Country name:
conventional long form: Kingdom of Norway
conventional short form: Norway
local long form: Kongeriket Norge
local short form: Norge
etymology: derives from the Old Norse words "nordr" and "vegr" meaning "northern way" and referring to the long coastline of western Norway
Government type:
constitutional monarchy
Capital:
name: Oslo
geographic coordinates: 59 55 N, 10 45 E
time difference: UTC+1 (6 hours ahead of Washington, DC, during Standard Time)
daylight saving time: +1hr, begins last Sunday in March; ends last Sunday in October
Administrative divisions:
19 counties (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
Dependent areas:
Bouvet Island, Jan Mayen, Svalbard
Independence:
7 June 1905 (Norway declared the union with Sweden dissolved); 26 October 1905 (Sweden agreed to the repeal of the union)
National holiday:
Constitution Day, 17 May (1814)
Constitution:
drafted spring 1814, adopted 16 May 1814, signed by Constituent Assembly 17 May 1814; amended over 400 times, last in 2014 (2015)
Legal system:
mixed legal system of civil, common, and customary law; Supreme Court can advise on legislative acts
International law organization participation:
accepts compulsory ICJ jurisdiction with reservations; accepts ICCt jurisdiction
Citizenship:
citizenship by birth: no
citizenship by descent only: at least one parent must be a citizen of Norway
dual citizenship recognized: no
residency requirement for naturalization: 7 years
Suffrage:
18 years of age; universal
[see also: Suffrage country ranks ]
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 Erna SOLBERG (since 16 October 2013)
cabinet: State Council appointed by the monarch, approved by Parliament
elections/appointments: the monarchy is hereditary; following parliamentary elections, the leader of the majority party or majority coalition usually appointed prime minister by the monarch with the approval of the parliament
Legislative branch:
description: unicameral Parliament or Storting (169 seats; members directly elected in multi-seat constituencies by proportional representation vote; members serve 4-year terms)
elections: last held on 9 September 2013 (next to be held in September 2017)
election results: percent of vote by party - Center-Right Coalition 54.0% (H 26.3%, FrP 16.3%, KrF 5.6%, V 5.2%), Red-Green Coalition 40.6% (Ap 30.8%, SP 5.5%, SV 4.1%), MDG 2.8, other 2.7%; seats by party - Center-Right Coalition 96 (H 48, FrP 29, KrF 10, V 9), Red-Green Coalition 72 (Ap 55, Sp 10, SV 7), MDG 1
Judicial branch:
highest court(s): Supreme Court or Hoyesterett (consists of the chief justice and 18 associate justices)
judge selection and term of office: justices appointed by the monarch (King in Council) upon the recommendation of the Judicial Appointments Board; justice retirement mandatory at age 70
subordinate courts: Courts of Appeal or Lagmensrett; regional and district courts; Conciliation Boards; ordinary and special courts; note - in addition to professionally trained judges, elected lay judges sit on the bench with professional judges in the Courts of Appeal and district courts
Political parties and leaders:
Center Party or Sp [Trygve Slagsvold VEDUM]
Center-Right Coalition (includes FrP, H, KrF, V)
Christian Democratic Party or KrF [Knut Arild HAREIDE]
Conservative Party or H [Erna SOLBERG]
Green Party or MDG [Rasmus HANSSON and Hilde OPOKU]
Labor Party or Ap [Jonas Gahr STOHRE]
Liberal Party or V [Trine SKEI-GRANDE]
Progress Party or FrP [Siv JENSEN]
Red-Green Coalition (includes Ap, Sp, SV) [Jens STOLTENBERG]
Socialist Left Party or SV [Audun LYSBAKKEN]
Political pressure groups and leaders:
Confederation of Norwegian Enterprise (Naeringslivets Hovedorganisasjon) or NHO [President Tore ULSTEIN; CEO Kristin SKOGEN LUND]
Norwegian Confederation of Trade Unions (Landsorganisasjonen i Norge) or LO [Gerd KRISTIANSEN]
other: environmental groups; media; digital privacy movements
International organization participation:
ADB (nonregional member), AfDB (nonregional member), Arctic Council, Australia Group, BIS, CBSS, CD, CE, CERN, EAPC, EBRD, EFTA, EITI (implementing country), ESA, FAO, FATF, IADB, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, ICC (national committees), ICCt, ICRM, IDA, IEA, IFAD, IFC, IFRCS, IGAD (partners), IHO, ILO, IMF, IMO, IMSO, Interpol, IOC, IOM, IPU, ISO, ITSO, ITU, ITUC (NGOs), MIGA, MINUSMA, NATO, NC, NEA, NIB, NSG, OAS (observer), OECD, OPCW, OSCE, Paris Club, PCA, Schengen Convention, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNHCR, UNIDO, UNITAR, UNMISS, UNRWA, UNTSO, UNWTO, UPU, WCO, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WTO, ZC
Diplomatic representation in the US:
chief of mission: Ambassador Kare Reidar AAS (since 22 August 2013)
chancery: 2720 34th Street NW, Washington, DC 20008
telephone: [1] (202) 333-6000
FAX: [1] (202) 459-3990
consulate(s) general: Houston, New York, San Francisco
Diplomatic representation from the US:
chief of mission: Ambassador (vacant); Charge d'Affaires Julie FURUTA-TOY (since 27 September 2013)
embassy: Henrik Ibsens gate 48, 0244 Oslo; note - the embassy will move to Huseby in the near future
mailing address: PSC 69, Box 1000, APO AE 09707
telephone: [47] 21-30-85-40
FAX: [47] 22-44-33-63, 22-56-27-51
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); the colors recall Norway's past political unions with Denmark (red and white) and Sweden (blue)
National symbol(s):
lion; national colors: red, white, blue
National anthem:
name: "Ja, vi elsker dette landet" (Yes, We Love This Country)
lyrics/music: lyrics/music: Bjornstjerne BJORNSON/Rikard NORDRAAK
note: adopted 1864; in addition to the national anthem, "Kongesangen" (Song of the King), which uses the tune of "God Save the Queen," serves as the royal anthem
NOTE: The information regarding Norway on this page is re-published from the 2016 World Fact Book of the United States Central Intelligence Agency. No claims are made regarding the accuracy of Norway Government 2016 information contained here. All suggestions for corrections of any errors about Norway Government 2016 should be addressed to the CIA.
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This page was last modified 27-Apr-16