Norway
- For other uses, see Norway (disambiguation).
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| Table of contents |
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2 Politics 3 Counties 4 Geography 5 Economy 6 Demographics 7 Culture 8 Miscellaneous topics 9 International rankings 10 External links |
History
Main article: History of NorwayIn the 9th century Norway consisted of a number of petty kingdoms. Harald Fairhair gathered the small kingdoms into one and in 872 with the battle of Hafrsfjord, he had established the country as one unit.
The Viking age (8th to 11th centuries) was one of national unification and expansion. The Norwegian royal line died out in 1387, and the country entered a long period as the weaker part of a union with Denmark. With the forced introduction of Protestantism in 1537, Norway lost the steady stream of pilgrims to the relics of Saint Olav at the Nidaros shrine. With them, ironically, went much of the contact with the cultural and economical life of the rest of Europe. In light of national romanticism during the 19th century, this period was by some called the "400-year night".
After Denmark-Norway sided with Napoleon in the Napoleonic Wars, Norway was ceded to the king of Sweden in 1814. However, Norway declared her independence, adopted her own constitution and elected the Danish prince Christian Fredrik as king on 17 May 1814. Norway was forced into a personal union with Sweden, but kept its liberal constitution and independent institutions, except for the foreign service. Growing Norwegian dissatisfaction with the union during the late 19th century spawned its dissolution 7 June 1905. The Norwegian government offered the throne of Norway to Danish Prince Carl. After a plebiscite confirming the monarchy, the Parliament unanimously elected him king. He took the name of Haakon VII, after the medieval kings of independent Norway.
Norway was a neutral country during World War I. Norway also attempted to claim neutrality during World War II, but was invaded by German forces on the 9th of April 1940 (Operation Weserübung). The Allies also had plans to operate from Norway, in order to take advantage of her strategically important Atlantic coast. Armed resistance in Norway went on for two months, but the King and government continued the fight from exile in Britain. On the day of the invasion, the collaborative leader of the small National-Socialist party Nasjonal Samling – Vidkun Quisling – tried to seize power, but was forced by the German occupiers to step aside. Real power was wielded by the leader of the German occupation authority, Reichskommissar Josef Terboven. Quisling, as minister president, later formed a government under German control.
In 1944, the Germans evacuated the provinces of Finnmark and northern Troms, using a scorched earth tactic. The Red Army moved in shortly after, and peacefully returned the area to Norwegian control after the war, despite President Roosevelt having offered them parts of northern Norway. The Germans in Norway surrendered on 8 May 1945.
The occupation during World War II made Norwegians generally more skeptical of the concept of neutrality. They turned instead to collective security. Norway was one of the signatories of the North Atlantic Treaty in 1949 and was a founding member of the United Nations, providing its first secretary general – Trygve Lie. Norway has twice voted against joining the European Union (in 1972 and 1994), but is associated with the EU via the European Economic Area.
Politics
Main article: Politics of NorwayNorway is a constitutional monarchy with a parliamentary system of government. The Royal House is a branch of the princely family of Glücksburg, originally from Schleswig-Holstein in Germany. [1] The functions of the King, Harald V, are mainly ceremonial, but he has influence as the symbol of national unity. Although the constitution of 1814 grants important executive powers to the king, these are almost always exercised by the Council of State in the name of the King (King's Council). The Council of State or cabinet consists of a Prime Minister and his council, formally appointed by the King. Since 1884, parliamentarism has ensured that the cabinet must have the support of the parliament, so the appointment by the King is a formality.
The 165 members of the unicameral Norwegian parliament, the Storting (Norwegian: Stortinget), are elected from the 19 counties for 4-year terms according to a system of proportional representation. After elections, the Storting divides into two chambers, the Odelsting and the Lagting, which meet separately or jointly depending on the legislative issue under consideration.
The current government is a coalition of Høyre (Conservative Party), Kristelig Folkeparti (Christian People's Party) and Venstre (Liberal Party) with parliamentary support from Fremskrittspartiet (Progress Party).
The regular courts include the Supreme Court or Høyesterett (17 permanent judges and a president), courts of appeal, district courts and conciliation councils. Judges attached to regular courts are appointed by the King in council after nomination by the Ministry of Justice. The special High Court of the Realm hears impeachment cases.
Counties
Main article: Counties of NorwayNorway is divided into 19 administrative regions, called fylker (singular fylke) and 433 kommuner (singular kommune). Fylke and kommune are officially translated to English as county and municipality. The fylke is the intermediate administration between state and municipality.
- Akershus
- Aust-Agder
- Buskerud
- Finnmark
- Hedmark
- Hordaland
- Møre og Romsdal
- Nordland
- Nord-Trøndelag
- Oppland
- Oslo
- Østfold
- Rogaland
- Sogn og Fjordane
- Sør-Trøndelag
- Telemark
- Troms
- Vest-Agder
- Vestfold
Geography
Main article: Geography of NorwayThe landscape is generally rugged and mountainous, topped by glaciers, and its coastline of over 83,000 km [1] is punctuated by steep-sloped inlets known as fjords, as well as a multitude of islands and islets. The Northern part of the country is also known as the Land of the Midnight Sun because of its northern location, north of the Arctic Circle, where in summer the sun does not set, and in winter much of its land remains dark for long periods.
Norway straddles the North Atlantic Ocean for its entire length, bound by three different seas: the North Sea to the southwest and its large inlet the Skagerrak to the south, the Norwegian Sea to the west and the Barents Sea to the northeast. Norway's highest point is the Galdhøpiggen at 2,469 m.
The Norwegian climate is fairly temperate, especially along the coast under the influence of the Gulf Stream. The inland climate can be more severe and to the north more subarctic conditions are found.
Economy
Main article: Economy of NorwayThe Norwegian economy is a prosperous bastion of social 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, which is outside OPEC.
Norway opted to stay out of the European Union during a referendum in 1972, and again in November 1994. However, Norway, together with Iceland and Liechtenstein, participate in the EU's single market via the European Economic Area (EEA) agreement.
Economic growth picked up in 2000 to 2.7%, compared with the meager 0.8% of 1999, but fell back to 1.3% in 2001. After meagre growth in 2002 and 2003, the economy expanded more rapidly in 2004. The government moved ahead with privatisation in 2000, selling one-third of the then 100% state-owned oil company Statoil.
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 at the end of the first quarter of 2005 was valued at 170 billion US dollars.
Demographics
Main article: Demographics of NorwayThe Norwegian population is 4.6 million and increases by 0.4% per year (estimate July 2004). Ethnically most Norwegians are Nordic / North Germanic, while small minorities in the north are Finnish (see also Cwen). The Sami are instead considered an indigenous people, and live in the Northern parts of Norway, Sweden and Finland. In recent years immigration has accounted for more than half the population growth, and 7.3% of the population are immigrants as of 1 January 2003. But the country only takes in a very limited number of asylum seekers and is willing to repatriate these people to other countries as soon as possible. The largest immigrant groups are Swedes, Danes, Vietnamese and Pakistanis ([1]).
Approximately 86% of the inhabitants are members of the Evangelic Lutheran Church of Norway (state church). Other Christian societies total about 4.5% (The Evangelical Lutheran Free Church, The Catholic Church, Pentecostal congregations, The Methodist Church etc.) Among the non-Christian religions Islam is the largest in Norway with about 1.5%, and other religions less than 1%. About 1.5% belong to the secular Human Ethical Union. As of 1 January 2003 approximately 5% of the population are unaffiliated ([1]).
The Norwegian language has two official written forms, called Bokmål and Nynorsk, which do not differ greatly, as well as the unofficial Riksmål, which is an intermediate form between Bokmål and Danish. Bokmål and Riksmål are written by almost 90 % of the population, although many speak dialects that differ significantly from the written language. Nevertheless, all of the Norwegian dialects are interintelligible. Several Sami languages are spoken and written in the northern regions by the Sami people. The Germanic Norwegian language and the Finno-Ugric Sami languages are entirely unrelated.
Culture
Main article: Culture of NorwayFamous Norwegians include playwright Henrik Ibsen, explorers Roald Amundsen, Fridtjof Nansen, and Thor Heyerdahl, expressionist painter Edvard Munch, romanticist composer Edvard Grieg and playwright/novelists Bjørnstjerne Bjørnson, Knut Hamsun and Sigrid Undset, winners of the 1903, 1920 and 1928 Nobel Prize in Literature.
Norwegians celebrate their national day on May 17, Constitution Day. Many people wear bunad (traditional costumes) and most participate in or watch the 17 May Parade through the towns. Henrik Wergeland was the founder of the 17 May parade.
Miscellaneous topics
- Infrastructure in Norway
- Regions of Norway
- Military of Norway
- Foreign relations of Norway
- Norwegian literature
- Tourism in Norway
- List of cities in Norway
- List of Norwegians
- List of Norwegian companies
- Norwegian national football team
- Norwegian Premier League
- List of Norwegian newspapers
- Holidays in Norway
- Norwegian State Educational Loan Fund
- List of Norwegian television channels
- List of Norwegian language radio stations
- List of national parks of Norway
International rankings
- Human Development Index - 1st of 177 countries 2004, 2003, 2002, 2001
- GDP per capita - 2nd of 231 countries
- World Economic Forum: Global Competitiveness Report 2004-2005 - 6th of 104 countries
- Reporters Without Borders Worldwide press freedom index - 1st of 166 countries 2003, 2002
- Transparency International Corruption Perceptions Index 2004 - 8th of 145 countries
- Save the Children: State of the World's Mothers 2004 Children's Index: Rank 1, Women's Index: Rank 6, Mother's Index: Rank 6 (119 countries)
- Index of Economic Freedom - 29th of 155 countries
External links
- Norway.info - Official site
- Norway.no - Official portal
- Minifacts about Norway from Statistics Norway
- Searchable map of Norway
- Official site of the Parliament (Stortinget)
- Official site of the Royal House
- Norwegian notes and coins
- WTO: Trade Policy Review: Norway
- The Central Bank of Norway
- Sources to Legal Information in Norway
- The court system of Norway
- The Norwegian Constitution in English
- Norwegian law in English
- Norwegian news in English
- Public holidays in Norway
- Norwegian climate
- Official website for the Norwegian Embassy in Washington, DC
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