Norway is situated in the western part of the Scandinavian peninsula. It extends about 1,100 mi (1,770 km) from the North Sea along the Norwegian Sea to more than 300 mi (483 km) above the Arctic Circle, the farthest north of any European country. It is slightly larger than New Mexico. Nearly 70% of Norway is uninhabitable and covered by mountains, glaciers, moors, and rivers. The hundreds of deep fjords that cut into the coastline give Norway an overall oceanfront of more than 12,000 mi (19,312 km). Galdhø Peak, at 8,100 ft (2,469 m), is Norway's highest point and the Glåma (Glomma) is the principal river, at 372 mi (598 km) long.
Country lead by Sovereign: King Harald V (1991)
Prime Minister: Jens Stoltenberg (2005)
Population
4,610,820 (growth rate: 0.4%); birth rate: 11.5/1000; infant mortality rate: 3.7/1000; life expectancy: 79.5; density per sq mi: 39
Land Area
118,865 sq mi (307,860 sq km); total area: 125,182 sq mi (324,220 sq km)
Monetary unit
Norwegian krone Language
Bokmål Norwegian, Nynorsk Norwegian (both official); small Sami- and Finnish-speaking minorities (Sami is official in six municipalities)
Ethnicity Norwegian, Sami 20,000
Religion Evangelical Lutheran 86% (state church), Pentecostal 1%, Roman Catholic 1%, other Christian 2% (2004)
Transportation Railways: total: 4,178 km (2002). Highways: total: 91,454 km; paved: 69,505 km (including 143 km of expressways); unpaved: 21,949 km (2000). Waterways: 1,577 km along west coast; navigable by 2.4 m draft vessels maximum. Ports and harbors: Bergen, Drammen, Floro, Hammerfest, Harstad, Haugesund, Kristiansand, Larvik, Narvik, Oslo, Porsgrunn, Stavanger, Tromso, Trondheim. Airports: 102 (2002).
