Norway

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Country summary

Capital

Oslo

Borders

Finland 727 km, Sweden 1,619 km, Russia 196 km

Government type

constitutional monarchy

Population

4,660,539 (July 2010 est.)[1]

Population growth

0.341% (2010 est.)[1]

Life expectancy

79.95 years[1]

Unemployment

3.2% (2009 est.)[1]

Index of Economic Freedom

37[2]

Corruption Perceptions Index

11[3]

Doing Business ranking

10[4]


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 lasted 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. Although Norway remained neutral in World War I, it suffered heavy losses to its shipping. Norway proclaimed its neutrality at the outset of World War II, but was nonetheless occupied for five years by Nazi Germany (1940-45). 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.[1]

See also: Scandinavia
See also: Scandinavia and the social state

Economical characteristics

  • Currency: Norwegian krone (ISO code: NOK)
  • Central bank discount rate: 4% (31 December 2008)[1]
  • Commercial banks lending rate: 7.28% (31 December 2008)[1]

Notable events:

  • Banking crisis: 1898, 1921-1923, 1931, 1936, 1987-1993[5]
  • Years in inflation: 5.2% (share of years 1800-2009 with annual inflation above 20 per cent per annum)[6]

Statistics

Statistic / Year 1999 2000 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008
GDP (million USD)[7] 159 045 168 288 170 923 191 927 225 110 258 581 302 013 336 734 388 473 451 830
Govt. debt (% of GDP)[8] 23.471 19.925 28.590 36.859 39.175 36.157 49.432 47.112 44.861
Govt. revenue (% of GDP)[9] 48.396 47.379 47.491 46.080 47.671 48.794 50.903 50.549 51.164
Govt. expenses (% of GDP)[10] 32.611 33.312 38.159 37.532 35.642 33.254 31.821 31.720 30.655
Debt to revenue (years) 0.485 0.421 0.602 0.800 0.822 0.741 0.971 0.932 0.877

References

Note: statistical data was rounded. Different sources may use different methodologies for their estimates. Debt to revenue is calculated by dividing the two variables from their original ('unrounded') values. It represents how long it would a government take to repay its entire debt if it used its whole revenue for this purpose.

  1. ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 1.3 1.4 1.5 1.6 CIA - The World Factbook. "Norway", from The World Factbook. Referenced 2010-09-29.
  2. ↑ Heritage Foundation. "Norway", Economic Freedom Score. A lower ranking is better; but please be careful when comparing between different countries or years. Referenced 2010-09-29.
  3. ↑ Transparency International. "Norway", Corruption Perceptions Index 2009. A lower ranking is better; but please note that the numbers cannot be compared between countries or years due to different methodology. Referenced 2010-09-29.
  4. ↑ Doing Business. "Norway", Doing Business 2010 (part of The World Bank Group). A lower ranking is better; but please be careful when comparing between different countries or years. Referenced 2010-09-29.
  5. ↑ Carmen M. Reinhart and Kenneth S. Rogoff. "This Time is Different", Princeton University Press, ISBN 978-0-691-14216-6, p. 376-377. (The list does not claim to be complete.) Referenced 2011-07-21.
  6. ↑ Carmen M. Reinhart. "This Time is Different Chartbook: Country Histories on Debt, Default, and Financial Crises" (pdf), March 3, 2010, p. 84. (The list does not claim to be complete.) Referenced 2011-07-21.
  7. ↑ World Bank. "Norway: GDP", from World Bank Data. Referenced 2010-09-29.
  8. ↑ World Bank. "Norway: government debt", from World Bank Data. Referenced 2010-09-29.
  9. ↑ World Bank. "Norway: government revenue", from World Bank Data. Referenced 2010-09-29.
  10. ↑ World Bank. "Norway: government expenses", from World Bank Data. Referenced 2010-09-29.

Links

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