NORWAY
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LAND
Continental Norway, 323,750 km2 ; Svalbard, 62,160 km2 ; Jan Mayen, 373 km2 ; 3% arable, 2% meadows and pastures, 21% forested, 74% other
Land boundaries: 2,579 km
WATER
Limits of territorial waters (claimed): 4 nm (fishing 200 nm; 200 nm exclusive economic zone)
Coastline: mainland 3,419 km; islands 2,413 km (excludes long fjords and numerous small islands and minor indentations which total as much as 16,093 km overall)
PEOPLE
Population: 4,113,000 (July 1982), average annual growth rate 0.3%
Nationality: noun—Norwegian(s); adjective—Norwegian
Ethnic divisions: homogeneous white population, small Lappish minority
Religion: 95% Evangelical Lutheran, 4% other Protestant and Roman Catholic, 1% other
Language: Norwegian, small Lapp and Finnish-speaking minorities
Literacy: 100%
Labor force: 1.9 million; 8.6% agriculture, forestry, fishing, 21.2% mining and manufacturing, 5.8% banking and financial services, 8.1% construction, 16.9% commerce, 9.2% transportation and communication, 29.3% services; 1.4% unemployed (1979 average)
Organized labor: 60% of labor force
GOVERNMENT
Official name: Kingdom of Norway
Type: constitutional monarchy
Capital: Oslo
Political subdivisions: 19 counties, 2 territories, 404 communes, 47 towns
Legal system: mixture of customary law, civil law system, and common law traditions; constitution adopted 1814, modified 1884; Supreme Court renders advisory opinions to legislature when asked; legal education at University of Oslo; accepts compulsory ICJ jurisdiction, with reservations
National holiday: Constitution Day, 17 May
Branches: legislative authority rests jointly with Crown and parliament (Storting); executive power vested in Crown but exercised by cabinet responsible to parliament; Supreme Court, 5 superior courts, 104 lower courts
Government leaders: King OLAV V; Prime Minister Kare WILLOCH
Suffrage: universal, but not compulsory, over age 20
Elections: held every four years (next in 1985)
Political parties and leaders: Labor, Gro Harlem Brundtland; Conservative, Jo Benkow; Center, Johan J. Jakobsen; Christian People's, Kare Kristiansen; Liberal, Odd Einar Dorum; Socialist Left, Berge Furre; Norwegian Communist, Hans I. Kleven; Progressive, Carl I. Hagen Voting strength (1981 election): Labor, 37.3%; Conservative, 31.6%; Christian People's, 9.3%; Center, 6.7%; Socialist Left (Socialist Electoral Alliance, formerly antitax), 4.9%; Liberal, 3.9%; Progressive, 4.5%; Norwegian Communist, 0.3%; Red Electoral Alliance, 0.7%; Liberal People's Party (antitax), 0.6%
Communists: 2,500 est.; a number of sympathizers as indicated by the 24,618 votes cast in the 1981 election for the Norwegian Communist Party and the Red Electoral Alliance
Member of: ADB, Council of Europe, DAC, EC (Free Trade Agreement), EFTA, ESRO (observer), FAO, GATT, IAEA, IBRD, ICAC, ICAO, ICES, ICO, IDA, IEA (associate member), IFAD, IFC, IHO, ILO, International Lead and Zinc Study Group, IMCO, IMF, IPU, ITU, IWC—International Whaling Commission, IWC—International Wheat Council, NATO, Nordic Council, OECD, UN, UNESCO, UPU, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WSG
ECONOMY
GNP: $55.4 billion in 1980, $13,549 per capita; 49% private consumption; 26% investment; 20% government; net foreign balance 2%; 1980 growth rate 3.6%, in constant prices; 4.8% average (1970-76)
Agriculture: animal husbandry predominates; main crops—feed grains, potatoes, fruits, vegetables; 40% self-sufficient; food shortages—food grains, sugar; caloric intake, 2,940 calories per day per capita (1969-70)
Fishing: catch 2.5 million metric tons (1979); exports $707 million (1979)
Major industries: oil and gas, food processing, shipbuilding, wood pulp, paper products, metals, chemicals
