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Overall History of Norway The Kingdom of Norway is located on the west part of the Scandinavian peninsula. Geographically, it extends northward from the North Sea over 1, 000 miles along the Norwegian Sea into the Arctic Circle, farther north than any other European land. Sweden, Finland, and the U. S. S. R.
all share borders with Norway on the east and the northeast. With an area of over 125, 000 square miles, Norway is slightly larger than New Mexico. The Kingdom of Norway is located on the west part of the Scandinavian peninsula. Over 70 % of Norway has very little vegetation, is covered by mountains, glaciers, and rivers, and is uninhabitable. Its numerous and deep fjords give Norway over 12, 000 miles of oceanfront and tens of thousands of islands off the cost from a sheltered coastal shipping channel.
Norway also has sovereignty over five islands, the largest being Spitsbergen in the Arctic Ocean. Norway north of Bodo experiences the midnight sun for a few weeks on either side of the summer solstice (June 21). Norse Vikings raided the northwestern coast of Europe repeatedly from the 8 th to the 11 th century. More than just pillagers, the Vikings explored Iceland, Greenland, and the New World extensively.
This time period and its myths are chronicled in the Icelandic Sagas. There are various open-air and Viking museums throughout Scandinavia to see how people used to live in this rugged land. In 872 the first ruler of a united Norway, Harold the Fairhaired, came to power. Norway was part of the Danish kingdom for almost 500 years until Sweden won control in 1814.
The country became officially independent in 1905 with a Danish prince on the Norwegian throne (King Olav V). Norway was committed to neutrality in World War I. The country was occupied by the Germans for five years during World War II. Abandoning its neutrality, Norway joined the N. A. T.
O. alliance in 1949. However Norway does have good relations with its neighbor, the Old Soviet Union. After a referendum in 1972, which divided the country, Norway decided not to join the European Common Market (EC). This was again a major debate in 1995, but Norway surprised the world by again voting not to join the EC. Norway's government is a constitutional monarchy, with King Harald as its head.
The monarch shares executive power with a Cabinet composed of a Prime Minister and seven other members. Norway's Parliament, the Storting, has 157 members who are elected by proportional representation. Major political parties in Norway include the Labor party, led by Prime Minister Gro Harlem Brundtland, the Conservative Party, the Christian Democrats, the Center Party, the Socialist Left Party, and the Party of Progress. Norway has one of the highest standards of living in the world, but it is also extremely expensive - even compared to the rest of Scandinavia. The gross national product is close to $ 60 billion, and the low unemployment has been enviable for the last decade at less than 3 1 / 2 %. The per capita income is high as well at almost $ 14, 000.
The Norwegian labor force is composed of 8 % agriculture workers, 20 % industrial workers, 32 % service workers, and 29 % government employees. Norway is lucky to have extensive hydroelectric power resources upon which its industrialization is based. The discovery of the North Sea oil fields has attributed to Norway's wealth as well. A 200 -nautical-mile zone off Norway's shores gives the government control over the resources in one of the most productive sea areas on earth. Norway has one of the world's largest merchant marines.
Only 3 - 4 % of the country's surface area is cultivatable and therefore most grain is imported. The majority of the country's forests are owned privately and feed the large timber, furniture, and paper industries. Norway exports oil and gas, metals, chemicals, and fish. In addition, paper products, ships, and oil rigs are exported, Norway's chief trading partners are the European Common Market, the Nordic countries, the U.
S. , and Japan. Exports account for almost 40 % of the gross national product. The population of Norway is a stable 4. 2 million people. Most Norwegians live near the coast, as much of the interior is uninhabitable. As a result, the overall population density is a low 33. 6 persons per square mile. At birth, Norwegian males can expect to live 73 years and females, almost 80 years.
Oslo, Norway's capital, is also its largest city with a population of close to half a million. Bergen is Norway's next largest city with a population of over 200, 000. The 16 th Winter Olympics was hosted in Lillehammer, Norway in 1994. Culture Like the rest of Scandinavia, Norway has for the last two decades or so eagerly been debating a broader definition of the term culture, reflecting a widespread wish to attribute cultural value not only to the more exclusive art forms, but also to popular activities 7 among other things as a prelude to obtaining public sector support also for the latter.
Examples of what this broader concept might comprise are sports, amateur choirs and study circles. The idea of culture more broadly defined has wind in its sails, and at the local level, in counties and municipalities, cultural administrations have been built up which are doing valuable work in preparing the ground for future public investment. Education in Norway Norway has invested a great deal in education. Out of a population of 4. 3 million, almost 900, 000 are undergoing some form of education or training, and a further 1. 3 million a year follow adult education courses. During the school year 1993 - 94 there were about 470, 000 pupils at primary and lower secondary school and almost 210, 000 at upper secondary level, including vocational training.
Over 95 per cent of all young people go on to upper secondary education after lower secondary school. There are about 160, 000 students at universities and colleges, a figure which increased by 60 per cent from 1988 to 1993. There are also more than 8, 000 Norwegian students studying abroad, and about 5, 000 foreign students in Norway. The educational level of the population has risen considerably in recent years.
In 1970, 30 per cent of the population had upper secondary or higher education; in 1992 this figure was over 60 per cent. The Norwegian school system can be traced back to the cathedral schools of the Middle Ages. By the 1700 s the state administration had begun to be seriously...
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