United Kingdom
Norway Travel and Destination Guide
BACKGROUND INFO
Full Name
Kingdom of Norway
Capital City
Oslo (pop 508,730)
Area
324,220 sq km
Population
4,546,123
Time Zone
GMT/UTC +1
Daylight Saving Start
March
Daylight Saving End
October
Weights Measures System
Metric
Geography
Norway occupies the western part of the Scandinavian peninsula and shares borders with Sweden, Finland and Russia. Shaped like the rind on the bacon rasher of Scandinavia, Norway has a long coastline pierced by fjords and a mountainous interior that is blanketed by some of Europe's largest glaciers. Over 500 sq km (193 sq mi) of Norway lies north of the Arctic Circle, but the country's western coast usually remains ice free year-round thanks to the warm waters of the Gulf Stream.
Languages
• Norwegian Bokmål (official)
Norway has two official languages, Bokmal and Nynorsk
• Norwegian Nynorsk (official)
• Northern Sami (other)
People
97% Nordic, Alpine & Baltic, with a Sami minority
Religion
Christian (86.3% Evangelical Lutheran)
Government Type
Constitutional Monarchy
Government Leaders
Harald V
King (head of state)
Jens Stoltenberg
Prime Minister (head of government)
Country Dialing Code
47
©2007 Lonely Planet Publications Pty Ltd. All rights reserved.
