net migration rate

1.01 migrant(s)/1,000 population (1994 est.)

Note

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 most rugged and longest coastlines in world; Norway and Turkey only NATO members having a land boundary with Russia

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. Economic growth was only 1.6% in 1993, while inflation was a moderate 2.3%. Oslo, a member of the European Free Trade Area, has applied for membership in the European Union and continues to deregulate and harmonize with EU regulations. Membership is expected in early 1995.

Pipelines

refined products 53 km

Political parties and leaders

Labor Party, Thorbjorn JAGLUND; Conservative Party, Jan PETERSEN; 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; Left Party; Red Electoral Alliance

Population

4,314,604 (July 1994 est.)

Population growth rate

0.39% (1994 est.)

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

Religions

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

Storting

elections last held on 13 September 1993 (next to be held September 1997); results - Labor 37.1%, Center Party 18.5%, Conservatives 15.6%, Christian Peoples' 8.4%, Socialist Left 7.9%, Progress 6%, Left Party 3.6%, Red Electoral Alliance 1.2%; seats - (165 total) Labor 67, Center Party 32, Consevatives 18, Christian Peoples' 13, Socialist Left 13, Progress 10, Left Party 1, Red Electoral Alliance 1, unawarded 10

Suffrage

18 years of age; universal

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

Terrain

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

Total fertility rate

1.81 children born/woman (1994 est.)

Type

constitutional monarchy

Unemployment rate

5.5% (excluding people in job-training programs; 1993 est.)

US diplomatic representation

chief of mission: Ambassador Thomas A. LOFTUS embassy: Drammensveien 18, 0244 Oslo 2 mailing address: PSC 69, Box 1000, APO AE 09707 telephone: [47] 22-44-85-50