Norway

Northern Europe, bordering the North Sea and the North Atlantic Ocean, west of Sweden

62 00 N, 10 00 E

Europe

slightly larger than twice the size of Georgia; slightly larger than New Mexico

25,148 km

temperate along coast, modified by North Atlantic Current; colder interior with increased precipitation and colder summers; rainy year-round on west coast

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

petroleum, natural gas, iron ore, copper, lead, zinc, titanium, pyrites, nickel, fish, timber, hydropower

337 sq km (2016)

most people live in the south; population clusters are found along the North Sea coast in the southwest and Skaggerak in the southeast; the interior areas of the north remain sparsely populated

about two-thirds mountains; some 50,000 islands off its much-indented coastline; strategic location adjacent to sea lanes and air routes in North Atlantic; one of the most rugged and longest coastlines in the world

Norwegian 81.5% (includes about 60,000 Sami), other European 8.9%, other 9.6% (2021 est.)

Church of Norway (Evangelical Lutheran - official) 67.5%, Muslim 3.1%, Roman Catholic 3.1%, other Christian 3.8%, other 2.6%, unspecified 19.9% (2021 est.)

0.57% (2025 est.)

10.35 births/1,000 population (2025 est.)

8.6 deaths/1,000 population (2025 est.)

3.98 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2025 est.)

most people live in the south; population clusters are found along the North Sea coast in the southwest and Skaggerak in the southeast; the interior areas of the north remain sparsely populated

1.086 million OSLO (capital) (2023)

29.8 years (2020 est.)

1 deaths/100,000 live births (2023 est.)

1.58 children born/woman (2025 est.)

0.77 (2025 est.)

4.98 physicians/1,000 population (2023)

3.4 beds/1,000 population (2020 est.)

23.1% (2016)

57.4% (2021 est.)

parliamentary constitutional monarchy

Bouvet Island, Jan Mayen, Svalbard (3)

mixed system of civil, common, and customary law; Supreme Court can advise on legislative acts

accepts compulsory ICJ jurisdiction with reservations; accepts ICCt jurisdiction

18 years of age; universal

ADB (nonregional member), AfDB (nonregional member), Arctic Council, Australia Group, BIS, CBSS, CD, CE, CERN, EAPC, EBRD, EFTA, EITI (implementing country), ESA, FAO, FATF, IADB, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, ICC (national committees), ICCt, ICRM, IDA, IEA, IFAD, IFC, IFRCS, IGAD (partners), IHO, ILO, IMF, IMO, IMSO, Interpol, IOC, IOM, IPU, ISO, ITSO, ITU, ITUC (NGOs), MIGA, NATO, NC, NEA, NIB, NSG, OAS (observer), OECD, OPCW, OSCE, Paris Club, PCA, Schengen Convention, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNHCR, UNIDO, UNITAR, UNMISS, UNOOSA, UNRWA, UNTSO, UNWTO, UPU, Wassenaar Arrangement, WCO, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WTO, ZC

7 June 1905 (union with Sweden declared dissolved); 26 October 1905 (Sweden agreed to the repeal of the union); notable earlier dates: ca. 872 (traditional unification of Norwegian kingdoms by HARALD Fairhair); 1397 (Kalmar Union of Denmark, Norway, and Sweden); 1524 (Denmark-Norway); 17 May 1814 (Norwegian constitution adopted); 4 November 1814 (Sweden-Norway union confirmed)

Constitution Day, 17 May (1814)

lion

red, white, blue

high-income, non-EU economy with trade links via European Economic Area (EEA); key role in European energy security as leader in oil, gas, and electricity exports; major fishing, forestry, and oil(?) extraction industries; oil sovereign fund supports generous welfare system; low unemployment; inflation moderating but remains above target level

$483.727 billion (2024 est.)

milk, barley, potatoes, oats, wheat, pork, chicken, beef, eggs, carrots/turnips (2023)

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

2.4% (2024 est.)

3.042 million (2024 est.)

12.2% (2021 est.)

27.1% (of GDP) (2023 est.)

Germany 18%, UK 17%, Sweden 9%, Denmark 7%, Netherlands 6% (2023)

natural gas, crude petroleum, fish, refined petroleum, aluminum (2023)

Sweden 11%, Germany 11%, China 11%, USA 7%, Netherlands 5% (2023)

cars, refined petroleum, ships, nickel, garments (2023)

state-owned public radio and TV broadcaster operates 3 nationwide TV stations, 3 nationwide radio stations, and 16 regional radio stations; roughly a dozen privately owned TV stations broadcast nationally, and another 25 locally; nearly 75% of households have access to multi-channel cable or satellite TV; 2 privately owned radio stations broadcast nationwide, with another 240 local stations; Norway was the first country to phase out FM radio in favor of Digital Audio Broadcasting (DAB) (2019)

.no

LN

146 (2025)

113 (2025)

Norwegian Armed Forces (Forsvaret or "the Defense"): Norwegian Army (Haeren), Royal Norwegian Navy (Kongelige Norske Sjoeforsvaret; includes Coastal Rangers and Coast Guard (Kystvakt)), Royal Norwegian Air Force (Kongelige Norske Luftforsvaret), Home Guard (Heimevernet, HV) (2025)

approximately 27,000 active military personnel; approximately 40,000 Home Guard (2025)

the military has an inventory of modern, domestically produced and imported Western European and US armaments; Norway's defense industry participates in joint development and production of weapons systems with other European countries (2025)

17 (men) or 18 (women) for voluntary military service; all Norwegian citizens 19-44 are subject to selective compulsory military service; 19-month service obligation for those selected (12 months plus 4-5 refresher training periods) (2025)

around 100 Lithuania (NATO); Norway also deploys air and naval assets in support of other NATO operations (2025)