Norway, officially known as the Kingdom of Norway, is a Nordic country in Northern Europe. It occupies the western and northernmost portion of the Scandinavian Peninsula and includes the remote Arctic island of Jan Mayen and the Svalbard archipelago. Additionally, Norway has a dependency in the Subantarctic, Bouvet Island, and claims the Antarctic territories of Peter I Island and Queen Maud Land. Oslo is Norway’s capital and largest city.
Geography
Norway’s mainland area covers 385,207 square kilometers (148,729 sq mi), making it the 61st largest country in the world. The country shares a long eastern border with Sweden, along with borders with Finland and Russia to the northeast and the Skagerrak strait to the south. It boasts an extensive coastline along the North Atlantic Ocean and the Barents Sea.
The Norwegian landscape is characterized by its rugged coastline, broken by massive fjords and thousands of islands. Notable geographical features include the world’s second deepest fjord, Sognefjorden, and the deepest lake in Europe, Hornindalsvatnet. Norway’s border with Sweden is formed by the Scandinavian Mountains, which also mark much of the country’s terrain. The coastline, including fjords and islands, stretches an estimated 100,915 kilometers (62,706 mi).
The country is known for its diverse topography influenced by prehistoric glaciers, with a significant portion of its land dominated by mountainous or high terrain. Norway’s natural features include numerous lakes, registered islands, and glaciers. The interior regions of Finnmark county exhibit permafrost conditions year-round.
Demographics
As of the third quarter of 2020, Norway’s population was approximately 5.38 million people. Norwegians, an ethnic North Germanic people, constitute the majority of the population. The total fertility rate is estimated at 1.56 children per woman, below the natural replacement rate.
Norway has experienced changes in its demographic structure, with a median population age of 39.3 years in 2018. As of 2020, immigrants and their descendants comprised about 18.2% of the population, indicating a diverse and multicultural society. The majority of the population has at least one parent born in Norway, reflecting the country’s historical ethnic composition.