An Introduction to Norway
The Kingdom of Norway includes the mainland and the arctic archipelago of Svalbard (Spitsbergen). After a period of strength under Viking rulers in the ninth to thirteenth centuries, Norway was absorbed in 1380 into a union with Denmark, lasting until 1814, then spent most of the following century under a Swedish king before independence in 1905. It rejected membership of the EU in referenda in 1972 and 1994, but has close ties with Europe and is active in the UN, NATO and other international bodies. See full country profile.Latest Research News from Europe (Other)
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GOVERNMENT: constitutional monarchy
AREA: 385,252 sq km
POPULATION: 5,002,942 (2012 Census)
MAJOR LANGUAGE: Official Language: Norwegian (Bokml and Nynorsk)
Some business and general info
The Market Research Industry
Trade and Industry in Norway
Devastation by the Black Death in 1349 killed more than half of the 500,000 population, and by 1500 the population was estimated at a meagre 150,000. The country remains the second least densely populated in Europe, despite having four times as many people per square mile as Iceland. According to US and Canadian census statistics, there are more Norwegians living in North America (almost 4.7m, and 0.4m respectively) than there are in Norway (4.98m). Given the above stats about standard of living and stability, and with no disrespect to the Americans, you've got to ask yourself - why?
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The Kingdom of Norway includes the mainland and the arctic archipelago of Svalbard (Spitsbergen). After a period of strength under Viking rulers in the ninth to thirteenth centuries, Norway was absorbed in 1380 into a union with Denmark, lasting until 1814, then spent most of the following century under a Swedish king before independence in 1905. It rejected membership of the EU in referenda in 1972 and 1994, but has close ties with Europe and is active in the UN, NATO and other international bodies.
With a Nordic welfare model and universal healthcare, plus the largest per capita production of oil and gas outside the Middle East, Norway has had the highest human development index ranking in the world for eight of the last eleven years.The country has a rugged coastline of fjords and islands. Part of it lies north of the Arctic Circle and has no complete sunset in mid-summer and no sunrise for two months in mid-winter. Wikipedia notes that the climate of the west of Norway is surprisingly mild for its latitude, but let's face it, it's still not exactly the Bahamas.
GDP: $265.9 bn (2011 est.); $53,470 per capita
Religions Church of Norway 79.2%; other Christians 4.9%; not religiously affiliated 10%.
Currency: Norwegian Krone
Telephone Code: +47
MR Association(s):
Norges Markedsanalyseforening (the Norwegian MR Society)
Norway is the 24th largest research market in the world, and the 14th largest in Europe.
Source: ESOMAR
Norway has the fourth highest GDP PPP per capita in the world, and the largest capital reserve per capita. Both the cost of living (almost twice that in the US) and the standard of living are very high. Oil and gas exports which make up more than half its total (33% and 24% of exports respectively) are likely to continue at a high level and the economy should remain prosperous and stable. Hydropower, fish, forests and minerals also constitute extensive and valuable resources.
Norway's unemployment rate is only 3.1% as of spring 2012, with 30% of the workforce employed by the state - the highest proportion in the OECD, and the state holds major positions in many industries. Wage differences are small.
2009 exports of $122bn were majority oil and gas (see above) with fish and ships also high on the list... The UK took a massive 27% of the 2008 total, with Germany, The Netherlands and France all taking between 9 and 13%. Imports of $64.5bn consisted largely of machinery, chemicals, metals and foodstuffs, with the main partners being Sweden (14.3%) and Germany (13.4%).
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