Norway

Norway is the Nordic country of Northern Europe, whose mainland territory constitutes the western and northernmost parts of the Scandinavian Peninsula. The remote islands of the Arctic, Jan Mayen and the Svalbard Islands, also form part of Norway. Located in the subantarctic, Bouve Island is a Norwegian Antarctic territory. It also claims the Antarctic territory of Peter I Island and Queen Maud Land. Oslo is the largest city in the Norwegian capital.

Norway has a total area of ​​385,207 square kilometers (148,729 square miles) and a population of 5,385,300 in November 2020. Norway shares a long eastern border with Sweden and is 1,619 km (1,006 miles) long. It borders Finland and Russia to the northeast and the Skagerrak Strait to the south, with Denmark and the United Kingdom on the other side. Norway has a vast coastline facing the North Atlantic Ocean and the Barents Sea. The effects of the sea dominate the Norwegian climate, with mild coastal lowlands. The interior is cold, but much calmer than the rest of the world at such northern latitudes. Temperatures above freezing are common on the coastline, even during the northern polar nights. The effects of the sea bring high rainfall and snowfall to some parts of the country.

Harald V of the Glücksburg family is now the King of Norway. Jonas Gahr Støre has been Prime Minister since 2021 replacing Erna Solberg. As a unified sovereign state with a constitutional monarchy, Norway divides state power into parliament, cabinet and supreme court, as stipulated in the 1814 Constitution. The Kingdom was founded in 872 as a merger of many trivial kingdoms and has existed for 1,149 years. From 1537 to 1814 Norway was part of the Kingdom of Denmark-Norway, and from 1814 to 1905 it was a personal union with the Kingdom of Sweden. Norway was neutral during World War I and was neutral until April 1940, when the country was invaded and occupied by Germany until the end of World War II.

Norway has both administrative and political subdivisions at two levels: counties and municipalities. The Sámi have some self-determination and influence over traditional territories through the Sami Parliament and the Finnmark Act. Norway maintains close ties with both the European Union and the United States. Norway is also a founding member of the United Nations, NATO, the European Free Trade Association, the Council of Europe, the Antarctic Treaty and the Nordic Council. Members of the European Economic Area, WTO, and OECD. It is part of the Schengen area. In addition, Norwegian shares mutual intelligibility with Danish and Swedish.

Norway maintains a Scandinavian welfare model with universal health insurance and a comprehensive social security system, whose values ​​are rooted in the ideal of egalitarianism. The Norwegian state is rich in oil, natural gas, minerals, wood, seafood and freshwater, and has significant ownership in major industrial sectors. The oil industry accounts for about a quarter of the gross domestic product (GDP). On a per capita basis, Norway is the world's largest producer of oil and natural gas outside the Middle East.

The country has the fourth highest per capita income in the world on the World Bank and IMF listings. Norway is ranked 11th on the CIA's per capita GDP (PPP) list (2015 estimate), which includes autonomous regions and regions. It has the largest sovereign wealth fund in the world and is worth US $ 1 trillion. Norway has the highest ranking of the Human Development Index in the world since 2009. This also maintained its position between 2001 and 2006. In addition, the ranking after inequality adjustment is the highest every 2018. Norway was ranked number one in the 2017 World Happiness Report and is currently ranked number one in the OECD Better Life Index, Public Integrity Index, Freedom Index and Democracy Index. Norway is also one of the countries with the lowest crime rates in the world.

The majority of the population is Norwegian. Immigrants nowadays account for more than half of the population growth. As of 2021, the five largest minority groups in the country are descendants of immigrants from Poland, Lithuania, Somali, Pakistan, and Sweden.