Economics
Economy overview: Norway is a prosperous capitalist country with a high level of welfare; its economy has elements of both free market relations and public administration. The government controls key sectors of the economy, in particular the vital oil sector (through large state-owned enterprises). The country has rich natural resources – oil, hydropower, fish, forests and minerals – and is highly dependent on oil production and world oil prices (in 1999, oil and gas accounted for 35% of exports in monetary terms). Only Saudi Arabia exports more oil than Norway. In a referendum in November 1994, the country decided not to join the EU. Growth in 2000 was 2.7% compared to 0.8% in 1999, but may fall again in 2001. The government moved ahead with privatization in 2000, even planning to sell a third of the wholly state-owned oil company Statoil. Despite a high per capita income and a well-developed social security system, Norwegians are worried that in two decades oil and gas reserves will start to run out. Therefore, Norway is saving oil revenues in a special government fund that invests abroad and whose assets are estimated at more than $43 billion.
GDP: at purchasing power parity – $124.1 billion (2000 est.).
Real GDP growth rate: 2.7% (2000 est.).
GDP per capita: Purchasing power parity – $27,700 (2000 est.).
The composition of GDP by sectors of the economy: agriculture: 2%; industry: 25%; services: 73% (1999).
Proportion of the population below the poverty line: no data available.
Percentage distribution of family income or consumption: per 10% of the poorest families: 4.1%; by the top 10% of families: 21.8% (1995).
Inflation rate at consumer prices: 2.9% (2000 est.).
Labor force: 2.4 million people (2000 est.).
Employment structure: services 74%, industry 22%, agriculture, forestry and fisheries 4% (1995).
Unemployment rate: 3% (2000 est.).
Budget: revenues: $71.7 billion; expenditures: $57.6 billion, including capital expenditures – NA (2000 est.).
Spheres of economy: oil and gas production, shipbuilding, woodworking and paper industry, metallurgy, chemical, forestry, mining, textile industry, fishing.
Growth in industrial production: 3% (2000 est.).
Electricity generation: 121.084 billion kWh (1999)
Sources of electricity generation: fossil fuels: 0.63%; hydropower: 99.11%; nuclear fuel: 0%; others: 0.26% (1999).
Electricity consumption: 110.795 billion kWh (1999)
Electricity export: 8.28 billion kWh (1999)
Electricity import: 6.467 billion kWh (1999)
Agricultural products: barley, other cereals, potatoes; beef, milk; fish.
Exports: $59.2 billion (free on board, 2000 est.)
Export items: oil and oil products, machinery and equipment, metals, chemicals, ships, fish.
Export partners: EU 73% (UK 17%, Germany 11%, Netherlands 10%, Sweden 9%), US 5% (1999).
Imports: $35.2 billion (free on board, 2000 est.)
Import articles: machinery and equipment, chemicals, metals, foodstuffs.
Import partners: EU 66% (Sweden 15%, Germany 12%, UK 9%, Denmark 7%), US 10%, Japan (1999).
External debt: $0 (Norway is a net creditor).
Economic Aid Donor: Official Development Support $1.4 billion (1998).
Currency: Norwegian krone.
Currency code: NOK.
Exchange rate: NOK/USD – 8.7784 (January 2001), 8.7018 (2000), 7.7992 (1999), 7.5451 (1998), 7.0734 (1997), 6.4498 (1996).
Fiscal year: calendar year.
Telecommunications
Telecommunications Telephone lines: 2.735 million (1998).
Mobile cellular phones: 2 080 408 (1998).
Telephone system: modern in every respect; one of the most developed telecommunication systems in Europe; domestic: national satellite system; the vastness of rural areas contributes to the spread of mobile cellular communication systems instead of wired; international: 2 underground coaxial cable systems; 4 submarine coaxial cables; satellite earth stations – Eutelsat and Intelsat (number unknown) (Atlantic Ocean), 1 Inmarsat (Atlantic and Indian Ocean region); note – Norway owns the Inmarsat ground station jointly with other Scandinavian countries (Denmark, Finland, Iceland and Sweden).
Broadcast stations: AM – 5, FM – at least 650, shortwave – 1 (1998).
Radio receivers: 4.03 million (1997)
Television broadcast stations: 360 (and 2,729 repeaters) (1995).
Televisions: 2.03 million (1997)
Internet country code: no
Internet service providers: 13 (2000).
Number of users: 2.36 million (October 2000).
Transport
Transport Railways: total length: 4,012 km; standard gauge: 4,012 km (1.435 m gauge; 2,530 km electrified; 96 km dual gauge) (1998).
Roads: total length: 91,180 km; paved: 67,838 km (including 128 km of motorways); unpaved: 23,342 km (1999)
Waterways: 1,577 km along the west coast; suitable for ships with a maximum draft of 2.4 m.
Pipelines: for oil products – 53 km.
Ports and harbours: Bergen, Drammen, Christian Sand, Larvik, Narvik, Oslo, Porsgrunn, Stavanger, Tromsø, Trondheim, Floro, Hammerfest, Harstad, Haugesund.
Merchant navy: in total: 764 ships (of 1,000 tons displacement or more) with a total displacement of 20,667,370 gross register tons / 32,100,208 long tons of gross tonnage; ships of various types: bulk carriers – 89, cargo ships – 139, chemical tankers – 114, combined bulk carriers – 9, combined ore and oil carriers – 37, container ships – 15, liquefied gas tankers – 84, passenger ships – 10, oil tankers – 151, refrigerated ships – 10, ferries – 45, coastal passenger ships – 22, specialized tankers – 1, cargo ships for transport – 38; note: including foreign vessels registered here for flag of convenience reasons: Germany 1, Japan 1, Mexico 1, Sweden 1 (2000 est.).
Airports: 103 (2000 est.).
Airports with paved runways: total: 67; over 3,047 m: 1; from 2438 to 3047 m:12; from 1,524 to 2,437 m: 12; from 914 to 1523 m:14; less than 914 m: 28 (2000 est.).
Airports with unpaved runways: total: 36; from 914 to 1523 m: 5; less than 914 m: 31 (2000 est.). Helipads: 1 (2000 est.).
Armed forces
Branches of the armed forces: Norwegian Army, Royal Norwegian Navy (includes coastal artillery and coast guard), Royal Norwegian Air Force, internal troops. See militarynous.com to know more about Norway Military.
Enlistment age: 20 years old.
Total Military Manpower: Male 15 to 49: 1,101,384 (2001 est.).
Eligible for military service: males aged 15 to 49: 913,534 (2001 est.).
Number of persons reaching military age each year: male: 27,341 (2001 est.).
Military spending in dollar terms: $3.113 billion (1998)
Military spending as part of GDP: 2.1% (FY98)
International Issues
International issues International disputes: Norway has territorial claims in Antarctica (Dronning Maud Land); Svalbard (Svalbard) is at the center of a maritime border dispute between Norway and Russia.
