{ "Introduction": { "Background": { "text": "Two centuries of Viking raids into Europe tapered off following the adoption of Christianity by King Olav TRYGGVASON in 994; conversion of the Norwegian kingdom occurred over the next several decades. In 1397, Norway was absorbed into a union with Denmark that lasted more than four centuries. In 1814, Norwegians resisted the cession of their country to Sweden and adopted a new constitution. Sweden then invaded Norway but agreed to let Norway keep its constitution in return for accepting the union under a Swedish king. Rising nationalism throughout the 19th century led to a 1905 referendum granting Norway independence. Although Norway remained neutral in World War I, it suffered heavy losses to its shipping. Norway proclaimed its neutrality at the outset of World War II, but was nonetheless occupied for five years by Nazi Germany (1940-45). In 1949, Norway abandoned neutrality and became a member of NATO. Discovery of oil and gas in adjacent waters in the late 1960s boosted Norway's economic fortunes. In referenda held in 1972 and 1994, Norway rejected joining the EU. Key domestic issues include immigration and integration of ethnic minorities, maintaining the country's extensive social safety net with an aging population, and preserving economic competitiveness." } }, "Geography": { "Location": { "text": "Northern Europe, bordering the North Sea and the North Atlantic Ocean, west of Sweden" }, "Geographic coordinates": { "text": "62 00 N, 10 00 E" }, "Map references": { "text": "Europe" }, "Area": { "total": { "text": "323,802 sq km" }, "land": { "text": "304,282 sq km" }, "water": { "text": "19,520 sq km" } }, "Area - comparative": { "text": "slightly larger than twice the size of Georgia; slightly larger than New Mexico" }, "Land boundaries": { "total": { "text": "2,566 km" }, "border countries": { "text": "Finland 709 km, Sweden 1666 km, Russia 191 km" } }, "Coastline": { "text": "25,148 km (includes mainland 2,650 km, as well as long fjords, numerous small islands, and minor indentations 22,498 km; length of island coastlines 58,133 km)" }, "Maritime claims": { "territorial sea": { "text": "12 nm" }, "contiguous zone": { "text": "10 nm" }, "exclusive economic zone": { "text": "200 nm" }, "continental shelf": { "text": "200 nm" } }, "Climate": { "text": "temperate along coast, modified by North Atlantic Current; colder interior with increased precipitation and colder summers; rainy year-round on west coast" }, "Terrain": { "text": "glaciated; mostly high plateaus and rugged mountains broken by fertile valleys; small, scattered plains; coastline deeply indented by fjords; arctic tundra in north" }, "Elevation": { "mean elevation": { "text": "460 m" }, "lowest point": { "text": "Norwegian Sea 0 m" }, "highest point": { "text": "Galdhopiggen 2,469 m" } }, "Natural resources": { "text": "petroleum, natural gas, iron ore, copper, lead, zinc, titanium, pyrites, nickel, fish, timber, hydropower" }, "Land use": { "agricultural land": { "text": "2.7% (2011 est.)" }, "agricultural land: arable land": { "text": "arable land: 2.2% (2011 est.)" }, "agricultural land: permanent crops": { "text": "permanent crops: 0% (2011 est.)" }, "agricultural land: permanent pasture": { "text": "permanent pasture: 0.5% (2011 est.)" }, "forest": { "text": "27.8% (2011 est.)" }, "other": { "text": "69.5% (2011 est.)" } }, "Irrigated land": { "text": "900 sq km (2012)" }, "Population distribution": { "text": "most Norweigans live in the south where the climate is milder and there is better connectivity to mainland Europe; population clusters are found all along the North Sea coast in the southwest, and Skaggerak in the southeast; the interior areas of the north remain sparsely populated" }, "Natural hazards": { "text": "
rockslides, avalanches
volcanism: Beerenberg (2,227 m) on Jan Mayen Island in the Norwegian Sea is the country's only active volcano
" }, "Environment - current issues": { "text": "water pollution; acid rain damaging forests and adversely affecting lakes, threatening fish stocks; air pollution from vehicle emissions" }, "Environment - international agreements": { "party to": { "text": "Air Pollution, Air Pollution-Nitrogen Oxides, Air Pollution-Persistent Organic Pollutants, Air Pollution-Sulfur 85, Air Pollution-Sulfur 94, Air Pollution-Volatile Organic Compounds, Antarctic-Environmental Protocol, Antarctic-Marine Living Resources, Antarctic Seals, Antarctic Treaty, Biodiversity, Climate Change, Climate Change-Kyoto Protocol, Desertification, Endangered Species, Environmental Modification, Hazardous Wastes, Law of the Sea, Marine Dumping, Ozone Layer Protection, Ship Pollution, Tropical Timber 83, Tropical Timber 94, Wetlands, Whaling" }, "signed, but not ratified": { "text": "none of the selected agreements" } }, "Geography - note": { "text": "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 the most rugged and longest coastlines in the world" } }, "People and Society": { "Population": { "text": "5,509,591 (July 2021 est.)" }, "Nationality": { "noun": { "text": "Norwegian(s)" }, "adjective": { "text": "Norwegian" } }, "Ethnic groups": { "text": "Norwegian 83.2% (includes about 60,000 Sami), other European 8.3%, other 8.5% (2017 est.)" }, "Languages": { "text": "Bokmal Norwegian (official), Nynorsk Norwegian (official), small Sami- and Finnish-speaking minorities", "note": "note: Sami has three dialects: Lule, North Sami, and South Sami; Sami is an official language in nine municipalities in Norway's three northernmost counties: Finnmark, Nordland, and Troms
" }, "Religions": { "text": "Church of Norway (Evangelical Lutheran - official) 70.6%, Muslim 3.2%, Roman Catholic 3%, other Christian 3.7%, other 2.5%, unspecified 17% (2016 est.)" }, "Age structure": { "0-14 years": { "text": "17.96% (male 503,013/female 478,901)" }, "15-24 years": { "text": "12.02% (male 336,597/female 320,720)" }, "25-54 years": { "text": "40.75% (male 1,150,762/female 1,077,357)" }, "55-64 years": { "text": "11.84% (male 328,865/female 318,398)" }, "65 years and over": { "text": "17.43% (male 442,232/female 510,594) (2020 est.)" } }, "Dependency ratios": { "total dependency ratio": { "text": "53.3" }, "youth dependency ratio": { "text": "26.5" }, "elderly dependency ratio": { "text": "26.9" }, "potential support ratio": { "text": "3.7 (2020 est.)" }, "note": "note: data include Svalbard and Jan Mayen Islands
" }, "Median age": { "total": { "text": "39.5 years" }, "male": { "text": "38.8 years" }, "female": { "text": "40.2 years (2020 est.)" } }, "Population growth rate": { "text": "0.8% (2021 est.)" }, "Birth rate": { "text": "12.09 births/1,000 population (2021 est.)" }, "Death rate": { "text": "8.01 deaths/1,000 population (2021 est.)" }, "Net migration rate": { "text": "3.95 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2021 est.)" }, "Population distribution": { "text": "most Norweigans live in the south where the climate is milder and there is better connectivity to mainland Europe; population clusters are found all along the North Sea coast in the southwest, and Skaggerak in the southeast; the interior areas of the north remain sparsely populated" }, "Urbanization": { "urban population": { "text": "83% of total population (2020)" }, "rate of urbanization": { "text": "1.4% annual rate of change (2015-20 est.)" }, "note": "note: data include Svalbard and Jan Mayen Islands
" }, "Major urban areas - population": { "text": "1.041 million OSLO (capital) (2020)" }, "Sex ratio": { "at birth": { "text": "1.05 male(s)/female" }, "0-14 years": { "text": "1.05 male(s)/female" }, "15-24 years": { "text": "1.05 male(s)/female" }, "25-54 years": { "text": "1.07 male(s)/female" }, "55-64 years": { "text": "1.03 male(s)/female" }, "65 years and over": { "text": "0.87 male(s)/female" }, "total population": { "text": "1.02 male(s)/female (2020 est.)" } }, "Mother's mean age at first birth": { "text": "29.3 years (2017 est.)", "note": "note: data is calculated based on actual age at first births
" }, "Maternal mortality rate": { "text": "2 deaths/100,000 live births (2017 est.)" }, "Infant mortality rate": { "total": { "text": "2.34 deaths/1,000 live births" }, "male": { "text": "2.68 deaths/1,000 live births" }, "female": { "text": "1.98 deaths/1,000 live births (2021 est.)" } }, "Life expectancy at birth": { "total population": { "text": "82.35 years" }, "male": { "text": "80.21 years" }, "female": { "text": "84.6 years (2021 est.)" } }, "Total fertility rate": { "text": "1.84 children born/woman (2021 est.)" }, "Drinking water source": { "improved: urban": { "text": "urban: 100% of population" }, "improved: rural": { "text": "rural: 100% of population" }, "improved: total": { "text": "total: 100% of population" }, "unimproved: urban": { "text": "urban: 0% of population" }, "unimproved: rural": { "text": "rural: 0% of population" }, "unimproved: total": { "text": "total: 0% of population (2017 est.)" } }, "Current Health Expenditure": { "text": "10.4% (2017)" }, "Physicians density": { "text": "2.83 physicians/1,000 population (2017)" }, "Hospital bed density": { "text": "3.6 beds/1,000 population (2017)" }, "Sanitation facility access": { "improved: urban": { "text": "urban: 100% of population" }, "improved: rural": { "text": "rural: 100% of population" }, "improved: total": { "text": "total: 100% of population" }, "unimproved: urban": { "text": "urban: 0% of population" }, "unimproved: rural": { "text": "rural: 0% of population" }, "unimproved: total": { "text": "total: 0% of population (2017 est.)" } }, "HIV/AIDS - adult prevalence rate": { "text": "0.1% (2018 est.)" }, "HIV/AIDS - people living with HIV/AIDS": { "text": "5,800 (2018 est.)" }, "HIV/AIDS - deaths": { "text": "<100 (2018 est.)" }, "Obesity - adult prevalence rate": { "text": "23.1% (2016)" }, "Education expenditures": { "text": "7.9% of GDP (2017)" }, "School life expectancy (primary to tertiary education)": { "total": { "text": "18 years" }, "male": { "text": "18 years" }, "female": { "text": "19 years (2018)" } }, "Unemployment, youth ages 15-24": { "total": { "text": "9.7%" }, "male": { "text": "10.7%" }, "female": { "text": "8.6% (2018 est.)" } } }, "Government": { "Country name": { "conventional long form": { "text": "Kingdom of Norway" }, "conventional short form": { "text": "Norway" }, "local long form": { "text": "Kongeriket Norge" }, "local short form": { "text": "Norge" }, "etymology": { "text": "derives from the Old Norse words \"nordr\" and \"vegr\" meaning \"northern way\" and refers to the long coastline of western Norway" } }, "Government type": { "text": "parliamentary constitutional monarchy" }, "Capital": { "name": { "text": "Oslo" }, "geographic coordinates": { "text": "59 55 N, 10 45 E" }, "time difference": { "text": "UTC+1 (6 hours ahead of Washington, DC, during Standard Time)" }, "daylight saving time": { "text": "+1hr, begins last Sunday in March; ends last Sunday in October" }, "note": "note: adopted 1864; in addition to the national anthem, \"Kongesangen\" (Song of the King), which uses the tune of \"God Save the Queen,\" serves as the royal anthem
" } }, "Economy": { "Economic overview": { "text": "Norway has a stable economy with a vibrant private sector, a large state sector, and an extensive social safety net. Norway opted out of the EU during a referendum in November 1994. However, as a member of the European Economic Area, Norway partially participates in the EU’s single market and contributes sizably to the EU budget.
The country is richly endowed with natural resources such as oil and gas, fish, forests, and minerals. Norway is a leading producer and the world’s second largest exporter of seafood, after China. The government manages the country’s petroleum resources through extensive regulation. The petroleum sector provides about 9% of jobs, 12% of GDP, 13% of the state’s revenue, and 37% of exports, according to official national estimates. Norway is one of the world's leading petroleum exporters, although oil production is close to 50% below its peak in 2000. Gas production, conversely, has more than doubled since 2000. Although oil production is historically low, it rose in 2016 for the third consecutive year due to the higher production of existing oil fields and to new fields coming on stream. Norway’s domestic electricity production relies almost entirely on hydropower.
In anticipation of eventual declines in oil and gas production, Norway saves state revenue from petroleum sector activities in the world's largest sovereign wealth fund, valued at over $1 trillion at the end of 2017. To help balance the federal budget each year, the government follows a \"fiscal rule,\" which states that spending of revenues from petroleum and fund investments shall correspond to the expected real rate of return on the fund, an amount it estimates is sustainable over time. In February 2017, the government revised the expected rate of return for the fund downward from 4% to 3%.
After solid GDP growth in the 2004-07 period, the economy slowed in 2008, and contracted in 2009, before returning to modest, positive growth from 2010 to 2017. The Norwegian economy has been adjusting to lower energy prices, as demonstrated by growth in labor force participation and employment in 2017. GDP growth was about 1.5% in 2017, driven largely by domestic demand, which has been boosted by the rebound in the labor market and supportive fiscal policies. Economic growth is expected to remain constant or improve slightly in the next few years.
" }, "Real GDP growth rate": { "Real GDP growth rate 2019": { "text": "0.86% (2019 est.)" }, "Real GDP growth rate 2018": { "text": "1.36% (2018 est.)" }, "Real GDP growth rate 2017": { "text": "2.75% (2017 est.)" } }, "Inflation rate (consumer prices)": { "Inflation rate (consumer prices) 2019": { "text": "2.1% (2019 est.)" }, "Inflation rate (consumer prices) 2018": { "text": "2.7% (2018 est.)" }, "Inflation rate (consumer prices) 2017": { "text": "1.8% (2017 est.)" } }, "Credit ratings": { "Fitch rating": { "text": "AAA (1995)" }, "Moody's rating": { "text": "Aaa (1997)" }, "Standard & Poors rating": { "text": "AAA (1975)" } }, "Real GDP (purchasing power parity)": { "Real GDP (purchasing power parity) 2019": { "text": "$340.303 billion (2019 est.)" }, "Real GDP (purchasing power parity) 2018": { "text": "$336.418 billion (2018 est.)" }, "Real GDP (purchasing power parity) 2017": { "text": "$332.135 billion (2017 est.)" }, "note": "note: data are in 2010 dollars
" }, "GDP (official exchange rate)": { "text": "$405.695 billion (2019 est.)" }, "Real GDP per capita": { "Real GDP per capita 2019": { "text": "$63,633 (2019 est.)" }, "Real GDP per capita 2018": { "text": "$63,333 (2018 est.)" }, "Real GDP per capita 2017": { "text": "$62,941 (2017 est.)" }, "note": "note: data are in 2010 dollars
" }, "Gross national saving": { "Gross national saving 2017": { "text": "34.3% of GDP (2017 est.)" }, "Gross national saving 2016": { "text": "33.1% of GDP (2016 est.)" }, "Gross national saving 2015": { "text": "35.5% of GDP (2015 est.)" } }, "GDP - composition, by sector of origin": { "agriculture": { "text": "2.3% (2017 est.)" }, "industry": { "text": "33.7% (2017 est.)" }, "services": { "text": "64% (2017 est.)" } }, "GDP - composition, by end use": { "household consumption": { "text": "44.8% (2017 est.)" }, "government consumption": { "text": "24% (2017 est.)" }, "investment in fixed capital": { "text": "24.1% (2017 est.)" }, "investment in inventories": { "text": "4.8% (2017 est.)" }, "exports of goods and services": { "text": "35.5% (2017 est.)" }, "imports of goods and services": { "text": "-33.2% (2017 est.)" } }, "Ease of Doing Business Index scores": { "Overall Ease of Doing Business score 2020": { "text": "94.3 (2020)" } }, "Agricultural products": { "text": "milk, barley, wheat, potatoes, oats, pork, poultry, beef, eggs, rye" }, "Industries": { "text": "petroleum and gas, shipping, fishing, aquaculture, food processing, shipbuilding, pulp and paper products, metals, chemicals, timber, mining, textiles" }, "Industrial production growth rate": { "text": "1.5% (2017 est.)" }, "Labor force": { "text": "2.699 million (2020 est.)" }, "Labor force - by occupation": { "agriculture": { "text": "2.1%" }, "industry": { "text": "19.3%" }, "services": { "text": "78.6% (2016 est.)" } }, "Unemployment rate": { "Unemployment rate 2019": { "text": "3.72% (2019 est.)" }, "Unemployment rate 2018": { "text": "3.89% (2018 est.)" } }, "Population below poverty line": { "text": "NA" }, "Gini Index coefficient - distribution of family income": { "Gini Index coefficient - distribution of family income 2017": { "text": "27 (2017 est.)" }, "Gini Index coefficient - distribution of family income 1995": { "text": "25.8 (1995)" } }, "Household income or consumption by percentage share": { "lowest 10%": { "text": "3.8%" }, "highest 10%": { "text": "21.2% (2014)" } }, "Budget": { "revenues": { "text": "217.1 billion (2017 est.)" }, "expenditures": { "text": "199.5 billion (2017 est.)" } }, "Taxes and other revenues": { "text": "54.4% (of GDP) (2017 est.)" }, "Budget surplus (+) or deficit (-)": { "text": "4.4% (of GDP) (2017 est.)" }, "Public debt": { "Public debt 2017": { "text": "36.5% of GDP (2017 est.)" }, "Public debt 2016": { "text": "36.4% of GDP (2016 est.)" }, "note": "note: data cover general government debt and include debt instruments issued (or owned) by government entities other than the treasury; the data exclude treasury debt held by foreign entities; the data exclude debt issued by subnational entities, as well as intragovernmental debt; intragovernmental debt consists of treasury borrowings from surpluses in the social funds, such as for retirement, medical care, and unemployment; debt instruments for the social funds are not sold at public auctions
" }, "Fiscal year": { "text": "calendar year" }, "Current account balance": { "Current account balance 2019": { "text": "$16.656 billion (2019 est.)" }, "Current account balance 2018": { "text": "$31.111 billion (2018 est.)" } }, "Exports": { "Exports 2019": { "text": "$185.101 billion (2019 est.)" }, "Exports 2018": { "text": "$184.094 billion (2018 est.)" }, "Exports 2017": { "text": "$185.952 billion (2017 est.)" } }, "Exports - partners": { "text": "UK 21.1%, Germany 15.5%, Netherlands 9.9%, Sweden 6.6%, France 6.4%, Belgium 4.8%, Denmark 4.7%, US 4.6% (2017)" }, "Exports - commodities": { "text": "petroleum and petroleum products, machinery and equipment, metals, chemicals, ships, fish" }, "Imports": { "Imports 2019": { "text": "$158.037 billion (2019 est.)" }, "Imports 2018": { "text": "$150.972 billion (2018 est.)" }, "Imports 2017": { "text": "$148.802 billion (2017 est.)" } }, "Imports - partners": { "text": "Sweden 11.4%, Germany 11%, China 9.8%, US 6.8%, South Korea 6.7%, Denmark 5.4%, UK 4.7% (2017)" }, "Imports - commodities": { "text": "machinery and equipment, chemicals, metals, foodstuffs" }, "Reserves of foreign exchange and gold": { "Reserves of foreign exchange and gold 31 December 2017": { "text": "$65.92 billion (31 December 2017 est.)" }, "Reserves of foreign exchange and gold 31 December 2015": { "text": "$57.46 billion (31 December 2015 est.)" } }, "Debt - external": { "Debt - external 31 March 2016": { "text": "$642.3 billion (31 March 2016 est.)" }, "Debt - external 31 March 2015": { "text": "$640.1 billion (31 March 2015 est.)" }, "note": "Norway asserts a territorial claim in Antarctica (Queen Maud Land and its continental shelf); Denmark (Greenland) and Norway have made submissions to the Commission on the Limits of the Continental Shelf (CLCS) and Russia is collecting additional data to augment its 2001 CLCS submission; Norway and Russia signed a comprehensive maritime boundary agreement in 2010
" }, "Refugees and internally displaced persons": { "refugees (country of origin)": { "text": "14,359 (Syria), 14,038 (Eritrea), 6,518 (Somalia), 5,108 (Afghanistan) (2019)" }, "stateless persons": { "text": "2,272 (2019)" } } } }