Info about Norway
The Glory of Norway
Norway is a country that is listed as being the happiest in the world according to polls as conducted by Gallup, the world’s most respected polling organization. Quality of life is better in Scandinavian countries, and Norway is notorious for having the happiest country in the world. The official name for it is the Kingdom of Norway, and it is situated in Northern Europe. There are about 5 million people that reside in Norway. It is near Sweden, Finland, and Denmark, also countries in the top 5 of happiest worldwide. Norway has a great economy that really picked up after World War II with its maritime trading and oil and natural gas deposits discovered. It is third wealthiest country in the world. It is also the world’s fifth largest oil exporter even though it is such a large country. The Norwegian krone, Norway’s currency, is one of the most solid currencies in the world. It is also the second largest exporter of seafood. Norway has what the world wants, and it has the largest capita per reserve capita of any country around the world to prove it. Norway adheres to a Scandinavian welfare model that stresses quality of life over quantity of life. There is universal health care, subsidized education, and social security. Norway is ranked #1 for all countries in the world for its human development continuum. In other words, Norway does the most for its citizens to ensure their human development. Norway has a combination of a constitutional monarchy and parliamentary democracy, giving Norwegians the best of both world. Norway has several large urban areas like Oslo, Bergen, and Trondheim. Most Norwegians, about 80%, belong to the Church of Norway. Norway is the country of the Vikings, famous for first discovering America before Columbus. It is also home to artists like Kitty Kielland, Harriet Backer, Frits Thaulow, Christian Krohg, Edvard Munch, Harald Sohlberg, and Odd Nerdrum. Norway has a rich, proud, and cultural history, and it is one of the leading countries in the world nowadays.
Almost 3 quarters of the population is urbanized. The life expectancy is 80 years, and there are about 2 children born to every household. Most of the Christians in the country are Protestant. There is a 100% literacy rate, and the country is very educated and literate. Almost 4/5th’s of the country is on the Internet. The only international dispute it seems to have is with its claims to Antarctica. It asserts territorial claims over the region that are challenged by Russia. Other than that, Norway seems to be a peaceful country with great ties to the rest of the world. It was one of the founding members of the United Nations, NATO, and the Council on Foreign Relations. It has a good world standing, and it is known for its art, architecture, and cultural development with a focus on human rights and quality of life. Vikings dominated Norway until Christianity became the dominant religion in 994. After that point, Viking raids into Europe stopped. Over the next several centuries, Norway became gradually converted to Christianity. It formed a union with Denmark that lasted several centuries. Sweden tried to make a claim to Norway in the 1800’s, but rising nationalism prevented Sweden from taking over, and Norway adopted its own Constitution and independent form of government.
Norway remained neutral throughout World War II, but the Germans still occupied the country for five years. Norway suffered heavy losses during World War II, but oil and natural gas discovery throughout the following decades got their economy and life on the right track. Norway is currently popular for tourism because of its tourism quality that is apparent to all visitors that go in and out of the country.