WE WANT TO EMBRACE THE WORLD FROM NORWAY!
WELCOME TO NORWAY OPENARMS!
Olga from Belarus. Flå Openarms!
The official name of the country is Kingdom of Norway. It has a system of Government that includes the Constitutional Monarchy and a Parliamentary Democracy.
Juan from Colombia. Vesteraalen Openarms!
To the left you can see the Norwegian Royal Standard. From the old days, it has been a symbol of Royal power.
The Norwegian monarchy goes back more than one thousand years, from around the year 885 when Harald Hårfagre (Fairhair) united the many kingships of Norway into one country.
Today, Norway has a modern monarchy that is well respected among it’s people, much because the Norwegian King and his family are taking part in common people’s life in a unique, and positive way.
Norway had 4,908,100 inhabitants in September 2010, and is expected to pass 5. million people in March 2012.There is the indigenous Sami population. And, there are five national minorities that has for long times been associated with Norway. Most of the population lives in the larger cities.
Norway covers an area of 385,199 square kilometers. Of this, 304,280 square kilometers comprise the mainland.
The Kingdom of Norway also includes Svalbard and Jan Mayen in the North, and the Bouvet Island, Peter I Island and Queen Maud Land in the Antarctic.
The Norwegian Mainland is 432 km at its widest point, and only 2 km at it’s narrowest.
There are three official languages in Norway: The Norwegian language which, has two forms –Bokmål and Nynorsk–, and the Sami language.
The official religion in Norway is Protestant Christianity.
Christianity in Norway goes back to the Vikings, and the famous Norwegian King Olav the Holy who helped Christianize the country.
The Norwegian Oil Industry has made Norway one of the wealthiest countries in the world. The Norwegian Parliament has established a Government Pension Fund that at the end of 2011 is expected to reach an impressive 3.080 billion Norwegian Kroner, which is about US $ 531 billions.
Anyway, during the last years of financial crisis, these funds has helped us through the crises, so far at least, by making the Norwegian economy stabile.
The portfolio of shares and other equities is expected to have a market value of NOK 4.190 billion at the beginning of 2015, and NOK 5.866 when we enter 2020.
Did you know that each year in October the Tax Record for every adult Norwegian is published for anyone to read and see? They can check out what their neighbors and friends earned last year; how much they paid in taxes and how wealthy they are. Neighbors, colleagues, friends, politicians and ministers, all of them are in the public tax records, EXCEPT the King and the Royal family. Their wealth and income are not public.
The Norwegian Currency is Norwegian Kroner (NOK)
The average house or apartment is 121.4 square meters.
Sixty-two percent of the houses or apartments are privately or jointly owned. Eighteen percent have one to two rooms and 82% have three rooms or more.
Only 10% of the houses were built before 1920. As much as 29% of the homes in Norway were built after 1981.
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