Norway country profile

Europe's northernmost country, the Kingdom of Norway is famed for its mountains and spectacular fjord coastline, as well as its history as a seafaring power.It also enjoys one of the highest standards of living in the world, in large part due

to the discovery in the late 1960s of offshore oil and gas deposits.

OVERVIEW Norway's annual oil revenue amounts to around $40bn (£21bn), and more than

half of its exports come from this sector. To counter inflation, spending of oil

revenue was restricted.

The considerable surplus is invested in a sovereign wealth fund, estimated in

2009 at $400bn.

What to do with the money is one of the country's most contentious political

issues. The centre-right want more of it to be used to fund infrastructure

improvements, while the centre-left wants to keep it invested for future

generations.

Norway declared its independence in 1905 when the union with Sweden was

dissolved. Norway's people value their independence and prosperity highly. The

Norwegians rejected membership of the then European Economic Community in

1972, and of the European Union in 1994, despite being urged by their

governments to vote "yes".

(www.news.bbc.co.uk)

In recent decades, Norway has forged a stronger role for itself in international

politics. It has mediated between Israel and the Palestine Liberation Organisation,

and from 2000 to 2009 was the chief mediator in the conflict between the Sri

Lankan government and Tamil separatists.

Norway has a rich, sea-faring tradition and its

lengthy, rugged coastline has been central to its

development. More than a thousand years ago,

Viking raids on the coasts of Britain and France

were commonplace. The Vikings also mounted

expeditions to the coast of North America.

Later, the Norwegians began to trade. Originally,

the coastal waters provided fish for export.

Today, Norway is among the world's largest

exporters of fuels and fuel products.

Norway registered objections to the 1986

International Whaling Commission (IWC) ban on whaling and resumed the

practice on a commercial basis in 1993. It argues that whaling is no more cruel

than fishing and that stocks are sufficient to allow it to continue. Conservationists

disagree.

(www.news.bbc.co.uk)

Royal palace, Oslo: The

monarch has little legislative

power

FACTSFull name: Kingdom of Norway

Population: 4.9 million (UN, 2010)

Capital: Oslo

Area: 323,759 sq km (125,004 sq miles)

Major language: Norwegian

Major religion: Christianity

Life expectancy: 79 years (men), 83 years (women) (UN)

Monetary unit: 1 Norwegian krone = 100 ore

Main exports: Fuels and fuel products, machinery, metal products

GNI per capita: US $86,440 (World Bank, 2009)

Internet domain: .no

International dialling code: +47

(www.news.bbc.co.uk)

A business friendly environmentAker Brygge is a central business district in Oslo. Photo:

Nancy Bundt / VisitOSLO

The World Bank has ranked Norway among the top

performers in the ease of doing business. The

Norwegian economy is strong, open and globally

integrated with a high level of trade and foreign

investments, and a favourable international

competitiveness.

A strong, open and productive economyNorway is a prosperous and stable society with a strong democratic tradition and a

political, economic and social climate conducive to industry and business development.

According to Eurostat, Norway had the second highest GDP per capita in Europe in

2009, i.e. € 57 100 compared to the EU27 average of € 23 600.

 

Access to the EU internal marketNorway is part of the European Economic Area (EEA) agreement between the

European Free Trade Association (EFTA) and the European Union (EU), giving

Norwegian and foreign-owned companies located in Norway full access to the internal

market of the EU and the free movement of persons, good, services and capital across

European state borders.

 

Easy doing business in NorwayPolitical stability and good governance are key descriptors of the Norwegian business

environment. In Doing Business in 2010, an annual report from the World Bank, Norway

is ranked 10 out of 183 economies with regard to ease of doing business. It is easy to

start and close a business in Norway, and to enforce contracts, buying property, trading

across borders and paying taxes. The corporate tax rate is 28 per cent, VAT 25 per cent

and income tax and social security contribution on the average worker 29.7 per cent.

Benchmarking Norwegian CompetitivenessIMD World Competitiveness Yearbook ranks Norway 11 on the 2009 World

Competitiveness Scoreboard. Norway has climbed steadily on this ranking over the last

few years and get high scores across all four dimensions of the overall index; i.e.

economic performance, government and business efficiency, and infrastructure.

World Economic Forum Global Competitiveness Report ranks Norway 14 in the 2009-

2010 edition of the Growth Competitiveness Index, which is up one place from 2008-

2009. The rankings are drawn from a combination of publicly available structural data

and the results of an Executive Opinion Survey polling 11 000 business leaders. 

(www.oslo.teknopol.no)

Norway’s foreign policy in the context of the challenges of globalization

An important pointer to Norway’s prominent profile as a regional and global player

inheres in its high human development and human security status. According to recent

UN Human Development Index (HDI) reports, that measure levels of human wellbeing,

Norway has consistently occupied the first position. When it is compared to the United

States—the world’s leading superpower which in 2006, occupied the 8th position, and

most of the developing world, where HDI is declining, part of the challenges that

confront Norway come out in bold relief. This opens up opportunities, while also

presenting a fresh set of challenges to the country’s leading position in a highly

competitive world.

The most critical challenge is how Norway can strike a positive balance between

domestic priorities, and foreign policy imperatives, in a world where the boundaries

appear to be rather fluid and ever changing in response to the dynamics of an

increasingly inter-dependent world. In this connection, issues of prosperity, wellbeing

and security at home, alongside those of energy security and climate change, poverty,

migration, human development and human and environmental security, integration,

development co-operation are all encapsulated in its foreign policy thrust. Relations with

its Nordic and “High North” neighbors also occupy a special place.

As Norwegian investors and development actors increasingly move out into the

competitive world, the country will require more strategic ties with regional and global

players, particularly in terms of international peace operations, relations with Russia and

the Emerging Market Economies in the Asia-Pacific region, China, participation in the

war on terror, and relations with the developing countries in Africa, South America and

Asia.

(www.regjeringen.no)

Bibliography

1.) http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/europe/country_profiles/1023276.stm

2.) http://www.oslo.teknopol.no/English/MainMenu/Invest-and-work-in-Oslo/Business-

environment/

3.) http://www.regjeringen.no/nb/dep/ud/kampanjer/refleks/innspill/engasjement/obi.html?

id=492755