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Capital Oslo
59°56? N 10°41? E Largest city Oslo Official language(s) Norwegian¹ 17 May 1814
From union with Sweden
7 June 1905
26 October 1905 Area
• Total
• Water (%)
4,641,500 (114th)
4,520,947
14/km² (166th ²)
{{{population_densitymi²}}}/mi² 2006 estimate
$194.7 billion (44th)
$42,400 (3rd) 0.963 (1st) – high Currency Time zone
• Summer (DST) CET (UTC+1)
CEST (UTC+2) Internet TLD .no ³ Calling code +47 |
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Norway Information
Main article: Politics of Norway
Norway is a constitutional monarchy with a parliamentary system of government.
The Royal House is a branch of the princely family of Germany. [1] The functions of the King, Harald V, are mainly ceremonial, but he has influence as the symbol of national unity. Although the constitution of 1814 grants important executive powers to the King, these are almost always exercised by the Council of State in the name of the King (King's Council, or cabinet). The reserve powers vested in the Monarch by the constitution are however significant and an important security part of the role of the Monarchy, and were last used during World War II. The Council of State consists of a Prime Minister and his council, formally appointed by the King. Parliamentarism has evolved since 1884 and entails that the cabinet must not have the parliament against it, and that the appointment by the King is a formality.
 Stortinget, Oslo
Stortinget, Oslo
The Norwegian parliament, Stortinget, currently has 169 members (increased from 165, effective from the elections of 12 September 2005). The members are elected from the 19 counties for 4-year terms according to a system of proportional representation. The Storting divides itself into two chambers, the Odelsting and the Lagting when voting on legislation. Laws are proposed by the government through a Member of the Council of State or by a member of the Odelsting and decided on by the Odelsting and Lagting, in case of repeated disagreement by the joint Storting. However, in modern time the Lagting rarely disagrees and mainly just rubber-stamps the Odelsting's decision. Before the present Storting is a proposed constitutional amendment which would repeal the division.
Impeachment cases are very rare (the last being held in 1927 when prime minister Abraham Berge was acquitted) and may be brought against Members of the Council of State, or of the Supreme Court or of the Storting, for criminal offences which they may have committed in their official capacity. Indictments are raised by the Odelsting and judged by the Lagting and the Supreme Court justices as part of the High Court of the Realm. Apart from this, the Storting functions as a unicameral parliament.
The regular courts include the Supreme Court or Høyesterett (17 permanent judges and a chief justice), courts of appeal, city and district courts, and conciliation councils. Judges attached to regular courts are appointed by the King in council after nomination by the Ministry of Justice. The special High Court of the Realm, which consists of the Supreme Court plus the Lagting, hears impeachment cases.
In order to form a government, more than half (currently at least 10 out of 19 members) of the Council of State are required to belong to the Church of Norway .
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Main article: Geography of Norway
 Reine, Lofoten, seen from top of Reinebringen (June, 2003).
Reine, Lofoten, seen from top of Reinebringen (June, 2003).
The landscape is generally rugged and mountainous, topped by glaciers, and its coastline of over 83,000 km [2] is punctuated by steep-sloped inlets known as fjords, as well as a multitude of islands and islets. The Northern part of the country is also known as the Land of the Midnight Sun because of its northern location, north of the Arctic Circle, where for part of each summer the sun does not set, and in winter much of its land remains dark for long periods. The southern part is not known for this, however in summertime, the sun is only away for a few hours.
Norway is bounded for its entire length by seas of the North Russia. Norway's highest point is the Galdhøpiggen at 2,469 m. With a maximum depth of 514 m, Hornindalsvatnet is Norway's and Europe's deepest lake.
The Norwegian climate is fairly temperate, especially along the coast under the influence of the Gulf Stream. The inland climate can be more severe and to the north more subarctic conditions are found, especially in Finnmark.
Climate data for some cities in different regions of the country; base period 1961-1990 (temperatures are 24hr average):
Location
Elevation
(m)
Temp/Jan
(°C)
Temp/July
(°C)
Temp/year
(°C)
Precip/year
(mm)
Blindern (Oslo)
94
?4.3
16.4
5.7
763
Florida (Bergen)
12
1.3
14.3
7.6
2250
Værnes (Trondheim)
12
?3.4
13.7
5.0
892
Langnes (Tromsø)
8
?3.8
11.8
2.9
1000
Data from Norges Meteorologiske Institutt (Norwegian Meteorological Institute). Note: Temperatures have tended to be higher in recent years (see main article).
Norwegian Meteorological Institute: The climate of Norway
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Main article: Demographics of Norway
The Norwegian population is 4.6 million and increases by 0.4% per year (estimate July 2004). Oslo.
In recent years, immigration has accounted for more than half the population growth, and 7.9% of the population are immigrants as of 1 January 2005. Norway only takes in a very limited number of asylum seekers and aims to repatriate these people as quickly as possible. The largest immigrant groups are Pakistanis, Swedes, Danes, Iraqis, Vietnamese and Somalis. (Here, immigrants are defined as persons with two foreign-born parents [6].)
Approximately 86% of the inhabitants are members of the Human Ethical Union. As of 1 January 2003 approximately 5% of the population are unaffiliated ([7]).
The Norwegian language has two official written forms, Bokmål and Nynorsk. They have officially equal status, i.e. they are both used in public administration, in schools, churches, and on radio and television, but Bokmål is used by the majority. Around 95 percent of the population speak Norwegian as their native tongue, although many speak dialects that differ significantly from the written language. Nevertheless, all of the Norwegian dialects are interintelligible. Several Sami languages are spoken and written throughout the country, especially in the north, by the Sami people. The Germanic Norwegian language and the Finno-Ugric Sami languages are entirely unrelated. However, the Finnish language bears some similarities to the Sami language.
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