1995 Edition

Area

total area: 324,220 sq km land area: 307,860 sq km 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

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 85, 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 83, Wetlands, Whaling; signed, but not ratified - Air Pollution-Sulphur 94, Desertification, Law of the Sea, Tropical Timber 94

International disputes

territorial claim in Antarctica (Queen Maud Land); maritime boundary dispute with Russia over portion of Barents Sea

Irrigated land

950 sq km (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 Sea and the North Atlantic Ocean, west of Sweden

Map references

Europe

Maritime claims

contiguous zone: 10 nm continental shelf: 200 nm 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; 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

Terrain

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

Age structure

0-14 years: 19% (female 390,344; male 444,570) 15-64 years: 65% (female 1,375,493; male 1,424,027) 65 years and over: 16% (female 408,675; male 287,842) (July 1995 est.)

Birth rate

12.86 births/1,000 population (1995 est.)

Death rate

10.35 deaths/1,000 population (1995 est.)

Ethnic divisions

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

Infant mortality rate

6.1 deaths/1,000 live births (1995 est.)

Labor force

2.13 million by occupation: services 71%, industry 23%, agriculture, forestry, and fishing 6% (1992)

Languages

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

Life expectancy at birth

total population: 77.61 years male: 74.26 years female: 81.15 years (1995 est.)

Literacy

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

Nationality

noun: Norwegian(s) adjective: Norwegian

Net migration rate

1.15 migrant(s)/1,000 population (1995 est.)

Population

4,330,951 (July 1995 est.)

Population growth rate

0.37% (1995 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

1.76 children born/woman (1995 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

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: [1] (202) 333-6000

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

FAX

[1] (202) 337-0870 consulate(s) general: Houston, Los Angeles, Minneapolis, New York, and San Francisco consulate(s): Miami

[47] 22 44 33 63

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)

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

modified unicameral Parliament (Storting) which, for certain purposes, divides itself into two chambers

Member of

AfDB, AsDB, Australia Group, BIS, CBSS, CCC, CE, CERN, EBRD, ECE, EFTA, ESA, FAO, GATT, IADB, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, ICC, ICFTU, ICRM, IDA, IEA, IFAD, IFC, IFRCS, ILO, IMF, IMO, INMARSAT, INTELSAT, INTERPOL, IOC, IOM, ISO, ITU, MTCR, NACC, NAM (guest), NATO, NC, NEA, NIB, NSG, OECD, OSCE, PCA, UN, UNAVEM II, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNHCR, UNIDO, UNIFIL, UNIKOM, UNITAR, UNMOGIP, UNOMOZ, UNPROFOR, UNTSO, UPU, WEU (associate), 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, Thorbjorn JAGLUND; Conservative Party, Jan PETERSEN; Center Party, Anne ENGER LAHNSTEIN; Christian People's Party, Kjell Magne BONDEVIK; Socialist Left, Kjellbjorg LUNDE; Norwegian Communist, Kare Andre NILSEN; Progress Party, Carl I. HAGEN; Liberal, Odd Einar DORUM; Left Party; Red Electoral Alliance, Erling FOLKVORD

Storting

elections last held 13 September 1993 (next to be held September 1997); results - Labor 37.1%, Center Party 18.5%, Conservatives 15.6%, Christian People's 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 People's 13, Socialist Left 13, Progress 10, Left Party 1, Red Electoral Alliance 1, unawarded 10 note: for certain purposes, the Storting divides itself into two chambers and elects one-fourth of its membership to an upper house or Lagting

Suffrage

18 years of age; universal

Type

constitutional monarchy

US diplomatic representation

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

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; fish catch of 1.76 million metric tons in 1989

Budget

revenues: $50.9 billion expenditures: $55.5 billion, including capital expenditures of $NA (1994 est.)

Currency

1 Norwegian krone (NKr) = 100 oere

Economic aid

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

Electricity

capacity: 27,280,000 kW production: 118 billion kWh consumption per capita: 23,735 kWh (1993)

Exchange rates

Norwegian kroner (NKr) per US$1 - 6.7014 (January 1995), 7.0469 (1994), 7.0941 (1993), 6.2145 (1992), 6.4829 (1991), 6.2597 (1990)

Exports

$36.6 billion (f.o.b., 1994) 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

$NA

Fiscal year

calendar year

Illicit drugs

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

Imports

$29.3 billion (c.i.f., 1994) 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)

Industrial production

growth rate 4.6% (1994); accounts for 14% of GDP

Industries

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

Inflation rate (consumer prices)

1.3% (1994 est.)

National product

GDP - purchasing power parity - $95.7 billion (1994 est.)

National product per capita

$22,170 (1994 est.)

National product real growth rate

5.5% (1994 est.)

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. Norway imports more than half its food needs. 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 is currently running at 8.4% - including those in job programs - because of the weakness of the economy outside the oil sector. Economic growth, only 1.6% in 1993, moved up to 5.5% in 1994. Oslo opted to stay out of the EU during a referendum in November 1994.

Unemployment rate

8.4% (including people in job-training programs; 1994 est.)

Radio

broadcast stations: AM 46, FM 493 (350 private and 143 government), shortwave 0 radios: 3.3 million

Telephone system

3,102,000 telephones; high-quality domestic and international telephone, telegraph, and telex services local: NA intercity: domestic earth stations international: 2 buried coaxial cable systems; 4 coaxial submarine cables; EUTELSAT, INTELSAT (Atlantic Ocean), and MARISAT earth stations

Television

broadcast stations: 54 (repeaters 2,100) televisions: 1.5 million

Airports

total: 104 with paved runways over 3,047 m: 1 with paved runways 2,438 to 3,047 m: 12 with paved runways 1,524 to 2,437 m: 13 with paved runways 914 to 1,523 m: 10 with paved runways under 914 m: 62 with unpaved runways 914 to 1,523 m: 6

Highways

total: 88,922 km paved: 61,356 km (75 km of expressway) unpaved: gravel, crushed stone, earth 27,566 km (1990)

Inland waterways

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

Merchant marine

total: 764 ships (1,000 GRT or over) totaling 20,793,968 GRT/35,409,472 DWT ships by type: bulk 159, cargo 92, chemical tanker 85, combination bulk 8, combination ore/oil 28, container 17, liquefied gas tanker 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

Pipelines

refined products 53 km

Ports

Bergen, Drammen, Flora, Hammerfest, Harstad, Haugesund, Kristiansand, Larvik, Narvik, Oslo, Porsgrunn, Stavanger, Tromso, Trondheim

Railroads

total: 4,026 km standard gauge: 4,026 km 1.435-m gauge (2,422 km electrified; 96 km double track) (1994)

Branches

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

Defense expenditures

exchange rate conversion - $3.4 billion, 3.2% of GDP (1994) ________________________________________________________________________ OMAN

Manpower availability

males age 15-49 1,116,130; males fit for military service 928,774; males reach military age (20) annually 29,123 (1995 est.)