Norway

Norway

Norway / is a country located in northern Europe and occupies the western part of the Scandinavian peninsula in addition to the Jan Mayen and Svalbard Archipelago in the Arctic

Norway has a total area of ​​385,207 square kilometers (148,747 sq mi) and a population of about 5 million people. The country is one of the least densely populated European countries. Norway has a long border with Sweden in the east, and its northernmost border is Finland from the south and Russia to the east, while Denmark lies to the south at the southern tip of the country across the Skagerrak Strait. The capital of Norway is Oslo. Norway has broad coasts facing the Atlantic Ocean and the Barents Sea, and these coasts are the home of the famous Fjord

Norway has rich natural resources of oil, natural gas, hydropower, forests and minerals. It was also the second largest source of seafood (by value, after the People's Republic of China) in 2006. Other major industries include shipping, food processing, shipbuilding, metallurgy, chemical, mining, hunting and paper products from forests

The viewer can see a number of the most scenic landscapes in the world in Norway, as the west coast of the south of the country and the coasts of its north includes some of the most charming unique scenes in the world. The National Geographic Society ranked Norwegian Fjords as the world's top tourist attraction. In 2008, the Environmental Performance Index put Norway in second place after Switzerland based on the environmental performance of the country's policies

The largest predators in Norwegian waters are sperm whales and the largest fish is the sun shark. The largest predators on land are polar bears while brown bears are the largest predators on the Norwegian mainland, while the employee is undisputedly the largest Norwegian mammal

Due to the numerous latitudes in Norway there are significant seasonal variations throughout the day. From late May to late July, the sun does not completely set below the horizon in the areas north of the Arctic Circle, hence Norway is described as the "midnight sunland", while in the rest of the country the length of day is up to 20 hours per day. In contrast, from late November to late January, the sun does not rise above the horizon in the north, while daylight hours are very short in the rest of the country

Most of the Norwegian lands consist of granite and Nice granite rocks. Slate, sandstone, and limestone can also be found in the layers of the earth, and the lower elevations contain marine sediments. Because of the Gulf Stream and prevailing western winds, Norway is experiencing relatively high temperatures and precipitation exceeding what is expected in such a northern location, especially along the coast. The mainland of the country lives four distinct seasons where the winters are cold with low rainfall internally. In the northern part, the climate is arctic and secondarily marine, while Svalbard lives in the polar tundra

Norway is rich in natural resources including oil, hydropower, fish, forests and minerals. Large reserves of oil and natural gas were discovered in the 1960s, which led to a major boom in the economy. Norway has one of the highest standards of living in the world due to the large amount of natural resources compared to the size of the population. The state provides free services to the people, such as health care, and parents get 12-month maternity leave with pay

The income that the state obtains from natural resources includes a large contribution from oil production and the large income resulting from the good management of this sector. Norway's unemployment rate is very low and currently 3.1%. Hourly production levels as well as average hourly wages in Norway are among the highest in the world. Equality values ​​in Norwegian society ensure that the difference in wages between less-paid workers and CEOs of the country's largest companies is much lower than in comparable western economies

This is also evident in the low Norwegian Gini coefficient

Norwegians have the second highest GDP per capita (after Luxembourg) and the third highest gross domestic product (PPP) per capita in the world. Norway maintained the first position globally in the Human Development Index of the United Nations Development Program for six consecutive years (2001-2006), and then regained this rank in 2009

The Norwegian economy is an example of a mixed economy, consisting of a mixture of a thriving capitalist economy based on the free market and large state ownership of some key sectors. The state owns large shares in the main industrial sectors through companies, for example in the strategic oil sector (Statoil), hydropower production (StatCraft), aluminum production (Norsk Hydro), Norway's largest bank (DNB Noor) and telecommunications provider (Telenor)

Through these large companies, the government controls approximately 30% of the value of shares on the Oslo Stock Exchange. When companies not listed on the stock exchange are included, the state’s share in the stock market increases (mainly from the direct ownership license for oil). Norway is one of the largest countries in the shipping sector in the world as it has the sixth largest commercial fleet and consists of 1,412 merchant ships