Norway

Full name of country: Kingdom of Norway

Region: Europe

Official language: Bokmal Norwegian, Nynorsk Norwegian

Population: 5,509,733 (2024 est.)

Nationality: Norwegian(s) (noun), Norwegian (adjective)

Land area: 304,282 sq km (117,484 sq miles)

Water area: 19,520 sq km (7,537 sq miles)

Capital: Oslo

National anthem: "Ja, vi elsker dette landet" (Yes, We Love This Country), Lyrics/Music by: Bjornstjerne Bjornson/Rikard Nordraak

National holiday: Constitution Day, May 17 (1814)

Population growth: 0.59% (2024 est.)

Time zone: UTC +1

Flag: Norway’s flag features a solid red field with a blue Scandinavian cross (outlined in white) set off-center, with the vertical cross placed to the hoist side. The red, white, and blue colors are thought to represent Norway’s previous association with Denmark (red and white) and Sweden (blue).

Independence: June 7, 1905 (Norway declared the union with Sweden dissolved); October 26, 1905 (Sweden agreed to the repeal of the union)

Government type: constitutional monarchy

Suffrage: 18 years of age; universal

Legal system: mixed legal system of civil, common, and customary law; Supreme Court can advise on legislative acts

More than a thousand years ago, Norwegian Vikings established colonies in Iceland and Greenland. During the early years of the eleventh century, Norse explorer Leif Eriksson became the first European to sail to North America. Today, the Kingdom of Norway enjoys a social welfare system and one of the highest standards of living in the world.

Note: unless otherwise indicated, statistical data in this article is sourced from the CIA World Factbook, as cited in the bibliography.

People and Culture

Population: About 84 percent of the people in Norway live in urban areas. The major cities are Oslo, Bergen, and Trondheim. All of these cities are on the coast or on fjords. Trondheim, established in 998, was the original capital of Norway.

The Svalbard Archipelago, north of the mainland, has a mostly Norwegian population.

Approximately eighty thousand Indigenous Sami, or Lapps, live across the northern parts of Norway and Sweden, in an area known as Lapland. The Sami culture is one of the world's oldest.

The Norwegian language occurs in two written forms, which are mutually intelligible. Bokmål is the form used most in cities and schools. Nynorsk (Neo-Norwegian) was developed deliberately in the mid-1800s to protest Danish influence. It is based on several different local village dialects. Both Bokmål and Nynorsk are official languages. The Sami speak the Sami language (Lappish), which is an official language in nine municipalities, and there is also a small Finnish-speaking minority.

The Evangelical Lutheran Church is the established church of Norway, but the constitution guarantees freedom of worship to all religions. Approximately 67.5 percent of Norwegians are Lutheran, 3.1 percent are Catholic, and 3.8 percent adhere to other Christian denominations (2021 estimates). Non-Christian religions include Islam, Orthodox Judaism, and Buddhism.

Indigenous People: Norwegians are Scandinavians and are close relatives of the Danes and Swedes. However, these people did not arrive in what is now Norway until the eighth century. While records are scarce, it is believed that the Sami, one of Europe's largest groups of Indigenous people, have lived in the area for centuries.

The Sami territory, known as Lapland, extends through northern Norway, Sweden, Finland, and Russia. Although the Sami traditionally worked as reindeer herders, few continue in this profession in modern times. In addition to their representation in Norway's government, the Sami are represented by a local authority known as the Sami Parliament.

Education: Virtually all Norwegians are literate. Education is compulsory for children ages six to sixteen. Elementary and lower-secondary education is divided into three stages: the four-year barnetrinnet, three-year mellomtrinnet, and three-year ungdomstrinnet (lower-secondary). Students may then attend upper-secondary school for three years of vocational education or preparation for college.

The cities of Bergen, Oslo, Tromsø, and Trondheim all have universities. In addition, the country supports numerous technical schools.

The University of Oslo boasts one of the biggest libraries in Norway. There are hundreds of public libraries across Norway, which are supported by government grants. Many rural areas are serviced by mobile libraries.

Health Care: A mandatory-participation national health insurance program provides free medical and hospital care as well as sick pay for all Norwegians. The cost of the insurance is shared by the individual, the employer, local governments, and the national government.

Average life expectancy at birth is 82.9 years overall, and 81.3 for men and 84.6 for women (2024 estimates). There are 5.04 doctors for every one thousand people in the country (2020 estimate). Norway ranked second overall (based on data for 2021) on the 2022 United Nations Human Development Index, which measures quality of life and standard of living indicators.

Food: Breakfast generally consists of cereal and open-faced sandwiches of cheese, jam, herring, marmalade, or sliced meat. Goat cheese is a popular sandwich topping. Lunch and late supper also feature sandwiches.

Generally, dinner is the only hot meal of the day, and usually consists of soup, meat or fish, potatoes, vegetables, and dessert. In urban areas, dinner is eaten in the evening; in rural locations, it is eaten at noon.

Many Norwegians enjoy drinking coffee, especially at meals. They also drink beer, sometimes with aquavit, a strong, colorless liquor.

Due to their seafaring heritage and long coastline, Norwegians enjoy seafood, particularly salmon, herring, and cod. Fish is often preserved by pickling or salting. Lutefisk, a popular Scandinavian dish, consists of whitefish that is air-dried and then soaked in water and lye.

Arts & Entertainment: Skiing is the national sport and may well have originated in Norway. Many children learn to ski before they start school. Nearly every town has a ski jump, and Norwegians often take cross-country ski trips to the nearby mountains and forests.

Other outdoor sports are also popular, and recreation areas are found throughout the country. Bandy, a game similar to hockey, is played in large rinks. The favorite summer sport is soccer.

Weekend hikes in the hills, mountains, and forests are also a common pastime, and many Norwegians have mountain cabins for summer vacations. Hunting, sailing along the coast, swimming, and fishing are other popular activities.

Henrik Ibsen, a nineteenth-century Norwegian playwright, is known worldwide. Norwegian authors Bjørnstjerne Bjørnson, Knut Hamsun, Sigrid Undset, and Jon Fosse all won the Nobel Prize in Literature.

One of Norway's best-known artists is Edvard Munch, an expressionist painter of the early 1900s. His most famous work is the 1893 painting The Scream. Edvard Grieg is one of Norway's best-known composers.

Holidays: Norway's most prominent national holiday is Constitution Day, which is celebrated each year on May 17 with local parades. Labour Day, or International Workers' Day, is celebrated on May 1. Many Christian holidays, including Easter and Christmas, are also widely observed.

Environment and Geography

Topography: Norway is a long, narrow country, with the northernmost strip bending to the east, over the top of Sweden, Finland, and the northwestern part of Russia. Sweden and Norway also share a long north-south border.

One-third of Norway is above the Arctic Circle, so for ten weeks each summer, the sun shines twenty-four hours a day. During a corresponding period in the winter, the days remain dark.

Deep fjords all along the coast create good harbors. They also create a jagged coastline that measures 25,148 kilometers (15,626 miles). If stretched out straight, the coastline of Norway would extend halfway around the globe. The longest fjord is Songefjord, which stretches inland for 204 kilometers (127 miles).

Norway's mountainous plateau consists of bare rock smoothed by glaciers. Many glacier lakes and valleys also occur in this area. The Hardanger Plateau (Hardangervidda ), Europe's largest highland plain, rises in this region. The country's highest point is at the top of Galdhopiggen, with an elevation of 2,469 meters (8,100 feet).

The southeastern lowlands consist mainly of river valleys, particularly those of the 598-kilometer (327-mile) Glama (or Glomma), the country's longest river. The region's numerous waterfalls are used in producing hydroelectric power. Most of Norway's farming and forestry takes place in the southeastern lowlands. The Trondheim lowlands consist of several flat, wide valleys that come together near the coast.

The largest of Norway's 150,000 lakes is Lake Mjøsa in the southeastern part of the country, with an area of 365 square kilometers (141 square miles).

There are approximately 150,000 islands, some merely rocky reefs (skerries), off the coast of Norway. The Lofoten and Vesteralen Islands, the largest groups, are known for their cod fisheries. Between the two outermost Lofotens runs the strongest tidal current in the world, the Maelstrom, which creates dangerous whirlpools.

Natural Resources: Norway's natural resources are almost all in the water. The sea yields an abundance of fish, as well as large off-shore deposits of petroleum and natural gas. Inland, swift mountain rivers produce hydroelectric power, providing Norway with extremely inexpensive electricity.

Only 2.2 percent of Norway's land is arable, and there is little in the way of mineral deposits (2018 estimate).

Environmental concerns include water pollution, air pollution caused by vehicle emissions, and damage to forests, lakes, and fish from acid rain. Fish stocks have been threatened by pollution as well as increasing sea temperatures and overfishing.

Plants & Animals: Norway has been working to preserve its dwindling wildlife. The numbers of walruses, seals, polar bears, wolves, Arctic char (a salmon-like fish), and reindeer have been increasing as a result of conservation efforts. Wild reindeer herds have increased to the point that the government has reinstated seasonal reindeer hunting.

Moose are found in the southeastern part of the country. Other common animals include lynx, otters, and game birds. Lakes and rivers are filled with fish, especially trout. Some rivers have been stocked with salmon.

Cliffs on the west and north coasts host numerous nesting seabirds, which in turn attract tourists. The sea eagle is Norway's largest bird of prey. Next in size is the kongeorn (king, or bald eagle). Other Norwegian birds include kittiwakes and puffins.

Of the tree species native to Norway, the most common are birch, and the Norway spruce and Scots pine (both conifers). Most native trees are broadleafs. The only other conifers native to Norway are yew and juniper.

Because of the warm trade winds and Atlantic currents, Norway has several indigenous species of small, low-growing orchids.

Climate: The Atlantic currents moderate the climate on the west coast and on the islands. For instance, the January temperatures near the Lofoten Islands are approximately 25 degrees Celsius (45 degrees Fahrenheit) warmer than the average for other places at the same latitude. Any snow that falls melts quickly, and many harbors, even above the Arctic Circle, remain ice-free.

Inland, snow lies on the ground for at least three months.

During summer, conditions are reversed. Ocean winds cool the western coast, and the inland areas are warmer, especially in the southeastern valleys.

From November through February, it is sometimes possible to see the Aurora Borealis, or Northern Lights. This giant display of colorful light across the night sky occurs when Earth's magnetic field catches charged particles from the sun. The lights are not seen every night, and meteorological conditions must be just right for the display to occur.

The mountains in the center of the country prevent much rain from reaching the eastern inland regions.

In 2021, the firm KPMG ranked Norway in the number-one position, out of thirty-two countries, on its first Net Zero Readiness Index measuring greenhouse gas reduction.

Economy

Norwegians have a high standard of living and a strong system of welfare capitalism. By law, employees must receive four weeks of paid vacation each year. The National Insurance Act combines retirement pensions, job retraining, and aid to mothers, orphans, and individuals with disabilities. Participation in the insurance plan is mandatory. Local and national government and employers also contribute to the plan.

Norway's gross domestic product (GDP) was estimated at US$499.528 billion in 2023. The per capita GDP for the same year was approximately US$90,500. The unemployment rate in 2023 was roughly 3.58 percent.

Industry: Norway has some of the world's largest fishing and shipping concerns. The country's largest fishing port is in Ålesund, the "herring capital of the world." Despite international protests, Norway legalized whaling in the early 1990s.

In addition, the country's chief manufactured products include ships, aluminum, wood pulp and paper, chemicals, processed foods, cement, and refined petroleum. The mining industry produces natural gas, crude petroleum, iron ore, coal, ilmenite, lead, molybdenum, pyrites, and zinc.

Exports including petroleum and petroleum products, natural gas, aluminum, and fish resulted in a receipt of US$199.074 billion in 2021.

Agriculture: Only 2.2 percent of the land in Norway is arable. Farming is pursued mostly in the lowland regions. Principal agricultural products include barley, wheat, potatoes, pork, beef, veal, and milk. Agriculture accounted for just 1.8 percent of the gross value added (GVA) in 2023.

Tourism: According to Statistics Norway, in 2022 there were 36.1 million guest nights at commercial accommodation establishments in Norway. In total, according to the World Travel and Tourism Council, travel and tourism contributed US$36.6 billion to Norway's economy in 2022.

Arctic tours are popular. Some include opportunities for birding, dog-sledding, riding a rubber dingy through the Maelstrom, snowmobiling, and practicing lasso-throwing on a wooden reindeer. Fishing tours are available in the country's coastal waters, fjords, lakes, and streams. Cruises along the coast are another popular tourist attraction.

Visitors enjoy Norway's many museums, historic towns, and buildings dating back to the Viking era. Among the attractions in the capital city of Oslo are the Royal Palace and the Storing (parliament), as well as the Lutheran Cathedral and the medieval Akershus Castle.

Government

Norway is a parliamentary constitutional monarchy, with universal adult suffrage for citizens eighteen years and older. The head of state is the monarch, who appoints the prime minister (usually the leader of the majority party).

With the approval of the Storting, the unicameral parliament, the monarch also appoints the Statsråd (Council of State). The Statsråd is responsible to the Storting. The 169 members of Storting are elected to serve four-year terms by popular vote, based on proportional representation.

Prior to a constitutional amendment that passed in 2007, the Storting would occasionally divide into two chambers when considering a bill. About one-fourth of the members became the Lagting (upper house), and the remaining members formed the Odelsting (lower house).

Norway's largest political parties include the Center Party, Conservative Party, Christian Democratic Party, Green Party, the Labor Party, Liberal Party, Progress Party, and Socialist Left Party.

The country is organized into eleven fylke (counties) and over four hundred municipalities. The highest court is the Supreme Court, whose judges are appointed by the monarch on the recommendation of the Judicial Appointments Board.

Interesting Facts

• In 1905 Norway declared its independence from Sweden and elected Prince Karl of Denmark as King Haakon VII.
• When King Harald V was the crown prince, he refused to marry until his father finally allowed him to wed "commoner" Sonia Haraldsen. Harald's son, Crown Prince Haakon, married a single mother, Mette-Marit Tjessem Hoiby, in 2001.
• If stretched out straight, the coastline of Norway would extend halfway around the globe.
• At the end of the Winter Olympics in Pyeongchang, South Korea, in 2018, Norwegian athlete Marit Bjoergen became the individual with the most medals earned in the history of the Winter Games up to that point after she received her fifteenth.
• In 2023, a Norwegian man's discovery via metal detector of several ancient gold pendants, rings, and pearls drew international attention as it was typically rare to find such amounts of gold treasure in the country, which had not seen a discovery like it since the nineteenth century.

Bibliography

Human Development Report 2021/2022. United Nations Development Programme, 2022, hdr.undp.org/system/files/documents/global-report-document/hdr2021-22pdf‗1.pdf. Accessed 12 Oct. 2023.

"Norway." The World Bank, 2024, data.worldbank.org/country/norway. Accessed 8 Jan. 2025.

"Norway." The World Factbook, Central Intelligence Agency, 23 Dec. 2024, www.cia.gov/the-world-factbook/countries/norway/. Accessed 8 Jan. 2025.

"Norway." World Health Organization, 2024, www.who.int/countries/nor/en/. Accessed 8 Jan. 2025.

Norway: 2023 Annual Research: Key Highlights. World Travel and Tourism Council, 2023, assets-global.website-files.com/6329bc97af73223b575983ac/645a750c25ab9bef01827d3d‗Norway2023‗.pdf. Accessed 25 Oct. 2023.

"Strong Growth for Norwegian Tourism in 2022." Statistics Norway, 27 Jan. 2023, www.ssb.no/en/transport-og-reiseliv/reiseliv/statistikk/overnattingar/articles/strong-growth-for-norwegian-tourism-in-2022. Accessed 12 Oct. 2023.