ernmost region is bordered by Finland to the south and Russia to the east; in its south Norway borders the Skagerrak Strait across from Denmark. The capital city of Norway is Oslo. Norway's extensive coastline, facing the North Atlantic Ocean and the Barents Sea, is home to its famous fjords. Two centuries of Viking raids tapered off following the adoption of Christianity by King Olav Tryggvason in 994. A period of civil war ended in the 13th century when Norway expanded its control overseas to parts of the British Isles, Iceland, and Greenland. Norwegian territorial power peaked in 1265, but competition from the Hanseatic League and the spread of the Black Death weakened the country. In 1380, Norway was absorbed into a union with Denmark that lasted more than four centuries. In 1814, Norwegians resisted the cession of their country to Sweden and adopted a new constitution. Sweden then invaded Norway but agreed to let Norway keep its constitution in return for accepting the union under a Swedish king. Rising nationalism throughout the 19th century led to a 1905 referendum granting Norway independence. Although Norway remained neutral in World War I, it suffered heavy losses to its shipping. Norway proclaimed its neutrality at the outset of World War II, but was nonetheless occupied for five years by the Third Reich. In 1949, neutrality was abandoned and Norway became a founding member of NATO. Discovery of oil and gas in adjacent waters in the late 1960s boosted Norway's economic fortunes. In referenda held in 1972 and 1994, Norway rejected joining the EU. Key domestic issues include immigration and integration of ethnic minorities, maintaining the country's extensive social safety net with an aging population, and preserving economic competitiveness.[2][10] Norway is a unitary parliamentary democracy and constitutional monarchy, with King Harald V as its head of state and Jens Stoltenberg as its prime minister. It is a unitary state with administrative subdivisions on two levels known as counties (fylke) and municipalities (kommuner). The Sámi people have a certain amount of self-determination and influence over traditional territories through the Sámi Parliament and the Finnmark Act. Although having rejected European Union membership in two referenda, Norway maintains close ties with the union and its member countries, as well as with the United States. Norway remains one of the biggest financial contributors to the United Nations,[11] and participates with UN forces in international missions, notably in Afghanistan, Kosovo, Sudan and Libya. Norway is a founding member of the United Nations, NATO, the Council of Europe, and the Nordic Council; a member of the European Economic Area, the WTO, and the OECD; and is also a part of Schengen Area. Norway has extensive reserves of petroleum, natural gas, minerals, lumber, seafood, fresh water, and hydropower. The country has the fourth-highest per capita income in the world. On a per-capita basis, it is the world's largest producer of oil and natural gas outside the Middle East,[12][13] and the petroleum industry accounts for around a quarter of the country's gross domestic product.[14] The country maintains a Nordic welfare model with universal health care, subsidized higher education, and a comprehensive social security system. From 2001 to 2006,[15] and then again from 2009 through 2011, Norway has had the highest human development index ranking in the world.[16][17] Contents 1 Etymology 2 History 2.1 Prehistory 2.2 Bronze Age 2.3 Iron Age 2.4 Migration Age 2.5 Viking Age 2.6 Kalmar Union 2.7 Union with Denmark 2.8 Union with Sweden (19th century) 2.9 Independence 2.10 World War I and II 2.11 Post-war history 3 Geography 3.1 Climate 3.2 Biodiversity 3.3 Environment 4 Politics 4.1 Administrative divisions 4.2 Judicial system and law enforcement 4.3 Foreign relations 4.4 Military 5 Economy 5.1 Resources 5.2 Transport 6 Demographics 6.1 Urbanization 6.2 Migration 6.2.1 Emigration 6.3 Immigration 6.4 Religion 6.5 Education 6.6 Languages 7 Culture 7.1 Cinema 7.2 Music 7.3 Literature 7.4 Architecture 7.5 Art 7.6 Cuisine 8 See also 9 References 10 External links Etymology Modern etymologists believe the country's name means "the northward route" (the "way north" or the "north way"), which in Old Norse would have been nor veg or *norð vegr. The Old Norse name for Norway was Nóregr, the Anglo-Saxon Norþ weg and mediaeval Latin Northvegia. The present name of the Kingdom of Norway in Bokmål is "Kongeriket Norge" and in Nynorsk "Kongeriket Noreg", both only a couple of letters removed from the original "northern way": Nor(d)-(v)e.g. History Main articles: History of Norway and History of Scandinavia Prehistory Approximate extent of the Corded Ware culture. Nordic Bronze Age rock carvings at Steinkjer, Central Norway Main article: Scandinavian prehistory The first inhabitants were the Ahrensburg culture (11th to 10th millennia BC) which was a late Upper Paleolithic culture during the Younger Dryas, the last spell of cold at the end of the Weichsel glaciation. The culture is named after village of Ahrensburg, 25 km (15.53 mi) northeast of Hamburg in the German state of Schleswig-Holstein where wooden arrow shafts and clubs have been excavated.[18] The earliest traces of human occupation in Norway are found along the coast, where the huge ice shelf of the last ice age first melted between 11,000 and 8,000 BC. The oldest finds are stone tools dating from 9,500 to 6,000 BC, discovered in Finnmark (Komsa culture) in the north and Rogaland (Fosna culture) in the southwest. However, theories about two altogether different cultures (the Komsa culture north of the Arctic Circle being one and the Fosna culture from Trøndelag to Oslo Fjord being the other) were rendered obsolete in the 1970s. More recent finds along the entire coast revealed to archaeologists that the difference between the two can simply be ascribed to different types of tools and not to different cultures. Coastal fauna provided a means of livelihood for fishermen and hunters, who may have made their way along the southern coast about 10,000 BC when the interior was still covered with ice. It is now thought that these so-called “Arctic” peoples came from the south and followed the coast northward considerably later. Some may have come along the ice-free coast of the Kola Peninsula, but the evidence of this is still poor. In the southern part of the country are dwelling sites dating from about 5,000 BC. Finds from these sites give a clearer idea of the life of the hunting and fishing peoples. The implements vary in shape and mostly are made of different kinds of stone; those of later periods are more skillfully made. Rock carvings (i. e. petroglyphs) have been found, usually near hunting and fishing grounds. They represent game such as deer, reindeer, elk, bears, birds, seals, whales, and fish (especially salmon and halibut), all of which were vital to the way of life of the coastal peoples. The carvings at Alta in Finnmark, the largest in Scandinavia, were made at sea level continuously from 4,200 to 500 BC and mark the progression of the land as it rose from the sea after the last ice age (Rock carvings at Alta). Bronze Age Main article: Nordic Bronze Age Sæbø sword from Sæbø, Hordaland (800 AD) Between 3000 and 2500 BC new settlers (Corded Ware culture) arrived in eastern Norway. They were Indo-European farmers who grew grain and kept cows and sheep. The hunting-fishing population of the west coast was also gradually replaced by farmers, though hunting and fishing remained useful secondary means of livelihood. From about 1500 BC bronze was gradually introduced, but the use of stone implements continued; Norway had few riches to barter for bronze goods, and the few finds consist mostly of elaborate weapons and brooches that only chieftains could afford. Huge burial cairns built close to the sea as far north as Harstad and also inland in the south are characteristic of this period. The motifs of the rock carvings differ from those typical of the Stone Age. Representations of the Sun, animals, trees, weapons, ships, and people are all strongly stylized, probably as fertility symbols connected with the religious ideas of the period. Iron Age Main article: Pre-Roman Iron Age Little has been found dating from the early Iron Age (the last 500 years BC). The dead were cremated, and their graves contain few burial goods. During the first four centuries AD the people of Norway were in contact with Roman-occupied Gaul. About 70 Roman bronze cauldrons, often used as burial urns, have been found. Contact with the civilized countries farther south brought a knowledge of runes; the oldest known Norwegian runic inscription dates from the 3rd century. At this time the amount of settled area in the country increased, a development that can be traced by coordinated studies of topography, archaeology, and place-names. The oldest root names, such as nes, vik, and bø (“cape,” “bay,” and “farm”), are of great antiquity, dating perhaps from the Bronze Age, whereas the earliest of the groups of compound names with the suffixes vin (“meadow”) or heim (“settlement”), as in Bjorgvin (Bergen) or Saeheim (Seim), usually date from the 1st century AD. Migration Age Main article: Migration Age The destruction of the Western Roman Empire by the Germanic tribes (5th century) is characterized by rich finds, including chieftains’ graves containing magnificent weapons and gold objects. Hill forts were built on precipitous rocks for defense. Excavation has revealed stone foundations of farmhouses 60 to 90 feet (18 to 27 metres) long—one even 150 feet (46 metres) long—the roofs of which were supported on wooden posts. These houses were family homesteads where several generations lived together, with people and cattle under one roof. From this period and later (600–800), nascent communities can be traced. Defense works require cooperation and leadership, so petty states of some kind with a defense and administrative organization must have existed. These states were based on either clans or tribes (e.g., the Horder of Hordaland in western Norway). By the 9th century each of these small states had things, or tings (local or regional assemblies), for negotiating and settling disputes. The thing meeting places, each eventually with a horg (open-air sanctuary) or a hov (temple; literally “hill”), were usually situated on the oldest and best farms, which belonged to the chieftains and wealthiest farmers. The regional things united to form even larger units: assemblies of deputy yeomen from several regions. In this way, the lagting (assemblies for negotiations and lawmaking) developed. The Gulating had its meeting place by Sognefjord and may have been the centre of an aristocratic confederation along the western fjords and islands called the Gulatingslag. The Frostating was the assembly for the leaders in the Trondheimsfjord area; the earls Jarls of Lade, near Trondheim, seem to have enlarged the Frostatingslag by adding the coastland from Romsdalsfjord to the Lofoten Islands. A lagting developed in the area of Lake Mjøsa in the east and eventually established its meeting place at Eidsvoll, becoming known as the Eidsivating. The area around Oslofjord, although at times closely tied to Denmark, developed a lagting—with its meeting place at Sarpsborg called the Borgarting. Viking Age Main article: Viking Age The helmet found at Gjermundbu near Haugsbygd, Buskerud, is the only Viking Age helmet that has been found. The Gokstad ship at the Viking Ship Museum in Oslo, Norway. The Norwegian Kingdom at its greatest extent, c. 1265 The Viking Age was characterized by expansion and emigration by Viking seafarers. According to tradition, Harald Fairhair (Harald Hårfagre) unified them into one in 872 after the Battle of Hafrsfjord in Stavanger, thus becoming the first king of a united Norway. (The date of 872 may be somewhat arbitrary. In fact, the actual date may be just prior to 900).[19] Harald's realm was mainly a South Norwegian coastal state. Harald Fairhair ruled with a strong hand and, according to the sagas, many Norwegians left the country to live in Iceland, the Faroe Islands, Greenland, and parts of Britain and Ireland. The modern-day Irish cities of Dublin, Limerick, and Waterford were founded by Norwegian (and Danish) settlers.[20] Norse traditions were slowly replaced by Christian ones in the 10th and 11th Centuries. This is largely attributed to the missionary kings Olav Tryggvasson and St. Olav. Haakon the Good was Norway's first Christian king, in the mid-10th century, though his attempt to introduce the religion was rejected. Born sometime in between 963–969, Olav Tryggvasson set off raiding in England with 390 ships. He attacked London during this raiding. Arriving back in Norway in 995, Olav landed in Moster.[21] There he built a church which became the first Christian church ever built in Norway.[21] From Moster, Olav sailed north to Trondheim were he was acclaimed King of Norway by the Eyrathing in 995.[21] Feudalism never really developed in Norway and Sweden, as it did in the rest of Europe.[22] However, the administration of government took on a very conservative feudal character.[22] The Hanseatic League forced the royalty to cede to them greater and greater concessions over foreign trade and the economy.[22] The League had this hold over the royalty because of the loans the Hansa had made to the royalty and the large debt the kings were carrying.[22] The League's monopolistic control over the economy of Norway put pressure on all classes, especially the peasantry, to the degree that no real burgher class existed in Norway.[22] Kalmar Union Main article: Kalmar Union Kalmar Union c. 1500 AD Upon the death of Haakon V, King of Norway, in 1319, three year-old Magnus Erikson inherited the throne as King Magnus VII of Norway.[23] At the same time a movement to make Magnus King of Sweden proved successful.[23] (At this time both the kings of Sweden and of Denmark were elected to the throne by their respective nobles.)[23] Thus, with his election to the throne of Sweden, both Sweden and Norway were united under King Magnus VII.[23] In 1349, the Black Death radically altered Norway, killing between 50% and 60% of its population[24] and leaving it in a period of social and economic decline.[25] The plague left Norway very poor.[26] Although the death rate was comparable with the rest of Europe, economic recovery took much longer because of the small, scattered population.[25] Before the plague, total population was only about 500,000 people.[27] After the plague, many farms lay idle while the population slowly increased.[25] The few surviving farms' tenants found their bargaining positions with their landlords greatly strengthened.[25] King Magnus VII ruled Norway until 1350, when his son, Haakon, was placed on the throne as Haakon VI.[28] In 1363, Haakon VI married Margaret, the daughter of King Valdemar IV of Denmark.[25] Upon the death of Haakon VI, in 1379, his son, Olaf IV, was only 10 years-old.[25] Olaf had already been elected to the throne of Denmark on May 3, 1376.[25] Thus, upon Olaf's ascension to the throne of Norway, Denmark and Norway entered personal union.[29] Olaf's mother and Haakon's widow, Queen Margaret, managed the foreign affairs of Denmark and Norway during the minority of Olaf IV.[25] Margaret was working toward a union of Sweden with Denmark and Norway by having Olaf elected to the Swedish throne. She was on the verge of achieving this goal when Olaf IV suddenly died.[25] However, Denmark made Margaret temporary ruler upon the death of Olaf. On February 2, 1388, Norway followed suit and crowned Margaret.[25] Queen Margaret knew that her power would be more secure if she were able to find a king to rule in her place. She settled on Eric of Pomerania, grandson of her sister. Thus at an all-Scandinavian meeting held at Kalmar, Erik of Pomerania was crowned king of all three Scandinavian countries. Thus, royal politics resulted in personal unions between the Nordic countries, eventually bringing the thrones of Norway, Denmark, and Sweden under the control of Queen Margaret when the country entered into the Kalmar Union. Union with Denmark Main article: Denmark–Norway After Sweden broke out of the Kalmar Union in 1521, Norway remained with Denmark until 1814, a total of 436 years. During the national romanticism of the 19th century, this period was by some referred to as the "400-Year Night", since all of the kingdom's royal, intellectual, and administrative power was centred in Copenhagen in Denmark. With the introduction of Protestantism in 1536, the archbishopric in Trondheim was dissolved, and Norway effectually became a tributary to Denmark, and the church's incomes were distributed to the court in Copenhagen instead. Norway lost the steady stream of pilgrims to the relics of St. Olav at the Nidaros shrine, and with them, much of the contact with cultural and economic life in the rest of Europe. Additionally, Norway saw its land area decrease in the 17th century with the loss of the provinces Båhuslen, Jemtland, and Herjedalen to Sweden, as a result of numerous wars between Denmark–Norway and Sweden. To the north, however, its territory was increased by the acquisition of the northern provinces of Troms and Finnmark, at the expense of Sweden and Russia. The famine of 1695–96 killed roughly 10% of Norway's population.[30] At least nine severe harvest failures were recorded in the Scandinavian countries between 1740 and 1800, each resulting in a substantial rise of the death rate.[31] Union with Sweden (19th century) Main article: Union between Sweden and Norway The 1814 constitutional assembly, painted by Oscar Wergeland After Denmark–Norway was attacked by the United Kingdom at the Battle of Copenhagen, it entered into an alliance with Napoleon, with the war leading to dire conditions and mass starvation in 1812. As the Danish kingdom found itself on the losing side in 1814, it was forced, under terms of the Treaty of Kiel, to cede Norway to the king of Sweden, while the old Norwegian provinces of Iceland, Greenland and the Faroe Islands remained with the Danish crown.[32] Norway took this opportunity to declare independence, adopted a constitution based on American and French models, and elected the Crown prince of Denmark and Norway, Christian Frederick, as king on 17 May 1814. This is the famous Syttende Mai (Seventeenth of May) holiday celebrated by Norwegians and Norwegian-Americans alike. Syttende Mai is also called Norwegian Constitution Day. Norwegian opposition to the great powers' decision to link Norway with Sweden caused the Norwegian-Swedish War to break out as Sweden tried to subdue Norway by military means. As Sweden's military was not strong enough to defeat the Norwegian forces outright and Norway's treasury was not large enough to support a protracted war, and as British and Russian navies blockaded the Norwegian coast,[33] the belligerents were forced to negotiate the Convention of Moss. According to the terms of the convention, Christian Frederik abdicated the Norwegian throne and authorized the Parliament of Norway to make the necessary constitutional amendments to allow for the personal union that Norway was forced to accept. On November 4, 1814, the Parliament (Storting) elected Charles XIII of Sweden as king of Norway, thereby establishing the union with Sweden.[34] Under this arrangement, Norway kept its liberal constitution and its own independent institutions, except for the foreign service. Following the recession caused by the Napoleonic Wars, economic development of Norway remained slow until economic growth began around 1830.[35] This period also saw the rise of the Norwegian romantic nationalism, as N