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.

Northern Europe, bordering the North Sea and the North Atlantic Ocean, west of Sweden

62 00 N, 10 00 E

Europe

slightly larger than twice the size of Georgia; slightly larger than New Mexico

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)

temperate along coast, modified by North Atlantic Current; colder interior with increased precipitation and colder summers; rainy year-round on west coast

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

highest point: Galdhopiggen 2,469 m

petroleum, natural gas, iron ore, copper, lead, zinc, titanium, pyrites, nickel, fish, timber, hydropower

arable land 2.2%; permanent crops 0%; permanent pasture 0.5%

900 sq km (2012)

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

rockslides, avalanches

water pollution; acid rain damaging forests and adversely affecting lakes, threatening fish stocks; air pollution from vehicle emissions

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

5,320,045 (July 2017 est.)

Norwegian 94.4% (includes about 60,000 Sami), other European 3.6%, other 2% (2007 est.)

Bokmal Norwegian (official), Nynorsk Norwegian (official), small Sami- and Finnish-speaking minorities

Church of Norway (Evangelical Lutheran - official) 82.1%, other Christian 3.9%, Muslim 2.3%, Roman Catholic 1.8%, other 2.4%, unspecified 7.5% (2011 est.)

1.01% (2017 est.)

12.2 births/1,000 population (2017 est.)

8.1 deaths/1,000 population (2017 est.)

5.9 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2017 est.)

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

OSLO (capital) 986,000 (2015)

28.9 years

5 deaths/100,000 live births (2015 est.)

1.85 children born/woman (2017 est.)

9.7% of GDP (2014)

4.42 physicians/1,000 population (2014)

3.85 beds/1,000 population (2014)

urban: 100% of population

rural: 100% of population

total: 100% of population

urban: 0% of population

rural: 0% of population

total: 0% of population (2015 est.)

urban: 98% of population

rural: 98.3% of population

total: 98.1% of population

urban: 2% of population

rural: 1.7% of population

total: 1.9% of population (2015 est.)

NA

NA

NA

23.1% (2016)

7.4% of GDP (2013)

parliamentary constitutional monarchy

19 counties (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

Bouvet Island, Jan Mayen, Svalbard

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

Constitution Day, 17 May (1814)

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

accepts compulsory ICJ jurisdiction with reservations; accepts ICCt jurisdiction

18 years of age; universal

Center Party or Sp [Trygve Slagsvold VEDUM]

Christian Democratic Party or KrF [Knut Arild HAREIDE]

Conservative Party or H [Erna SOLBERG]

Green Party or MDG [Rasmus HANSSON and Une Aina BASTHOLM]

Labor Party or Ap [Jonas Gahr STORE]

Liberal Party or V [Trine SKEI GRANDE]

Progress Party or FrP [Siv JENSEN]

Socialist Left Party or SV [Audun LYSBAKKEN]

Confederation of Norwegian Enterprise or NHO [Tore ULSTEIN, Kristin SKOGEN LUND]

Norwegian Confederation of Trade Unions or LO [Hans-Christian GABRIELSEN]

ADB (nonregional member), AfDB (nonregional member), Arctic Council, Australia Group, BIS, CBSS, CD, CE, CERN, EAPC, EBRD, EFTA, EITI (implementing country), ESA, FAO, FATF, IADB, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, ICC (national committees), ICCt, ICRM, IDA, IEA, IFAD, IFC, IFRCS, IGAD (partners), IHO, ILO, IMF, IMO, IMSO, Interpol, IOC, IOM, IPU, ISO, ITSO, ITU, ITUC (NGOs), MIGA, MINUSMA, NATO, NC, NEA, NIB, NSG, OAS (observer), OECD, OPCW, OSCE, Paris Club, PCA, Schengen Convention, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNHCR, UNIDO, UNITAR, UNMISS, UNRWA, UNTSO, UNWTO, UPU, WCO, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WTO, ZC

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); the colors recall Norway's past political unions with Denmark (red and white) and Sweden (blue)

lion; national colors: red, white, blue

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; nonetheless, as a member of the European Economic Area, it contributes sizably to the EU budget.

The country is richly endowed with natural resources in addition to oil and gas, including hydropower, 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, though oil production in 2016 was close to 50% below its peak in 2000; annual gas production, conversely, more than doubled over the same time period. After a continual decline from 2001 to 2013, oil production rose in 2016 for the third year running, due to the higher production of existing oil fields and to new fields coming on stream.

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 almost $900 billion as of early 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 2016. Lower oil prices in 2015 and 2016 caused growth to slow, increased unemployment, and weakened the Norwegian krone. The latter trend has mitigated the negative impact of lower oil and gas prices by making Norwegian exports cheaper for foreign buyers. The government has expressed willingness to increase public spending from the sovereign wealth fund to help prevent a recession.

$364.5 billion (2016 est.)

$356.1 billion (2015 est.)

$346.7 billion (2014 est.)

$370.6 billion (2016 est.)

1.1% (2016 est.)

1.6% (2015 est.)

1.9% (2014 est.)

$69,400 (2016 est.)

$69,300 (2015 est.)

$68,800 (2014 est.)

34.1% of GDP (2016 est.)

36.9% of GDP (2015 est.)

39.2% of GDP (2014 est.)

barley, wheat, potatoes; pork, beef, veal, milk; fish

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

0.4% (2016 est.)

2.78 million (2016 est.)

4.7% (2016 est.)

4.4% (2015 est.)

NA%

26.8 (2010)

25.8 (1995)

54.2% of GDP (2016 est.)

3% of GDP (2016 est.)

35.7% of GDP (2016 est.)

32% of GDP (2015 est.)

calendar year

3.6% (2016 est.)

2.2% (2015 est.)

6.25% (31 December 2010)

1.75% (31 December 2009)

1.5% (31 December 2016 est.)

1.75% (31 December 2015 est.)

$214 billion (31 December 2016 est.)

$199.6 billion (31 December 2015 est.)

$323.9 billion (31 December 2014 est.)

$310 billion (31 December 2013 est.)

$571.7 billion (31 December 2016 est.)

$527.8 billion (31 December 2015 est.)

$193.9 billion (31 December 2015 est.)

$219.4 billion (31 December 2014 est.)

$265.4 billion (31 December 2013 est.)

$18.43 billion (2016 est.)

$33.75 billion (2015 est.)

$88.88 billion (2016 est.)

$103.4 billion (2015 est.)

petroleum and petroleum products, machinery and equipment, metals, chemicals, ships, fish

UK 21%, Germany 14.4%, Netherlands 10.7%, France 6.9%, Sweden 6.5%, Belgium 4.4%, US 4.3%, Denmark 4% (2016)

$73.62 billion (2016 est.)

$75.41 billion (2015 est.)

machinery and equipment, chemicals, metals, foodstuffs

Germany 12.2%, Sweden 12.2%, China 11.2%, US 6.6%, Denmark 5.7%, UK 5.2%, Netherlands 4.1% (2016)

$60.45 billion (31 December 2016 est.)

$57.46 billion (31 December 2015 est.)

$642.3 billion (31 March 2016 est.)

$640.1 billion (31 March 2015 est.)

$219.1 billion (31 December 2016 est.)

$210.6 billion (31 December 2015 est.)

$191.7 billion (31 December 2016 est.)

$203 billion (31 December 2015 est.)

Norwegian kroner (NOK) per US dollar -

8.3978 (2016 est.)

8.3978 (2015 est.)

8.0646 (2014 est.)

6.3021 (2013 est.)

5.82 (2012 est.)

149.5 billion kWh (2016 est.)

133.1 billion kWh (2016 est.)

15.53 billion kWh (2016 est.)

5.7 billion kWh (2016 est.)

33.85 million kW (2015 est.)

4.1% of total installed capacity (2015 est.)

0% of total installed capacity (2015 est.)

88.4% of total installed capacity (2015 est.)

3.3% of total installed capacity (2015 est.)

1.648 million bbl/day (2016 est.)

1.395 million bbl/day (2016 est.)

10,630 bbl/day (2016 est.)

6.611 billion bbl (1 January 2017)

282,400 bbl/day (2016 est.)

227,700 bbl/day (2016 est.)

353,100 bbl/day (2016 est.)

124,500 bbl/day (2016 est.)

117.2 billion cu m (2015 est.)

9.428 billion cu m (2015 est.)

112 billion cu m (2015 est.)

0 cu m (2014 est.)

1.856 trillion cu m (1 January 2017 es)

53.9 million Mt (2015 est.)

state-owned public radio-TV broadcaster operates 3 nationwide TV stations, 3 nationwide radio stations, and 16 regional radio stations; roughly a dozen privately owned TV stations broadcast nationally and roughly another 25 local TV stations broadcasting; nearly 75% of households have access to multi-channel cable or satellite TV; 2 privately owned radio stations broadcast nationwide and another 240 stations operate locally; Norway is the first country in the world to phase out FM radio in favor of Digital Audio Broadcasting (DAB), a process scheduled for completion in late 2017 (2017)

.no

LN (2016)

95 (2013)

1 (2013)

gas 8,520 km; oil/condensate 1,304 km (2017)

1,577 km (2010)

1.62% of GDP (2016)

1.5% of GDP (2015)

1.47% of GDP (2014)

1.41% of GDP (2013)

1.4% of GDP (2012)

Norwegian Army (Haeren), Royal Norwegian Navy (Kongelige Norske Sjoeforsvaret; includes Coastal Rangers and Coast Guard (Kystvakt)), Royal Norwegian Air Force (Kongelige Norske Luftforsvaret), Home Guard (Heimevernet, HV) (2017)

19-35 years of age for male and female compulsory military service; 16 years of age in wartime; 17 years of age for male volunteers; 18 years of age for women; 19-month service obligation (2017)

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