About the CBI

October 2005
Background Note: Norway

Flag of Norway is 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.

PROFILE

OFFICIAL NAME:
Kingdom of Norway

Geography
Area* (including the island territories of Svalbard and Jan Mayen): 385,155
sq. km. (approx 150,000 sq. mi.); slightly larger than New Mexico.
Cities* (2004): Capital--Oslo (pop. 521,886). Other cities--Bergen (237,430),
Trondheim (154,351), Stavanger (112,405).
Terrain: Rugged with high plateaus, steep fjords, mountains, and fertile
valleys.
Climate: Temperate along the coast, colder inland.
*(Source: Central Bureau of Statistics Norway 2004).

People
Nationality: Noun and adjective--Norwegian(s).
Population (2005 est.): 4,593,041.
Annual growth rate (2005): 0.41%.
Density: Approx. 15 per sq. km.
Ethnic groups: Norwegian (Nordic, Alpine, Baltic), Sami, a racial-cultural
minority of 20,000; foreign nationals (315,147) from Nordic and other
countries.
Religion (2004): Church of Norway (Lutheran), 85.7%; Pentecostal Christian,
1%; Roman Catholic, 1%; Other Christian, 2.4%; Muslim, 1.8%; other, none, or
unknown, 8.1%.
Languages: Bokmaal Norwegian (official), Nynorsk Norwegian (official), small
Sami- and Finnish-speaking minorities, English is widely spoken.
Education: Years compulsory--10. Literacy--100%.
Health: Infant mortality rate (2004)--3.73/1,000. Life expectancy (2004 est.)
--men 76.78 yrs; women 82.17 yrs.
Work force (2004, 2.38 million): Government, social, personal
services--37.6%; wholesale and retail trade, hotels, restaurants--17.5%;
manufacturing and mining--12.7%; transport and communications--7.4%;
financing, insurance, real estate, business services--12%; agriculture,
forestry, fishing--3.9%; construction--6.7%; oil extraction--1.4%.

Government
Type: Hereditary constitutional monarchy.
Independence: 1905.
Constitution: May 17, 1814.
Branches: Executive--king (chief of state), prime minister (head of
government), Council of Ministers (cabinet). Legislative--modified unicameral
parliament (Storting). Judicial--Supreme Court, appellate courts, city and
county courts.
Political parties: Labor, Progress, Conservative, Socialist Left, Christian
Democratic, Center, Liberal.
Suffrage: Universal over 18.
Administrative subdivisions: 19 fylker (counties), and Svalbard.
National holiday: May 17.

Economy (Source: CIA World Factbook 2005)
GDP (2004 est.): $183 billion.
Annual growth rate (2004 est.): 0.4%.
Per capita GDP (2004 est.): Purchasing power parity $40,000.
Natural resources: Oil, gas, fish, timber, hydroelectric power, mineral ores.
Arable land: 3%.
Agriculture: Products--dairy, livestock, grain (barley, oats, wheat),
potatoes and other vegetables, fruits and berries, furs, wool.
Industry: Types--food processing, pulp and paper, ships, aluminum,
ferroalloys, iron and steel, nickel, zinc, nitrogen, fertilizers, transport
equipment, hydroelectric power, refinery products, petrochemicals,
electronics.
Trade (2004): Exports (f.o.b.)--$76.64 billion. Major markets: U.K., Germany,
France, Netherlands, U.S. (2004, 8.4%), Sweden. Imports (f.o.b.)--$45.96
billion. Major suppliers: Sweden, Germany, Denmark, U.K., U.S. (2004, 4.9%),
France, Netherlands.
GDP by activity (2003): Agriculture, hunting, forestry, fishing, and fish
farming--1.9%; Oil and gas extraction incl. services and mining and quarrying
--12.3%; Manufacturing--18.2%; Electricity, gas, and water supply--2.0%;
Construction--6.4%; Wholesale and retail trade, motor vehicle repair, hotels
and restaurants--10.7%; Transport industries--9.7%; Post and
telecommunications, financial intermediation, dwellings, business services--
20.6%; Public administration and defense--4.8%; Education, health and social
work, and other social and personal services--13.4%

PEOPLE
Ethnically, Norwegians are predominantly Germanic, although in the far north
there are communities of Sami who came to the area more than 10,000 years
ago, probably from central Asia. In recent years, Norway has become home to
increasing numbers of immigrants, foreign workers, and asylum-seekers from
various parts of the world. Immigrants now total over 300,000; some have
obtained Norwegian citizenship.

Although the Evangelical Lutheran Church is the state church, Norway has
complete religious freedom. Education is free through the university level
and is compulsory from ages 6 to 16. At least 12 months of military service
and training are required of every eligible male. Norway's health system
includes free hospital care, physician's compensation, cash benefits during
illness and pregnancy, and other medical and dental plans. There is a public
pension system.

Norway is in the top rank of nations in the number of books printed per
capita, even though Norwegian is one of the world's smallest language groups.
Norway's most famous writer is the dramatist Henrik Ibsen. Artists Edvard
Munch and Christian Krogh were Ibsen's contemporaries. Munch drew part of his
inspiration from Europe and in turn exercised a strong influence on later
European expressionists. Sculptor Gustav Vigeland has a permanent exhibition
in the Vigeland Sculpture Park in Oslo. Musical development in Norway since
Edvard Grieg has followed either native folk themes or, more recently,
international trends.

HISTORY
The Viking period (9th to 11th centuries) was one of national unification and
expansion. The Norwegian royal line died out in 1387, and the country entered
a period of union with Denmark. By 1586, Norway had become part of the Danish
Kingdom. In 1814, as a result of the Napoleonic wars, Norway was separated
from Denmark and combined with Sweden. The union persisted until 1905, when
Sweden recognized Norwegian independence.

The Norwegian Government offered the throne of Norway to Danish Prince Carl
in 1905. After a plebiscite approving the establishment of a monarchy, the
Parliament unanimously elected him king. He took the name of Haakon VII,
after the kings of independent Norway. Haakon died in 1957 and was succeeded
by his son, Olav V, who died in January 1991. Upon Olav's death, his son
Harald was crowned as King Harald V.

Norway was a nonbelligerent during World War I, but as a result of the German
invasion and occupation during World War II, Norwegians generally became
skeptical of the concept of neutrality and turned instead to collective
security. Norway was one of the signers of the North Atlantic Treaty in 1949
and was a founding member of the United Nations. The first UN General
Secretary, Trygve Lie, was a Norwegian. Under the terms of the will of Alfred
Nobel, the Storting (Parliament) elects the five members of the Norwegian
Nobel Committee who award the Nobel Peace Prize to champions of peace.

GOVERNMENT
The functions of the king are mainly ceremonial, but he has influence as the
symbol of national unity. Although the 1814 constitution grants important
executive powers to the king, these are almost always exercised by the
Council of Ministers in the name of the king (King's Council). The Council of
Ministers consists of a prime minister--chosen by the political parties
represented in the Storting--and other ministers.

The 169 members of the Storting are elected from 19 fylker (counties) for
4-year terms according to a complicated 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 special High Court of the Realm hears impeachment cases; the regular
courts include the Supreme Court (17 permanent judges and a president),
courts of appeal, city and county courts, the labor court, and conciliation
councils. Judges attached to regular courts are appointed by the king in
council after nomination by the Ministry of Justice.

Each fylke is headed by a governor appointed by the king in council, with one
governor exercising authority in both Oslo and the adjacent county of
Akershus.

POLITICAL CONDITIONS
Until the 1981 election, Norway had been governed by majority Labor Party
governments since 1935, except for three periods (1963, 1965-71, and
1972-73). The Labor Party lost its majority in the Storting in the 1981
elections. Since that time, minority and coalition governments have been the
rule.

From 1981 to 1997, governments alternated between Labor minority governments
and Conservative-led coalition governments. The first government coalition
led by Christian Democrat Kjell Magne Bondevik came to power in 1997, but
fell in March 2000 over the issue of proposed gas-fired power plants, opposed
by Bondevik due to their impact on climate change. The Labor Party's Jens
Stoltenberg, a Brundtland protégé, took over in a minority Labor government
but lost power in the September 2001 election when Labor posted its worse
performance since World War I. Bondevik once again became Prime Minister,
this time as head of a minority government with the Conservatives and
Liberals in a coalition heavily dependent upon the right-populist Progress
Party.

The September 2005 elections ended the Bondevik government, and the Labor
party came back with its most substantial victory in years, securing 60 of
the 169 seats in Parliament. While this election result once more made Labor
the undisputed heavyweight in Norwegian politics, Stoltenberg, chastened by
his previous stint as the head of a minority government, reached out to the
far left Socialist Left party and agrarian Center party to form a coalition
government that commanded a majority of seats in Parliament. The current
government is the first majority government in Norway in over 20 years, but
the governing coalition has had to bridge substantial policy differences to
build this majority.

Principal Government Officials
King--Harald V
Prime Minister--Jens Stoltenberg
Minister of Foreign Affairs--Jonas Gahr Støre
Minister of Defense--Anne-Grethe Strøm Erichsen
Ambassador to the United States--Knut Vollebaek
Ambassador to NATO--Kai Eide
Ambassador to the United Nations--Johan Ludvik Løvald

Norway maintains an embassy in the United States at 2720 - 34th Street NW,
Washington, DC 20008 (tel. 202-333-6000) and consulates in Houston,
Minneapolis, New York, and San Francisco.

ECONOMY
Norway is one of the world's richest countries in per capita terms. It has an
important stake in promoting a liberal environment for foreign trade. Its
large shipping fleet is one of the most modern among maritime nations.
Metals, pulp and paper products, chemicals, shipbuilding, and fishing are the
most significant traditional industries.

Norway's emergence as a major oil and gas producer in the mid-1970s
transformed the economy. Large sums of investment capital poured into the
offshore oil sector, leading to greater increases in Norwegian production
costs and wages than in the rest of western Europe up to the time of the
global recovery of the mid-1980s. The influx of oil revenue also permitted
Norway to expand an already extensive social welfare system. Norway has
established a state Petroleum Fund that exceeded $132.6 billion as of
December 2004. The fund primarily will be used to help finance government
programs once oil and gas resources become depleted. Norway is currently
enjoying large foreign trade surpluses thanks to high oil prices.
Unemployment remains currently low (3%-4% range), and the prospects for
economic growth are encouraging thanks to the government's stimulative fiscal
policy and economic recovery in the United States and Europe.

Norway voted against joining the European Union (EU) in a 1994 referendum.
With the exception of the agricultural and fisheries sectors, however, Norway
enjoys free trade with the EU under the framework of the European Economic
Area. This agreement aims to apply the four freedoms of the EU's internal
market (goods, persons, services, and capital) to Norway. As a result, Norway
normally adopts and implements most EU directives. Norwegian monetary policy
is aimed at maintaining a stable exchange rate for the krone against European
currencies, of which the euro is a key operating parameter. Norway is not a
member of the EU's Economic and Monetary Union and does not have a fixed
exchange rate. Its principal trading partners are in the EU; the United
States ranks sixth.

Energy Resources
Offshore hydrocarbon deposits were discovered in the 1960s, and development
began in the 1970s. The growth of the petroleum sector has contributed
significantly to Norwegian economic vitality. Current petroleum production
capacity is more than 3 million barrels per day. Production has increased
rapidly during the past several years as new fields are opened. Total
production in 2003 was about 263 million cubic meters of oil equivalents,
over 63% of which was crude oil. This represents a slight decline in crude
oil production over the past year, accompanied by sharp increases in gas and
liquefied natural gas (LNG) production. Hydropower provides nearly all of
Norway's electricity, and all of the gas and most of the oil produced is
exported. Production increased significantly in the 1990s as new fields come
on stream.

Norway is the world's third-largest oil exporter and provides much of western
Europe's crude oil and gas requirements. In 2003, Norwegian oil and gas
exports accounted for 56% of total merchandise exports. In addition, offshore
exploration and production have stimulated onshore economic activities.
Foreign companies, including many American ones, participate actively in the
petroleum sector.

FOREIGN RELATIONS
Norway supports international cooperation and the peaceful settlement of
disputes, recognizing the need for maintaining a strong national defense
through collective security. Accordingly, the cornerstones of Norwegian
policy are active membership in the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO)
and support for the United Nations and its specialized agencies. Norway also
pursues a policy of economic, social, and cultural cooperation with other
Nordic countries--Denmark, Sweden, Finland, and Iceland--through the Nordic
Council.

In addition to strengthening traditional ties with developed countries,
Norway seeks to build friendly relations with developing countries and has
undertaken humanitarian and development aid efforts with selected African and
Asian nations. Norway also is dedicated to encouraging democracy, assisting
refugees, and protecting human rights throughout the world.

U.S.-NORWAY RELATIONS
The United States and Norway enjoy a long tradition of friendly association.
The relationship is strengthened by the millions of Norwegian-Americans in
the United States and by about 10,000 U.S. citizens who reside in Norway. The
two countries enjoy an active cultural exchange, both officially and
privately.

Principal U.S. Officials
Ambassador--John Doyle Ong
Deputy Chief of Mission--Christopher W. Webster
Counselor for Political-Economic Affairs--Mike Hammer
Counselor for Public Affairs--James Ellickson-Brown
Management Officer--James K. Stiegler
Chief, Consular Section--Maria Silver
Senior Commercial Officer--vacant
Defense Attache--Col. Richard Harris
Labor Attache--Ned Nyman
Regional Security Officer--Colin Sullivan

The U.S. Embassy is located at Drammensveien 18, 0244 Oslo (tel. 47-22- 44-
85-50; FAX: 47-22-43-07-77).