Norway

Airports

103 total, 102 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; 38,580 km paved; 40,960 km gravel, crushed stone, and earth

Inland waterways

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

Merchant marine

864 ships (1,000 GRT or over) totaling 22,978,202 GRT/40,128,177 DWT; includes 12 passenger, 20 short-sea passenger, 118 cargo, 2 passenger-cargo, 19 refrigerated cargo, 16 container, 49 roll-on/roll-off, 22 vehicle carrier, 1 railcar carrier, 180 oil tanker, 93 chemical tanker, 83 liquefied gas, 28 combination ore/oil, 211 bulk, 10 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 (777) 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; 2 buried coaxial cable systems; 3,102,000 telephones; broadcast stations - 46 AM, 350 private and 143 government FM, 54 (2,100 repeaters) TV; 4 coaxial submarine cables; 3 communications satellite earth stations operating in the EUTELSAT, INTELSAT (1 Atlantic Ocean), MARISAT, and domestic systems

Branches

Norwegian Army, Royal Norwegian Navy, Royal Norwegian Air Force, Home Guard

Defense expenditures

exchange rate conversion - $3.8 billion, 3.8% of GDP (1991)

Manpower availability

males 15-49, 1,129,871; 944,290 fit for military service; 33,175 reach military age (20) annually

Agriculture

accounts for 2.8% of GDP and 6.4% 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 1.76 million metric tons in 1989

Budget

revenues $47.9 billion; expenditures $52.7 billion, including capital expenditures of $NA (1991)

Currency

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

Economic aid

donor - ODA and OOF commitments (1970-89), $4.4 billion

Electricity

26,735,000 kW capacity; 121,685 million kWh produced, 28,950 kWh per capita (1991)

Exchange rates

Norwegian kroner (NKr) per US$1 - 6.1956 (January 1992), 6.4829 (1991), 6.2597 (1990), 6.9045 (1989), 6.5170 (1988), 6.7375 (1987)

Exports

$34.2 billion (f.o.b., 1991) commodities: petroleum and petroleum products 36.5%, natural gas 7.5%, fish 7%, aluminum 6%, ships 6.2%, pulp and paper partners: EC 66.5%, Nordic countries 19.5%, developing countries 7.8%, US 4.6%, Japan 1.9% (1991)

External debt

$10.2 billion (1991)

Fiscal year

calendar year

GDP

purchasing power equivalent - $72.9 billion, per capita $17,100; real growth rate 4.1% (1991 est.)

Imports

$25.1 billion (c.i.f., 1991) commodities: machinery, fuels and lubricants, transportation equipment, chemicals, foodstuffs, clothing, ships partners: EC 46.8%, Nordic countries 26.1%, developing countries 12.3%, US 7.8%, Japan 4.7% (1991)

Industrial production

growth rate 4.7% (1991)

Industries

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

Inflation rate (consumer prices)

3.5% (1991)

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 agricultural, fishing, and other sectors. Norway also maintains an extensive welfare system that helps propel public-sector expenditures to slightly more than 50% of the GDP and results in one of the highest average tax burdens in the world (54%). 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 to keep its economy afloat. Although one of the government's main priorities is to reduce this dependency, this situation is not likely to improve for years to come. The government also hopes to reduce unemployment and strengthen and diversify the economy through tax reform and an expansionary 1992 budget. Forecasters predict that economic growth will rise slightly in 1992 because of public-sector expansion and moderate improvements in private investment and demand. Inflation will remain about 3%, while unemployment continues at record levels of over 5% because of the weakness of the economy outside the oil sector. Oslo, a member of the European Free Trade Area, is continuing to deregulate and harmonize with EC regulations to prepare for the European Economic Area (EEA) - which creates a EC/EFTA market with free movement of capital, goods, services, and labor - which takes effect in 1993.

Unemployment rate

5.4% (1991, 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; includes mainland 3,419 km, large islands 2,413 km, long fjords, numerous small islands, and minor indentations 16,093 km

Comparative area

slightly larger than New Mexico

Disputes

territorial claim in Antarctica (Queen Maud Land); Denmark has challenged Norway's maritime claims between Greenland and Jan Mayen; maritime boundary dispute with Russia over portion of Barents Sea

Environment

air and water pollution; acid rain; 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 Russia

Land area

307,860 km2

Land boundaries

2,515 km total; Finland 729 km, Sweden 1,619 km, Russia 167 km

Land use

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

Maritime claims

Contiguous zone: 10 nm Continental shelf: to depth of exploitation Exclusive economic zone: 200 nm Territorial sea: 4 nm

Natural resources

crude oil, copper, natural gas, pyrites, nickel, iron ore, zinc, lead, fish, timber, hydropower

Terrain

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

Total area

324,220 km2

Administrative divisions

19 provinces (fylker, singular - fylke); Akershus, Aust-Agder, Buskerud, Finnmark, Hedmark, Hordaland, More og Romsdal, Nordland, Nord-Trondelag, Oppland, Oslo, OCstfold, 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, 0244 Oslo 2 (mailing address is APO AE 09707); telephone [47] (2) 44-85-50; FAX [47] (2) 43-07-77

Elections

Storting: 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 Party 6.6%, Finnmark List 0.3%, other 5%; seats - (165 total) Labor 63, Conservative 37, Progress 22, Socialist Left 17, Christian People's 14, Center Party 11, Finnmark List 1

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)

Leaders

Chief of State: King HARALD V (since 17 January 1991); Heir Apparent Crown Prince HAAKON MAGNUS (born 20 July 1973) Head of Government: Prime Minister Gro Harlem BRUNDTLAND (since 3 November 1990)

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) with an Upper Chamber (Lagting) and a Lower Chamber (Odelsting)

Long-form name

Kingdom of Norway

Member of

AfDB, AsDB, Australia Group, BIS, CCC, CE, CERN, COCOM, CSCE, EBRD, ECE, EFTA, ESA, FAO, GATT, IADB, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, ICC, ICFTU, IDA, IEA, IFAD, IFC, ILO, IMF, IMO, INMARSAT, INTELSAT, INTERPOL, IOC, IOM, ISO, ITU, LORCS, MTCR, NACC, NATO, NC, NEA, NIB, NSG, OECD, PCA, UN, UNAVEM, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNHCR, UNIDO, UNIFIL, UNIIMOG, UNMOGIP, UNTSO, UPU, WHO, WIPO, WMO, ZC

National holiday

Constitution Day, 17 May (1814)

Political parties and leaders

Labor, Gro Harlem BRUNDTLAND; Conservative, Kaci Kullmann FIVE; Center Party, Anne Enger LAHNSTEIN; Christian People's, Kjell Magne BONDEVIK; Socialist Left, Erick SOLHEIM; Norwegian Communist, Kare Andre NILSEN; Progress, Carl I. HAGEN; Liberal, Odd Einar DORUM; Finnmark List, leader NA

Suffrage

universal at age 18

Type

constitutional monarchy

Birth rate

14 births/1,000 population (1992)

Death rate

10 deaths/1,000 population (1992)

Ethnic divisions

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

Infant mortality rate

7 deaths/1,000 live births (1992)

Labor force

2,167,000 (September 1990); services 34.7%, commerce 18%, mining and manufacturing 16.6%, banking and financial services 7.5%, transportation and communications 7.2%, construction 7.2%, agriculture, forestry, and fishing 6.4% (1989)

Languages

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

Life expectancy at birth

74 years male, 81 years female (1992)

Literacy

99% (male NA%, female NA%) age 15 and over can read and write (1976 est.)

Nationality

noun - Norwegian(s); adjective - Norwegian

Net migration rate

2 migrants/1,000 population (1992)

Organized labor

66% of labor force (1985)

Population

4,294,876 (July 1992), growth rate 0.5% (1992)

Religions

Evangelical Lutheran (state church) 87.8%, other Protestant and Roman Catholic 3.8%, none 3.2%, unknown 5.2% (1980)

Total fertility rate

1.8 children born/woman (1992)