Norway

constitutional monarchyIndependence 26 October 1905 (from Sweden)

Norway as the 1990 edition of the CIA World Factbook published it: 75 fields, one of 36 editions from 1990 to 2025.

field in that editiontext changed from the edition beforenot in that editionthe open editionEach field below ends in its editions, 1990 to 2025. Point at a year above to follow it down.

CapitalOslo

Area324,220 km2

Populationas each edition published it

4.25 million July 1990 · 5.51m in 2025

Population growth% a year

Not in this edition 0.41% in 1993

Median ageyears

Not in this edition 37.7 yrs in 2003

Life expectancyyears at birth

Not in this edition 77.16 yrs in 1993

Fertility ratechildren per woman

1.8 children per woman 1990 · 1.58 in 2025

Infant mortalitydeaths per 1,000 live births

7 deaths per 1,000 live births 1990 · 1.8 in 2025

GDP per capitaeach edition's own dollars

Not in this edition $17,700 in 1993

GDP real growth% a year

Not in this edition 2.9% in 1993

Geography

15 fields

Land useshare of 324,220 km2

arable land 3%permanent crops 0%forest and woodland 27%other 70%NEGL% meadows and pastures; includes NEGL% irrigated

Total area

324,220km2

land area: 307,860 km2Comparative area: slightly larger than New Mexico

Coastline

21,925km

(3,419 km mainland; 2,413 km large islands; 16,093 km long fjords, numerous small islands, and minor indentations)Territorial sea: 4 nm

Land boundaries

2,582km total

Finland 729 km, Sweden 1,657, USSR 196 km

Disputes

maritime boundary dispute with USSR;
territorial claim in Antarctica (Queen Maud Land);
Denmark has challenged Norway's maritime claims beween Greenland and Jan Mayen

Climate

temperate along coast, modified by North Atlantic Current;
colder interior;
rainy year-round on west coast

Terrain

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

Natural resources

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

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 the USSR

People

14 fields

Population

4,252,806

(July 1990), growth rate 0.5% (1990)

Per 1,000 population(1990)

Birth

14Death

11Net migration

Religion

Evangelical Lutheran (state church) 94%other Protestant and Roman Catholic 4%other 2%

Literacy

100%

Nationality

noun--Norwegian(s); adjective--Norwegian

Ethnic divisions

Germanic (Nordic, Alpine, Baltic) and racial-cultural minority of 20,000 Lapps

Language

Norwegian (official); small Lapp- and Finnish-speaking minorities

Labor force

2,164,000; 33.6% services, 17.4% commerce, 16.6% mining and manufacturing, 8.4% transportation, 7.8% construction, 6.8% banking and financial services, 6.5% agriculture, forestry, and fishing (1986)

Government

Constitutional monarchy

18 fields

Parliament, 165 seats, elected 11 September 1989one dot, one seat

Labor 63Conservative 37Progress 22Socialist Left 17Christian People's 14Center 11Finnmark List 1

Percent of vote

Labor 34.3%Conservative 22.2%Progress 13.0%Socialist Left 10.1%Christian People's 8.5%Center 6.6%Finnmark List 0.3%others 5%

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

Independence

26 October 1905 (from Sweden)

Constitution

17 May 1814, modified in 1884

Dependent areas

Bouvet Island, Jan Mayen, Svalbard

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

National holiday

Constitution Day, 17 May (1814)

Executive branch

monarch, prime minister, State Council (cabinet)

Legislative branch

unicameral Parliament (Storting or Stortinget) with an Upper Chamber (Lagting) and a Lower Chamber (Odelsting)

Judicial branch

Supreme Court (Hoiesterett) Chief of State--King OLAV V (since 21 September 1957);
Heir Apparent Crown Prince HARALD (born 21 February 1937);
Head of Government--Prime Minister Jan P. SYSE (since 16 October 1989)

Political parties and leaders

Labor, Gro Harlem Brundtland;
Conservative, Jan P. Syse;
Center, Johan J. Jakobsen;
Christian People's, Kjell Magne Bondevik;
Socialist Left, Eric Solheim;
Norwegian Communist, Hans I. Kleven;
Progress, Carl I. Hagen;
Liberal, Arne Fjortoft;
Finnmark List, leader NA

Suffrage

universal at age 18 Parliament--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 6.6%, Finnmark List 0.3%, others 5%;
seats--(165 total) Labor 63, Conservative 37, Progress 22, Socialist Left 17, Christian People's 14, Center 11, Finnmark List 1

Communists

15,500 est.;
5,500 Norwegian Communist Party (NKP);
10,000 Workers Communist Party Marxist-Leninist (AKP-ML, pro-Chinese)

Member of

ADB, CCC, Council of Europe, DAC, EFTA, ESA, FAO, GATT, IAEA, IBRD, ICAC, ICAO, ICES, ICO, IDA, IEA (associate member), IFAD, IFC, IHO, ILO, ILZSG, IMF, IMO, INTELSAT, INTERPOL, IPU, ITU, IWC--International Whaling Commission, IWC--International Wheat Council, NATO, Nordic Council, OECD, UN, UNESCO, UPU, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WSG

Diplomatic representation

Ambassador Kjeld VIBE;
Chancery at 2720 34th Street NW, Washington DC 20008;
telephone (202) 333-6000;
there are Norwegian Consulates General in Houston, Los Angeles, Minneapolis, New York, and San Francisco, and Consulates in Miami and New Orleans;
US--Ambassador Loret Miller RUPPE;
Embassy at Drammensveien 18, Oslo 2 (mailing address is APO New York 09085);
telephone [47] (2) 44-85-50

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)

Economy

Norway is a prosperous capitalist nation with the resources to finance extensive welfare measures.

16 fields

GDP, purchasing power parity

$75.8billion

per capita $17,900; real growth rate 5.7% (1989 est.)

Inflation, consumer prices

4.5%

(1989)

Unemployment rate

3.9%

(1989 est., excluding people in job-training programs)

External debt

$18.3billion

(December 1989)

Exports $22.2 billion (f.o.b., 1989)commodities, where a share is given

petroleum and petroleum products

25%natural gas

11%fish

7%aluminum

6%ships

3.5%

also pulp and paper; partners--UK 26%, EFTA 16.3%, less developed countries 14%, Sweden 12%, FRG 12%, US 6%, Denmark 5% (1988)

Budget

Revenues

$40.6 billionExpenditures

$41.3 billion

expenditures, including capital expenditures of $NA (1989)

Overview

Norway is a prosperous capitalist nation with the resources to finance extensive welfare measures. Since 1975 exploitation of large crude oil and natural gas reserves has helped achieve an average annual growth of roughly 4%, the third-highest among OECD countries. Growth slackened in 1987-88 because of the sharp drop in world oil prices and a slowdown in consumer spending, but picked up again in 1989.

Future economic issues involve the aging of the population, the increased economic integration of Europe, and the balance between private and public influence in economic decisions.

Imports

$18.7 billion (c.i.f., 1989);
commodities--machinery, fuels and lubricants, transportation equipment, chemicals, foodstuffs, clothing, ships;
partners--Sweden 18%, less developed countries 18%, FRG 14%, Denmark 8%, UK 7%, US 7%, Japan 5% (1988)

Industrial production

growth rate 15.8% (1989)

Electricity

26,735,000 kW capacity; 121,685 million kWh produced, 28,950 kWh per capita (1989)

Industries

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

Agriculture

accounts for 3.1% of GNP and 6.5% 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 1.9 million metric tons in 1987

Aid

donor--ODA and OOF commitments (1970-87), $3.7 billion

Currency

Norwegian krone (plural--kroner); 1 Norwegian krone (NKr) = 100 ore

Exchange rates

Norwegian kroner (NKr) per US$1--6.5405 (January 1990), 6.9045 (1989), 6.5170 (1988), 6.7375 (1987), 7.3947 (1986), 8.5972 (1985)

Fiscal year

calendar year

Communications

9 fields

Merchant marine, 660 ships by type

passenger 11short-sea passenger 19cargo 104passenger-cargo 3refrigerated cargo 19container 6roll-on/roll-off cargo 40vehicle carrier 6railcar carrier 1petroleum, oils, and lubricants (POL) tanker 128chemical tanker 86liquefied gas 62combination ore/oil 26bulk 142combination 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 under the Norwegian flag are now registered with the NIS 7660 ships (1,000 GRT or over) totaling 16,702,254 GRT/28,722,304 DWT

Airports, 104 total, 104 usable

permanent-surface runways

64runways over 3,659 m

nonerunways 2,440-3,659 m

12runways 1,220-2,439 m

Networkskm

Highways

79,540Railroads

4,223Inland waterways

1,577

Highways: ; 18,600 km concrete, bituminous, stone block; 19,980 km bituminous treated; 40,960 km gravel, crushed stone, and earth · Railroads: ; Norwegian State Railways (NSB) operates 4,219 km (2,450 km electrified and 96 km double track); 4 km other · Inland waterways: ; 1.5-2.4 m draft vessels maximum

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

Highways

79,540 km total;
18,600 km concrete, bituminous, stone block;
19,980 km bituminous treated;
40,960 km gravel, crushed stone, and earth

high-quality domestic and international telephone, telegraph, and telex services;
3,102,000 telephones;
stations--8 AM, 46 (1,400 relays) FM, 55 (2,100 relays) TV;
4 coaxial submarine cables;
communications satellite earth stations operating in the EUTELSAT, INTELSAT (1 Atlantic Ocean), MARISAT, and domestic systems

Defense Forces

Royal Norwegian Army, Royal Norwegian Navy, Royal Norwegian Air Force

3 fields

Military manpower

males 15-49

1,115,620fit for military service

937,555reach military age (20) annually

32,748

Defense expenditures

3.3%of GDP

or $2.5 billion (1989 est.)

Branches