Country
Norway
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Norway, is a Nordic country in Northern Europe occupying the
western portion of the Scandinavian Peninsula, as well as Jan
Mayen, the Arctic archipelago of Svalbard and Bouvet Island (not
subject to the Antarctic Treaty). Norway has a total area of
385,252 square kilometres and a population of about 4.9 million. It
is the second least densely populated country in Europe. The
majority of the country shares a border to the east with Sweden;
its northernmost region is bordered by Finland to the south and
Russia to the east; in its south Norway borders the Skagerrak
Strait, across which Denmark is situated. The capital city of
Norway is Oslo. Norway's extensive coastline, facing the North
Atlantic Ocean and the Barents Sea, is home to its famous
fjords.
Norway is a unitary parliamentary democracy and constitutional
monarchy. It is a unitary state with administrative subdivisions on
two levels known as counties (fylker) and municipalities
(kommuner). The Sámi people have a certain amount of
self-determination and influence over traditional territories
through the Sámi Parliament and the Finnmark Act. Although having
rejected European Union membership in two referenda, Norway
maintains close ties with the union and its member countries, as
well as with the United States. Norway remains one of the biggest
financial contributors to the United Nations, and participates with
UN forces in international missions, notably in Afghanistan,
Kosovo, Sudan and Libya. Norway is a founding member of the United
Nations, NATO, the Council of Europe, and the Nordic Council, a
member also of the European Economic Area, the WTO, the OECD and is
a part of Schengen Area.
Norway has extensive reserves of petroleum, natural gas,
minerals, lumber, seafood, fresh water, and hydropower. It is the
world's largest producer of oil and natural gas per capita outside
of the Middle East, and the petroleum industry accounts for around
a quarter of the Gross domestic product. The country maintains a
Scandinavian welfare model with universal health-care, subsidized
higher education, and a comprehensive social security system. From
2001 to 2007, and then again in 2009 and 2010, Norway had the
highest human development in the world.
(From Wikipedia)