Wayzata World Factbook 1994/World Factbook - 1994 Edition - Wayzata Technology (1994).iso/pc/text/txtfiles/norway.bkg

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#CARD:Norway:Background Notes
BACKGROUND NOTES:  NORWAY
PUBLISHED BY THE BUREAU OF PUBLIC AFFAIRS
US DEPARTMENT OF STATE

AUGUST 1992
Official Name:  Kingdom of Norway

PROFILE

Geography
Area (including the island territories of Svalbard and Jan Mayen):
386,000 sq. km. (150,000 sq. mi.); slightly larger than New Mexico.
Cities:  Capital--Oslo (pop. 467,000).  Other cities--Bergen (216,000),
Trondheim (139,600), Stavanger (99,800).  Terrain:  Rugged with high
plateaus, steep fjords, mountains, and fertile valleys.  Climate:
Temperate along the coast, colder inland.

People
Nationality:  Noun and adjective--Norwegian(s).   Population (1991
est.):  4.3 million.  Annual growth rate (1991):  0.5%.  Density:  14
per sq. km.  Ethnic groups: Norwegian (Nordic, Alpine, Baltic), Lapp (or
Sami, a racial-cultural minority of 20,000); foreign nationals (148,000
from Denmark, UK, Sweden, US, Pakistan, Vietnam, Germany, Turkey).
Religion:  Evangelical Lutheran 94%.  Languages:  Norwegian (official),
Lapp.  Education:  Years compulsory--9.  Literacy--100%.  Health: Infant
mortality rate--7/1,000.  Life expectancy--men 73 yrs; women 80 yrs.
Work force (1991, 2.1 million):  Government, social, personal
services--37%.  Wholesale and retail trade, hotels, restaurants--18%.
Manufacturing--15%.  Transport and communications--8%.   Financing,
insurance, real estate, business services--8%.  Agriculture, forestry,
fishing--8%.  Construction--6%.  Oil extraction--1%.

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, Conservative, Center, Christian People's,
Socialist Left, Progress.  Suffrage:  Universal over 18.

Administrative subdivisions:  18 fylker (counties), the city of Oslo,
and Svalbard.

National holiday:  May 17.

Central government budget (1991): $52 billion.

Defense (1991):  3.2% of GNP.

Flag:  White cross with blue inner cross on red field.  The white cross
and red field are derived from the Danish flag; the blue cross was added
to symbolize Norway's independence.

Economy
GNP (1991):  $103 billion.  Annual growth rate (1991):  1.9%.  Per
capita GNP (1991): $24,200.

Natural resources:  Oil, gas, fish, timber, hydroelectric power, mineral
ores.

Agriculture and fishing (3% of GNP): Products--dairy, livestock, grain
(barley, oats, wheat), potatoes and other vegetables, fruits and
berries, furs, wool.  Arable land--3%.

Oil, gas, shipping:  19% of GNP.

Industry (manufacturing, 13% of GNP):  Types--food processing, pulp and
paper, ships, aluminum, ferroalloys, iron and steel, nickel, zinc,
nitrogen, fertilizers, transport equipment, hydroelectric power,
refinery products, petrochemicals, electronics.

Construction:  4% of GNP.

Trade (1991):  Exports (f.o.b.)--$36 billion:  crude oil, natural gas,
pulp and paper, metals, chemicals, fish and fish products.  Major
markets--UK, Germany, Sweden, US (5%).   Imports (c.i.f.)--$26 billion:
machinery and transport equipment, foodstuffs, iron and steel, textiles
and clothing.   Major suppliers--Sweden, Germany, UK, US (8%).

Official exchange rate (average 1991): 6.5 Norwegian kroner=US$1.

Aid sent (1991):  $1.1 billion.  Primary recipients--Tanzania,
Mozambique, Bangladesh, Nicaragua, Zambia, UN organizations.  (###)

PEOPLE
Ethnically, Norwegians are predominantly Germanic, although in the far
north there are communities of Sami (Lapps) 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 nearly 150,000; some 5,000 obtained Norwegian citizenship in
1991.

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 7 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 contemporaries of Ibsen.
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 since 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 non-belligerent 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.

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 the prime
minister--chosen by the political parties represented in the Storting
(parliament)--and other ministers.

The 165 members of the Storting are elected from 18 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.

Principal Government Officials
King--Harald V
Prime Minister--Gro Harlem Brundtland
Minister of Foreign Affairs--Thorvald Stoltenberg
Ambassador to the United States--Kjeld Vibe
Ambassador to NATO--Bjorn Kristvik
Ambassador to the United Nations--Martin Huslid


Norway maintains an embassy in the United States at 2720 34th Street,
NW, Washington, DC 20008, tel.[phone] and consulates in Houston,
Los Angeles, Minneapolis, New York, and San Francisco.

POLITICAL CONDITIONS
Until the 1981 election, Norway had been governed by 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 1961
elections; thereafter, when in power, its rule has depended largely upon
support of other parties, according to the issue under consideration.

Labor dropped to 66 seats in the 1981 election, and the Conservative
Party formed a minority government with the parliamentary backing of the
two other nonsocialist parties, the Center Party, and the Christian
People's Party.  In June 1988, the Conservative government was
reorganized into a majority coalition government with those two parties.
 The three-party coalition government suffered a setback in the 1985
election and lost a vote of confidence in April 1986 when the Progress
Party withdrew its support over a proposed gasoline tax increase.  Since
under the Norwegian constitution the parliament cannot be dissolved, the
Labor Party had to form a minority government in May 1986 with the same
parliamentary composition as existed before the no-confidence vote.  The
Labor Party governed for over 3 years with the support of the Socialist
Left Party and individual members of the other parties on a case-by-case
basis.  After suffering losses in the September 1989 elections, the
Labor Party left the government in October 1989 and was replaced by a
minority nonsocialist coalition led by the Conservative Party of Jan P.
Syse.  One year later, the Syse Government fell over the issue of
Norwegian policy toward the European Community and was replaced in
November 1990 by a minority Labor Party government.  Gro Harlem
Brundtland is again Prime Minister after forming her third government in
10 years.  Norway holds national elections in September 1993.

ECONOMY
Norway is one of the world's richest countries.  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.

High oil prices in the 1983-85 period led to significant increases in
consumer spending, wages, and inflation.  The subsequent decline in oil
prices since 1985 has sharply reduced tax revenues and required a
tightening of both the government budget and private sector demand.  As
a result, the non-oil economy showed almost no growth during 1986-88,
and the current account went into deficit.  As oil prices recovered
sharply in 1990 following the Persian Gulf crisis, the 1990 current
account posted a large surplus which continued into 1991.  Unemployment
as of the first quarter of 1991 rose to a post-1945 high of 6.2%.  Given
the volatility of the oil and gas market, Norway is seeking to
restructure its non-oil economy to reduce subsidies and stimulate
efficient, nontraditional industry.

Norway's exports have continued to grow every year, largely because of
favorable world demand.  Moreover, the flight of Norwegian-owned ships
from the country's traditional register ended in 1987, as the government
established an international register, replete with tax breaks and
relief from national crewmember requirements.  At the same time, a drop
in private consumption has helped to reduce Norway's imports.

Norway continues to adapt its economic policy to international
developments, notably the emerging European Community (EC) single
market.  Norway and the other European Free Trade Association (EFTA)
members are in the process of concluding an economic cooperation
agreement with the EC under the framework of the European Economic Area
(EEA).  This agreement, which promotes free trade, is being designed to
limit the distortive impact of the EC single market on commodity trade
and the movements of labor and capital.  On EC membership, Prime
Minister Gro Harlem Brundtland has indicated that Norway may submit an
application before the end of 1992.  Its principle trading partners are
the EC countries and its Scandinavian neighbors; the United States ranks
fifth.

Energy Resources
Offshore hydrocarbons were discovered in the 1960s, and development
began in the 1970s.  The growth of the petroleum sector has contributed
significantly in recent years to Norwegian economic vitality.  Current
petroleum production capacity is over 2 million barrels per day.
Production has increased rapidly during the past several years as new
fields are opened.  Total production in 1991 was about 118 million
metric tons of oil equivalents, nearly 80% of which was crude oil.
Hydropower provides nearly all of Norway's electricity, and all of the
gas and most of the oil produced were exported.  Production is expected
to increase significantly in the 1990s as new fields come onstream.

Although not a major energy supplier to the world, Norway provides about
40% of Western Europe's crude oil requirements and 16% of gas
requirements.  In 1991, Norwegian oil and gas exports accounted for 44%
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 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 is also dedicated to encouraging
democracy, assisting refugees, and protecting human rights throughout
the world.

DEFENSE
Norway has a draft system in which all able-bodied males are subject to
military service.  The Royal Norwegian Navy and Air Force are
technically sophisticated organizations and manned by a core of
professionals.  The Norwegian Army is a mobile infantry force.

US-NORWEGIAN 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 US citizens
who reside in Norway.  The two countries enjoy an active cultural
exchange, both officially and privately.

Principal US Officials
Ambassador--Loret Miller Ruppe
Deputy Chief of Mission--William C. McCahill, Jr.
Chief, Political Section--Elizabeth P. Spiro
Chief, Economic Section--F. Brenne Bachmann
Public Affairs Officer (USIS)--William M. Zavis
Administrative Officer--Vacant
Chief, Consular Section--Eli N.  Lauderdale, Jr.
Commercial Attache--Scott Bozek
Defense Attache--Capt. Richard P. Vidosic
Labor Attache--Elaine Papazian


The US Embassy is located at Drammensveien 18, 0244 Oslo (tel. 47-2-
44-85-50; FAX: [phone]). (###)

Further Information
For information on economic trends, commercial development, production,
trade regulations, and tariff rates, contact the International Trade
Administration, US Department of Commerce, Washington, DC 20230.(###)

TRAVEL NOTES:
Customs:  A passport is required.  No visa is required if the total stay
in Norway, Sweden, Finland, or Denmark is less than 3 months.  A
residence permit is required for longer stays.

Health:  Standards for public health and medical facilities are high.
Tapwater is potable.

Telecommunications:  Service is efficient to most of Norway and the
world.  Norway is six standard time zones ahead of eastern standard
time.

Transportation:  Daily flights connect Oslo with the US and major
European cities.  Public transportation is efficient.  (###)

Published by the United States Department of State -- Bureau of Public
Affairs -- Office of  Public Communication -- Washington, DC -- August
1992 -- Editor:  Jo Brooks

Department of State Publication 8228
Background Notes Series -- This material is in the public domain and may
 be reprinted without permission; citation of this source is
appreciated.  For sale by the Superintendent of Documents, US Government
Printing Office, Washington, DC  20402. (###)



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