Guinea-Bissau (2003) | Norway (2002) | |
Administrative divisions | 9 regions (regioes, singular - regiao); Bafata, Biombo, Bissau, Bolama, Cacheu, Gabu, Oio, Quinara, Tombali; note - Bolama may have been renamed Bolama/Bijagos | 19 provinces (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: 41.9% (male 284,150; female 285,370)
15-64 years: 55.2% (male 358,891; female 392,703) 65 years and over: 2.9% (male 17,285; female 22,428) (2003 est.) |
0-14 years: 20% (male 464,789; female 439,117)
15-64 years: 65% (male 1,491,720; female 1,451,450) 65 years and over: 15% (male 281,551; female 396,489) (2002 est.) |
Agriculture - products | rice, corn, beans, cassava (tapioca), cashew nuts, peanuts, palm kernels, cotton; timber; fish | barley, wheat, potatoes; pork, beef, veal, milk; fish |
Airports | 28 (2002) | 102 (2001) |
Airports - with paved runways | total: 3
over 3,047 m: 1 1,524 to 2,437 m: 1 914 to 1,523 m: 1 (2002) |
total: 66
over 3,047 m: 1 2,438 to 3,047 m: 13 1,524 to 2,437 m: 13 914 to 1,523 m: 14 under 914 m: 26 (2002) |
Airports - with unpaved runways | total: 25
1,524 to 2,437 m: 1 914 to 1,523 m: 4 under 914 m: 20 (2002) |
total: 36
914 to 1,523 m: 7 under 914 m: 29 (2002) |
Area | total: 36,120 sq km
land: 28,000 sq km water: 8,120 sq km |
total: 324,220 sq km
land: 307,860 sq km water: 16,360 sq km |
Area - comparative | slightly less than three times the size of Connecticut | slightly larger than New Mexico |
Background | In 1994, 20 years after independence from Portugal, the country's first multiparty legislative and presidential elections were held. An army uprising that triggered a bloody civil war in 1998 created hundreds of thousands of displaced persons. A military junta ousted the president in May 1999. An interim government turned over power in February 2000 when opposition leader Kumba YALA took office following two rounds of transparent presidential elections. Guinea-Bissau's transition back to democracy will be complicated by its crippled economy, devastated in the civil war. | 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. Norway remained neutral in World War I and proclaimed its neutrality at the outset of World War II. Nevertheless, it was not able to avoid a five-year occupation by Nazi Germany (1940-1945). 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 | 38.41 births/1,000 population (2003 est.) | 12.39 births/1,000 population (2002 est.) |
Budget | revenues: $NA
expenditures: $NA, including capital expenditures of $NA |
revenues: $71.7 billion
expenditures: $57.6 billion, including capital expenditures of $NA (2000 est.) |
Capital | Bissau | Oslo |
Climate | tropical; generally hot and humid; monsoonal-type rainy season (June to November) with southwesterly winds; dry season (December to May) with northeasterly harmattan winds | temperate along coast, modified by North Atlantic Current; colder interior with increased precipitation and colder summers; rainy year-round on west coast |
Coastline | 350 km | 21,925 km (includes mainland 3,419 km, large islands 2,413 km, long fjords, numerous small islands, and minor indentations 16,093 km) |
Constitution | 16 May 1984, amended 4 May 1991, 4 December 1991, 26 February 1993, 9 June 1993, and 1996 | 17 May 1814, modified in 1884 |
Country name | conventional long form: Republic of Guinea-Bissau
conventional short form: Guinea-Bissau local long form: Republica da Guine-Bissau local short form: Guine-Bissau former: Portuguese Guinea |
conventional long form: Kingdom of Norway
conventional short form: Norway local long form: Kongeriket Norge local short form: Norge |
Currency | Communaute Financiere Africaine franc (XOF); note - responsible authority is the Central Bank of the West African States; previously the Guinea-Bissau peso (GWP) was used | Norwegian krone (NOK) |
Death rate | 16.62 deaths/1,000 population (2003 est.) | 9.78 deaths/1,000 population (2002 est.) |
Debt - external | $941.5 million (2000 est.) | $0 (Norway is a net external creditor) |
Dependent areas | - | Bouvet Island, Jan Mayen, Svalbard |
Diplomatic representation from the US | the US Embassy suspended operations on 14 June 1998 in the midst of violent conflict between forces loyal to then President VIEIRA and military-led junta; for the time being, US embassy Dakar is responsible for covering Guinea-Bissau: telephone - [221] 823-4296; FAX - [221] 822-5903 | 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) 43 07 77 |
Diplomatic representation in the US | chief of mission: Ambassador (vacant); Charge d'Affaires Henrique Adriano DA SILVA
chancery: 1511 K Street NW, Suite 519, Washington, DC 20005 telephone: [1] (202) 347-3950 FAX: [1] (202) 347-3954 |
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, Miami, Minneapolis, New York, and San Francisco |
Disputes - international | separatist war in Senegal's Casamance region results in refugees and cross-border raids, arms smuggling and other illegal activities, and political instability in Guinea-Bissau | 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) (1998) |
Economic aid - recipient | $115.4 million (1995) | - |
Economy - overview | One of the 10 poorest countries in the world, Guinea-Bissau depends mainly on farming and fishing. Cashew crops have increased remarkably in recent years, and the country now ranks sixth in cashew production. Guinea-Bissau exports fish and seafood along with small amounts of peanuts, palm kernels, and timber. Rice is the major crop and staple food. However, intermittent fighting between Senegalese-backed government troops and a military junta destroyed much of the country's infrastructure and caused widespread damage to the economy in 1998; the civil war led to a 28% drop in GDP that year, with partial recovery in 1999-2002. Before the war, trade reform and price liberalization were the most successful part of the country's structural adjustment program under IMF sponsorship. The tightening of monetary policy and the development of the private sector had also begun to reinvigorate the economy. Because of high costs, the development of petroleum, phosphate, and other mineral resources is not a near-term prospect. However, unexploited offshore oil reserves could provide much-needed revenue in the long run. The inequality of income distribution is one of the most extreme in the world. The government and international donors continue to work out plans to forward economic development from a lamentably low base. Government drift and indecision, however, have resulted in low growth in 2002 and dim prospects for 2003. | 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; in 1999, oil and gas accounted for 35% of exports. Only Saudi Arabia and Russia export more oil than Norway. Oslo opted to stay out of the EU during a referendum in November 1994. Growth picked up in 2000 to 2.7%, compared with the meager 0.8% of 1999, but fell back to 1.3% in 2001. High oil prices helped the economy in 2002 in face of the sluggish world economy. 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 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 $43 billion. |
Electricity - consumption | 51.15 million kWh (2001) | 112.5 billion kWh (2000) |
Electricity - exports | 0 kWh (2001) | 20.259 billion kWh (2000) |
Electricity - imports | 0 kWh (2001) | 1.474 billion kWh (2000) |
Electricity - production | 55 million kWh (2001) | 141.16 billion kWh (2000) |
Electricity - production by source | fossil fuel: 100%
hydro: 0% nuclear: 0% other: 0% (2001) |
fossil fuel: 0%
hydro: 99% nuclear: 0% other: 0% (2000) |
Elevation extremes | lowest point: Atlantic Ocean 0 m
highest point: unnamed location in the northeast corner of the country 300 m |
lowest point: Norwegian Sea 0 m
highest point: Galdhopiggen 2,469 m |
Environment - current issues | deforestation; soil erosion; overgrazing; overfishing | 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, Desertification, Endangered Species, Law of the Sea, 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-Sulphur 85, Air Pollution-Sulphur 94, Air Pollution-Volatile Organic Compounds, Antarctic-Environmental Protocol, Antarctic-Marine Living Resources, Antarctic Seals, Antarctic Treaty, Biodiversity, Climate Change, Desertification, Endangered Species, Environmental Modification, Hazardous Wastes, Law of the Sea, Marine Dumping, Nuclear Test Ban, Ozone Layer Protection, Ship Pollution, Tropical Timber 83, Tropical Timber 94, Wetlands, Whaling
signed, but not ratified: Climate Change-Kyoto Protocol |
Ethnic groups | African 99% (Balanta 30%, Fula 20%, Manjaca 14%, Mandinga 13%, Papel 7%), European and mulatto less than 1% | Norwegian, Sami 20,000 |
Exchange rates | Communaute Financiere Africaine francs (XOF) per US dollar - 696.99 (2002), 733.04 (2001), 711.98 (2000), 615.7 (1999), 589.95 (1998)
note: as of 1 May 1997, Guinea-Bissau adopted the XOF franc as the national currency; since 1 January 1999, the XOF franc is pegged to the euro at a rate of 655.957 XOF francs per euro |
Norwegian kroner per US dollar - 8.9684 (January 2002), 8.9917 (2001), 8.8018 (2000), 7.7992 (1999), 7.5451 (1998), 7.0734 (1997) |
Executive branch | chief of state: President Henrique ROSA (interim; since 28 September 2003); note - a September 2003 coup overthrough the elected government of Kumba YALA; General Verissimo Correia SEABRA served as interim president from 14 to 28 September 2003
head of government: Prime Minister Artur SANHA (since 28 September 2003) cabinet: NA elections: president elected by popular vote for a five-year term; election last held 28 November 1999 and 16 January 2000 (next to be held NA 2004); prime minister appointed by the president after consultation with party leaders in the legislature election results: Kumba YALA elected president; percent of vote, second ballot - Kumba YALA (PRS) 72%, Malan Bacai SANHA (PAIGC) 28% note: a bloodless coup led to the dissolution of the elected government of Kumba YALA in September 2003; General Verissimo Correia SEABRA served as interim president from 14 September 2003 until stepping aside on 28 September 2003 with the establishment of a caretaker government |
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 Kjell Magne BONDEVIK (since 19 October 2001) 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 (2001) | $68.2 billion f.o.b. (2002 est.) |
Exports - commodities | cashew nuts, shrimp, peanuts, palm kernels, sawn lumber | petroleum and petroleum products, machinery and equipment, metals, chemicals, ships, fish |
Exports - partners | India 51.5%, Uruguay 19.5%, Thailand 19.4% (2002) | EU 76.8% (UK 19.8%, France 11.8%, Germany 11.6%, Netherlands 10.2%, Sweden 7.9%), US 7.9% (2001) |
Fiscal year | calendar year | calendar year |
Flag description | two equal horizontal bands of yellow (top) and green with a vertical red band on the hoist side; there is a black five-pointed star centered in the red band; uses the popular pan-African colors of Ethiopia | 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 | purchasing power parity - $901.4 million (2002 est.) | purchasing power parity - $143 billion (2002 est.) |
GDP - composition by sector | agriculture: 62%
industry: 12% services: 26% (1999 est.) |
agriculture: 2%
industry: 31% services: 67% (2000) |
GDP - per capita | purchasing power parity - $700 (2002 est.) | purchasing power parity - $31,800 (2002 est.) |
GDP - real growth rate | -4.3% (2002 est.) | 1.6% (2002 est.) |
Geographic coordinates | 12 00 N, 15 00 W | 62 00 N, 10 00 E |
Geography - note | this small country is swampy along its western coast and low-lying further inland | 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 |
Highways | total: 4,400 km
paved: 453 km unpaved: 3,947 km (1999 est.) |
total: 91,180 km
paved: 67,838 km (including 109 km of expressways) unpaved: 23,342 km (1999) |
Household income or consumption by percentage share | lowest 10%: 0.5%
highest 10%: 42.4% (1991) |
lowest 10%: 4%
highest 10%: 22% (1995) |
Imports | NA (2001) | $37.3 billion f.o.b. (2002 est.) |
Imports - commodities | foodstuffs, machinery and transport equipment, petroleum products | machinery and equipment, chemicals, metals, foodstuffs |
Imports - partners | Senegal 19.6%, Portugal 19.1%, India 15.3%, Taiwan 5.1% (2002) | EU 66.5% (Sweden 15.5%, Germany 12.8%, UK 7.8%, Denmark 7.2%, France 5.2%), US 7.0% (2001) |
Independence | 24 September 1973 (unilaterally declared by Guinea-Bissau); 10 September 1974 (recognized by Portugal) | 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 | 2.6% (1997 est.) | 1.2% (2002 est.) |
Industries | agricultural products processing, beer, soft drinks | petroleum and gas, food processing, shipbuilding, pulp and paper products, metals, chemicals, timber, mining, textiles, fishing |
Infant mortality rate | total: 110.29 deaths/1,000 live births
male: 120.99 deaths/1,000 live births female: 99.26 deaths/1,000 live births (2003 est.) |
3.9 deaths/1,000 live births (2002 est.) |
Inflation rate (consumer prices) | 4% (2002 est.) | 1.3% (2001 est.) |
International organization participation | ACCT, ACP, AfDB, ECA, ECOWAS, FAO, FZ, G-77, IBRD, ICAO, ICCt (signatory), ICFTU, ICRM, IDA, IDB, IFAD, IFC, IFRCS, ILO, IMF, IMO, Interpol, IOC, IOM, ITU, NAM, OAU, OIC, OPCW (signatory), UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNIDO, UPU, WADB (regional), WAEMU, WFTU, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WToO, WTrO | AfDB, AsDB, Australia Group, BIS, CBSS, CCC, CE, CERN, EAPC, EBRD, ECE, EFTA, ESA, FAO, IADB, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, ICC, ICFTU, ICRM, IDA, IEA, IFAD, IFC, IFRCS, IHO, ILO, IMF, IMO, Interpol, IOC, IOM, ISO, ITU, NAM (guest), NATO, NC, NEA, NIB, NSG, OAS (observer), OECD, OPCW, OSCE, PCA, UN, UN Security Council (temporary), UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNHCR, UNIDO, UNMEE, UNMIBH, UNMIK, UNMOP, UNTAET, UNTSO, UPU, WEU (associate), WHO, WIPO, WMO, WTrO, ZC |
Internet Service Providers (ISPs) | 2 (2002) | 13 (2000) |
Irrigated land | 170 sq km (1998 est.) | 1,270 sq km (1998 est.) |
Judicial branch | Supreme Court or Supremo Tribunal da Justica (consists of nine justices who are appointed by the president and serve at his pleasure; final court of appeals in criminal and civil cases); Regional Courts (one in each of nine regions; first court of appeals for Sectoral Court decisions; hear all felony cases and civil cases valued at over $1,000); 24 Sectoral Courts (judges are not necessarily trained lawyers; they hear civil cases under $1,000 and misdemeanor criminal cases) | Supreme Court or Hoyesterett (justices appointed by the monarch) |
Labor force | 480,000 | 2.4 million (2000 est.) |
Labor force - by occupation | agriculture 82% (2000 est.) | services 74%, industry 22%, agriculture, forestry, and fishing 4% (1995) |
Land boundaries | total: 724 km
border countries: Guinea 386 km, Senegal 338 km |
total: 2,544 km
border countries: Finland 729 km, Sweden 1,619 km, Russia 196 km |
Land use | arable land: 10.67%
permanent crops: 1.78% other: 87.55% (1998 est.) |
arable land: 2.94%
permanent crops: 0% other: 97.06% (1998 est.) |
Languages | Portuguese (official), Crioulo, African languages | Norwegian (official)
note: small Sami- and Finnish-speaking minorities |
Legal system | NA | 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 | unicameral National People's Assembly or Assembleia Nacional Popular (100 seats; members are elected by popular vote to serve a maximum of four years); note - President YALA dissolved the National People's Assembly in November 2002, elections for a new legislature were scheduled to fall in February 2003 but were then postponed to April, then July, and were last scheduled to occur in September 2003
elections: last held 28 November 1999 (next to be held NA September 2003) election results: percent of vote by party - NA%; seats by party - PRS 37, RGB 27, PAIGC 25, 11 remaining seats went to 5 of the remaining 10 parties that fielded candidates |
modified unicameral Parliament or Storting (165 seats; members are elected by popular vote by proportional representation to serve four-year terms)
elections: last held 10 September 2001 (next to be held NA September 2005) election results: percent of vote by party - Labor Party 24.3%, Conservative Party 21.2%, Progress Party 14.6%, Socialist Left Party 12.5%, Christian People's Party 12.4%, Center Party 5.6%, Liberal Party 3.9%, Coastal Party 1.7%, other 3.8%; seats by party - Labor Party 43, Conservative Party 38, Progress Party 26, Socialist Left Party 23, Christian People's Party 22, Center Party 10, Liberal Party 2, Coastal Party 1 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: 46.97 years
male: 45.09 years female: 48.91 years (2003 est.) |
total population: 78.94 years
male: 76.01 years female: 82.07 years (2002 est.) |
Literacy | definition: age 15 and over can read and write
total population: 42.4% male: 58.1% female: 27.4% (2003 est.) |
definition: age 15 and over can read and write
total population: 100% male: NA% female: NA% |
Location | Western Africa, bordering the North Atlantic Ocean, between Guinea and Senegal | Northern Europe, bordering the North Sea and the North Atlantic Ocean, west of Sweden |
Map references | Africa | Europe |
Maritime claims | exclusive economic zone: 200 NM
territorial sea: 12 NM |
contiguous zone: 10 NM
continental shelf: 200 NM exclusive economic zone: 200 NM territorial sea: 4 NM |
Merchant marine | none (2002 est.) | total: 746 ships (1,000 GRT or over) totaling 20,691,266 GRT/32,126,513 DWT
ships by type: bulk 84, cargo 130, chemical tanker 119, combination bulk 9, combination ore/oil 38, container 18, liquefied gas 91, passenger 6, petroleum tanker 143, refrigerated cargo 9, roll on/roll off 41, short-sea passenger 21, specialized tanker 2, vehicle carrier 35 note: includes some foreign-owned ships registered here as a flag of convenience: Australia 1, Denmark 14, Germany 11, Greece 10, Hong Kong 7, Iceland 2, Japan 11, Lithuania 1, Monaco 42, Poland 1, Saudi Arabia 3, Singapore 10, Sweden 42, Switzerland 2, United Kingdom 4, United States 5 (2002 est.) |
Military branches | People's Revolutionary Armed Force (FARP; includes Army, Navy, and Air Force), paramilitary force | Norwegian Army, Royal Norwegian Navy (including Coast Artillery and Coast Guard), Royal Norwegian Air Force, Home Guard |
Military expenditures - dollar figure | $5.6 million (FY02) | $3.113 billion (FY98/99) |
Military expenditures - percent of GDP | 2.8% (FY02) | 2.13% (2002) |
Military manpower - availability | males age 15-49: 318,711 (2003 est.) | males age 15-49: 1,099,966 (2002 est.) |
Military manpower - fit for military service | males age 15-49: 181,318 (2003 est.) | males age 15-49: 911,632 (2002 est.) |
Military manpower - military age | - | 20 years of age (2002 est.) |
Military manpower - reaching military age annually | - | males: 27,341 (2002 est.) |
National holiday | Independence Day, 24 September (1973) | Constitution Day, 17 May (1814); note - on 14 January 1814 Denmark ceded Norway to Sweden; resisting Swedish domination, Norwegians adopted a new constitution four months later; on 14 August 1814 Norway was proclaimed independent but in union with Sweden; on 7 June 1905 Norway declared the union with Sweden dissolved |
Nationality | noun: Guinean(s)
adjective: Guinean |
noun: Norwegian(s)
adjective: Norwegian |
Natural hazards | hot, dry, dusty harmattan haze may reduce visibility during dry season; brush fires | rockslides, avalanches |
Natural resources | fish, timber, phosphates, bauxite, unexploited deposits of petroleum | petroleum, copper, natural gas, pyrites, nickel, iron ore, zinc, lead, fish, timber, hydropower |
Net migration rate | -1.6 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2003 est.) | 2.1 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2002 est.) |
Pipelines | - | refined petroleum products 53 km |
Political parties and leaders | African Party for the Independence of Guinea-Bissau and Cape Verde or PAIGC [Francisco BENANTE]; Front for the Liberation and Independence of Guinea or FLING [Francois MENDY]; Guinea-Bissau Resistance-Ba Fata Movement or RGB-MB [Helder Vaz LOPES]; Guinean Civic Forum or FCG [Antonieta Rosa GOMES]; International League for Ecological Protection or LIPE [Alhaje Bubacar DJALO, president]; National Union for Democracy and Progress or UNDP [Abubacer BALDE, secretary general]; Party for Democratic Convergence or PCD [Victor MANDINGA]; Social Renovation Party or PRS [Kumba YALA]; Union for Change or UM [Jorge MANDINGA, president, Dr. Anne SAAD, secretary general]; United Social Democratic Party or PUSD [Victor Sau'de MARIA] | Center Party [Odd Roger ENOKSEN]; Christian People's Party [Valgerd Svarstad HAUGLAND]; Coastal Party [Steinar BASTESEN]; Conservative Party [Jan PETERSEN]; Labor Party [Jens STOLTENBERG]; Liberal Party [Lars SPONHEIM]; Progress Party [Carl I. HAGEN]; Socialist Left Party [Kristin HALVORSEN] |
Political pressure groups and leaders | NA | NA |
Population | 1,360,827 (July 2003 est.) | 4,525,116 (July 2002 est.) |
Population below poverty line | NA% | NA% |
Population growth rate | 2.02% (2003 est.) | 0.47% (2002 est.) |
Ports and harbors | Bissau, Buba, Cacheu, Farim | Bergen, Drammen, Floro, Hammerfest, Harstad, Haugesund, Kristiansand, Larvik, Narvik, Oslo, Porsgrunn, Stavanger, Tromso, Trondheim |
Radio broadcast stations | AM 1 (transmitter out of service), FM 4, shortwave 0 (2002) | AM 5, FM at least 650, shortwave 1 (1998) |
Radios | - | 4.03 million (1997) |
Railways | 0 km | total: 4,006 km
standard gauge: 4,006 km 1.435-m gauge (2,471 km electrified) (2001) |
Religions | indigenous beliefs 50%, Muslim 45%, Christian 5% | Evangelical Lutheran 86% (state church), other Protestant and Roman Catholic 3%, other 1%, none and unknown 10% (1997) |
Sex ratio | at birth: 1.03 male(s)/female
under 15 years: 1 male(s)/female 15-64 years: 0.91 male(s)/female 65 years and over: 0.77 male(s)/female total population: 0.94 male(s)/female (2003 est.) |
at birth: 1.07 male(s)/female
under 15 years: 1.06 male(s)/female 15-64 years: 1.03 male(s)/female 65 years and over: 0.71 male(s)/female total population: 0.98 male(s)/female (2002 est.) |
Suffrage | 18 years of age; universal | 18 years of age; universal |
Telephone system | general assessment: small system
domestic: combination of microwave radio relay, open-wire lines, radiotelephone, and cellular communications international: NA |
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: 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 | 10,000 (2001) | 2.735 million (1998) |
Telephones - mobile cellular | 0 (2001) | 2,080,408 (1998) |
Television broadcast stations | NA (1997) | 360 (plus 2,729 repeaters) (1995) |
Terrain | mostly low coastal plain rising to savanna in east | 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 | 5.07 children born/woman (2003 est.) | 1.8 children born/woman (2002 est.) |
Unemployment rate | NA% | 3.9% (2002 est.) |
Waterways | several rivers are accessible to coastal shipping | 1,577 km (along west coast)
note: navigable by 2.4 m maximum draft vessels |