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Norway

 Flag of Norway

Last reviewed: 27 January 2010

Country information

Map of Norway

Area (Total): 385,186 km2

  • Mainland: 323,787 km2;
  • Svalbard: 61 022 km2;
  • Jan Mayen: 377 km2

Population: 4,973,029 (Oct 2011)

Population density: 15 people per sq km

Capital City: Oslo: population 599,230 (Jan 2012)

Languages: Two forms of Norwegian, named “bokmål” and “nynorsk”.   Sami is a separate language spoken by the Sami peoples in the northern counties, which has equal status with the Norwegian language.

Religion(s): 78% Church of Norway (Evangelical Lutheran)

National Day: May 17 - celebrating the constitution of Norway as an independent nation in 1814. (Independence from Sweden was on 26 October 1905)

National Anthem: 'Ja, vi elsker dette landet' ('Yes, we love this country')

Political System: Constitutional Monarchy

Government: Prime Minister Jens Stoltenberg’s Centre-left "red-green" coalition with the Socialist and Centre parties narrowly retained its majority in the 2009 election, becoming the first Norwegian government to win a second consecutive term in 16 years.

Head of State: HM King Harald V (1991)

Prime Minister: Jens Stoltenberg (Labour)

Foreign Minister: Jonas Gahr Støre (Labour)

Major Political Parties (Members of the Governing Coalition in bold)
Labour Party (Arbeiderpartiet) (Ap)
Socialist Left (Sosialistisk Venstreparti) (SV)
Centre Party (Senterpartiet) (Sp)
Progress Party (Fremskrittspartiet) (Frp)
Conservative Party (Høyre) (H)
Christian Democrats (Kristelig Folkeparti) (KrF)
Liberals (Venstre (V)

Membership of international groupings/organisations: Arctic Council, Barents Euro-Arctic Council, Council for Baltic Sea States, Council of Europe, European Bank for Reconstruction and Development, European Economic Area, European Free Trade Area, International Bank for Reconstruction and Development, International Civil Aviation Organisation, International Criminal Court, International Monetary Fund, International Maritime Organisation, Interpol, Intelsat, International Whaling Commission, NATO, OSCE, OECD, OSPAR Convention for the Protection of the Marine Environment of the North East Atlantic, Nordic Council of Ministers, Schengen, UN, Western European Union (associate), World Trade Organisation


DID YOU KNOW

  • Although outside the EU, it has adopted more EU legislation into domestic law than any EU country except Denmark.
  • It has 100% literacy.
  • It has one of the longest coastlines in the world (83,281 km), helped by nearly 50,000 islands.
  • It is home to the world’s northernmost brewery (Tromsø).
  • It has no external debt.
  • The first UN General Secretary was a Norwegian (Trygve Lie).
  • Manchester United and Liverpool fan clubs have more Norwegian members than any other nationality.
  • It has the highest female employment rate in Europe (74% of all adult females).
  • It has the world’s longest road tunnel (24.5km).
  • 99% of electricity generated in Norway is produced hydro-electrically.
  • Norway regularly tops the UN survey of Human Development in the following areas: life expectancy, access to tertiary education and average income.
  • The Norwegian Pension Fund was worth around £358 billion in January 2012, equivalent to around £67,000 for every man, woman and child in Norway. This makes it the second largest sovereign wealth fund in the world.
  • Norway is the world's fifteenth-largest oil producer and seventh largest gas exporter (2010).
  • In 2010, Norway exported 37 Million Tonnes of crude oil to the UK (48% of its total crude oil exports) and 29 Million Sm3 (Roughly a third of its total natural gas exports)

Country information

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Travel advice: Norway  


General Information

British-Norwegian Chamber of Commerce
c/o Postbooks 925 Sentrum
0104 Oslo
Tel: +47 22 41 85 50
Fax: +47 22 41 85 45
E-mail: mail@crestfielv.org

Anglo-Norse Society
c/o British Embassy (in Norway)
or
c/o Norwegian Embassy (in UK)

Scottish Norwegian Society
36 Randolph Road
Glasgow G11 7LG
Tel: 0141 334 2260
e-mail: grakar@bt.internet.com   


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