Norway

Airports

104 total, 104 usable; 64 with permanent-surface runways; none with runways over 3,659 m; 12 with runways 2,440-3,659 m; 16 with runways 1,220-2,439 m

Civil air

76 major transport aircraft

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

Inland waterways

1,577 km along west coast; 1.5-2.4 m draft vessels maximum

Merchant marine

660 ships (1,000 GRT or over) totaling 16,702,254 GRT/28,722,304 DWT; includes 11 passenger, 19 short-sea passenger, 104 cargo, 3 passenger-cargo, 19 refrigerated cargo, 6 container, 40 roll-on/roll-off cargo, 6 vehicle carrier, 1 railcar carrier, 128 petroleum, oils, and lubricants (POL) tanker, 86 chemical tanker, 62 liquefied gas, 26 combination ore/oil, 142 bulk, 7 combination 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

Pipelines

refined products, 53 km

Ports

Oslo, Bergen, Fredrikstad, Kristiansand, Stavanger, Trondheim

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

Telecommunications

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

Branches

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

Defense expenditures

3.3% of GDP, or $2.5 billion (1989 est.)

Military manpower

males 15-49, 1,115,620; 937,555 fit for military service; 32,748 reach military age (20) annually

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

Budget

revenues $40.6 billion; expenditures $41.3 billion, including capital expenditures of $NA (1989)

Currency

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

Electricity

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

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)

Exports

$22.2 billion (f.o.b., 1989); commodities--petroleum and petroleum products 25%, natural gas 11%, fish 7%, aluminum 6%, ships 3.5%, pulp and paper; partners--UK 26%, EFTA 16.3%, less developed countries 14%, Sweden 12%, FRG 12%, US 6%, Denmark 5% (1988)

External debt

$18.3 billion (December 1989)

Fiscal year

calendar year

GDP

$75.8 billion, per capita $17,900; real growth rate 5.7% (1989 est.)

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)

Industries

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

Inflation rate (consumer prices)

4.5% (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.

Unemployment rate

3.9% (1989 est., excluding people in job-training programs)

Climate

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

Coastline

21,925 km (3,419 km mainland; 2,413 km large islands; 16,093 km long fjords, numerous small islands, and minor indentations)

Comparative area

slightly larger than New Mexico

Contiguous zone

10 nm;

Continental shelf

200 meters or to depth of exploitation;

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

Environment

air and water pollution; acid rain

Extended economic zone

200 nm;

Land boundaries

2,582 km total; Finland 729 km, Sweden 1,657, USSR 196 km

Land use

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

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

Terrain

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

Territorial sea

4 nm

Total area

324,220 km2; land area: 307,860 km2

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

Capital

Oslo

Communists

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

Constitution

17 May 1814, modified in 1884

Dependent areas

Bouvet Island, Jan Mayen, Svalbard

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

Executive branch

monarch, prime minister, State Council (cabinet)

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)

Independence

26 October 1905 (from Sweden)

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)

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

Legislative branch

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

Long-form name

Kingdom of Norway

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

National holiday

Constitution Day, 17 May (1814)

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

Type

constitutional monarchy

Birth rate

14 births/1,000 population (1990)

Death rate

11 deaths/1,000 population (1990)

Ethnic divisions

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

Infant mortality rate

7 deaths/1,000 live births (1990)

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)

Language

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

Life expectancy at birth

73 years male, 81 years female (1990)

Literacy

100%

Nationality

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

Net migration rate

2 migrants/1,000 population (1990)

Organized labor

66% of labor force (1985)

Population

4,252,806 (July 1990), growth rate 0.5% (1990)

Religion

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

Total fertility rate

1.8 children born/woman (1990)