Norway | Geography | People | Economy, and Tourism

Officially, the Kingdom of Norway is the land of highly rich history, tradition, postmodernism, and a stunning landscape.

Geography

First of all, Norway is the 6th largest country in Europe with a total land area of 385,178 sq Km bordering Sweden to the east, Finland in the far north by a small tripoint, and even a small portion of Russia at the very end in the region known as Scandinavia.

Apart from that Norway has some overseas territories as well, Svalbard with only about 3,000 people, and the uninhabited island of Jan Mayen near the arctic circle.

The country is divided into 11 regions and the area of Svalbard, which is the northernmost permanently inhabited settlement in the world.

The largest and capital city of Norway is Oslo, located in the southeast of the country.

To the west, you can find the second-largest city named “Bergen”.

It is estimated that nearly 80% of the people in Norway live within 10 kilometers of the ocean.

Despite its rugged mountainous geography, Norway has an extensively developed network of roads, bridges, and trains that link with every region of the nation.

Norway has large access to the ocean. In fact, they have the seventh-largest coastline in the world.

We all know Norway is the land of Midnight Sun. Longyearbyen is known as the brightest and darkest place on earth because it is located on the Arctic Circle. It gets 110 days of no sunshine and 95 days of no night. It’s surprising right!

Jan Mayen island is the only place in Norway with an active volcano in the whole country which was last erupted in 1980.

Demographics

Despite its large area, Norway has a tiny population of about 5.39 million people. As of 2021, it has the highest Human Development Index out of any country in the world.

About 84% of the total population of Norway identify as ethnically Norwegian origin, including about 60,000 indigenous Sami people.

About 8.3 percent of the total population identify as other European descent, mostly Western European and the remaining population is made up of other people groups

from outside of Europe.

Norway has two official languages: Norwegian and Sami, Norwegian is widely spoken but the Sami language is spoken by the minority northern indigenous people.

Norway is not part of the European Union but part of the Schengen Visa Zone and European Free Trade Area.

In Norway, everyone’s income and wealth are recorded by their government to prevent tax evasion.

Norway offers free education and healthcare to its people. They also have one of the best retirement plans in the world.

Norwegians are outdoorsy people and they love being outside to hang out. Hiking and cross-country skiing are really popular among people.

Sometimes Norwegians are called winter legends; they have won more Winter Olympics gold medals than any other country in the World.

Economy

Everyone knows that Norway is a wealthy nation. But how prosperous is it?

Norway has a highly developed free-market economy system and is one of the countries which export more than they import, not just petroleum products but also the Fishing industry contributes about 10% of their exports. And they are the largest exporter of salmon than any other country in the world.

The UK, Germany, and Sweden are the major exporters of Norway.

They have a very high wage rate but taxes are also one of the highest in the world. For an average person, the tax rate is normally 25.7% of their total income.

Fact: Petroleum is very expensive in Norway even though they produce and export it.

Tourism

Norway is the perfect tourism destination in the Nordic region. There are beautiful countrysides where you can explore the true sights of nature. In fact, Norway recorded a total of 6 million tourists in the year 2019.

Some of the Top Places to Visit in Norway:

• Nordkapp
• The Viking ship museum
• Nidaros Cathedral
• The dock of Bergen
• The King’s castle
• Altas igloo hotel,
• Frogner Park
• Vigeland Sculpture Park
• Kon Tiki museum
• Polaria Aquarium
• Stunning ice caves
• Nordfjord
• Hardangerfjord

Norway is the safest country to visit and it is extremely expensive. Normally, one time coffee in a mid-range cafe costs around 5–7 USD.

Innovations

Norway is an innovative country, they invest lot’s of their money for research and development. Every year, the greatest prize for innovation “Nobel Prize” is distributed in Oslo, Norway.

These are some great innovations of Norway which you need to know.

• Paper Clip
• Salmon Sushi
• Cheese Slicer
• Aerosol Spray
• AVR Microcontroller

Norway is working hard to adopt green energy in every sector, it is a great initiative for preserving our world. They are really well aware of controlling carbon emission.

Do you know? Norway produces electricity from household waste.

Fact: Norway has the highest per-capita electric vehicle in the world than any other country.

Nature and Wildlife

Norway has lots of natural resources making them easy to develop their nation.

Although cutting down trees is still done on a very small scale. They were the first country to ban deforestation completely.

They have lots of birds like puffins, giant ocean kings like Whales, and orcas that love swimming off the coast.

In the Arctic Zone of Norway, you can find polar bears and walruses.

International Relations

Norway has been able to maintain a pretty good relationship with other countries in terms of trade and diplomacy.

Switzerland is kind of similar to Norway from a geographical view, they both have mountains and snow. They both are not part of the European Union. They both are very financially stable and well developed but expensive to live in.

The UK is a very close friend, especially Scotland due to their history of Viking. They share a Christmas tree every year to say: “Thanks for helping in World War Two.”

In Asia, They have very close ties with Nepal as another mountain nation, they’ve sent much aid to their programs to improve the infrastructure and agriculture sectors of Nepal.

The USA has a very close connection with Norway in diplomacy, government, and business. Nearly 1 million Norwegian Americans are living in the state of Minnesota alone.

When it comes to their best friends, specifically Iceland, Denmark, and Sweden are like siblings from the same mother.

They can understand each other when they talk. The Swedish language is closer to Norwegian.