{ "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. Norway remained neutral in World War I and proclaimed its neutrality at the outset of World War II but was nonetheless occupied for five years by Nazi Germany (1940-45) and suffered heavy losses to its shipping fleet. 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 1,666 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": { "highest point": { "text": "Galdhopiggen 2,469 m" }, "lowest point": { "text": "Norwegian Sea 0 m" }, "mean elevation": { "text": "460 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% (2018 est.)" }, "agricultural land: arable land": { "text": "arable land: 2.2% (2018 est.)" }, "agricultural land: permanent crops": { "text": "permanent crops: 0% (2018 est.)" }, "agricultural land: permanent pasture": { "text": "permanent pasture: 0.5% (2018 est.)" }, "forest": { "text": "27.8% (2018 est.)" }, "other": { "text": "69.5% (2018 est.)" } }, "Irrigated land": { "text": "337 sq km (2016)" }, "Population distribution": { "text": "most Norwegians 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
" }, "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": "5,597,924 (2023 est.)" }, "Nationality": { "noun": { "text": "Norwegian(s)" }, "adjective": { "text": "Norwegian" } }, "Ethnic groups": { "text": "Norwegian 81.5% (includes about 60,000 Sami), other European 8.9%, other 9.6% (2021 est.)" }, "Languages": { "Languages": { "text": "Bokmal Norwegian (official), Nynorsk Norwegian (official), small Sami- and Finnish-speaking minorities; 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" }, "major-language sample(s)": { "text": "Norway is a trendsetter country in gender equality, especially in workforce participation. Of particular value to families are the child and parental leave benefits. This supplement is a monthly allowance paid to families from a month after birth until the child reaches 18 to defray some of the costs of raising children. This is helpful to families with young children where the mother works limited hours. The parental leave benefit is available to qualified mothers in a child’s first year, enabling parents to share at-home childcare for up to 49 weeks at full salary (or 59 weeks with 80% of their salary). Afterward, parents can put their child in high-quality subsidized daycare or receive funding toward private child care or as compensation for one parent staying home to care for their child.
Norway was originally a country of emigration with almost 850,000 Norwegians going abroad between 1825 and 1945. At the turn of the 20th century, most Norwegians emigrated temporarily to work in the US. Immigrants to Norway in the 1960s were mostly from neighboring Nordic countries, with whom they shared a common labor market. By the end of the 1960s, with a strong economy and population shortage, Norway admitted guest workers from Pakistan, Morocco, then Yugoslavia, and Turkey. The labor migrants were expected to be temporary, but many settled in Norway. Eventually, Norway imposed immigration restrictions and the majority of migrants came in as refugees or for family reunification. Beginning in the 1990s, Norway’s migration policy aimed at achieving integration – including language instruction and integration into the job market – as well as combatting racism and xenophobia.
" }, "Age structure": { "0-14 years": { "text": "17.83% (male 510,835/female 487,126)" }, "15-64 years": { "text": "64% (male 1,842,794/female 1,739,688)" }, "65 years and over": { "text": "18.18% (2023 est.) (male 474,878/female 542,603)" } }, "Dependency ratios": { "total dependency ratio": { "text": "54" }, "youth dependency ratio": { "text": "26.1" }, "elderly dependency ratio": { "text": "27.9" }, "potential support ratio": { "text": "3.6 (2021 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": "0.79% (2023 est.)" }, "Birth rate": { "text": "11.89 births/1,000 population (2023 est.)" }, "Death rate": { "text": "7.93 deaths/1,000 population (2023 est.)" }, "Net migration rate": { "text": "3.89 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2023 est.)" }, "Population distribution": { "text": "most Norwegians 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": "84% of total population (2023)" }, "rate of urbanization": { "text": "1.32% annual rate of change (2020-25 est.)" }, "note": "note: data include Svalbard and Jan Mayen Islands" }, "Major urban areas - population": { "text": "1.086 million OSLO (capital) (2023)" }, "Sex ratio": { "at birth": { "text": "1.05 male(s)/female" }, "0-14 years": { "text": "1.05 male(s)/female" }, "15-64 years": { "text": "1.06 male(s)/female" }, "65 years and over": { "text": "0.88 male(s)/female" }, "total population": { "text": "1.02 male(s)/female (2023 est.)" } }, "Mother's mean age at first birth": { "text": "29.8 years (2020 est.)", "note": "note: data is calculated based on actual age at first births" }, "Maternal mortality ratio": { "text": "2 deaths/100,000 live births (2020 est.)" }, "Infant mortality rate": { "total": { "text": "2.28 deaths/1,000 live births" }, "male": { "text": "2.61 deaths/1,000 live births" }, "female": { "text": "1.93 deaths/1,000 live births (2023 est.)" } }, "Life expectancy at birth": { "total population": { "text": "82.75 years" }, "male": { "text": "80.63 years" }, "female": { "text": "84.98 years (2023 est.)" } }, "Total fertility rate": { "text": "1.83 children born/woman (2023 est.)" }, "Gross reproduction rate": { "text": "0.89 (2023 est.)" }, "Contraceptive prevalence rate": { "text": "NA" }, "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 (2020 est.)" } }, "Current health expenditure": { "text": "11.4% of GDP (2020)" }, "Physicians density": { "text": "5.04 physicians/1,000 population (2020)" }, "Hospital bed density": { "text": "3.5 beds/1,000 population (2018)" }, "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 (2020 est.)" } }, "Obesity - adult prevalence rate": { "text": "23.1% (2016)" }, "Alcohol consumption per capita": { "total": { "text": "6.05 liters of pure alcohol (2019 est.)" }, "beer": { "text": "2.63 liters of pure alcohol (2019 est.)" }, "wine": { "text": "2.23 liters of pure alcohol (2019 est.)" }, "spirits": { "text": "1 liters of pure alcohol (2019 est.)" }, "other alcohols": { "text": "0.19 liters of pure alcohol (2019 est.)" } }, "Tobacco use": { "total": { "text": "16.2% (2020 est.)" }, "male": { "text": "17% (2020 est.)" }, "female": { "text": "15.4% (2020 est.)" } }, "Children under the age of 5 years underweight": { "text": "NA" }, "Currently married women (ages 15-49)": { "text": "50.2% (2023 est.)" }, "Education expenditures": { "text": "5.9% of GDP (2020 est.)" }, "Literacy": { "total population": { "text": "NA" }, "male": { "text": "NA" }, "female": { "text": "NA" } }, "School life expectancy (primary to tertiary education)": { "total": { "text": "18 years" }, "male": { "text": "18 years" }, "female": { "text": "19 years (2020)" } }, "Youth unemployment rate (ages 15-24)": { "total": { "text": "13%" }, "male": { "text": "13.5%" }, "female": { "text": "12.5% (2021 est.)" } } }, "Environment": { "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-Heavy Metals, Air Pollution-Multi-effect Protocol, Air Pollution-Nitrogen Oxides, Air Pollution-Persistent Organic Pollutants, Air Pollution-Sulphur 85, Air Pollution-Sulphur 94, Air Pollution-Volatile Organic Compounds, Antarctic-Environmental Protection, Antarctic-Marine Living Resources, Antarctic Seals, Antarctic Treaty, Biodiversity, Climate Change, Climate Change-Kyoto Protocol, Climate Change-Paris Agreement, Comprehensive Nuclear Test Ban, Desertification, Endangered Species, Environmental Modification, Hazardous Wastes, Law of the Sea, Marine Dumping-London Convention, Marine Dumping-London Protocol, Nuclear Test Ban, Ozone Layer Protection, Ship Pollution, Tropical Timber 2006, Wetlands, Whaling" }, "signed, but not ratified": { "text": "none of the selected agreements" } }, "Climate": { "text": "temperate along coast, modified by North Atlantic Current; colder interior with increased precipitation and colder summers; rainy year-round on west coast" }, "Land use": { "agricultural land": { "text": "2.7% (2018 est.)" }, "agricultural land: arable land": { "text": "arable land: 2.2% (2018 est.)" }, "agricultural land: permanent crops": { "text": "permanent crops: 0% (2018 est.)" }, "agricultural land: permanent pasture": { "text": "permanent pasture: 0.5% (2018 est.)" }, "forest": { "text": "27.8% (2018 est.)" }, "other": { "text": "69.5% (2018 est.)" } }, "Urbanization": { "urban population": { "text": "84% of total population (2023)" }, "rate of urbanization": { "text": "1.32% annual rate of change (2020-25 est.)" }, "note": "note: data include Svalbard and Jan Mayen Islands" }, "Revenue from forest resources": { "text": "0.05% of GDP (2018 est.)" }, "Revenue from coal": { "text": "0% of GDP (2018 est.)" }, "Air pollutants": { "particulate matter emissions": { "text": "7.02 micrograms per cubic meter (2016 est.)" }, "carbon dioxide emissions": { "text": "41.02 megatons (2016 est.)" }, "methane emissions": { "text": "4.81 megatons (2020 est.)" } }, "Waste and recycling": { "municipal solid waste generated annually": { "text": "2.187 million tons (2015 est.)" }, "municipal solid waste recycled annually": { "text": "572,119 tons (2015 est.)" }, "percent of municipal solid waste recycled": { "text": "26.2% (2015 est.)" } }, "Total water withdrawal": { "municipal": { "text": "780 million cubic meters (2020 est.)" }, "industrial": { "text": "1.07 billion cubic meters (2020 est.)" }, "agricultural": { "text": "840 million cubic meters (2020 est.)" } }, "Total renewable water resources": { "text": "393 billion cubic meters (2020 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" }, "etymology": { "text": "the medieval name was spelt \"Aslo\"; the as component refered either to the Ekeberg ridge southeast of the town (\"as\" in modern Norwegian), or to the Aesir (Norse gods); lo refered to \"meadow,\" so the most likely interpretations would have been either \"the meadow beneath the ridge\" or \"the meadow of the gods\"; both explanations are considered equally plausible" } }, "Administrative divisions": { "text": "11 counties (fylker, singular - fylke); Agder, Innlandet, More og Romsdal, Nordland, Oslo, Rogaland, Troms og Finnmark, Trondelag, Vestfold og Telemark, Vestland, Viken" }, "Dependent areas": { "text": "Bouvet Island, Jan Mayen, Svalbard" }, "Independence": { "text": "7 June 1905 (union with Sweden declared dissolved); 26 October 1905 (Sweden agreed to the repeal of the union); notable earlier dates: ca. 872 (traditional unification of petty Norwegian kingdoms by HARALD Fairhair); 1397 (Kalmar Union of Denmark, Norway, and Sweden); 1524 (Denmark-Norway); 17 May 1814 (Norwegian constitution adopted); 4 November 1814 (Sweden-Norway union confirmed)" }, "National holiday": { "text": "Constitution Day, 17 May (1814)" }, "Constitution": { "history": { "text": "drafted spring 1814, adopted 16 May 1814, signed by Constituent Assembly 17 May 1814" }, "amendments": { "text": "proposals submitted by members of Parliament or by the government within the first three years of Parliament's four-year term; passage requires two-thirds majority vote of a two-thirds quorum in the next elected Parliament; amended over 400 times, last in 2020" } }, "Legal system": { "text": "mixed legal system of civil, common, and customary law; Supreme Court can advise on legislative acts" }, "International law organization participation": { "text": "accepts compulsory ICJ jurisdiction with reservations; accepts ICCt jurisdiction" }, "Citizenship": { "citizenship by birth": { "text": "no" }, "citizenship by descent only": { "text": "at least one parent must be a citizen of Norway" }, "dual citizenship recognized": { "text": "no" }, "residency requirement for naturalization": { "text": "7 years" } }, "Suffrage": { "text": "18 years of age; universal" }, "Executive branch": { "chief of state": { "text": "King HARALD V (since 17 January 1991); Heir Apparent Crown Prince HAAKON MAGNUS (son of the monarch, born 20 July 1973)" }, "head of government": { "text": "Prime Minister Jonas Gahr STORE (since 14 October 2021)" }, "cabinet": { "text": "Council of State appointed by the monarch, approved by Parliament" }, "elections/appointments": { "text": "the monarchy is hereditary; following parliamentary elections, the leader of the majority party or majority coalition usually appointed prime minister by the monarch with the approval of the parliament" } }, "Legislative branch": { "description": { "text": "unicameral Parliament or Storting (169 seats; members directly elected in multi-seat constituencies by list proportional representation vote; members serve 4-year terms)" }, "elections": { "text": "last held on 13 September 2021 (next to be held on 30 September 2025)" }, "election results": { "text": "percent of vote by party - Ap 26.3%, H 20.5%, SP 13.6%, FrP 11.7%, SV 7.6%, R 4.7%, V 4.6%, MDG 3.9%, KrF 3.8%, PF 0.2%, other 3.1%; seats by party - Ap 48, H 36, SP 28, FrP 21, SV 13, R 8, V 8, , KrF 3, MDG 3, PF 1; composition (as of October 2021) men 93, women 76, percent of women 45%
" } }, "Judicial branch": { "highest court(s)": { "text": "Supreme Court or Hoyesterett (consists of the chief justice and 18 associate justices)" }, "judge selection and term of office": { "text": "justices appointed by the monarch (King in Council) upon the recommendation of the Judicial Appointments Board; justices can serve until mandatory retirement at age 70" }, "subordinate courts": { "text": "Courts of Appeal or Lagmennsrett; regional and district courts; Conciliation Boards; ordinary and special courts; note - in addition to professionally trained judges, elected lay judges sit on the bench with professional judges in the Courts of Appeal and district courts" } }, "Political parties and leaders": { "text": "Center Party or Sp [Trygve Slagsvold VEDUM]
Christian Democratic Party or KrF [Olaug Vervik BOLLESTAD]
Conservative Party or H [Erna SOLBERG]
Green Party or MDG [Arild HERMSTAD]
Labor Party or Ap [Jonas Gahr STORE]
Liberal Party or V [Guri MELBY]
Patient Focus or PF [Irene OJALA]
Progress Party or FrP [Sylvi LISTHAUG]
Red Party or R [Bjonar MOXNES]
Socialist Left Party or SV [Kristi BERGSTO]
Norway-Antarctica: Norway asserts a territorial claim in Antarctica (Queen Maud Land and its continental shelf)
Norway-Russia: Russia amended its 2001 CLCS submission in 2015 and 2021, each time delineating the outer limits of its continental shelf further into the Arctic Ocean; Norway and Russia signed a comprehensive maritime boundary agreement in 2010, ending a dispute over an area of the Barents Sea by dividing the territory equally
Norway-Sweden: none identified
" }, "Refugees and internally displaced persons": { "refugees (country of origin)": { "text": "15,901 (Syria), 10,883 (Eritrea) (mid-year 2022); 48,280 (Ukraine) (as of 10 July 2023)" }, "stateless persons": { "text": "3,901 (2022)" } } } }