Norway

Table of Contents

Introduction & Quick Facts
Land
- Relief
- Drainage
- Soils
- Climate
- Plant and animal life
People
- Ethnic groups
- Languages
- Religion
- Settlement patterns
- Demographic trends
Economy
- Agriculture, forestry, and fishing
- Resources and power
  - Oil and gas
  - Hydroelectricity
  - Electrometallurgy
- Manufacturing
- Finance
- Trade
- Services
- Labour and taxation
- Transportation and telecommunications
Government and society
- Constitutional framework
- Local government
- Political process
- Justice
- Security
- Health and welfare
- Housing
- Education
Cultural life
- Daily life and social customs
- The arts
- Cultural institutions
- Sports and recreation
- Media and publishing
History
- Earliest peoples
  - Settlements
  - The Vikings
  - Christianization
- The 12th, 13th, and 14th centuries
  - Conflict of church and state
  - Union with Sweden
  - Greenland
- The Kalmar Union
- The 16th and 17th centuries
- The 18th century
  - Economic and social conditions
  - Return to Greenland
- The Napoleonic Wars and the 19th century
  - The Treaty of Kiel
  - Union with Sweden
  - Population, trade, and industry
    - Population
    - Economic conditions
  - The age of bureaucracy (1814–84)
    - Parliamentary authority
    - Monetary problems
    - Political change
  - The union conflict (1859–1905)
- The 20th and 21st centuries
  - Economic and industrial growth
  - World War I and the interwar years
    - World War I
    - The Great Depression
    - Foreign policy
  - World War II
  - The postwar period
    - Political and social change
    - Postwar foreign policy

References & Edit History Facts & Stats

Images, Videos & Interactives

northern lights, Norway

Physical features of Norway

fjord, western Norway

Norway spruce: cones

The amazing journey of salmon in Norway

Norway: Ethnic composition

For Students

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Norway: Facts & Stats

Written and fact-checked by The Information Architects of Encyclopaedia Britannica

Facts

Also Known As	Kingdom of Norway • Norge • Kongeriket Norge
Head Of Government	Prime Minister: Jonas Gahr Støre
Capital	Oslo
Population	(2024 est.) 5,578,000
Currency Exchange Rate	1 USD equals 10.586 Norwegian krone
Head Of State	Monarch: King Harald V
Form Of Government	constitutional monarchy with one legislative house (Storting [Stortinget], or Parliament [169])
Official Languages	Norwegian; Sami¹
Official Religion	none²
Official Name	Kongeriket Norge (Kingdom of Norway)
Total Area (Sq Km)	384,483³
Total Area (Sq Mi)	148,449³
Monetary Unit	Norwegian krone (pl. kroner; NOK)
Population Rank	(2023) 119
Population Projection 2030	5,945,000
Density: Persons Per Sq Mi	(2023) 37.2
Density: Persons Per Sq Km	(2023) 14.4
Urban-Rural Population	Urban: (2022) 82.7% • Rural: (2022) 17.3%
Life Expectancy At Birth	Male: (2021) 81.6 years • Female: (2021) 84.7 years
Literacy: Percentage Of Population Age 15 And Over Literate	Male: 100% • Female: %
Gni (U.S.$ ’000,000)	(2022) 521,232
Gni Per Capita (U.S.$)	(2022) 95,910
¹Official locally.²As of January 1, 2017, Evangelical Lutheran is no longer the official religion.³Includes Svalbard and Jan Mayen.

Photos and Videos

northern lights, Norway

Physical features of Norway

fjord, western Norway

Norway spruce: cones

harbour and castle, Oslo

Storting, Oslo, Norway

The amazing journey of salmon in Norway

How scrap metal becomes steel in Norway's northernmost mill

A guide to a traditional Norwegian dinner

How to make traditional Norwegian sour cream pudding

Why Norway is a paradise for skydivers

National anthem of Norway

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Topics

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children’s literature: Norway

Margaret I

Margaret I

queen of Denmark, Norway, and Sweden

Canute

Canute

king of England, Denmark, and Norway

Jens Stoltenberg

Jens Stoltenberg

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Bjørnstjerne Martinius Bjørnson.

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Norwegian author

Trygve Lie

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Haakon IV Haakonsson

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Olaf II Haraldsson

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John of Denmark, Norway, and Sweden; detail from a plaster cast of his tombstone, original sculpture by Claus Berg, c. 1513; in the Cathedral of St. Canute, Odense, Den.

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king of Denmark, Norway, and Sweden

Erik VII

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Gro Harlem Brundtland

Gro Harlem Brundtland

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Frederick I

Frederick I

king of Denmark and Norway

Erik the Red

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Inge I Haraldsson

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Olaf Tryggvason

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Haakon VI Magnusson

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Hannibal Sehested

Hannibal Sehested

Danish statesman

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Europe

Europe

continent

harbour and castle, Oslo

Oslo

national capital, Norway

Nidaros Cathedral, Trondheim, Norway

Trondheim

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Bergen, Norway

Bergen

Norway

Vestlandet

Vestlandet

geographical region, Norway

Stavanger

Stavanger

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Kristiansand

Kristiansand

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Skibotn harbour

Nord-Norge

region, Norway

Kristiansund

Kristiansund

Norway

Narvik

Narvik

Norway

Hønefoss

Ringerike

geographical region, Norway

Namsos

Trøndelag

region, Norway

Vesterålen

Vesterålen

island group, Norway

Saltstraumen

Bodø

Norway

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List

Haugesund, Norway

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