The 1996 CIA World Factbook page on Norway

From: The CIA'sTHE WORLD FACTBOOK 1996

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Norway

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Map

Location: 62 00 N, 10 00 E -- Northern Europe, bordering the North Sea and the North Atlantic Ocean, west of Sweden

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Flag

Description: 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)

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Geography

Location: Northern Europe, bordering the North Sea and the North Atlantic Ocean, west of Sweden
Geographic coordinates: 62 00 N, 10 00 E
Map references: Europe
Area:
total area: 324,220 sq km
land area: 307,860 sq km
comparative area: slightly larger than New Mexico
Land boundaries:
total: 2,515 km
border countries: Finland 729 km, Sweden 1,619 km, Russia 167 km
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)
Maritime claims:
contiguous zone: 10 nm
continental shelf: 200 nm
exclusive economic zone: 200 nm
territorial sea: 4 nm
International disputes: territorial claim in Antarctica (Queen Maud Land); maritime boundary dispute with Russia over portion of Barents Sea
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
lowest point: Norwegian Sea 0 m
highest point: Glittertinden 2,472 m
Natural resources: petroleum, copper, natural gas, pyrites, nickel, iron ore, zinc, lead, fish, timber, hydropower
Land use:
arable land: 3%
permanent crops: 0%
meadows and pastures: 0%
forest and woodland: 27%
other: 70%
Irrigated land: 950 sq km (1989)
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-Sulphur 94, 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, Tropical Timber 94, Wetlands, Whaling; signed, but not ratified - Desertification, Law of the Sea
Geographic 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

People

Population: 4,383,807 (July 1996 est.)
Age structure:
0-14 years: 19% (male 434,848; female 411,668)
15-64 years: 65% (male 1,446,746; female 1,396,150)
65 years and over: 16% (male 288,789; female 405,606) (July 1996 est.)
Population growth rate: 0.48% (1996 est.)
Birth rate: 11.96 births/1,000 population (1996 est.)
Death rate: 10.68 deaths/1,000 population (1996 est.)
Net migration rate: 3.57 migrant(s)/1,000 population (1996 est.)
Sex ratio:
at birth: 1.06 male(s)/female
under 15 years: 1.06 male(s)/female
15-64 years: 1.04 male(s)/female
65 years and over: 0.71 male(s)/female
all ages: 0.98 male(s)/female (1996 est.)
Infant mortality rate: 4.9 deaths/1,000 live births (1996 est.)
Life expectancy at birth:
total population: 77.53 years
male: 74.63 years
female: 80.61 years (1996 est.)
Total fertility rate: 1.63 children born/woman (1996 est.)
Nationality:
noun: Norwegian(s)
adjective: Norwegian
Ethnic divisions: Germanic (Nordic, Alpine, Baltic), Lapps (Sami) 20,000
Religions: Evangelical Lutheran 87.8% (state church), other Protestant and Roman Catholic 3.8%, none 3.2%, unknown 5.2% (1980)
Languages: Norwegian (official)
note: small Lapp- and Finnish-speaking minorities
Literacy: age 15 and over can read and write (1976 est.)
total population: 99%
male: NA%
female: NA%

Government

Name of country:
conventional long form: Kingdom of Norway
conventional short form: Norway
local long form: Kongeriket Norge
local short form: Norge
Data code: NO
Type of government: constitutional monarchy
Capital: Oslo
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
Dependent areas: Bouvet Island, Jan Mayen, Svalbard
Independence: 26 October 1905 (from Sweden)
National holiday: Constitution Day, 17 May (1814)
Constitution: 17 May 1814, modified in 1884
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
Suffrage: 18 years of age; universal
Executive branch:
chief of state: King HARALD V (since 17 January 1991) is a hereditary monarch; Heir Apparent Crown Prince HAAKON MAGNUS (born 20 July 1973)
head of government: Prime Minister Gro Harlem BRUNDTLAND (since 3 November 1990) was appointed by the king with the approval of the Storting
cabinet: State Council was appointed by the king with the approval of the Storting
Legislative branch: modified unicameral Parliament (Storting) which, for certain purposes, divides itself into two chambers
Storting: elections last held 13 September 1993 (next to be held NA 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, Conservatives 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
Judicial branch: Supreme Court (Hoyesterett), justices appointed by the king
Political parties and leaders: Labor Party, Thorbjorn JAGLAND; Conservative Party, Jan PETERSEN; Center Party, Anne ENGER LAHNSTEIN; Christian People's Party, Valgerd HAUGLAND; Socialist Left, Erik SOLHEIM; Norwegian Communist, Kare Andre NILSEN; Progress Party, Carl I. HAGEN; Liberal, Odd Einar DORUM; Left Party; Red Electoral Alliance, Erling FOLKVORD
International organization participation: AfDB, AsDB, Australia Group, BIS, CBSS, CCC, CE, CERN, EBRD, ECE, EFTA, ESA, FAO, IADB, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, ICC, ICFTU, ICRM, IDA, IEA, IFAD, IFC, IFRCS, ILO, IMF, IMO, Inmarsat, Intelsat, Interpol, IOC, IOM, ISO, ITU, MINURSO, MTCR, NACC, NAM (guest), NATO, NC, NEA, NIB, NSG, OECD, OSCE, PCA, UN, UNAVEM III, UNCRO, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNHCR, UNIDO, UNIFIL, UNITAR, UNPREDEP, UNPROFOR, UNTSO, UPU, WEU (associate), WHO, WIPO, WMO, WTrO, ZC
Diplomatic representation in US:
chief of mission: Ambassador Kjeld VIBE
chancery: 2720 34th Street NW, Washington, DC 20008
telephone: [1] (202) 333-6000
FAX: [1] (202) 337-0870
consulate(s) general: Houston, Los Angeles, Minneapolis, New York, and San Francisco
consulate(s): Miami
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
FAX: [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)

Economy

Economic 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 more than 50% of GDP and results in one of the highest average tax burdens in the world (46%). 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. Norway imports more than half its food needs. Economic growth, only 1.6% in 1993, moved up to 5.5% in 1994 and remained strong in 1995. Oslo opted to stay out of the EU during a referendum in November 1994.
GDP: purchasing power parity - $106.2 billion (1995 est.)
GDP real growth rate: 4.5% (1995 est.)
GDP per capita: $24,500 (1995 est.)
GDP composition by sector:
agriculture: 2.9%
industry: 34.7%
services: 62.4% (1991)
Inflation rate (consumer prices): 2.5% (1995 est.)
Labor force: 2.13 million
by occupation: services 71%, industry 23%, agriculture, forestry, and fishing 6% (1993)
Unemployment rate: 8% (including people in job-training programs; November 1995)
Budget:
revenues: $48.6 billion
expenditures: $53 billion, including capital expenditures of $NA (1994 est.)
Industries: petroleum and gas, food processing, shipbuilding, pulp and paper products, metals, chemicals, timber, mining, textiles, fishing
Industrial production growth rate: 7.4% (1994)
Electricity:
capacity: 27,280,000 kW
production: 118 billion kWh
consumption per capita: 23,735 kWh (1993)
Agriculture: oats, other grains; beef, milk; livestock output exceeds value of crops; among world's top 10 fishing nations; fish catch of 1.76 million metric tons in 1989
Illicit drugs: transshipment point for drugs shipped via the CIS and Baltic states for the European market
Exports: $34.7 billion (f.o.b., 1994)
commodities: petroleum and petroleum products 43%, metals and products 11%, foodstuffs (mostly fish) 9%, chemicals and raw materials 25%, natural gas 6.0%, ships 5.4%
partners: EU 77.8% (UK 20.8%, Germany 12.4%, France 8.12%), Sweden 9.4%, US 6.7%, Japan 1.9% (1994)
Imports: $27.3 billion (c.i.f., 1994)
commodities: machinery and equipment and manufactured consumer goods 54%, chemicals and other industrial inputs 39%, foodstuffs 6%
partners: EU 68.9% (Germany 13.9%, UK 10.4%, Denmark 7.4%), Sweden 15%, US 7.4%, Japan 6.0% (1994)
External debt: $NA
Economic aid:
donor: ODA, $1.014 billion (1993)
Currency: 1 Norwegian krone (NKr) = 100 oere
Exchange rates: Norwegian kroner (NKr) per US$1 - 6.4160 (January 1996), 6.3352 (1995), 7.0576 (1994), 7.0941 (1993), 6.2145 (1992), 6.4829 (1991)
Fiscal year: calendar year

Transportation

Railways:
total: 4,027 km
standard gauge: 4,027 km 1.435-m gauge (2422 km electrified; 96 km double track) (1995)
Highways:
total: 88,922 km
paved: 61,356 km (including 75 km of expressways)
unpaved: 27,566 km (1990 est.)
Waterways: 1,577 km along west coast; 2.4 m draft vessels maximum
Pipelines: refined products 53 km
Ports: Bergen, Drammen, Flora, Hammerfest, Harstad, Haugesund, Kristiansand, Larvik, Narvik, Oslo, Porsgrunn, Stavanger, Tromso, Trondheim
Merchant marine:
total: 712 ships (1,000 GRT or over) totaling 19,278,205 GRT/32,209,679 DWT
ships by type: bulk 114, cargo 98, chemical tanker 83, combination bulk 10, combination ore/oil 31, container 15, liquefied gas tanker 87, oil tanker 148, passenger 10, passenger-cargo 2, railcar carrier 1, refrigerated cargo 13, roll-on/roll-off cargo 49, short-sea passenger 21, vehicle carrier 30
note: the government has created an internal 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 (1995 est.)
Airports:
total: 102
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: 11
with paved runways under 914 m: 60
with unpaved runways 914 to 1 523 m: 5 (1995 est.)
Heliports: 1 (1995 est.)

Communications

Telephones: 2.39 million (1986 est.)
Telephone system: high-quality domestic and international telephone, telegraph, and telex services
domestic: NA domestic satellite earth stations
international: 2 buried coaxial cable systems; 4 coaxial submarine cables; satellite earth stations - NA Eutelsat, NA Intelsat (Atlantic Ocean), and 1 Inmarsat (Atlantic and Indian Ocean Regions); note - Norway shares the Inmarsat earth station with the other Nordic countries (Denmark, Finland, Iceland, and Sweden)
Radio broadcast stations: AM 46, FM 493 (350 private and 143 government), shortwave 0
Radios: 3.3 million (1993 est.)
Television broadcast stations: 54 (repeaters 2,100)
Televisions: 1.5 million (1993 est.)

Defense

Branches: Norwegian Army, Royal Norwegian Navy (includes Coast Artillery and Coast Guard), Royal Norwegian Air Force, Home Guard
Manpower availability:
males age 15-49: 1,125,302
males fit for military service: 937,309
males reach military age (20) annually: 28,328 (1996 est.)
Defense expenditures: exchange rate conversion - $3.7 billion, 2.9% of GDP (1995)

Norway

Original publicaton at http://www.odci.gov/cia/publications/nsolo/wfb-all.htm (June 17, 1997).