Interesting Facts About Norway

Norway is a Scandinavian country that is located on the western side of the Scandinavian Peninsula. It is bordered to the east by Sweden and Russia and to the south by Finland. The south of Norway is bordered by the Skagerrak Strait and its vast coastline lies along the North Atlantic Ocean and the Barents Sea. Norway is home to approximately 5,033,675 people and covers a total area of 385,252 km² (148,746 sq mi).

Interesting facts about Norway

• The Capital city of Norway is Oslo.
• Norway is the Second least densely populated country in Europe.
• The Official name of Norway is the Kingdom of Norway.
• Norway includes the Arctic archipelago of Svalbard and the subantarctic Bouvet Island and Jan Mayen, a volcanic island in the arctic ocean.
• Norway remained neutral in World War I and II, but was occupied by Germany in World War II.
• In 1949 Norway abandoned neutrality and became a founding member of NATO and later the United Nations.
• Norway remains one of the biggest financial contributors to the United Nations, and takes part in international missions.
• Norway has the fourth highest per capita income in the world.
• It is the world’s largest producer of oil and natural gas outside the Middle East.
• Norway has universal health care, subsidized higher education and a comprehensive social security system.
• The Official languages of Norway are Norwegian (Bokmål and Nynorsk).
• Norway comes from Old Norse words meaning “the northward route” (the “way north” or the “north way”).
• Norway was part of a union with Sweden from 1814 until 1905 when a referendum granted Norway their independance.
• Norway’s coastline is broken by huge Fjords (deep groves made by glacier movement and flooded by the sea) and is comprised of thousands of islands.
• The longest fjord is Sognefjorden at 204 kilometres (127 mi). This fjord is also the world’s second deepest.
• The Lake Hornindalsvatnet is the deepest lake in all Europe and is 514 metres (1,686 ft) deep.
• Norway is mostly mountainous and has high terrain with 291 peaks that have an elevation of 2,000 metres (6,562 ft) or more above sea level. The highest peak is Galdhøpiggen which is 2,469 m (8,100 ft) above sea level.
• The climate in Norway varies from the coast to the highlands. The coastal area have much warmer, milder weather. The warmest average temperature in Norway is 7.7 °C (45.9 °F) and the coldest average temperature is -3.1 °C (26.4 °F). The temperature can rise to 30 °C (86 °F) inland and as low as -50 °C (-58 °F).
• Norway is often described as “The land of the midnight sun” due to the fact that from late May until late July the sun never sets in the part of the country that lies north of the Arctic Circle. The rest of the country experiences 20 hours of sunlight each day. The opposite occurs from late November to late January when the sun never rises in the northern parts of Norway and the rest of Norway only experiences very short hours of sunlight.
• Norway was one of the first countries to recognize the right of woman to vote. This occurred in 1913.
• In 1993 Norway became the second country to legalize civil unions for same-sex couples and on January 1st 2006 made it legal for same sex couples to marry.
• Lesfe is a traditional Norwegian flat bread made from potato and is most commonly made around Christmas time.

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