Norway, officially the Kingdom of Norway, is a Nordic country located on the Scandinavian Peninsula in Northern Europe, including the Arctic island of Jan Mayen and the Svalbard archipelago. It has a population of 5.6 million and its capital is Oslo. Spanning 385,207 square kilometers, Norway shares borders with Sweden, Finland, and Russia, and features a long coastline along the Skagerrak Strait, the North Atlantic Ocean, and the Barents Sea.
Established in 872, Norway was unified as a kingdom and experienced periods under Denmark (1537-1814) and Sweden (1814-1905). It remained neutral during World Wars I and II until the German invasion in 1940. The current monarch is King Harald V, and since 2021, Jonas Gahr Støre has served as Prime Minister.
Norway operates as a unitary state with a constitutional monarchy, divided into counties and municipalities. The Sámi people have self-determination over their traditional territories. Norway is closely tied to the EU and the US, is a founding member of NATO and the UN, and participates in various international treaties.
The country upholds the Nordic welfare model with universal health care and has significant ownership in various industries, particularly petroleum and natural gas, which contribute to its high GDP. It has the world’s largest sovereign wealth fund, valued at approximately $1.3 trillion.
By Rob984 – Derived from Germany on the globe (Germany-centered).svg, CC BY-SA 4.0. [Accessed 27/03/2025]
