Name
Kingdom of Norway
Government
Constitutional monarchy
Monarch
King Harald V
Population
4.5 million
Capital
Oslo (population 0.5 million)
Area
324,220 sq km
Population Density
11.7 per sq km
Time Zone
GMT/UTC +1
(daylight saving March – October)
Languages
Norwegian Bokmål (official)
Norwegian Nynorsk (official)
Sami
Ethnic groups
Norwegian
Sami minority (20,000)
Religion
Christian
(86% Evangelic Lutheran Church of Norway)
Currency
Norwegian Krone (Nkr, NOK)
Electricity
230V 50Hz
Country Dialing Code
47
Borders
Finland 727km, Sweden 1619km, Russia 196km
Coastline
25,148 km
Climate
Despite sharing the latitude of Alaska, Greenland and Siberia, fairly temperate especially along the coast due to the Gulf Stream. Inland climate can be more severe and to the north subarctic conditions are found. Nationwide the average temperature in January is -4°C. Along the coast, temperatures are usually above freezing while inland, particularly in the north, it is not unusual for temperatures to reach below -40°C.
Terrain
About two thirds high glaciated plateaus and rugged mountains with fertile valleys and plains. Coastline is much indented by fjords and there about 50,000 islands off the coast. Half of the country's area lies above the treeline with 25% of the country covered by forest. 3% arable land.
Highest peak
Galdhopiggen 2469 m
Natural resources
petroleum, natural gas, iron ore, copper, lead, zinc, titanium, pyrites, nickel, fish, timber, hydropower
Industries
petroleum and gas, food processing, shipbuilding, pulp and paper products, metals, chemicals, timber, mining, textiles, fishing
Economic union
Opted to stay out of the European Union in 1972 and 1994. Norway participates in the EU's single market via the European Economic Area (EEA) agreement.
Administration
Norway is divided into 19 administrative regions, called fylker (county) and 433 kommuner (municipality). The fylke is the intermediate administration between state and municipality.
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Norsk
