Norway

Norway, officially the Kingdom of Norway, is a country and in  that occupies the western portion of the. It is bordered by, , and. The distance between the northern and southern parts of Norway is considerable compared to east-west distances. The country's extensive coastline along the is home to its famous s.

The of Norway also includes the  island territories of  and. Norwegian of Svalbard is based upon the, but this does not apply to Jan Mayen. in the and claims for  and  in  are also external, but these are not part of the Kingdom.

Since, Norway has experienced rapid economic growth, and is now amongst the wealthiest countries in the world  , with a fully developed. This economic progress is caused in part by the exploitation of oil and gas reserves off coast. Norway was ranked highest of all countries in from 2001 to 2006. It also rated the most peaceful country in the world in a 2007 survey by.

Name
Many believe the country's name comes from the  and that it means "the northward route" (the way north), which  in  would be nor veg or *norð vegr. The Old Norse name for Norway was Nóregr, in Norþ weg, and in mediaeval  Northvegia. The present name of Norway is Norge in Norwegian and Noreg in Norwegian. The Old Norse and nynorsk forms are quite similar to an ancient word that means "along the coast" or "along the sea" - realized as nuorrek in contemporary. The presence of the archaic marker (sometimes also called  in  research) supports the claim that the Sami word is indigenous and not a borrowing from North Germanic languages.

In the other native languages of Norway, the name is: Norga; : Vuodna; : Nøørje; /: Norja. The official name is: Kongeriket Norge, Kongeriket Noreg; Norgga gonagasriika; : Vuona gånågisrijkka; : Nøørjen gånkarijhke; /: Norjan kuningaskunta.

History


Archaeological finds indicate that there were people in Norway as early as the 10th millennium BC (12,000 years ago). Archaeological research shows that they came from either southern regions (northern ), or from the north-east (northern or ). From there they settled along the coastline.

In the 9th century, it seems that Norway consisted of a number of s. According to tradition, gathered the small kingdoms into one in 872 AD with the. He became the first king of a united Norway.

The age (8th to 11th centuries) was one of unification and expansion. Norwegians established settlements on, the , and parts of Britain and Ireland, and attempted to settle at  in ,  (the "" of the ). Norwegians founded the modern-day cities of, ,  and  and established trading communities near the ic settlements of  and  which later became Ireland's two most important cities. The spread of Christianity in Norway in this period is in large part attributed to the missionary kings (995–1000) and  (1015–1028), although  was Norway's first Christian king. were slowly replaced during the 9th and 10th centuries.

In 1349, the killed between 40% and 50% of the Norwegian population, causing a decline in both society and economics. During this decline, it is probable that the died out in 1387. Ostensibly, royal politics at the time resulted in several personal unions between the, eventually bringing the thrones of Norway, , and under the control of Queen  when the country entered into the  with Denmark and Sweden. Although Sweden finally broke out of the union in 1523, Norway remained in the union with Denmark for 434 years until 1814. During the of the 19th century, this period was by some referred to as the "400-Year Night", since all of the kingdom's royal, intellectual, and administrative power was centred in, Denmark. Other factors also contributed to Norway's decline in this period. With the introduction of in 1537, the archbishopric in Trondheim was dissolved, and the church's incomes were distributed to the court in  in Denmark instead. Norway lost the steady stream of pilgrims to the relics of at the  shrine, and with them, much of the contact with cultural and economic life in the rest of Europe. Additionally, Norway saw its land area decrease in the 17th century with the loss of the provinces, , and to Sweden, as a result of the  between  and Sweden.

After Denmark–Norway was attacked by, it entered into  alliance with , and in 1814 found itself on the losing side in the  and in dire conditions and mass starvation in 1812. The Dano-Norwegian king was forced to cede Norway to the king of, while the old Norwegian provinces of Iceland, Greenland and the Faroe Islands remained with the Danish crown. Norway took this opportunity to declare independence, adopted a constitution based on and  models, and elected the Danish crown prince  as king on,. However, Sweden militarily forced Norway into a with Sweden, establishing the  dynasty as rulers of Norway. Under this arrangement, Norway kept its liberal constitution and independent institutions, except for the foreign service. See also.

This period also saw the rise of the cultural movement, as Norwegians sought to define and express a distinct national character. The movement covered all branches of culture, including literature, painting , music , and even language policy, where attempts to define a native written language for Norway led to today's two official written forms for : and.

, a Norwegian shipping magnate and statesman, was Prime Minister of Norway from 1905 to 1907. Michelsen is most known for his central role in the peaceful separation of Norway from Sweden on,. Norway's growing dissatisfaction with the union with Sweden during the late 19th century combined with nationalism to prompt the dissolution of the union. After a national referendum confirmed the people's preference for a monarchy over a republic, the Norwegian government offered the throne of Norway to the Danish Prince Carl and unanimously elected him king. He took the name of, after the medieval kings of independent Norway. In 1898, all men were granted universal suffrage, followed by in 1913.

During, Norway was a neutral country. Norway also attempted to claim neutrality during, but was on ,. Norway was unprepared for the German surprise attack, but military resistance continued for two months, longer than any country invaded by the Germans, save the. During the, the lost many ships including the brand new cruiser. The battles of and  eventually became the last strongholds of Norwegian resistance in southern Norway in May, while the armed forces in the north launched an offensive against the German forces in the, until they were forced to surrender on  after losing allied help following the. King Haakon and the Norwegian government continued the fight from exile in,. On the day of the invasion, the collaborative leader of the small National-Socialist party &mdash;  &mdash; 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,. Quisling, as minister president, later formed a collaborationist government under German control. Facilities in Norway to manufacture heavy water, a key requirement to produce nuclear weapons, were eventually abandoned by the Germans after multiple efforts to destroy the Vemork facility by Norwegians, British, and Americans. During the five years of, Norwegians built a strong which fought the German occupation forces with both armed resistance and civil disobedience. More important to the war effort, however, was the role of the Norwegian. At the time of the, Norway had the fourth largest (as well as fastest and most effective) merchant navy in the world. It was led by the Norwegian shipping company under the Allies throughout the war and took part in every war operation from the  to the.

Following the war, the Social Democrats came to power and ruled the country for much of the cold war. Norway joined in 1949, and became a close ally of the. Two s to join the (called the European Community in 1972) failed by narrow margins in 1972 and 1994. Large reserves of oil and gas were discovered in the 1960s, which led to a continuing boom in the economy.

Geography, climate and environment
Norway comprises the western part of in. The rugged coastline, broken by massive fjords and about 50,000 islands, stretches over 2,500 km. Norway shares a 2,542 km land border with, , and to the east. To the west and south, Norway is bordered by the, the , and. The washes on Norway's northern coasts.

At 385,155 km² (including, ), Norway is slightly larger than Germany, but much of the country is dominated by mountainous or high terrain, with a great variety of natural features caused by prehistoric s and varied. The most noticeable of these are the : Deep grooves cut into the land flooded by the sea following the end of the, the longest is. Norway also contains many glaciers and. The land is mostly made of hard and  rock, but,  and  are also common, and the lowest elevations have marine deposits. Due to the and prevailing westerlies, Norway experiences warmer temperatures and more precipitation than expected at such northern latitudes, especially along the coast. The mainland experiences four distinct seasons, with colder winters and less precipitation inland. The northernmost part has a mostly maritime, while Svalbard has an  climate.

There are large seasonal variations in daylight. In areas north of the, the summer sun may never completely descend beneath the horizon, hence Norway's description as the "Land of the ." During summer, inhabitants south of the still experience sunlight nearly 20 of the day's 24 hours.

Politics
Norway is a with a  of. The Royal House is a branch of the princely family of, originally from in. As it stands, the functions of the, , are mainly ceremonial, but he has influence as the symbol of national unity. Although the of 1814 grants important executive powers to the King, these are always exercised by the  in the name of the King (King's Council or cabinet). The reserve powers vested in the Monarch by the are in reality symbolic, but has on a few occasions been important such as in World War II, when the Monarch said he would step down if the government should accept the German demand. The Council of State consists of a and other ministers, formally appointed by the King. has evolved since 1884 and entails that the cabinet must not have the parliament against it, and that the appointment by the King is a formality when there is a clear majority in Parliament for a party or a coalition of parties. But after elections resulting in no clear majority to any party or coalition, the leader of the party most likely to be able to form a government is appointed Prime Minister by the King. Norway has often been ruled by minority governments. The King has government meetings every Friday at (Council of State), but the government decisions are decided in advance in government conferences, headed by the Prime Minister, every Tuesday and Thursday. The King opens the Parliament every September, he receives ambassadors to the Norwegian court, and he is the symbolically of the  and the Head of the.

The Norwegian, , currently has 169 members (increased from 165, effective from the of 12 September, 2005). The members are elected from the nineteen for four-year terms according to a system of. When voting on legislation, the Storting – until the 2009 election – divides itself into two chambers, the ' and the '. Laws are in most cases proposed by the government through a Member of the Council of State, or in some cases by a member of the Odelsting in case of repeated disagreement in the joint Storting. Nowadays, however, the Lagting rarely disagrees, effectively the Odelsting's decisions. A constitutional amendment of, will repeal the division after the 2009 general election.

cases are very rare (the last being in 1927, when Prime Minister was acquitted) and may be brought against Members of the Council of State, of the  (Høyesterett), or of the Storting for criminal offenses which they may have committed in their official capacity.

Prior to an amendment to the Norwegian Constitution on, indictments were raised by the Odelsting and judged by the Lagting and the Supreme Court justices as part of the High Court of the Realm. In the new system impeachment cases will be heard by the five highest ranking Supreme Court justices and six lay members in one of the Supreme Court courtrooms (previously cases were heard in the Lagting chamber). Storting representatives may not perform as lay judges. Indictments will be raised by the Storting in a plenary session.

The Storting otherwise functions as a parliament and after the 2009 general election the division into Odelsting and Lagting for passing legislation will be abolished. Legislation will then have to go through two – three in case of dissent – s before being passed and sent to the King for.

The consists of the Supreme Court (eighteen permanent judges and a ), courts of appeal, city and district courts, and conciliation councils. Judges attached to regular courts are appointed by the.

In order to form a government, more than half the membership of the Council of State is required to belong to the. Currently, this means at least ten out of nineteen members.

In December each year, Norway gives a to the, in thanks for the UK's assistance during World War II. A ceremony takes place to erect the tree in.

In its 2007 Worldwide Press Freedom Index, ranked Norway 2nd out of 169 countries.

Norway is a member of the United Nations, North Atlantic Treaty Organization, and Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development.

Counties and municipalities


Norway is divided into nineteen first-level administrative regions known as fylker ("", singular fylke) and 431 second-level kommuner ("", singular kommune). The fylke is the intermediate administration between state and municipality. The King is represented in every county by a Fylkesmann.

There is ongoing debate as to whether the nineteen "fylker" should be replaced with five to nine larger regions. Some expect this to happen by 2010, whereas others expect the intermediate administration to disappear entirely. Another option would probably require consolidating the municipalities into larger entities and delegating greater responsibility to them.

The are:

Economy
Norway possesses the second highest and third highest  in the world, and has maintained 1st place in the world in the   (HDI) for the fifth consecutive year (2006). However, Iceland narrowly beat Norway as the #1 place to live according to the.

Cost of living is about 30% higher in Norway than in the United States and 25% higher than the United Kingdom.

The Norwegian economy is an example of, featuring a combination of activity and large government ownership. The government controls key areas, such as the strategic sector, hydroelectric energy production ), aluminium production , the largest Norwegian bank  and telecommunication provider . The government controls 31.6% of publicly listed companies. When non-listed companies are included the state has even higher share in ownership (mainly from direct oil license ownership).

The control mechanisms over petroleum resources are a combination of state ownership in major operators in the Norwegian fields ( approx. 62% in 2007) and the fully state owned (market value of about twice Statoil) and. Finally the government controls licensing of exploration and production of fields.

The country is richly endowed with natural resources including, , , , and. Norway has obtained one of the highest standards of living in the world in part by having a large amount of natural resources compared to the size of population. The income from natural resources include a significant contribution from petroleum production and the substantial and well-managed income related to this sector. Norway also has a very low unemployment rate, currently below 2% (June 2007). The hourly productivity levels, as well as average hourly wages in Norway are among the highest in the world. The values of the Norwegian society ensure that the wage difference between the lowest paid worker and the CEO of most companies is much smaller than in comparable western economies.

In 2006, oil and gas accounted for 58% of exports. Only and OPEC member  export more oil than Norway, which is not an OPEC member. To reduce over-heating from oil-money, the uncertainty from the oil income volatility, and save money for an aging population, the Norwegian state started in 1995 to save petroleum income (taxes, dividends, licensing, sales) in a. This also reduces the boom and bust cycle associated with raw material production and the marginalization of non-oil industry (see also ).

Because of its size the fund is invested in developed financial markets outside Norway. The budgetary rule ("Handlingsregelen") is to spend no more than 4% of the fund each year (assumed to be the normal yield from the fund ). By January 2006, the Fund was at USD 200 billion, representing 70% of GDP in Norway. During the first half of 2007, the pension fund became the largest fund in Europe, totaling about USD 300 billion, equivalent to over USD 62,000 per capita. Already (April 2007), Norway has the largest capital reserve per capita of any nation. Projections indicate that the Norwegian pension fund is set to become the largest capital fund in the world. Conservative estimates tell that the fund may reach USD 800-900 billion by 2017. Other natural resource-based economies (examples: Russia and Chile) are trying to learn from Norway by establishing similar funds.

The future size of the fund is of course closely linked to the oil price and the developments in international financial markets in which the fund is invested.

Referendums in 1972 and indicated that the Norwegian people wished to remain outside the  (EU). However, Norway, together with and, participates in the 's single market via the  (EEA) agreement. The EEA Treaty between the countries and the  countries – transposed into Norwegian law via "EØS-loven" – describes the procedures for implementing European Union rules in Norway and the other EFTA countries. This makes Norway a highly integrated member of most sectors of the EU internal market. However, some sectors, such as agriculture, oil and fish, are not wholly covered by the EEA Treaty. Norway has also acceded to the and several other intergovernmental agreements between the EU member states.

In 2000, the government sold one-third of the then 100% state-owned oil company in an. The next year, the main telecom supplier,, was listed on. The state also owns significant shares of Norway's biggest bank, and the airline. Since 2000, has been rapid, pushing unemployment down to levels not seen since the early 1980s.

The national currency is the.

Demography


As of 2007, Norway's population consisted of 4.7 million. Most Norwegians are, a North people. The  traditionally inhabit central and northern parts of Norway and Sweden, as well as in northern Finland and in Russia on the Kola Peninsula. Another national minority are the who are the descended of Finnish speaking people that moved to northern Norway in the 18th up to 20th century. Both the Sami and the Kven were subjected to a strong assimilation policy by the Norwegian government from the 19th century up to the 1970s. Because of this "Norwegianisation process", many Sami and Kven families now self-identify as ethnic Norwegian even if they do not come from purely Germanic backgrounds. This, combined with a long history of co-habitation of the Sami and North Germanic peoples on the Scandinavian peninsula, makes claims about ethnic population statistics less straightforward than is often suggested - particularly in central and northern Norway. Other groups recognized as national minorities of Norway are, , and.

In recent years, has accounted for more than half of Norway's population growth. In 2006, Statistics Norway (SSB) found that record 45,800 immigrants arrived in the country — 30% higher than 2005. At the beginning of 2007, there were 415,000 persons in Norway with an immigrant background (i.e. immigrants, or born of immigrant parents), comprising 8.9% of the total population. 310,000 of these were from a non-Western background, which includes the formerly Communist countries according to the definition used by Statistics Norway. The largest immigrant groups by country of origin, in order of size, are is,, , , , , and. The Iraqi immigrant population has shown a large increase in recent years, and now ranks as the third-largest immigrant group after Pakistanis and Swedes. Recent years have also seen an influx of immigrants from Central and Eastern Europe with Poles set to become the largest immigrant group if current trends continue.

There were 285,000 non-western legal immigrants in Norway as of January 2006, most common country of origin is, followed by , and. Oslo has by far the largest non-western immigrant population of about 99,000, or 18% of the population. The largest increase in 2006 was of immigrants from, , , , and. Oslo is by far the most diverse city in Norway with immigrants and their descendants constituting about a quarter of the population.

Religion
In common with other n countries, the Norse followed a form of native known as. By the end of the eleventh century, when Norway had been, the indigenous Norse religion and practices were prohibited. Anti- laws, however, were removed early in the twentieth century. Many remnants of the native religion and beliefs of Norway exist today, including names, referential names of cities and locations, the days of the week, and other parts of the everyday language.

Parts of the Sami minority retained their well into the 18th century when they were converted to Christianity by Dano-Norwegian missionaries.

Nearly 83% of Norwegians are members of the state, to which they are registered at birth. Many remain in the state church to be able to use services such as, , marriage and burial, rites which have strong cultural standing in Norway. As few as 10%, however, regularly attend church. About 17% do not believe there is any sort of spirit, god, or life force.

Other denominations total about 4.5% of the population. These include the, the , , the , and others. Among non-Christian religions, is the largest, representing about 1.5% of the population: It is practiced mainly by the, , , i and  communities. Other religions comprise less than 1% each, including (see ), the, and. n immigrants introduced to Norway, but account for only 0.50% of the population. There are eleven organizations, grouped under the  organisation, which make up 0.42% of the population. Around 1.5% of Norwegians adhere to the secular. About 5% of the population is unaffiliated.

Languages
The  has two official written forms, ' and '. They have officially equal status, i.e. they are both used in public administration, in schools, churches, radio and television, but Bokmål is used by the vast majority, about 85-90%. Around 95% of the population speak Norwegian as their native tongue, although many speak s that may differ significantly from the written language. In general Norwegian dialects are inter-intelligible, though some may require significant effort. Several  are spoken and written throughout the country, especially in the north, by the. The state recognises these languages as official, and speakers have a right to get education in Sami language no matter where they are living, and receive communications from government in various Sami languages. The minority speak the Finno-Ugric /Finnish.

The main foreign languages (primærfremmedspråk) taught in Norway are, and. People may contact the authorities or take their exams in any of the three main foreign languages as well as in two other North Germanic languages ( and ).

Any Norwegian student who is a child of immigrant parents is encouraged to learn the Norwegian language. The Norwegian government offers language instructional courses for immigrants wishing to obtain Norwegian citizenship.

Norwegian is highly similar to the other North Germanic languages, and. All three languages are mutually intelligible and can be, and commonly are, employed in communication between inhabitants of the Scandinavian countries.

Individual human rights


Norway is the current top-ranked nation in the, an index made up by literacy rate, education level and per capita income.

is enshrined in Article 100 of the. is enshrined in Article 2 of the Constitution, which also establishes the state religion as. The press is not censored. Editors adhere to self-imposed commandments of caution, in order to protect people's privacy and other civic rights.(Vær Varsom-plakaten- Norwegian Wikipedia, see for an English translation).

Public radio and TV broadcast without interference from the government, although permission to broadcast depends on the program spectrum. Broadcast advertisement is regulated, with particular restrictions on paid political messages and advertising directed at children.

The constitution forbids s, punishment not based on laws and court decisions, and the use of. for during wartime was abolished in 1979.

In 1999, the Human Rights conventions of the and the  were constituted as law in Norway (menneskerettsloven) and given superiority to all laws after the constitution. However, Norwegian lawyers have joined the Council of Europe's Committee Against Torture to express their concern about the long-term detention of criminal defendants and the use of solitary confinement in Norway, deeming it to be torture. Long processing times for asylum seekers and the treatment of those arriving without identity papers has also been under discussion.

In 2005, the international conventions against discrimination of women and race discrimination were incorporated into (but not made superior to) Norwegian law. has recently focused on violence against women in Norway and a shortage of public services to victims of violence.

Norway has for men. Conscripts are drafted at age 18 for initial service (førstegangstjeneste) of between six to twelve months (Service may begin at age 17 with parental consent). After completion of the initial service period, personnel are transferred to reserve units, which may be called up for periodic training (repetisjonstjeneste) until age 44. s serve twelve months in     ternative civilian national service. If a candidate refuses to attend the assessment of fitness (sesjon), where any objections to future military service are to be stated, they are liable to prosecution. A person who is deemed fit for service and who is not a conscientious objector, but still refuses military service is also liable to prosecution. Changes to the structure of the armed forces has resulted in a lower demand for conscripts, and the number of males needing to serve is decreasing.

Homosexuality was officially decriminalized in 1972 and same sex civil partnerships were instituted in 1993. According to (SSB), 192 same sex civil partnerships were recorded in 2004. Since 2002, it has become possible for same sex couples to adopt each other's children from previous relationships, although joint adoption is not allowed as of 2007.

Literature
The history of Norwegian literature starts with the  and  of the 9th and 10th centuries with poets such as  and. The arrival of Christianity around the year 1000 brought Norway into contact with European medieval learning, hagiography and history writing. Merged with native oral tradition and Icelandic influence this was to flower into an active period of literature production in the late 12th and early 13th centuries. Major works of that period include ', ' and .

Little Norwegian literature came out of the period of the Scandinavian Union and the subsequent Dano-Norwegian union (1387—1814), with some notable exceptions such as and. In his play, Ibsen characterized this period as "Twice two hundred years of darkness/brooded o'er the race of monkeys", although the latter line is not as frequently quoted as the former. During the union with Denmark, written Norwegian was replaced by Danish.

Two major events precipitated a major resurgence in Norwegian literature. In 1811 a Norwegian university was established in Seized by the spirit of revolution following the American and French Revolutions, the Norwegians signed their first constitution in 1814. Soon, the cultural backwater that was Norway brought forth a series of strong authors recognized first in Scandinavia, and then worldwide; among them were, , and.

By the late 19th century, in the of Norwegian literature, the so-called Great Four emerged:, , , and. Bjørnson's "peasant novels", such as "En glad gutt" (A Happy Boy) and "Synnøve Solbakken" are typical of the national romanticism of their day, whereas Kielland's novels and short stories are mostly realistic. Although an important contributor to early Norwegian romanticism (especially the ironic ), 's fame rests primarily on his pioneering realistic dramas such and, many of which caused moral uproar because of their candid portrayals of the middle classes.

In the twentieth century three Norwegian novelists were awarded the : in 1903,  for the book "" ("Growth of the Soil") in 1920, and  in 1928. In the 20th century writers like, , , , , , , , , , , , , , and  have made important contributions to Norwegian literature.