Norway (2001) | Guernsey (2006) | |
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Administrative divisions | 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 | none (British crown dependency); there are no first-order administrative divisions as defined by the US Government, but there are 10 parishes including Castel, Forest, Saint Andrew, Saint Martin, Saint Peter Port, Saint Pierre du Bois, Saint Sampson, Saint Saviour, Torteval, Vale |
Age structure | 0-14 years:
19.99% (male 462,673; female 437,514) 15-64 years: 64.91% (male 1,482,346; female 1,440,832) 65 years and over: 15.1% (male 282,307; female 397,768) (2001 est.) |
0-14 years: 15% (male 4,998/female 4,842)
15-64 years: 67.1% (male 21,752/female 22,170) 65 years and over: 17.8% (male 4,926/female 6,721) (2006 est.) |
Agriculture - products | barley, other grains, potatoes; beef, milk; fish | tomatoes, greenhouse flowers, sweet peppers, eggplant, fruit; Guernsey cattle |
Airports | 103 (2000 est.) | 2 (one on Alderney) (2006) |
Airports - with paved runways | total:
67 over 3,047 m: 1 2,438 to 3,047 m: 12 1,524 to 2,437 m: 12 914 to 1,523 m: 14 under 914 m: 28 (2000 est.) |
total: 2
914 to 1,523 m: 1 under 914 m: 1 (2006) |
Airports - with unpaved runways | total:
36 914 to 1,523 m: 5 under 914 m: 31 (2000 est.) |
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Area | total:
324,220 sq km land: 307,860 sq km water: 16,360 sq km |
total: 78 sq km
land: 78 sq km water: 0 sq km note: includes Alderney, Guernsey, Herm, Sark, and some other smaller islands |
Area - comparative | slightly larger than New Mexico | about one-half the size of Washington, DC |
Background | Despite its neutrality, Norway was not able to avoid occupation by Germany in World War II. 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. | The island of Guernsey and the other Channel Islands represent the last remnants of the medieval Dukedom of Normandy, which held sway in both France and England. The islands were the only British soil occupied by German troops in World War II. Guernsey is a British crown dependency, but is not part of the UK. |
Birth rate | 12.6 births/1,000 population (2001 est.) | 8.81 births/1,000 population (2006 est.) |
Budget | revenues:
$71.7 billion expenditures: $57.6 billion, including capital expenditures of $NA (2000 est.) |
revenues: $539.2 million
expenditures: $448.3 million; including capital expenditures of $NA (2002) |
Capital | Oslo | name: Saint Peter Port
geographic coordinates: 49 27 N, 2 32 W time difference: UTC 0 (5 hours ahead of Washington, DC during Standard Time) daylight saving time: +1hr, begins last Sunday in March; ends last Sunday in October |
Climate | temperate along coast, modified by North Atlantic Current; colder interior with increased precipitation and colder summers causing glaciers to grow; rainy year-round on west coast | temperate with mild winters and cool summers; about 50% of days are overcast |
Coastline | 21,925 km (includes mainland 3,419 km, large islands 2,413 km, long fjords, numerous small islands, and minor indentations 16,093 km) | 50 km |
Constitution | 17 May 1814, modified in 1884 | unwritten; partly statutes, partly common law and practice |
Country name | conventional long form:
Kingdom of Norway conventional short form: Norway local long form: Kongeriket Norge local short form: Norge |
conventional long form: Bailiwick of Guernsey
conventional short form: Guernsey |
Currency | Norwegian krone (NOK) | - |
Death rate | 9.83 deaths/1,000 population (2001 est.) | 10.01 deaths/1,000 population (2006 est.) |
Debt - external | $0 (Norway is a net external creditor) | $NA |
Dependency status | - | British crown dependency |
Diplomatic representation from the US | chief of mission:
Ambassador Robin Chandler DUKE 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 |
none (British crown dependency) |
Diplomatic representation in the US | 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 |
none (British crown dependency) |
Disputes - international | territorial claim in Antarctica (Queen Maud Land); Svalbard is the focus of a maritime boundary dispute between Norway and Russia | none |
Economic aid - donor | ODA, $1.4 billion (1998) | - |
Economic aid - recipient | - | $NA |
Economy - overview | 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 exports 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 to the meager 0.8% of 1999, but may fall back in 2001. The government moved ahead with privatization in 2000, even proposing the sale of up to one-third of the 100% state-owned oil company Statoil. Despite their high per capita income and generous welfare benefits, Norwegians 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. | Financial services - banking, fund management, insurance - account for about 55% of total income in this tiny, prosperous Channel Island economy. Tourism, manufacturing, and horticulture, mainly tomatoes and cut flowers, have been declining. Light tax and death duties make Guernsey a popular tax haven. The evolving economic integration of the EU nations is changing the environment under which Guernsey operates. |
Electricity - consumption | 110.795 billion kWh (1999) | NA kWh |
Electricity - exports | 8.28 billion kWh (1999) | 0 kWh (2002) |
Electricity - imports | 6.467 billion kWh (1999) | 0 kWh (2002) |
Electricity - production | 121.084 billion kWh (1999) | NA kWh |
Electricity - production by source | fossil fuel:
0.63% hydro: 99.11% nuclear: 0% other: 0.26% (1999) |
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Elevation extremes | lowest point:
Norwegian Sea 0 m highest point: Galdhopiggen 2,469 m |
lowest point: Atlantic Ocean 0 m
highest point: unnamed location on Sark 114 m |
Environment - current issues | water pollution; acid rain damaging forests and adversely affecting lakes, threatening fish stocks; air pollution from vehicle emissions | NA |
Environment - international 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: Air Pollution-Volatile Organic Compounds, Climate Change-Kyoto Protocol |
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Ethnic groups | Norwegian (Nordic, Alpine, Baltic), Sami 20,000 | UK and Norman-French descent with small percentages from other European countries |
Exchange rates | Norwegian kroner per US dollar - 8.7784 (January 2001), 8.8018 (2000), 7.7992 (1999), 7.5451 (1998), 7.0734 (1997), 6.4498 (1996) | Guernsey pounds per US dollar - 0.55 (2005), 0.5462 (2004), 0.6125 (2003), 0.6672 (2002), 0.6947 (2001)
note: the Guernsey pound is at par with the British pound |
Executive branch | 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 March 2000) cabinet: State Council appointed by the monarch with the approval of the Parliament elections: none; the monarch is hereditary; following parliamentary elections, the leader of the largest party or leader of a coalition is usually appointed prime minister by the monarch with the approval of the Parliament |
chief of state: Queen ELIZABETH II (since 6 February 1952), represented by Lieutenant Governor Sir Fabian MALBON (since 28 October 2005)
head of government: Chief Minister Laurie MORGAN (since 1 May 2004) cabinet: Policy Council elected by the States of Deliberation elections: the monarch is hereditary; lieutenant governor appointed by the monarch; chief minister is elected by States of Delibertion election results: Laurie MORGAN elected chief minister, percent of vote of the States of Deliberation NA |
Exports | $59.2 billion (f.o.b., 2000 est.) | $NA |
Exports - commodities | petroleum and petroleum products, machinery and equipment, metals, chemicals, ships, fish | tomatoes, flowers and ferns, sweet peppers, eggplant, other vegetables |
Exports - partners | EU 73% (UK 17%, Germany 11%, Netherlands 10%, Sweden 9%), US 5% (1999) | UK; note - regarded as internal trade (2004) |
Fiscal year | calendar year | calendar year |
Flag description | 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) | white with the red cross of Saint George (patron saint of England) extending to the edges of the flag and a yellow equal-armed cross of William the Conqueror superimposed on the Saint George cross |
GDP | purchasing power parity - $124.1 billion (1999 est.) | - |
GDP - composition by sector | agriculture:
2% industry: 25% services: 73% (1999) |
agriculture: 3%
industry: 10% services: 87% (2000) |
GDP - per capita | purchasing power parity - $27,700 (2000 est.) | - |
GDP - real growth rate | 2.7% (2000 est.) | 3% (2003 est.) |
Geographic coordinates | 62 00 N, 10 00 E | 49 28 N, 2 35 W |
Geography - note | 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; Norway is the only NATO member having a land boundary with Russia | large, deepwater harbor at Saint Peter Port |
Heliports | 1 (2000 est.) | - |
Highways | total:
91,180 km paved: 67,838 km (including 109 km of expressways) unpaved: 23,342 km (1999) |
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Household income or consumption by percentage share | lowest 10%:
4.1% highest 10%: 21.8% (1995) |
lowest 10%: NA%
highest 10%: NA% |
Imports | $35.2 billion (f.o.b., 2000 est.) | $NA |
Imports - commodities | machinery and equipment, chemicals, metals, foodstuffs | coal, gasoline, oil, machinery and equipment |
Imports - partners | EU 66% (Sweden 15%, Germany 12%, UK 9%, Denmark 7%), US 10%, Japan (1999) | UK; note - regarded as internal trade (2004) |
Independence | 7 June 1905 Norway declared the union with Sweden dissolved; 26 October 1905 Sweden agreed to the repeal of the union | none (British crown dependency) |
Industrial production growth rate | 3% (2000 est.) | NA% |
Industries | petroleum and gas, food processing, shipbuilding, pulp and paper products, metals, chemicals, timber, mining, textiles, fishing | tourism, banking |
Infant mortality rate | 3.94 deaths/1,000 live births (2001 est.) | total: 4.65 deaths/1,000 live births
male: 5.19 deaths/1,000 live births female: 4.08 deaths/1,000 live births (2006 est.) |
Inflation rate (consumer prices) | 2.9% (2000 est.) | 4.9% (2004 est.) |
International organization participation | 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, Inmarsat, Intelsat, Interpol, IOC, IOM, ISO, ITU, MINURSO, 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 | UPU |
Internet Service Providers (ISPs) | 13 (2000) | - |
Irrigated land | 970 sq km (1993 est.) | NA |
Judicial branch | Supreme Court or Hoyesterett (justices appointed by the monarch) | Royal Court |
Labor force | 2.4 million (2000 est.) | 32,290 (2001) |
Labor force - by occupation | services 74%, industry 22%, agriculture, forestry, and fishing 4% (1995) | - |
Land boundaries | total:
2,515 km border countries: Finland 729 km, Sweden 1,619 km, Russia 167 km |
0 km |
Land use | arable land:
3% permanent crops: 0% permanent pastures: 0% forests and woodland: 27% other: 70% (1993 est.) |
arable land: NA%
permanent crops: NA% other: NA% |
Languages | Norwegian (official)
note: small Sami- and Finnish-speaking minorities |
English, French, Norman-French dialect spoken in country districts |
Legal system | 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 | English law and local statutes; justice is administered by the Royal Court |
Legislative branch | modified unicameral Parliament or Storting which, for certain purposes, divides itself into two chambers (165 seats; members are elected by popular vote by proportional representation to serve four-year terms)
elections: last held 15 September 1997 (next to be held 10 September 2001) election results: percent of vote by party - Labor Party 35%, Center Party 7.9%, Conservative Party 14.3%, Christian People's Party 13.7%, Socialist Left Party 6%, Progress Party 15.3%, Liberal Party 4.4%, other parties 1.6%; seats by party - Labor Party 65, Center Party 11, Conservative Party 23, Christian People's Party 25, Socialist Left Party 9, Progress Party 25, Liberal Party 6, other parties 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 |
unicameral States of Deliberation (45 seats; members are elected by popular vote for four years); note - Alderney and Sark have their own parliaments
elections: last held 21 April 2004 (next to be held in 2008) election results: percent of vote - NA; seats - all independents |
Life expectancy at birth | total population:
78.79 years male: 75.87 years female: 81.92 years (2001 est.) |
total population: 80.42 years
male: 77.41 years female: 83.53 years (2006 est.) |
Literacy | definition:
age 15 and over can read and write total population: 100% male: NA% female: NA% |
definition: NA
total population: NA% male: NA% female: NA% |
Location | Northern Europe, bordering the North Sea and the North Atlantic Ocean, west of Sweden | Western Europe, islands in the English Channel, northwest of France |
Map references | Europe | Europe |
Maritime claims | contiguous zone:
10 NM continental shelf: 200 NM exclusive economic zone: 200 NM territorial sea: 4 NM |
territorial sea: 3 nm
exclusive fishing zone: 12 nm |
Merchant marine | total:
764 ships (1,000 GRT or over) totaling 20,667,370 GRT/32,100,208 DWT ships by type: bulk 89, cargo 139, chemical tanker 114, combination bulk 9, combination ore/oil 37, container 15, liquefied gas 84, passenger 10, petroleum tanker 151, refrigerated cargo 10, roll on/roll off 45, short-sea passenger 22, specialized tanker 1, vehicle carrier 38 note: includes some foreign-owned ships registered here as a flag of convenience: Germany 1, Japan 1, Mexico 1, Sweden 1 (2000 est.) |
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Military - note | - | defense is the responsibility of the UK |
Military branches | Norwegian Army, Royal Norwegian Navy (includes Coast Artillery and Coast Guard), Royal Norwegian Air Force, Home Guard | - |
Military expenditures - dollar figure | $3.113 billion (FY98) | - |
Military expenditures - percent of GDP | 2.1% (FY98) | - |
Military manpower - availability | males age 15-49:
1,101,384 (2001 est.) |
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Military manpower - fit for military service | males age 15-49:
913,534 (2001 est.) |
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Military manpower - military age | 20 years of age | - |
Military manpower - reaching military age annually | males:
27,341 (2001 est.) |
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National holiday | Constitution Day, 17 May (1814); note - 17 May 1814 is the date of independence from Sweden, 7 June 1905 is the date Norway declared the union with Sweden was dissolved | Liberation Day, 9 May (1945) |
Nationality | noun:
Norwegian(s) adjective: Norwegian |
noun: Channel Islander(s)
adjective: Channel Islander |
Natural hazards | rockslides, avalanches | NA |
Natural resources | petroleum, copper, natural gas, pyrites, nickel, iron ore, zinc, lead, fish, timber, hydropower | cropland |
Net migration rate | 2.11 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2001 est.) | 3.82 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2006 est.) |
Pipelines | refined petroleum products 53 km | - |
Political parties and leaders | Center Party [Odd Roger ENOKSEN]; Christian People's Party [Kiell Magne BONDEVIK]; Conservative Party [Jan PETERSEN]; Labor Party [Jens STOLTENBERG]; Liberal Party [Lars SPONHEIM]; Progress Party [Carl I. HAGEN]; Socialist Left Party [Kristin HALVORSEN] | none; all independents |
Political pressure groups and leaders | NA | none |
Population | 4,503,440 (July 2001 est.) | 65,409 (July 2006 est.) |
Population below poverty line | NA% | NA% |
Population growth rate | 0.49% (2001 est.) | 0.26% (2006 est.) |
Ports and harbors | Bergen, Drammen, Floro, Hammerfest, Harstad, Haugesund, Kristiansand, Larvik, Narvik, Oslo, Porsgrunn, Stavanger, Tromso, Trondheim | - |
Radio broadcast stations | AM 5, FM at least 650, shortwave 1 (1998) | AM 1, FM 1, shortwave 0 (1998) |
Radios | 4.03 million (1997) | - |
Railways | total:
4,012 km standard gauge: 4,012 km 1.435-m gauge (2,530 km electrified; 96 km double track) (1998) |
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Religions | Evangelical Lutheran 86% (state church), other Protestant and Roman Catholic 3%, other 1%, none and unknown 10% (1997) | Anglican, Roman Catholic, Presbyterian, Baptist, Congregational, Methodist |
Sex ratio | 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 (2001 est.) |
at birth: 1.04 male(s)/female
under 15 years: 1.03 male(s)/female 15-64 years: 0.98 male(s)/female 65 years and over: 0.73 male(s)/female total population: 0.94 male(s)/female (2006 est.) |
Suffrage | 18 years of age; universal | 18 years of age; universal |
Telephone system | 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) |
general assessment: NA
domestic: NA international: 1 submarine cable |
Telephones - main lines in use | 2.735 million (1998) | 55,100 (2004) |
Telephones - mobile cellular | 2,080,408 (1998) | 43,800 (2004) |
Television broadcast stations | 360 (plus 2,729 repeaters) (1995) | 1 (1997) |
Terrain | glaciated; mostly high plateaus and rugged mountains broken by fertile valleys; small, scattered plains; coastline deeply indented by fjords; arctic tundra in north | mostly level with low hills in southwest |
Total fertility rate | 1.81 children born/woman (2001 est.) | 1.39 children born/woman (2006 est.) |
Unemployment rate | 3% (2000 est.) | 0.5% (1999 est.) |
Waterways | 1,577 km (along west coast)
note: navigable by 2.4 m maximum draft vessels |
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