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NAVIGATION
Kingdom of Norway
Kongeriket Norge
GOVERNMENT
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Country name:
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conventional long form: Kingdom of Norway
conventional short form: Norway local short form: Norge local long form: Kongeriket Norge |
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Government type:
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constitutional monarchy |
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Capital:
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Oslo |
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Administrative divisions:
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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 |
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Dependent areas:
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Bouvet Island, Jan Mayen, Svalbard |
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Independence:
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7 June 1905 Norway declared the union with Sweden dissolved; 26 October 1905 Sweden agreed to the repeal of the union |
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National holiday:
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Constitution Day, 17 May (1814); note - on 14 January 1814 Denmark ceded Norway to Sweden; resisting Swedish domination, Norwegians adopted a new constitution four months later; on 14 August 1814 Norway was proclaimed independent but in union with Sweden; on 7 June 1905 Norway declared the union with Sweden dissolved |
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Constitution:
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17 May 1814, modified in 1884 |
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Legal system:
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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 |
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Suffrage:
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18 years of age; universal |
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Executive branch:
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chief of state: King HARALD V (since 17 January 1991); Heir Apparent Crown Prince HAAKON MAGNUS, son of the monarch (born 20 July 1973)
head of government: Prime Minister Kjell Magne BONDEVIK (since 19 October 2001) cabinet: State Council appointed by the monarch with the approval of Parliament elections: none; the monarch is hereditary; following parliamentary elections, the leader of the majority party or the leader of the majority coalition is usually appointed prime minister by the monarch with the approval of the Parliament |
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Legislative branch:
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modified unicameral Parliament or Storting (165 seats; members are elected by popular vote by proportional representation to serve four-year terms)
elections: last held 10 September 2001 (next to be held NA September 2005) note: for certain purposes, the Parliament divides itself into two chambers and elects one-fourth of its membership to an upper house or Lagting election results: percent of vote by party - Labor Party 24.3%, Conservative Party 21.2%, Progress Party 14.6%, Socialist Left Party 12.5%, Christian People's Party 12.4%, Center Party 5.6%, Liberal Party 3.9%, Coastal Party 1.7%, other 3.8%; seats by party - Labor Party 43, Conservative Party 38, Progress Party 26, Socialist Left Party 23, Christian People's Party 22, Center Party 10, Liberal Party 2, Coastal Party 1 |
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Judicial branch:
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Supreme Court or Hoyesterett (justices appointed by the monarch) |
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Political parties and leaders:
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Center Party [Odd Roger ENOKSEN]; Christian People's Party [Valgerd Svarstad HAUGLAND]; Coastal Party [Steinar BASTESEN]; Conservative Party [Jan PETERSEN]; Labor Party [Jens STOLTENBERG]; Liberal Party [Lars SPONHEIM]; Progress Party [Carl I. HAGEN]; Socialist Left Party [Kristin HALVORSEN] |
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Political pressure groups and leaders:
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NA |
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International organization participation:
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AfDB, AsDB, Australia Group, BIS, CBSS, CCC, CE, CERN, EAPC, EBRD, ECE, EFTA, ESA, FAO, IADB, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, ICC, ICFTU, ICRM, IDA, IEA, IFAD, IFC, IFRCS, IHO, ILO, IMF, IMO, Interpol, IOC, IOM, ISO, ITU, NAM (guest), NATO, NC, NEA, NIB, NSG, OAS (observer), OECD, OPCW, OSCE, PCA, UN, UN Security Council (temporary), UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNHCR, UNIDO, UNMEE, UNMIBH, UNMIK, UNMOP, UNTAET, UNTSO, UPU, WEU (associate), WHO, WIPO, WMO, WTrO, ZC |
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Diplomatic representation in the US:
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chief of mission: Ambassador Knut VOLLEBAEK
chancery: 2720 34th Street NW, Washington, DC 20008 consulate(s) general: Houston, Miami, Minneapolis, New York, and San Francisco FAX: [1] (202) 337-0870 telephone: [1] (202) 333-6000 |
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Diplomatic representation from the US:
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chief of mission: Ambassador John D. ONG
embassy: Drammensveien 18, 0244 Oslo mailing address: PSC 69, Box 1000, APO AE 09707 telephone: [47] (22) 44 85 50 FAX: [47] (22) 43 07 77 |
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Flag description:
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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) |
ECONOMY
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Economy - overview:
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The Norwegian economy is a prosperous bastion of welfare capitalism, featuring 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). The country is richly endowed with natural resources - petroleum, hydropower, fish, forests, and minerals - and is highly dependent on its oil production and international oil prices; in 1999, oil and gas accounted for 35% of exports. Only Saudi Arabia and Russia export more oil than Norway. Oslo opted to stay out of the EU during a referendum in November 1994. Growth picked up in 2000 to 2.7%, compared with the meager 0.8% of 1999, but fell back to 1.3% in 2001. High oil prices helped the economy in 2002 in face of the sluggish world economy. The government has moved ahead with privatization. With arguably the highest quality of life worldwide, Norwegians still worry about that time in the next two decades when the oil and gas begin to run out. Accordingly, Norway has been saving its oil-boosted budget surpluses in a Government Petroleum Fund, which is invested abroad and now is valued at more than $43 billion. |
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GDP:
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purchasing power parity - $143 billion (2002 est.) |
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GDP - real growth rate:
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1.6% (2002 est.) |
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GDP - per capita:
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purchasing power parity - $31,800 (2002 est.) |
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GDP - composition by sector:
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agriculture: 2%
industry: 31% services: 67% (2000) |
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Population below poverty line:
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NA% |
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Household income or consumption by percentage share:
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lowest 10%: 4%
highest 10%: 22% (1995) |
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Distribution of family income - Gini index:
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26 (1995) |
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Inflation rate (consumer prices):
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1.3% (2001 est.) |
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Labor force:
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2.4 million (2000 est.) |
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Labor force - by occupation:
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services 74%, industry 22%, agriculture, forestry, and fishing 4% (1995) |
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Unemployment rate:
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3.9% (2002 est.) |
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Budget:
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revenues: $71.7 billion
expenditures: $57.6 billion, including capital expenditures of $NA (2000 est.) |
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Industries:
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petroleum and gas, food processing, shipbuilding, pulp and paper products, metals, chemicals, timber, mining, textiles, fishing |
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Industrial production growth rate:
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1.2% (2002 est.) |
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Electricity - production:
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141.16 billion kWh (2000) |
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Electricity - production by source:
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fossil fuel: 0%
hydro: 99% other: 0% (2000) nuclear: 0% |
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Electricity - consumption:
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112.5 billion kWh (2000) |
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Electricity - exports:
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20.259 billion kWh (2000) |
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Electricity - imports:
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1.474 billion kWh (2000) |
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Agriculture - products:
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barley, wheat, potatoes; pork, beef, veal, milk; fish |
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Exports:
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$68.2 billion f.o.b. (2002 est.) |
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Exports - commodities:
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petroleum and petroleum products, machinery and equipment, metals, chemicals, ships, fish |
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Exports - partners:
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EU 76.8% (UK 19.8%, France 11.8%, Germany 11.6%, Netherlands 10.2%, Sweden 7.9%), US 7.9% (2001) |
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Imports:
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$37.3 billion f.o.b. (2002 est.) |
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Imports - commodities:
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machinery and equipment, chemicals, metals, foodstuffs |
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Imports - partners:
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EU 66.5% (Sweden 15.5%, Germany 12.8%, UK 7.8%, Denmark 7.2%, France 5.2%), US 7.0% (2001) |
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Debt - external:
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$0 (Norway is a net external creditor) |
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Economic aid - donor:
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ODA, $1.4 billion (1998) (1998) |
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Currency:
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Norwegian krone (NOK) |
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Currency code:
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NOK |
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Exchange rates:
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Norwegian kroner per US dollar - 8.9684 (January 2002), 8.9917 (2001), 8.8018 (2000), 7.7992 (1999), 7.5451 (1998), 7.0734 (1997) |
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Fiscal year:
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calendar year |