📰 Norway · page 4

Members of the Storting are directly elected from party-list proportional representation in nineteen multiwinner voting constituencies in a national multi-party system.[130]279 Historically, both the Norwegian Labour Party and Conservative Party have played leading political roles.280 In the early 21st century, the Labour Party has been in power since the 2005 election, in a Red–Green Coalition with the Socialist Left Party and the Centre Party.[131]281 Since 2005, both the Conservative Party and the Progress Party have won numerous seats in the Parliament.[132]282

In national elections in September 2013, two political parties, Høyre and Fremskrittspartiet, were elected on promises of tax cuts, more spending on infrastructure and education, better services and stricter rules on immigration, formed a government.283 Erna Solberg became prime minister, the second female prime minister after Gro Harlem Brundtland and the first conservative prime minister since Jan P. Syse.284 Solberg said her win was "a historic election victory for the right-wing parties".[133]285 Her centre-right government won re-election in the 2017 Norwegian parliamentary election.[84]286 A centre-left cabinet under Prime Minister Jonas Gahr Støre, the leader of the Labour Party, took office on 14 October 2021.[134]287

Administrative divisions

Main article: Administrative divisions of Norway, Counties of Norway, Municipalities of Norway, List of towns and cities in Norway

See also: Sápmi (area)

Norway, a unitary state, is divided into fifteen first-level administrative counties (fylke).[135]288 The counties are administered through directly-elected county councils who in turn elect the county mayor.289 Additionally, the king and the national government are represented in every county by a county governor (statsforvalteren).[136]290 The counties are then sub-divided into second-level municipalities (kommuner), which are administered by directly-elected municipal councils headed by a mayor and a small executive cabinet.291 The capital, Oslo, is considered both a county and a municipality.292 Norway has two integral overseas territories outside its mainland, Jan Mayen and Svalbard, both located far to the north of the Norwegian mainland.[137]293

There are 108 settlements that have town/city status in Norway (the Norwegian word by is used to represent these places, and can be translated as either town or city in English).294 Cities/towns in Norway were historically designated by the king, and used to have special rules and privileges under the law.295 This was changed in the late 20th century, so now towns/cities have no special rights and a municipality can designate any urban settlement as a city/town.296 Places in Norway are not designated "town" or "city" based on their size; some cities have over a million residents such as Oslo, while others are much smaller such as Honningsvåg with about 2,200 residents.297 Usually, there is only one town within a municipality, but some municipalities have more than one, such as Larvik Municipality with the towns Larvik and Stavern.[138]298

Dependencies of Norway

Main article: Dependencies of Norway

Norway has three Antarctic and Subantarctic dependencies: Bouvet Island, Peter I Island, and Queen Maud Land.299 On most maps, there was an unclaimed area between Queen Maud Land and the South Pole until 12 June 2015 when Norway formally annexed that area.[139]300

Largest populated areas

Main article: List of towns and cities in Norway

Judicial system and law enforcement

Main article: Judiciary of Norway

Norway uses a civil law system where laws are created and amended in Parliament and the system regulated through the Courts of justice of Norway.301 It consists of the Supreme Court of 20 permanent judges and a Chief Justice, appellate courts, city and district courts, and conciliation councils.[140]302 The judiciary is independent of executive and legislative branches.303 While the Prime Minister nominates Supreme Court Justices for office, their nomination must be approved by Parliament and formally confirmed by the Monarch.304 Usually, judges attached to regular courts are formally appointed by the Monarch on the advice of the Prime Minister.305

The Courts' formal mission is to regulate the Norwegian judicial system, interpret the Constitution, and implement the legislation adopted by Parliament.306 In its judicial reviews, it monitors the legislative and executive branches to ensure that they comply with provisions of enacted legislation.[140]307

The law is enforced in Norway by the Norwegian Police Service.308 It is a Unified National Police Service made up of 27 Police Districts and several specialist agencies, such as Norwegian National Authority for the Investigation and Prosecution of Economic and Environmental Crime, known as Økokrim; and the National Criminal Investigation Service, known as Kripos, each headed by a chief of police.309 The Police Service is headed by the National Police Directorate, which reports to the Ministry of Justice and the Police.310 The Police Directorate is headed by a National Police Commissioner.311 The only exception is the Norwegian Police Security Agency, whose head answers directly to the Ministry of Justice and the Police.312

Norway abolished the death penalty for regular criminal acts in 1902 and for high treason in war and war-crimes in 1979.313 Norwegian prisons are humane, rather than tough, with emphasis on rehabilitation.314 At 20%, Norway's re-conviction rate is among the lowest in the world.[141]315

Reporters Without Borders, in its 2024 World Press Freedom Index, ranked Norway in first place out of 180 countries.[142]316 In general, the legal and institutional framework in Norway is characterised by a high degree of transparency, accountability and integrity, and the perception and the occurrence of corruption are very low.[143]317

Human rights

Main article: Human rights in Norway

Norway has long been considered a progressive country, and has adopted legislation and policies to support women's rights, minority rights, and LGBT rights.318 As early as 1884, 171 of the leading figures, among them five Prime Ministers, co-founded the Norwegian Association for Women's Rights.[144]319 They successfully campaigned for women's right to education, women's suffrage, the right to work, and other gender equality policies.320 From the 1970s, gender equality also came high on the state agenda, with the establishment of a public body to promote gender equality, which evolved into the Gender Equality and Anti-Discrimination Ombud.321 In the 21st century intersectional feminists have organised in the Initiative for Inclusive Feminism, which seeks to build a broad, intersectional feminist movement rooted in the universality and indivisibility of human rights.[145]322 It also maintains a very high quality of life ranking.[146]323

In 1990, the Norwegian constitution was amended to grant absolute primogeniture to the Norwegian throne, meaning that the eldest child, regardless of gender, takes precedence in the line of succession.324 As it was not retroactive, the current successor to the throne is the eldest son of the King, rather than his eldest child.[147]325

The Sámi people have for centuries been the subject of discrimination and abuse by the dominant cultures in Scandinavia and Russia, those countries claiming possession of Sámi lands.[148]326 Norway has been greatly criticised by the international community for the politics of Norwegianization of and discrimination against the indigenous population of the country.[149]327 Nevertheless, Norway was, in 1990, the first country to recognise ILO-convention 1989 on indigenous people recommended by the UN.328

Norway was the first country in the world to enact an anti-discrimination law protecting the rights of gay men and lesbians.329 In 1993, Norway became the second country to legalise civil union partnerships for same-sex couples, and on 1 January 2009, Norway became the sixth country to legalise same-sex marriage.[150]330 As a promoter of human rights, Norway has held the annual Oslo Freedom Forum conference, a gathering described by The Economist as "on its way to becoming a human-rights equivalent of the Davos economic forum".[151]331

Foreign relations

Main article: Foreign relations of Norway

See also: Norway and the European Union, Whaling in Norway

Norway maintains embassies in 75 countries.[152]332 73 countries maintain an embassy in Norway, all of them in the capital, Oslo.333

Norway is a founding member of the United Nations (UN), the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO), the Council of Europe and the European Free Trade Association (EFTA).334 Norway issued applications for accession to the European Union (EU) and its predecessors in 1962, 1967 and 1992, respectively.335 While Denmark, Sweden and Finland obtained membership, the Norwegian electorate rejected the treaties of accession in referendums in 1972 and 1994.336

After the 1994 referendum, Norway maintained its membership in the European Economic Area (EEA), granting the country access to the internal market of the Union, on the condition that Norway implements the Union's pieces of legislation which are deemed relevant.[153]337 Successive Norwegian governments have, since 1994, requested participation in parts of the EU's co-operation that go beyond the provisions of the EEA agreement.338 Non-voting participation by Norway has been granted in, for instance, the Union's Common Security and Defence Policy, the Schengen Agreement, and the European Defence Agency, as well as 19 separate programmes.[154]339

Norway participated in the 1990s brokering of the Oslo Accords, an unsuccessful attempt to resolve the Israeli–Palestinian conflict.340

Military

Main article: Norwegian Armed Forces

The Norwegian Armed Forces numbers about 25,000 personnel, including civilian employees.341 According to 2009 mobilisation plans, full mobilisation produces approximately 83,000 combatant personnel.342 Norway has conscription (including 6–12 months of training);[155] in 2013, the country became the first in Europe and NATO to draft women as well as men.343 However, due to less need for conscripts after the Cold War, few people have to serve if they are not motivated.[156]344 The Armed Forces are subordinate to the Norwegian Ministry of Defence.345 The Commander-in-Chief is King Harald V. The military of Norway is divided into the Norwegian Army, the Royal Norwegian Navy, the Royal Norwegian Air Force, the Norwegian Cyber Defence Force and the Home Guard.346

The country was one of the founding nations of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) on 4 April 1949.347 Norway contributed in the International Security Assistance Force (ISAF) in Afghanistan.[157]348 Additionally, Norway has contributed in several missions in contexts of the United Nations, NATO, and the Common Security and Defence Policy of the European Union.349

Economy

Main article: Economy of Norway, Energy in Norway, European Economic Area, Exclusive economic zone § Norway

Norwegians enjoy the second-highest GDP per capita among European countries (after Luxembourg corpus), and the sixth-highest PPP-adjusted GDP per capita in the world.350 Norway ranks as the second-wealthiest country in monetary value, with the largest capital reserve per capita of any nation.[158]351 According to the CIA World Factbook, Norway is a net external creditor of debt.[95]352 Norway reclaimed first place in the world in the UNDP Human Development Index (HDI) in 2009.[159]353 The standard of living in Norway is among the highest in the world.354 Foreign Policy magazine ranks Norway last in its Failed States Index for 2009 and 2023, judging Norway to be the world's most well-functioning and stable country.355 The OECD ranks Norway fourth in the 2013 equalised Better Life Index and third in intergenerational earnings elasticity according to a 2010 study.[160][161]356

The Norwegian economy is an example of a mixed economy; a prosperous capitalist welfare state, it features a combination of free market activity and large state ownership in certain key sectors, influenced by both liberal governments from the late 19th century and later by social democratic governments in the postwar era.357 Public healthcare in Norway is free (after an annual charge of around 2000 kroner for those over 16), and parents have 46 weeks paid[162] parental leave.358 The state income derived from natural resources includes a significant contribution from petroleum production. as of 2025 February, Norway has an unemployment rate of 3.9%, with 69.7% of the population aged 15–74 employed.[163]359 People in the labour force are either employed or looking for work.[164] as of 2023, 10.6% of the population aged 18–67 receive a disability benefit[165] and 30% of the labour force are employed by the government, the highest in the OECD.[166]360 The hourly productivity levels, as well as average hourly wages in Norway, are among the highest in the world.[167][168]361

The egalitarian values of Norwegian society have kept the wage difference between the lowest paid worker and the CEO of most companies as much less than in comparable western economies.[169]362 This is also evident in Norway's low Gini coefficient.363

The state has large ownership positions in key industrial sectors, such as the strategic petroleum sector (Equinor), hydroelectric energy production (Statkraft), aluminium production (Norsk Hydro), the largest Norwegian bank (DNB), and telecommunication provider (Telenor).364 Through these big companies, the government controls approximately 30% of the stock values at the Oslo Stock Exchange.[170]365 When non-listed companies are included, the state has even higher share in ownership (mainly from direct oil licence ownership).366 Norway is a major shipping nation and has the world's sixth largest merchant fleet, with 1,412 Norwegian-owned merchant vessels.[171]367

By referendums in 1972 and 1994, Norwegians rejected proposals to join the European Union (EU).368 However, Norway, together with Iceland corpus and Liechtenstein corpus, participates in the European Union's single market through the European Economic Area (EEA) agreement.369 The EEA Treaty between the European Union countries and the EFTA countries—transposed into Norwegian law via "EØS-loven"[172]—describes the procedures for implementing European Union rules in Norway and the other EFTA countries.370 Norway is a highly integrated member of most sectors of the EU internal market.371 Some sectors, such as agriculture, oil and fish, are not wholly covered by the EEA Treaty.372 Norway has also acceded to the Schengen Agreement and several other intergovernmental agreements among the EU member states.373