Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
ministries. Many industries—especially energy—are fully or partially state con-
trolled. Oil from the North Sea is a vital resource; the government has a Min-
istry of Oil and Energy. The government grants large subsidies to agriculture
and fisheries.
As a result of their natural surroundings, Norwegians are among the most
athletic people in Europe. Nearly every Norwegian child learns to ski as readily
as he learns to walk. They are also among the best-educated people in the world.
Norway's educational standard has risen considerably since World War II, and
some 90% of Norwegian young people take a 3-year course in academic or voca-
tional school after completing their compulsory education.
About 90% of the population belongs to the national Lutheran church, of
which the king is the titular head. Freedom of worship is guaranteed to all.
Because the economy depends significantly on foreign trade, most business is
conducted in English. Norway has two official languages, Riksmal and Lands-
mal, both of Danish origin. The Lapps, the indigenous people of the north, have
their own language.
Cultural activities are important in Norway. The government subsidizes book
publishing, guaranteeing sales of 1,000 copies of each book published for dis-
tribution to public libraries. Encouraging Norwegian writers helps preserve the
language. Movie production, limited by population and language, fares poorly,
however. Opera is fairly new to the country, and Norway didn't acquire a pro-
fessional ballet ensemble until 1948. Folk music, however, has roots going back
to Norse times, and is still very much alive. Norway encourages the arts by pro-
viding a guaranteed income to active artists whose work has achieved and main-
tained a high standard over a period of years.
2 The Natural Environment
Norway is one of nature's last great frontiers in Europe—mountains, glaciers,
and lakes cover 70% of its land. Less than 4% of its territory, mostly in the
south-central area, is arable. Within Norway's Jutunheimen range are the high-
est mountain peaks in Europe north of the Alps. Norway has about 17,000 gla-
ciers. Along the western coast, some 50,000 islands protect the mainland from
some of the worst storms in the North Atlantic.
Norway Just Grows & Grows
Without conquering other nations, it's almost impossible for a country to
expand its coastline by 25,600km (16,000 miles), but Norway has done just
that without invading its neighbors, as the Vikings did in days of yore.
Today, the conqueror is a computer.
Norwegian mapmakers in 2002 announced that new computer pro-
grams are able to measure thousands of tiny inlets and islands in Norway,
something that was virtually impossible 3 decades ago. The old figures
gave Norway a coastline of 56,928km (35,580 miles), of which 21,342km
(13,339 miles) were on the mainland, 35,586km (22,241 miles) around
islands. The new figures suggest that Norway is actually 3,968km (2,480
miles) longer than previously believed and that the distance around
islands is 21,872km (13,670 miles) greater.
“We are still the same,” Tore Hegheim, a resident of Tromsø, said over
the state radio network, NRK. “Only our country got much bigger.”
Fun Fact
