NORWAY

Norway is a unitary constitutional Scandinavian monarchy with capital in the city of Oslo. The territory of the
country includes the western part of the Scandinavian peninsula, Jan Mayen, the arctic archipelago of
Svalbard and the Bouvet subantarctic island. Norway also claims a section of Antarctica known as Queen
Maud Land. It has a total area of 385,156 square kilometers and a population of 5,110,000 inhabitants (in
2014). The country shares an extensive border to the east with Sweden (1,619 kilometers long). It borders
Finland and Russia to the northeast, with the Skagerrak Strait to the south, and Denmark to the other side of
the North Sea.

Norway has a long coastline, facing the North Atlantic Ocean and the Barents Sea. It has two administrative
and political subdivisions on two levels, known as the counties (fylke) and municipalities (Kommune). It
maintains close ties with the European Union and its member countries (despite rejecting the full membership
of the EU in two referendums). He is a founding member of the United Nations, NATO, the Council of
Europe and the Nordic Council; member of the European Economic Area, the WTO and the OECD. The
country maintains a combination of market economy and a Nordic welfare model with universal health care
and a comprehensive social security system. The country has large reserves of oil, natural gas, minerals,
timber, seafood, fresh water, and hydroelectric power.

LANGUAGE
Norwegian is the native language of approximately 95% of the population. However, there are many dialects
that can differ significantly from each other. In general, most of these dialects can be understood, although
some may require considerable effort on the part of the listener. Since the nineteenth century, Norwegian has
been the subject of great political and cultural controversy, which has led to the creation of two official
writing standards: the Bokmål and the Nynorsk. The bokmål is closer to the Danish, while the Nynorsk tries
to combine the majority of dialects from different parts of the country. Both variants are recognized as official
languages, being used in Public Administration, schools and churches, as well as in the media, where there are
minimum percentages of emission in each one. The bokmål is the one used to write the vast majority of the
population (85-90%), although at the time of speaking it is common to use the dialects of each area.
 RELIGION
About 71.5% of the population belongs to the Lutheran Evangelical Church of Norway, although many are
not practicing members.81 The State supports the Church and the king appoints the clergy. However, full
religious freedom is guaranteed and there are Protestant and Catholic groups representing 4% of the
population.

The Norwegians are registered as members of the Church of Norway when they are baptized, and they make
use of the services of baptisms, confirmation, marriage and funerals, which are deeply rooted in the culture of
this country.

ECONOMY
Norwegians enjoy the fourth highest GDP (PPP) per capita in the world. Today, Norway is positioned as the
second richest country in the world in monetary value, with the largest reserve of capital per capita. He held
the first place in the world in the Human Development Index of the UNDP (IDH) for six consecutive years
(2001-2006), and then regained this position in 2009 until 2013. The standard of living is among the highest
in the world . On the basis of continuous oil and gas exports, together with a healthy economy and substantial
accumulated wealth, it is expected to continue as one of the richest countries in the world in the future.

The Norwegian economy is an example of a mixed economy. Public health is free (above a certain level).
State revenues derived from natural resources include a significant contribution from oil production. It has a
very low unemployment rate, currently 2.6%. 69% of the population between 15 and 74 years old are
employed. The productivity levels per hour, as well as the average wages per hour are among the highest in
the world. The country is endowed with rich natural resources, including oil, hydropower, fish, forests and
minerals. Large reserves of oil and natural gas were discovered in the 1960s, which led to a boom in the
economy. Norway has obtained one of the highest living standards in the world, partly because it has a large
amount of natural resources compared to the size of the population. In 2011, 28% of the State's revenues were
generated from the oil industry.