This is an ironic portrait of Norway. Norway is a Scandinavian
unitary constitutional monarchy whose territory comprises the
western portion of the Scandinavian Peninsula, Jan Mayen, the
Arctic archipelago of Svalbard, and the sub-Antarctic Bouvet
Island. Norway has a total area of 385,252 square kilometres
(148,747 sq mi) and a population of a little above 5 million. It is
the 2nd least densely populated country in Europe. The country
shares a long eastern border with Sweden (1,619 km or 1,006 mi
long), which is the longest uninterrupted border within both
Scandinavia & Europe at large. Norway is bordered by Finland
and Russia to the north-east, and the Skagerrak Strait to the
south, with Denmark on the other side. It shares maritime borders
with Russia by the Barents Sea; Greenland, the Faroe Islands, and
Iceland by the Norwegian Sea; and Sweden, Denmark, and the United
Kingdom by the North Sea. Norway's extensive coastline, facing the
North Atlantic Ocean and the Barents Sea, is laced with fjords, a
renowned part of its landscape. The capital city Oslo is the
largest in the nation, with a population of 630,000. Norway has
extensive reserves of petroleum, natural gas, minerals, lumber,
seafood, fresh water, and hydropower. Two centuries of Viking raids
to southern and western areas tapered off following the adoption of
Christianity in AD 994. Norway expanded its control overseas to
parts of Britain, Ireland, Iceland, and Greenland. Norwegian power
peaked in 1265, but competition from the Hanseatic League and the
spread of the Black Death weakened the country. In 1380, Norway was
absorbed into a union with Denmark that lasted more than four
centuries. In 1814, Norwegians resisted the cession of their
country to Sweden and adopted a constitution. Sweden went to war
with Norway but agreed to let Norway keep its constitution in
return for accepting the union under a Swedish king. Later Norway
demanded independence, which it gained in a referendum in 1905.
Norway remained neutral in World War I. Despite its declaration of
neutrality in World War II, Norway was occupied for 5 years by
forces of Nazi Germany. In 1949 it abandoned neutrality, becoming a
founding member of NATO. Discovery of oil in adjacent waters in the
late 1960s boosted Norway's economic fortunes. The country
maintains a welfare model with universal health care, subsidised
higher education, and a comprehensive social security system. Key
domestic issues include maintaining the country's extensive social
safety net with an aging population and preserving economic
competitiveness. The petroleum industry accounts for around a
quarter of the country's gross domestic product. King Harald V is
Norway's head of state and Erna Solberg became Prime Minister on 16
October 2013, replacing Jens Stoltenberg, and the government made a
shift from being a labour to a conservative government. It has
administrative subdivisions on two levels, known as counties
(fylke) and municipalities (kommuner). The Sami people have a
certain amount of self-determination and influence over traditional
territories through the Sami Parliament and the Finnmark Act.
Norway maintains close ties with the European Union and its member
countries (despite rejecting full EU membership in two referenda),
as well as with the United States. Norway participates with United
Nations forces in international missions, notably in Afghanistan,
Kosovo, Sudan, and Libya. Norway is a founding member of the United
Nations, NATO, the Council of Europe, and the Nordic Council; a
member of the European Economic Area, the WTO and the OECD; and is
also a part of the Schengen Area.
General
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