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Country Guide > Europe > Norway | |
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General Information Area 323,759 sq km (125,004 sq miles).
Population 4,552,252 (official estimate 2003). Population Density 14.9 per sq km. Capital Oslo. Population: 517,401 (2003). Geography Norway is bordered to the north by the Arctic Ocean, to the east by Finland, the Russian Federation and Sweden, to the south by the Skagerrak (which separates it from Denmark) and to the west by the North Sea. The coastline is 2735km (1700 miles) long, its most outstanding feature being the fjords. Most of them are between 80 to 160km (50 to 100 miles) long, and are often very deep and surrounded by towering mountains. Much of northern Norway lies beyond the Arctic Circle and the landscape is stark. In the south, the landscape consists of forests with many lakes and rivers. Government Constitutional monarchy. Declared independence from Sweden in 1905. Head of State: King Harald V since 1991. Head of Government: Prime Minister Kjell Magne Bondevik since 2001. Language Norwegian (Bokmål and Nynorsk). Sami is spoken by the Sami population in the north. English is widely spoken. Religion Approximately 86 per cent Evangelical Lutherans; plus other Christian denominations. Time Norway Mainland: GMT + 1 (GMT + 2 from last Sunday in March to last Saturday before last Sunday in October). Jan Mayen Islands, Svalbard: GMT + 1. Electricity 220 volts AC, 50Hz. Plugs are of the European round two-pin type. Communications Telephone IDD is available. Country code: 47. Outgoing international code: 00. Mobile telephone Most major dual band networks work across Norway. Networks include Maritime Communications (website: www.mcpinc.biz), Net Com GSM (website: www.netcom.no) and Telenor Mobil AS (website: www.telenor.no), which also deals with Internet and telegrams. Mobile phones cannot be hired. Fax This service is available at major hotels. Internet There are many Internet cafes throughout Norway and the Internet can also be accessed via public libraries. Telegram Telenor’s headquarters are at Teledirektoratet, Universitetsgt 2. It is easiest to send telegrams by telephone. The telephone directories give instructions in English on page 16. Post Hotel receptions, shops and kiosks selling postcards will sell stamps. Airmail within Europe takes two to four days. There are Poste Restante facilities at post offices in all major cities. Post office hours: These vary from place to place but are generally from Mon-Fri 0830-1600, Sat 0800-1300. Press The national newspapers published in Oslo are Aftenposten, Dagbladet and Verdens Gang. There are no English-language newspapers although English newspapers are readily available (one day after publication in the UK). Radio BBC World Service (website: www.bbc.co.uk/worldservice) and Voice of America (website: www.voa.gov) can be received. From time to time the frequencies change and the most up-to-date can be found online. |
