Barbados (2007) | Norway (2005) | |
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Administrative divisions | 11 parishes and 1 city*; Bridgetown*, Christ Church, Saint Andrew, Saint George, Saint James, Saint John, Saint Joseph, Saint Lucy, Saint Michael, Saint Peter, Saint Philip, Saint Thomas | 19 counties (fylker, singular - fylke); Akershus, Aust-Agder, Buskerud, Finnmark, Hedmark, Hordaland, More og Romsdal, Nordland, Nord-Trondelag, Oppland, Oslo, Ostfold, Rogaland, Sogn og Fjordane, Sor-Trondelag, Telemark, Troms, Vest-Agder, Vestfold |
Age structure | 0-14 years: 19.7% (male 27,659/female 27,573)
15-64 years: 71.4% (male 98,633/female 102,020) 65 years and over: 8.9% (male 9,662/female 15,399) (2007 est.) |
0-14 years: 19.5% (male 459,418/female 437,734)
15-64 years: 65.7% (male 1,531,249/female 1,484,656) 65 years and over: 14.8% (male 286,343/female 393,641) (2005 est.) |
Agriculture - products | sugarcane, vegetables, cotton | barley, wheat, potatoes; pork, beef, veal, milk; fish |
Airports | 1 (2007) | 101 (2004 est.) |
Airports - with paved runways | total: 1
over 3,047 m: 1 (2007) |
total: 65
2,438 to 3,047 m: 13 1,524 to 2,437 m: 12 914 to 1,523 m: 14 under 914 m: 26 (2004 est.) |
Airports - with unpaved runways | - | total: 36
914 to 1,523 m: 7 under 914 m: 29 (2004 est.) |
Area | total: 431 sq km
land: 431 sq km water: 0 sq km |
total: 324,220 sq km
land: 307,860 sq km water: 16,360 sq km |
Area - comparative | 2.5 times the size of Washington, DC | slightly larger than New Mexico |
Background | The island was uninhabited when first settled by the British in 1627. Slaves worked the sugar plantations established on the island until 1834 when slavery was abolished. The economy remained heavily dependent on sugar, rum, and molasses production through most of the 20th century. The gradual introduction of social and political reforms in the 1940s and 1950s led to complete independence from the UK in 1966. In the 1990s, tourism and manufacturing surpassed the sugar industry in economic importance. | Two centuries of Viking raids into Europe tapered off following the adoption of Christianity by King Olav TRYGGVASON in 994. Conversion of the Norwegian kingdom occurred over the next several decades. In 1397, Norway was absorbed into a union with Denmark that was to last for more than four centuries. In 1814, Norwegians resisted the cession of their country to Sweden and adopted a new constitution. Sweden then invaded Norway but agreed to let Norway keep its constitution in return for accepting the union under a Swedish king. Rising nationalism throughout the 19th century led to a 1905 referendum granting Norway independence. Although Norway remained neutral in World War I, it suffered heavy losses to its shipping. Norway proclaimed its neutrality at the outset of World War II, but was nonetheless occupied for five years by Nazi Germany (1940-45). In 1949, neutrality was abandoned and Norway became a member of NATO. Discovery of oil and gas in adjacent waters in the late 1960s boosted Norway's economic fortunes. The current focus is on containing spending on the extensive welfare system and planning for the time when petroleum reserves are depleted. In referenda held in 1972 and 1994, Norway rejected joining the EU. |
Birth rate | 12.61 births/1,000 population (2007 est.) | 11.67 births/1,000 population (2005 est.) |
Budget | revenues: $847 million (including grants)
expenditures: $886 million (2000 est.) |
revenues: $134 billion
expenditures: $116.8 billion, including capital expenditures of NA (2004 est.) |
Capital | name: Bridgetown
geographic coordinates: 13 06 N, 59 37 W time difference: UTC-4 (1 hour ahead of Washington, DC during Standard Time) |
Oslo |
Climate | tropical; rainy season (June to October) | temperate along coast, modified by North Atlantic Current; colder interior with increased precipitation and colder summers; rainy year-round on west coast |
Coastline | 97 km | 25,148 km (includes mainland 2,650 km, as well as long fjords, numerous small islands, and minor indentations 22,498 km; length of island coastlines 58,133 km) |
Constitution | 30 November 1966 | 17 May 1814; amended many times |
Country name | conventional long form: none
conventional short form: Barbados |
conventional long form: Kingdom of Norway
conventional short form: Norway local long form: Kongeriket Norge local short form: Norge |
Death rate | 8.61 deaths/1,000 population (2007 est.) | 9.45 deaths/1,000 population (2005 est.) |
Debt - external | $668 million (2003) | $0 (Norway is a net external creditor) (2003 est.) |
Dependent areas | - | Bouvet Island, Jan Mayen, Svalbard |
Diplomatic representation from the US | chief of mission: Ambassador Mary M. OURISMAN
embassy: U.S. Embassy, Wildey Business Park, Wildey, St. Michael mailing address: P. O. Box 302, Bridgetown; CMR 1014, APO AA 34055 telephone: [1] (246) 436-4950 FAX: [1] (246) 429-5246, 429-3379 |
chief of mission: Ambassador John D. ONG
embassy: Drammensveien 18, 0244 Oslo mailing address: PSC 69, Box 1000, APO AE 09707 telephone: [47] (22) 44 85 50 FAX: [47] (22) 44 33 63 |
Diplomatic representation in the US | chief of mission: Ambassador Michael Ian KING
chancery: 2144 Wyoming Avenue NW, Washington, DC 20008 telephone: [1] (202) 939-9200 FAX: [1] (202) 332-7467 consulate(s) general: Miami, New York consulate(s): Los Angeles |
chief of mission: Ambassador Knut VOLLEBAEK
chancery: 2720 34th Street NW, Washington, DC 20008 telephone: [1] (202) 333-6000 FAX: [1] (202) 337-0870 consulate(s) general: Houston, Minneapolis, New York, and San Francisco |
Disputes - international | in April 2006, the Permanent Court of Arbitration issued a decision that delimited a maritime boundary with Trinidad and Tobago and compelled Barbados to enter a fishing agreement limiting Barbadian fishermen's catches of flying fish in Trinidad and Tobago's exclusive economic zone; in 2005, Barbados and Trinidad and Tobago agreed to compulsory international arbitration under UNCLOS challenging whether the northern limit of Trinidad and Tobago's and Venezuela's maritime boundary extends into Barbadian waters; joins other Caribbean states to counter Venezuela's claim that Aves Island sustains human habitation, a criterion under the UN Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS), which permits Venezuela to extend its EEZ/continental shelf over a large portion of the eastern Caribbean Sea | Norway asserts a territorial claim in Antarctica (Queen Maud Land and its continental shelf); despite recent discussions, Russia and Norway continue to dispute their maritime limits in the Barents Sea and Russia's fishing rights beyond Svalbard's territorial limits within the Svalbard Treaty zone |
Economic aid - donor | - | ODA, $1.4 billion (1998) |
Economic aid - recipient | $2.07 million (2005) | - |
Economy - overview | Historically, the Barbadian economy had been dependent on sugarcane cultivation and related activities, but production in recent years has diversified into light industry and tourism. Offshore finance and information services are important foreign exchange earners. The government continues its efforts to reduce unemployment, to encourage direct foreign investment, and to privatize remaining state-owned enterprises. The economy contracted in 2002-03 mainly due to a decline in tourism. Growth was positive in 2005-06, as economic conditions in the US and Europe moderately improved. | The Norwegian economy is a prosperous bastion of welfare capitalism, featuring a combination of free market activity and government intervention. The government controls key areas, such as the vital petroleum sector (through large-scale state enterprises). The country is richly endowed with natural resources - petroleum, hydropower, fish, forests, and minerals - and is highly dependent on its oil production and international oil prices, with oil and gas accounting for one-third of exports. Only Saudi Arabia and Russia export more oil than Norway. Norway opted to stay out of the EU during a referendum in November 1994; nonetheless, it contributes sizably to the EU budget. The government has moved ahead with privatization. With arguably the highest quality of life worldwide, Norwegians still worry about that time in the next two decades when the oil and gas will begin to run out. Accordingly, Norway has been saving its oil-boosted budget surpluses in a Government Petroleum Fund, which is invested abroad and now is valued at more than $150 billion. After lackluster growth of 1% in 2002 and 0.5% in 2003, GDP growth picked up to 3.3% in 2004. |
Electricity - consumption | 886.3 million kWh (2005) | 107.4 billion kWh (2002) |
Electricity - exports | 0 kWh (2005) | 15 billion kWh (2002) |
Electricity - imports | 0 kWh (2005) | 5.3 billion kWh (2002) |
Electricity - production | 953 million kWh (2005) | 125.9 billion kWh (2002) |
Elevation extremes | lowest point: Atlantic Ocean 0 m
highest point: Mount Hillaby 336 m |
lowest point: Norwegian Sea 0 m
highest point: Galdhopiggen 2,469 m |
Environment - current issues | pollution of coastal waters from waste disposal by ships; soil erosion; illegal solid waste disposal threatens contamination of aquifers | water pollution; acid rain damaging forests and adversely affecting lakes, threatening fish stocks; air pollution from vehicle emissions |
Environment - international agreements | party to: Biodiversity, Climate Change, Climate Change-Kyoto Protocol, Desertification, Endangered Species, Hazardous Wastes, Law of the Sea, Marine Dumping, Ozone Layer Protection, Ship Pollution, Wetlands
signed, but not ratified: none of the selected agreements |
party to: Air Pollution, Air Pollution-Nitrogen Oxides, Air Pollution-Persistent Organic Pollutants, Air Pollution-Sulfur 85, Air Pollution-Sulfur 94, Air Pollution-Volatile Organic Compounds, Antarctic-Environmental Protocol, Antarctic-Marine Living Resources, Antarctic Seals, Antarctic Treaty, Biodiversity, Climate Change, Climate Change-Kyoto Protocol, Desertification, Endangered Species, Environmental Modification, Hazardous Wastes, Law of the Sea, Marine Dumping, Ozone Layer Protection, Ship Pollution, Tropical Timber 83, Tropical Timber 94, Wetlands, Whaling
signed, but not ratified: none of the selected agreements |
Ethnic groups | black 90%, white 4%, Asian and mixed 6% | Norwegian, Sami 20,000 |
Exchange rates | Barbadian dollars per US dollar - 2 (2006), 2 (2005), 2 (2004), 2 (2003), 2 (2002) | Norwegian kroner per US dollar - 6.7408 (2004), 7.0802 (2003), 7.9838 (2002), 8.9917 (2001), 8.8018 (2000) |
Executive branch | chief of state: Queen ELIZABETH II (since 6 February 1952); represented by Governor General Sir Clifford Straughn HUSBANDS (since 1 June 1996)
head of government: Prime Minister Owen Seymour ARTHUR (since 7 September 1994); Deputy Prime Minister Mia MOTTLEY (since 26 May 2003) cabinet: Cabinet appointed by the governor general on the advice of the prime minister elections: none; the monarch is hereditary; governor general appointed by the monarch; following legislative elections, the leader of the majority party or the leader of the majority coalition is usually appointed prime minister by the governor general; the prime minister recommends the deputy prime minister |
chief of state: King HARALD V (since 17 January 1991); Heir Apparent Crown Prince HAAKON MAGNUS, son of the monarch (born 20 July 1973)
head of government: Prime Minister Jens STOLTENBERG (since 17 October 2005) cabinet: State Council appointed by the monarch with the approval of parliament elections: none; the monarch is hereditary; following parliamentary elections, the leader of the majority party or the leader of the majority coalition is usually appointed prime minister by the monarch with the approval of the parliament |
Exports | NA bbl/day | 3.466 million bbl/day (2001) |
Exports - commodities | sugar and molasses, rum, other foods and beverages, chemicals, electrical components | petroleum and petroleum products, machinery and equipment, metals, chemicals, ships, fish |
Exports - partners | US 27.6%, Trinidad and Tobago 15%, UK 10.2%, Saint Lucia 7%, Jamaica 6.5%, Saint Vincent and the Grenadines 4.3% (2006) | UK 22.4%, Germany 12.9%, Netherlands 9.9%, France 9.6%, US 8.4%, Sweden 6.7% (2004) |
Fiscal year | 1 April - 31 March | calendar year |
Flag description | three equal vertical bands of blue (hoist side), gold, and blue with the head of a black trident centered on the gold band; the trident head represents independence and a break with the past (the colonial coat of arms contained a complete trident) | red with a blue cross outlined in white that extends to the edges of the flag; the vertical part of the cross is shifted to the hoist side in the style of the Dannebrog (Danish flag) |
GDP - composition by sector | agriculture: 6%
industry: 16% services: 78% (2000 est.) |
agriculture: 2.2%
industry: 36.3% services: 61.6% (2004 est.) |
GDP - per capita | - | purchasing power parity - $40,000 (2004 est.) |
GDP - real growth rate | 3.5% (2006 est.) | 3.3% (2004 est.) |
Geographic coordinates | 13 10 N, 59 32 W | 62 00 N, 10 00 E |
Geography - note | easternmost Caribbean island | about two-thirds mountains; some 50,000 islands off its much indented coastline; strategic location adjacent to sea lanes and air routes in North Atlantic; one of most rugged and longest coastlines in world |
Heliports | - | 1 (2004 est.) |
Highways | - | total: 91,852 km
paved: 71,185 km (including 178 km of expressways) unpaved: 20,667 km (2002) |
Household income or consumption by percentage share | lowest 10%: NA%
highest 10%: NA% |
lowest 10%: 4.1%
highest 10%: 21.8% (1995) |
Illicit drugs | one of many Caribbean transshipment points for narcotics bound for Europe and the US; offshore financial center | - |
Imports | NA bbl/day | 88,870 bbl/day (2001) |
Imports - commodities | consumer goods, machinery, foodstuffs, construction materials, chemicals, fuel, electrical components | machinery and equipment, chemicals, metals, foodstuffs |
Imports - partners | US 37.7%, Trinidad and Tobago 22.6%, UK 5.9% (2006) | Sweden 15.7%, Germany 13.6%, Denmark 7.3%, UK 6.5%, China 5%, US 4.9%, Netherlands 4.4%, France 4.3%, Finland 4.1% (2004) |
Independence | 30 November 1966 (from UK) | 7 June 1905 (Norway declared the union with Sweden dissolved); 26 October 1905 (Sweden agreed to the repeal of the union) |
Industrial production growth rate | -3.2% (2000 est.) | 5.2% (2004 est.) |
Industries | tourism, sugar, light manufacturing, component assembly for export | petroleum and gas, food processing, shipbuilding, pulp and paper products, metals, chemicals, timber, mining, textiles, fishing |
Infant mortality rate | total: 11.55 deaths/1,000 live births
male: 12.88 deaths/1,000 live births female: 10.19 deaths/1,000 live births (2007 est.) |
total: 3.7 deaths/1,000 live births
male: 4.07 deaths/1,000 live births female: 3.32 deaths/1,000 live births (2005 est.) |
Inflation rate (consumer prices) | -0.5% (2003 est.) | 1% (2004 est.) |
International organization participation | ACP, C, Caricom, CDB, FAO, G-77, IADB, IBRD, ICAO, ICCt, ICRM, IDA, IFAD, IFC, IFRCS, ILO, IMF, IMO, Interpol, IOC, ISO, ITSO, ITU, ITUC, LAES, MIGA, NAM, OAS, OPANAL, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNIDO, UPU, WCO, WFTU, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WTO | AfDB, AsDB, Australia Group, BIS, CBSS, CE, CERN, EAPC, EBRD, EFTA, ESA, FAO, IADB, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, ICC, ICCt, ICFTU, ICRM, IDA, IEA, IFAD, IFC, IFRCS, IHO, ILO, IMF, IMO, Interpol, IOC, IOM, ISO, ITU, MIGA, NAM (guest), NATO, NC, NEA, NIB, NSG, OAS (observer), OECD, OPCW, OSCE, Paris Club, PCA, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNHCR, UNIDO, UNMEE, UNMIK, UNTSO, UPU, WCO, WEU (associate), WHO, WIPO, WMO, WTO, ZC |
Irrigated land | 50 sq km (2003) | 1,270 sq km (1998 est.) |
Judicial branch | Supreme Court of Judicature (judges are appointed by the Service Commissions for the Judicial and Legal Services); Caribbean Court of Justice is the highest court of appeal | Supreme Court or Hoyesterett (justices appointed by the monarch) |
Labor force | 128,500 (2001 est.) | 2.38 million (2004 est.) |
Labor force - by occupation | agriculture: 10%
industry: 15% services: 75% (1996 est.) |
agriculture, forestry, and fishing 4%, industry 22%, services 74% (1995) |
Land boundaries | 0 km | total: 2,542 km
border countries: Finland 727 km, Sweden 1,619 km, Russia 196 km |
Land use | arable land: 37.21%
permanent crops: 2.33% other: 60.46% (2005) |
arable land: 2.87%
permanent crops: 0% other: 97.13% (2001) |
Languages | English | Bokmal Norwegian (official), Nynorsk Norwegian (official), small Sami- and Finnish-speaking minorities |
Legal system | English common law; no judicial review of legislative acts; accepts compulsory ICJ jurisdiction, with reservations | mixture of customary law, civil law system, and common law traditions; Supreme Court renders advisory opinions to legislature when asked; accepts compulsory ICJ jurisdiction, with reservations |
Legislative branch | bicameral Parliament consists of the Senate (21 seats; members appointed by the governor general) and the House of Assembly (30 seats; members are elected by direct popular vote to serve five-year terms)
elections: House of Assembly - last held 21 May 2003 (next to be held by May 2008) election results: House of Assembly - percent of vote by party - NA; seats by party - BLP 23, DLP 7 |
modified unicameral Parliament or Storting (169 seats; members are elected by popular vote by proportional representation to serve four-year terms)
elections: last held 12 September 2005 (next to be held September 2009) election results: percent of vote by party - Labor Party 32.7%, Progress Party 22.1%, Conservative Party 14.1%, Socialist Left Party 8.8%, Christian People's Party 6.8%, Center Party 6.5%, Liberal Party 5.9%, Red Electoral Alliance 1.2%, other 1.9%; seats by party - Labor Party 61, Progress Party 38, Conservative Party 23, Socialist Left Party 15, Christian People's Party 11, Center Party 11, Liberal Party 10 note: for certain purposes, the parliament divides itself into two chambers and elects one-fourth of its membership to an upper house or Lagting |
Life expectancy at birth | total population: 73 years
male: 71.02 years female: 75.01 years (2007 est.) |
total population: 79.4 years
male: 76.78 years female: 82.17 years (2005 est.) |
Literacy | definition: age 15 and over has ever attended school
total population: 99.7% male: 99.7% female: 99.7% (2002 est.) |
definition: age 15 and over can read and write
total population: 100% male: 100% female: 100% |
Location | Caribbean, island in the North Atlantic Ocean, northeast of Venezuela | Northern Europe, bordering the North Sea and the North Atlantic Ocean, west of Sweden |
Map references | Central America and the Caribbean | Europe |
Maritime claims | territorial sea: 12 nm
exclusive economic zone: 200 nm |
territorial sea: 12 nm
contiguous zone: 10 nm exclusive economic zone: 200 nm continental shelf: 200 nm |
Merchant marine | total: 71 ships (1000 GRT or over) 539,579 GRT/793,899 DWT
by type: bulk carrier 13, cargo 39, chemical tanker 6, passenger 1, passenger/cargo 1, petroleum tanker 3, refrigerated cargo 5, roll on/roll off 2, specialized tanker 1 foreign-owned: 67 (Bahamas, The 1, Canada 9, Greece 11, India 1, Lebanon 1, Monaco 1, Norway 35, Sweden 5, UK 3) registered in other countries: 1 (St Vincent and The Grenadines 1) (2007) |
total: 740 ships (1,000 GRT or over) 18,820,495 GRT/27,449,456 DWT
by type: bulk carrier 51, cargo 168, chemical tanker 142, combination ore/oil 20, container 3, liquefied gas 81, passenger 5, passenger/cargo 113, petroleum tanker 79, refrigerated cargo 6, roll on/roll off 30, vehicle carrier 42 foreign-owned: 174 (Belgium 1, China 3, Cyprus 5, Denmark 28, Estonia 2, Finland 5, Germany 4, Hong Kong 52, Iceland 3, Italy 3, Japan 3, Lithuania 1, Monaco 1, Netherlands 4, Poland 2, Saudi Arabia 7, Singapore 10, Sweden 24, United States 16) registered in other countries: 1,117 (2005) |
Military - note | the Royal Barbados Defense Force includes a land-based Troop Command and a small Coast Guard; the primary role of the land element is to defend the island against external aggression; the Command consists of a single, part-time battalion with a small regular cadre that is deployed throughout the island; it increasingly supports the police in patrolling the coastline to prevent smuggling and other illicit activities (2005) | - |
Military branches | Royal Barbados Defense Force: Troops Command, Barbados Coast Guard (2007) | Norwegian Army, Royal Norwegian Navy (includes Coastal Rangers and Coast Guard (Kystvakt)), Royal Norwegian Air Force (Kongelige Norske Luftforsvaret, RNoAF), Home Guard |
Military expenditures - dollar figure | - | $4,033.5 million (2003) |
Military expenditures - percent of GDP | 0.5% (2006 est.) | 1.9% (2003) |
National holiday | Independence Day, 30 November (1966) | Constitution Day, 17 May (1814) |
Nationality | noun: Barbadian(s) or Bajan (colloquial)
adjective: Barbadian or Bajan (colloquial) |
noun: Norwegian(s)
adjective: Norwegian |
Natural hazards | infrequent hurricanes; periodic landslides | rockslides, avalanches |
Natural resources | petroleum, fish, natural gas | petroleum, natural gas, iron ore, copper, lead, zinc, titanium, pyrites, nickel, fish, timber, hydropower |
Net migration rate | -0.31 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2007 est.) | 1.73 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2005 est.) |
Pipelines | - | condensate 411 km; gas 6,199 km; oil 2,213 km; oil/gas/water 746 km; unknown (oil/water) 38 km (2004) |
Political parties and leaders | Barbados Labor Party or BLP [Owen ARTHUR]; Democratic Labor Party or DLP [David THOMPSON]; People's Empowerment Party or PEP [David COMISSIONG] | Center Party [Aslaug Marie HAGA]; Christian People's Party [Dagfinn HOYBRATEN]; Coastal Party [Roy WAAGE]; Conservative Party [Erna SOLBERG]; Labor Party [Jens STOLTENBERG]; Liberal Party [Lars SPONHEIM]; Progress Party [Carl I. HAGEN]; Socialist Left Party [Kristin HALVORSEN] |
Political pressure groups and leaders | Barbados Secondary Teachers' Union or BSTU [Patrick FROST]; Barbados Union of Teachers or BUT [Herbert GITTENS]; Congress of Trade Unions and Staff Associations of Barbados or CTUSAB, which includes the BWU, NUPW, BUT, and BSTU [Leroy TROTMAN]; Barbados Workers Union or BWU [Leroy TROTMAN]; Clement Payne Labor Union [David COMISSIONG]; National Union of Public Workers [Joseph GODDARD] | NA |
Population | 280,946 (July 2007 est.) | 4,593,041 (July 2005 est.) |
Population below poverty line | NA% | NA |
Population growth rate | 0.369% (2007 est.) | 0.4% (2005 est.) |
Ports and harbors | - | Borg Havn, Bergen, Mo i Rana, Molde, Mongstad, Narvik, Oslo, Sture |
Radio broadcast stations | AM 2, FM 6, shortwave 0 (2004) | AM 5, FM at least 650, shortwave 1 (1998) |
Railways | - | total: 4,077 km
standard gauge: 4,077 km 1.435-m gauge (2,518 km electrified) (2004) |
Religions | Protestant 67% (Anglican 40%, Pentecostal 8%, Methodist 7%, other 12%), Roman Catholic 4%, none 17%, other 12% | Church of Norway 85.7%, Pentecostal 1%, Roman Catholic 1%, other Christian 2.4%, Muslim 1.8%, other 8.1% (2004) |
Sex ratio | at birth: 1.01 male(s)/female
under 15 years: 1.003 male(s)/female 15-64 years: 0.967 male(s)/female 65 years and over: 0.627 male(s)/female total population: 0.938 male(s)/female (2007 est.) |
at birth: 1.05 male(s)/female
under 15 years: 1.05 male(s)/female 15-64 years: 1.03 male(s)/female 65 years and over: 0.73 male(s)/female total population: 0.98 male(s)/female (2005 est.) |
Suffrage | 18 years of age; universal | 18 years of age; universal |
Telephone system | general assessment: fixed-line teledensity of roughly 50 per 100 persons; mobile-cellular telephone density of 75 per 100 persons
domestic: island-wide automatic telephone system international: country code - 1-246; landing point for the East Caribbean Fiber System (ECFS) optic submarine cable with links to 13 other islands in the eastern Caribbean extending from the British Virgin Islands to Trinidad; satellite earth stations - 1 (Intelsat -Atlantic Ocean); tropospheric scatter to Trinidad and Saint Lucia (2007) |
general assessment: modern in all respects; one of the most advanced telecommunications networks in Europe
domestic: Norway has a domestic satellite system; moreover, the prevalence of rural areas encourages the wide use of cellular mobile systems instead of fixed-wire systems international: country code - 47; 2 buried coaxial cable systems; 4 coaxial submarine cables; satellite earth stations - NA Eutelsat, NA Intelsat (Atlantic Ocean), and 1 Inmarsat (Atlantic and Indian Ocean regions); note - Norway shares the Inmarsat earth station with the other Nordic countries (Denmark, Finland, Iceland, and Sweden) (1999) |
Telephones - main lines in use | 134,900 (2005) | 3.343 million (2002) |
Telephones - mobile cellular | 206,200 (2005) | 4,163,400 (2003) |
Television broadcast stations | 1 (plus 2 cable channels) (2004) | 360 (plus 2,729 repeaters) (1995) |
Terrain | relatively flat; rises gently to central highland region | glaciated; mostly high plateaus and rugged mountains broken by fertile valleys; small, scattered plains; coastline deeply indented by fjords; arctic tundra in north |
Total fertility rate | 1.65 children born/woman (2007 est.) | 1.78 children born/woman (2005 est.) |
Unemployment rate | 10.7% (2003 est.) | 4.3% (2004 est.) |