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Norway
is a ruggedly beautiful country of mountains, fjords and glaciers.
It offers incredible wilderness hiking, year-round skiing,
and some of the world's most scenic ferry, bus and train rides.
The 'Land of the Midnight Sun' has delightfully long summer
days, pleasantly low-key cities, unspoiled fishing villages
and rich historic sites that include Viking ships and medieval
stave churches.
Norway's
varied geography surprises many visitors who imagine the country
as a frozen monolith. On the contrary, the temperate south
includes rolling farmlands, enchanted forests and sunny beaches
as well as the dramatic Western Fjords. North of the Arctic
Circle, the population thins, the horizons grow wider and
the temperature dips. Here the terrain ranges from soaring
coastal peaks to vast boreal forests and barren treeless peninsulas.
Adventurous travelers can journey even further north to the
Svalbard archipelago, where seals, walruses and polar bears
sun themselves on ice floes. It's no wonder that Norway prizes
its stunning natural wonders and retains a robust frontier
character unusual in Europe.
Area:
385,155 sq km
Population: 4,513,000
Capital city: Oslo (pop 508,730)
People: 97% Nordic, Alpine & Baltic, with a Sami minority
Language: Bokmål, Nynorsk & Sami
Religion: Christian (86.3% Evangelical Lutheran)
Government: Constitutional monarchy
Prime Minister: Kjell Magne Bondevik
King: Harald V
GDP:
US$120.5 billion
GDP per head: US$30,100
Annual growth: 3.5%
Inflation: 3.1%
Major industries: Oil, natural gas, computers, high technology,
fishing, fish farming, forestry, shipping, shipbuilding and
paper production
Major trading partners: EU (esp. UK, Germany & Sweden)
Member of EU: no
Norway
Flight from UK
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