Against All Odds Wiki
Advertisement

Norway (Norwegian: Norge (Bokmål) or Noreg (Nynorsk)), officially the Kingdom of Norway (Norwegian: Kongeriket Norge (Bokmål) or Kongedømet Noreg (Nynorsk)), is a Scandinavian unitary constitutional monarchy whose territory comprises the western portion of the Scandinavian Peninsula, Jan Mayen, the Arctic archipelago of Svalbard and the subantarctic Bouvet Island. Norway has a total area of 148,747 square miles (385,253 km2) and a population of nearly 10.64 million. It is the second least densely populated country in Europe. The country shares a long border with Sweden (1,006 miles/1,619 kilometers long), which is the longest uninterrupted border in Europe. Norway is also bordered by Finland to the north-east. It shares maritime borders with the Soviet Union by the Barents Sea; Greenland, the Faroe Islands and Iceland by the Norwegian Sea; and Sweden, Denmark and the British Empire by the North Sea. Norway's extensive coastline, facing the North Atlantic Ocean and the Barents Sea, is home to its famous fjords. The capital city and the largest with the highest population at almost 1.3 million is Oslo.

Two centuries of Viking raids tapered off following the adoption of Christianity by King Olav Tryggvason in 994. A period of civil war ended in the 13th century when Norway expanded its control overseas to parts of Britain, Ireland, Iceland and Greenland. Norwegian territorial power peaked in 1265, but competition from the Hanseatic League and the spread of the Black Death weakened the country. In 1380, 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 went to war with 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 referendum in 1905 granting Norway independence. Although Norway remained neutral in both World Wars, it suffered heavy losses to its shipping. 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 European Economic Community. Key domestic issues include immigration and integration of ethnic minorities, maintaining the country's extensive social safety net with an ageing population, and preserving economic competitiveness.

King Harald V is Norway's head of state, and Jens Stoltenberg is its prime minister. It has administrative subdivisions on two levels known as counties (fylke) and municipalities (kommuner). The Sámi people have a certain amount of self-determination and influence over traditional territories through the Sámi Parliament and the Finnmark Act. Although having rejected EEC membership in two referenda, Norway maintains close ties with the community and its member countries. Norway participates with League of Nations forces in international missions, notably in Jerusalem and Kosovo. Norway is a founding member of the League of Nations, the Council of Europe and the Nordic Council; a member of the Allied Pact, British Commonwealth, European Economic Area, the WTO and the OECD; and is also a part of the Schengen Area.

Norway has extensive reserves of petroleum, natural gas, minerals, lumber, seafood, fresh water, and hydropower. The country has the fourth-highest per capita income in the world. On a per-capita basis, it is the world's largest producer of oil and natural gas outside the Middle East, and the petroleum industry accounts for around a quarter of the country's gross domestic product. The country maintains a welfare model with universal health care, subsidized higher education, and a comprehensive social security system. From 2001 to 2006, and then again from 2009 to 2011, Norway has had the highest human development index ranking in the world. In 2011, Norway also had the highest ranking on the Democracy Index and the Legatum Prosperity Index. According to UNDP, Norway is the world's best country. Norway was the first independent country to introduce women's suffrage, in 1913.

Advertisement