Norway

parliamentary constitutional monarchy

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 etymology: the name may derive from the Old Norwegian word os , meaning "estuary" and referring to the city's location on a fjord; alternatively, the name may come from As, a Scandinavian god, and Lo, a nearby river

chief of state: King HARALD V (since 17 January 1991) head of government: Prime Minister Jonas Gahr STORE (since 14 October 2021) cabinet: Council of State appointed by the monarch, approved by Parliament election/appointment process: the monarchy is hereditary; following legislative elections, the monarch usually appoints the leader of the majority party or majority coalition as prime minister, with the approval of Parliament

legislature name: Parliament (Stortinget) legislative structure: unicameral number of seats: 169 (all directly elected) electoral system: proportional representation scope of elections: full renewal term in office: 4 years most recent election date: 9/8/2025 parties elected and seats per party: Labour Party (53); Progress Party (47); Conservative Party (24); Socialist Left Party (9); Center Party (9); Red Party (9); Other (18) percentage of women in chamber: 40.2% expected date of next election: September 2029

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) on the recommendation of the Judicial Appointments Board; justices can serve until mandatory retirement at age 70 subordinate courts: Courts of Appeal or Lagmennsrett; 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

history: drafted spring 1814, adopted 16 May 1814, signed by Constituent Assembly 17 May 1814 amendment process: proposals submitted by members of Parliament or by the government within the first three years of Parliament's four-year term; passage requires two-thirds majority vote of a two-thirds quorum in the next elected Parliament

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, NATO, NC, NEA, NIB, NSG, OAS (observer), OECD, OPCW, OSCE, Paris Club, PCA, Schengen Convention, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNHCR, UNIDO, UNITAR, UNMISS, UNOOSA, UNRWA, UNTSO, UNWTO, UPU, Wassenaar Arrangement, WCO, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WTO, ZC

3.4% of GDP (2025 est.) 2.3% of GDP (2024 est.) 1.8% of GDP (2023 est.) 1.5% of GDP (2022 est.) 1.7% of GDP (2021 est.)

Norwegian Armed Forces (Forsvaret or "the Defense"): Norwegian Army (Haeren), Royal Norwegian Navy (Kongelige Norske Sjoeforsvaret; includes Coastal Rangers and Coast Guard (Kystvakt)), Royal Norwegian Air Force (Kongelige Norske Luftforsvaret), Home Guard (Heimevernet, HV) (2025) note: the Norwegian Police Service is under the Ministry of Justice and Public Security

17 (men) or 18 (women) for voluntary military service; all Norwegian citizens 19-44 are subject to selective compulsory military service; 19-month service obligation for those selected (12 months plus 4-5 refresher training periods) (2025) note 1: Norway has had compulsory military service since 1907; individuals conscripted each year are selected from a larger cohort who are evaluated through online assessments and physical tests note 2: Norway was the first NATO country to allow women to serve in all combat arms branches of the military (1985); it also has an all-female special operations unit known as Jegertroppen (The Hunter Troop), which was established in 2014

the Norwegian Armed Forces (Forsvaret) are responsible for protecting Norway and its allies, including monitoring Norway s airspace, digital, land, and maritime areas, maintaining the country s borders and sovereignty, contributing to NATO and UN missions, and providing support to civil society, such as assisting the police, search and rescue, and maritime counterterrorism efforts; the military s territorial and sovereignty defense missions are complicated by Norway s vast sea areas, numerous islands, long and winding fjords, and difficult and mountainous terrain; a key area of emphasis is its far northern border with Russia Norway is one of the original members of NATO, and the Alliance is a key component of Norway s defense policy; the Forsvaret participates in NATO exercises, missions, and operations, including air policing of NATO territory, NATO s Enhanced Forward Presence mission in the Baltic States and Eastern Europe, and standing naval missions, as well as operations in non-NATO areas, such as the Middle East the Forsvaret also cooperates closely with the militaries of other Nordic countries through the Nordic Defense Cooperation (NORDEFCO; established 2009), which consists of Denmark, Finland, Iceland, Norway, and Sweden; Norway contributes to the UK-led Joint Expeditionary Force, a pool of high-readiness military forces from 10 Baltic and Scandinavian countries designed to respond to a wide range of contingencies in the High North, North Atlantic, and Baltic Sea regions; Norway has close military ties with the US, including rotational US military deployments and an agreement allowing for mutual defense activities and US military forces to access some Norwegian facilities the Forsvaret's origins go back to the leidangen, defense forces which were established along the coastline in the 10th century to protect the Norwegian coast (2025)

around 100 Lithuania (NATO); Norway also deploys air and naval assets in support of other NATO operations (2025)

$507.68 billion (2024 est.) $497.236 billion (2023 est.) $496.877 billion (2022 est.) note: data in 2021 dollars

$91,100 (2024 est.) $90,100 (2023 est.) $91,100 (2022 est.) note: data in 2021 dollars

2.1% (2024 est.) 0.1% (2023 est.) 3.2% (2022 est.) note: annual GDP % growth based on constant local currency

3.1% (2024 est.) 5.5% (2023 est.) 5.8% (2022 est.) note: annual % change based on consumer prices

36.5% of GDP (2017 est.) note: data cover general government debt and include debt instruments issued (or owned) by government entities other than the treasury; the data exclude treasury debt held by foreign entities; the data exclude debt issued by subnational entities, as well as intragovernmental debt; intragovernmental debt consists of treasury borrowings from surpluses in the social funds, such as for retirement, medical care, and unemployment; debt instruments for the social funds are not sold at public auctions

$229.205 billion (2024 est.) $230.882 billion (2023 est.) $323.875 billion (2022 est.) note: balance of payments - exports of goods and services in current dollars

$162.467 billion (2024 est.) $156.11 billion (2023 est.) $160.649 billion (2022 est.) note: balance of payments - imports of goods and services in current dollars

4% (2024 est.) 3.6% (2023 est.) 3.3% (2022 est.) note: % of labor force seeking employment

revenues: $261.945 billion (2023 est.) expenditures: $178.156 billion (2023 est.) note: central government revenues (excluding grants) and expenditures converted to US dollars at average official exchange rate for year indicated

petroleum and gas, shipping, fishing, aquaculture, food processing, shipbuilding, pulp and paper products, metals, chemicals, timber, mining, textiles

milk, barley, potatoes, oats, wheat, pork, chicken, beef, eggs, carrots/turnips (2023) note: top ten agricultural products based on tonnage

total: 5,509,733 (2024 est.) male: 2,780,972 female: 2,728,761

0.57% (2025 est.)

0-14 years: 16.3% (male 461,979/female 438,243) 15-64 years: 64.5% (male 1,820,692/female 1,734,818) 65 years and over: 19.1% (2024 est.) (male 498,301/female 555,700)

10.35 births/1,000 population (2025 est.)

8.6 deaths/1,000 population (2025 est.)

3.98 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2025 est.)

total population: 82.9 years (2024 est.) male: 81.3 years female: 84.6 years

urban population: 84% of total population (2023) rate of urbanization: 1.32% annual rate of change (2020-25 est.) note: data include Svalbard and Jan Mayen Islands

Norwegian 81.5% (includes about 60,000 Sami), other European 8.9%, other 9.6% (2021 est.)

Bokmal Norwegian (official), Nynorsk Norwegian (official), small Sami- and Finnish-speaking minorities major-language sample(s): Verdens Faktabok, den essensielle kilden for grunnleggende informasjon. (Norwegian) The World Factbook, the indispensable source for basic information. note: Sami has three dialects (Lule, North Sami, and South Sami) and is an official language in nine municipalities in the northernmost counties of Finnmark, Nordland, and Troms

Church of Norway (Evangelical Lutheran - official) 67.5%, Muslim 3.1%, Roman Catholic 3.1%, other Christian 3.8%, other 2.6%, unspecified 19.9% (2021 est.)

petroleum, natural gas, iron ore, copper, lead, zinc, titanium, pyrites, nickel, fish, timber, hydropower

refugees: 129,894 (2024 est.) stateless persons: 1,621 (2024 est.)

146 (2025)

total: 3,848 km (2020) 2,482 km electrified

total: 1,720 (2022) by type: bulk carrier 109, container ship 1, general cargo 274, oil tanker 95, other 1,241

total subscriptions: 6.09 million (2022 est.) subscriptions per 100 inhabitants: 111 (2022 est.)

percent of population: 99% (2023 est.)