283 lines
23 KiB
Plaintext
283 lines
23 KiB
Plaintext
NORWAY
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GEOGRAPHY
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Total area: 324,220 km2; land area: 307,860 km2
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Comparative area: slightly larger than New Mexico
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Land boundaries: 2,544 km total; Finland 729 km, Sweden 1,619 km,
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USSR 196 km
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Coastline: 21,925 km (3,419 km mainland; 2,413 km large islands;
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16,093 km long fjords, numerous small islands, and minor indentations)
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Maritime claims:
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Contiguous zone: 10 nm;
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Continental shelf: to depth of exploitation;
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Exclusive economic zone: 200 nm;
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Territorial sea: 4 nm
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Disputes: maritime boundary dispute with USSR; territorial claim in
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Antarctica (Queen Maud Land); Denmark has challenged Norway's maritime
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claims beween Greenland and Jan Mayen
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Climate: temperate along coast, modified by North Atlantic Current;
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colder interior; rainy year-round on west coast
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Terrain: glaciated; mostly high plateaus and rugged mountains
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broken by fertile valleys; small, scattered plains; coastline deeply
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indented by fjords; arctic tundra in north
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Natural resources: crude oil, copper, natural gas, pyrites,
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nickel, iron ore, zinc, lead, fish, timber, hydropower
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Land use: arable land 3%; permanent crops 0%; meadows and pastures
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NEGL%; forest and woodland 27%; other 70%; includes irrigated NEGL%
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Environment: air and water pollution; acid rain
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Note: strategic location adjacent to sea lanes and air routes in
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North Atlantic; one of most rugged and longest coastlines in world;
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Norway and Turkey only NATO members having a land boundary with the USSR
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PEOPLE
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Population: 4,273,442 (July 1991), growth rate 0.5% (1991)
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Birth rate: 14 births/1,000 population (1991)
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Death rate: 11 deaths/1,000 population (1991)
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Net migration rate: 2 migrants/1,000 population (1991)
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Infant mortality rate: 7 deaths/1,000 live births (1991)
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Life expectancy at birth: 74 years male, 81 years female (1991)
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Total fertility rate: 1.8 children born/woman (1991)
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Nationality: noun--Norwegian(s); adjective--Norwegian
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Ethnic divisions: Germanic (Nordic, Alpine, Baltic) and
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racial-cultural minority of 20,000 Lapps
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Religion: Evangelical Lutheran (state church) 87.8%, other
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Protestant and Roman Catholic 3.8%, none 3.2%, unknown 5.2% (1980)
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Language: Norwegian (official); small Lapp- and Finnish-speaking
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minorities
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Literacy: 99% (male NA%, female NA%) age 15 and over can
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read and write (1976 est.)
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Labor force: 2,167,000 (September 1990); services 34.7%, commerce
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18%, mining and manufacturing 16.6%, banking and financial services 7.5%,
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transportation and communications 7.2%, construction 7.2%,
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agriculture, forestry, and fishing 6.4% (1989)
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Organized labor: 66% of labor force (1985)
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GOVERNMENT
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Long-form name: Kingdom of Norway
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Type: constitutional monarchy
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Capital: Oslo
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Administrative divisions: 19 provinces (fylker, singular--fylke);
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Akershus, Aust-Agder, Buskerud, Finnmark, Hedmark, Hordaland, More
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og Romsdal, Nordland, Nord-Trondelag, Oppland, Oslo, Ostfold,
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Rogaland, Sogn og Fjordane, Sor-Trondelag, Telemark, Troms,
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Vest-Agder, Vestfold
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Independence: 26 October 1905 (from Sweden)
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Constitution: 17 May 1814, modified in 1884
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Dependent areas: Bouvet Island, Jan Mayen, Svalbard
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Legal system: mixture of customary law, civil law system, and
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common law traditions; Supreme Court renders advisory opinions to
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legislature when asked; accepts compulsory ICJ jurisdiction, with
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reservations
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National holiday: Constitution Day, 17 May (1814)
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Executive branch: monarch, prime minister, State Council (cabinet)
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Legislative branch: unicameral Parliament (Stortinget)
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with an Upper Chamber (Lagting) and a Lower Chamber (Odelsting)
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Judicial branch: Supreme Court (Hoiesterett)
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Leaders:
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Chief of State--King HARALD V (since 17 January 1991); Heir
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Apparent Crown Prince HAAKON MAGNUS (born 20 July 1973);
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Head of Government--Prime Minister Gro Harlem BRUNDTLAND
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(since 3 November 1990)
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Political parties and leaders:
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Labor, Gro Harlem BRUNDTLAND;
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Conservative, Kaci Kullmann FIVE;
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Center Party, Anne Enger LAHNSTEIN;
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Christian People's, Kjell Magne BONDEVIK;
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Socialist Left, Eric SOLHEIM;
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Norwegian Communist, Kare Andre NILSEN;
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Progress, Carl I. HAGEN; Liberal, Arne FJORTOFT;
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Finnmark List, leader NA
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Suffrage: universal at age 18
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Elections:
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Storting--last held on 11 September 1989 (next to be held
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6 September 1993);
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results--Labor 34.3%, Conservative 22.2%, Progress 13.0%, Socialist Left
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10.1%, Christian People's 8.5%, Center Party 6.6%, Finnmark List 0.3%,
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other 5%;
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seats--(165 total) Labor 63, Conservative 37, Progress 22, Socialist
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Left 17, Christian People's 14, Center Party 11, Finnmark List 1
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Communists: 15,500 est.; 5,500 Norwegian Communist Party (NKP);
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10,000 Workers Communist Party Marxist-Leninist (AKP-ML, pro-Chinese)
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Member of: AfDB, AsDB, BIS, CCC, CE, CERN, COCOM, CSCE, EBRD,
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ECE, EFTA, ESA, FAO, GATT, IADB, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, ICC, ICFTU, IDA,
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IEA, IFAD, IFC, ILO, IMF, IMO, INMARSAT, INTELSAT, INTERPOL,
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IOC, IOM, ISO, ITU, LORCS, NATO, NC, NEA, NIB, OECD, PCA, UN, UNAVEM,
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UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNHCR, UNIDO, UNIFIL, UNIIMOG, UNMOGIP, UNTSO, UPU,
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WHO, WIPO, WMO
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Diplomatic representation: Ambassador Kjeld VIBE; Chancery at
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2720 34th Street NW, Washington DC 20008; telephone (202) 333-6000;
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there are Norwegian Consulates General in Houston, Los Angeles,
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Minneapolis, New York, and San Francisco, and Consulates in Miami and New
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Orleans;
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US--Ambassador Loret Miller RUPPE; Embassy at Drammensveien 18,
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0244 Oslo 2 (mailing address is APO New York 09085); telephone 47
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(2) 44-85-50
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Flag: red with a blue cross outlined in white that extends to the
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edges of the flag; the vertical part of the cross is shifted to the hoist
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side in the style of the Dannebrog (Danish flag)
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ECONOMY
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Overview: Norway is a prosperous capitalist nation with the
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resources to finance extensive welfare measures. Since 1975 exploitation
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of large crude oil and natural gas reserves has helped maintain high
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growth; for the past five years growth has averaged 4.1%, the
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fourth-highest among OECD countries. Growth slackened in 1987-88
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partially because of the sharp drop in world oil prices, but picked
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up again in 1989. The Brundtland government plans to push hard on
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environmental issues, as well as cutting unemployment, improving
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child care, upgrading major industries, and negotiating an
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EC - European Free Trade Association (EFTA) agreement on an Economic
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European Area.
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GDP: $74.2 billion, per capita $17,400; real growth rate 3.1%
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(1990)
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Inflation rate (consumer prices): 4.1% (1990)
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Unemployment rate: 5.2% (1990, excluding people in
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job-training programs)
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Budget: revenues $47.9 billion; expenditures $48.7 billion,
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including capital expenditures of $NA (1990)
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Exports: $33.8 billion (f.o.b., 1990);
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commodities--petroleum and petroleum products 25%, natural gas
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11%, fish 7%, aluminum 6%, ships 3.5%, pulp and paper;
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partners--EC 64.9%, Nordic countries 19.5%, developing countries
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6.9%, US 6.2%, Japan 1.7% (1990)
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Imports: $26.8 billion (c.i.f., 1990);
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commodities--machinery, fuels and lubricants, transportation
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equipment, chemicals, foodstuffs, clothing, ships;
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partners--EC 46.3%, Nordic countries 25.7%, developing countries
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14.3%, US 8.1%, Japan 4.7% (1990)
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External debt: $15 billion (December 1990)
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Industrial production: growth rate 3.6% (1990)
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Electricity: 26,735,000 kW capacity; 121,685 million kWh produced,
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28,950 kWh per capita (1989)
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Industries: petroleum and gas, food processing, shipbuilding, pulp
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and paper products, metals, chemicals, timber, mining, textiles, fishing
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Agriculture: accounts for 2.8% of GNP and 6.4% of labor force;
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among world's top 10 fishing nations; livestock output exceeds value
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of crops; over half of food needs imported; fish catch of 1.76 million
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metric tons in 1989
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Economic aid: donor--ODA and OOF commitments (1970-89), $4.4
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billion
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Currency: Norwegian krone (plural--kroner);
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1 Norwegian krone (NKr) = 100 ore
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Exchange rates: Norwegian kroner (NKr) per US$1--5.9060 (January
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1991), 6.2597 (1990), 6.9045 (1989), 6.5170 (1988), 6.7375 (1987), 7.3947
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(1986), 8.5972 (1985)
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Fiscal year: calendar year
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COMMUNICATIONS
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Railroads: 4,223 km 1.435-meter standard gauge; Norwegian State
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Railways (NSB) operates 4,219 km (2,450 km electrified and 96 km double
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track); 4 km other
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Highways: 79,540 km total; 18,600 km concrete, bituminous, stone
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block; 19,980 km bituminous treated; 40,960 km gravel, crushed stone, and
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earth
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Inland waterways: 1,577 km along west coast; 1.5-2.4 m draft
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vessels maximum
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Pipelines: refined products, 53 km
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Ports: Oslo, Bergen, Fredrikstad, Kristiansand, Stavanger,
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Trondheim
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Merchant marine: 867 ships (1,000 GRT or over) totaling 23,270,845
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GRT/41,199,182 DWT; includes 11 passenger, 23 short-sea passenger,
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121 cargo, 3 passenger-cargo, 24 refrigerated cargo, 14 container, 50
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roll-on/roll-off cargo, 18 vehicle carrier, 1 railcar carrier, 186
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petroleum, oils, and lubricants (POL) tanker, 98 chemical tanker, 69
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liquefied gas, 1 specialized tanker, 35 combination ore/oil, 204 bulk, 9
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combination bulk; note--the government has created a captive register,
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the Norwegian International Ship Register (NIS), as a subset of the
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Norwegian register; ships on the NIS enjoy many benefits of flags of
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convenience and do not have to be crewed by Norwegians; the majority of
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ships (777) under the Norwegian flag are now registered with the NIS
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Civil air: 76 major transport aircraft
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Airports: 104 total, 103 usable; 64 with permanent-surface runways;
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none with runways over 3,659 m; 12 with runways 2,440-3,659 m;
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16 with runways 1,220-2,439 m
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Telecommunications: high-quality domestic and international
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telephone, telegraph, and telex services; 3,102,000 telephones;
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stations--8 AM, 46 (1,400 relays) FM, 55 (2,100 relays) TV; 4 coaxial
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submarine cables; communications satellite earth stations operating in
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the EUTELSAT, INTELSAT (1 Atlantic Ocean), MARISAT, and domestic systems
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DEFENSE FORCES
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Branches: Norwegian Army, Royal Norwegian Navy, Royal Norwegian Air
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Force, Home Guard
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Manpower availability: males 15-49, 1,124,201; 942,158 fit for
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military service; 31,813 reach military age (20) annually
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Defense expenditures: $3.3 billion, 3.3% of GDP (1990)
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