Nordic FAQ - 6 of 7 - NORWAY

        A Frequently Answered Questions (FAQ) file for the newsgroup
                    S O C . C U L T U R E . N O R D I C
                           *** PART 6: NORWAY ***
                                      
   
    Index
                  6.1
                         Fact Sheet
                  6.2
                         General information
                  6.2.1
                         Geography, climate, vegetation
                  6.2.2
                         Economy
                  6.2.3
                         Population, language, culture
                  6.2.4
                         Government
                  6.3
                         History
                  6.3.2
                           !  Kings & Queens
                  6.3.3
                         Olof Skøtkonung and his friends
                  6.4
                         Main tourist attractions
                  6.4.1
                         Bergen
                  6.4.2
                         Oslo
                  6.4.3
                         Trondheim
                  6.4.4
                         Hurtigruta
                  6.5
                         Norwegian literature
                  6.6
                         Sons of Norway
                  6.7
                         Dictionaries and other study material
     _________________________________________________________________
   
   
   
Subject: 6.1 Fact Sheet

Name:  Kongeriket Norge (Bokmål)
       Kongeriket Noreg (Nynorsk)

Telephone country code:   47

Area:  323,878 km² / 125,065 sq mi.

Overseas territories:  Svalbard     62 700,0 km²
                       Jan Mayen       380,0 km²
                       Bouvet Island    58,5 km²
                       Peter I Island  249,2 km²

Land boundaries:  Sweden, Finland, Russia

Terrain:  mostly high plateaus and rugged mountains broken by fertile valleys;
          small, scattered plains;
          coastline deeply indented by fjords;
          arctic tundra in north

Largest glaciers:  Jostedalsbreen, 486 km²
                   Svartisen, 369 km²
                   Folgefonni 212 km²

Highest point:  Glittertinden, 2,472 m (8,110 ft)

Natural resources:  crude oil, copper, natural gas, pyrites,
                    nickel, iron ore, zinc, lead,
                    fish, timber, hydropower

Population:  4,413,800 (1997)

Population density:  13.6 persons per km² (35 per sq mi).
                     (lowest in Finnmark: 1.7 persons per km²)

Distribution:  71% urban, 29% rural. (1990)

Average annual growth:  3.5% (1997)

Life expectancy:  women 81 years; men 75 years (1994)

Infant mortality:  5.2 per 1,000 live births. (1994)

Average fertility:  1.87 (1995)

Average age at marriage:  women 32.6; men 29.5 (1994)

Divorces per marriage:  53% (1994)

Capital:  Oslo (population: 500,000) (1997)

Other major towns (1995):  Bergen (223,000),
                           Trondheim (144,000),
                           Stavanger (104,000)
                           Fredrikstad (65,700)
                           Kristiansand (62,300)
                           Tromsø (56,600)

Flag:  a blue Nordic cross outlined in white on a red background.

Type:  Constitutional monarchy

Head of state:  King Harald V

National anthem:  Ja, vi elsker dette landet

Royal anthem:  Kongesangen

Languages:  Norwegian (two written forms: Bokmål and Nynorsk).
            Small Finnish- and Sámi-speaking minorities.
            The North Sámi language has official status in
            the northern parts of the country.

Currency:  krone (Norwegian crown, NOK).
           for the current exchange rate,
           see the URL <http://www.dna.lth.se/cgi-bin/kurt/rates>


Climate:  temperate along coast, warmed by the Gulf stream;
          colder interior. Rainy year-round on west coast.
          Average temp. in Oslo:
          -7°C -  2°C in Jan.,
          13°C - 22°C in July.
          Current and historic data on temperature/precipitation/humidity
          from 50 stations all over the country are available at:
          <http://norpre.nlh.no/weather/>

Religion:  Evangelic-Lutheran (88%) (official state-religion)

Exports:  petroleum and petroleum products, natural gas, fish,
          aluminium, ships, pulp and paper.