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Norway may not be the most important, biggest, or powerful country in the world. A Norwegian prime minister once stated that “Norway is a country in the world”. What he meant to say was “a small country”. Yet, it is one of the most important small countries of the world. Among us Norwegians, this is a well-established matter of fact.
The featured image above, is from Sognefjorden, the longest fjord in the country.
IF YOU READ NORWEGIAN, check out 800 articles and 15,000 images from Norway on Sandalsand Norge.
Norway sections
Browse all articles from Norway in the illustrated list at the bottom of this page, or open one of these sections.
Find inspiration in Sandalsand’s articles from places, road trips and hikes. Browse photos and videos from Norway. You may also want to dive into the country’s World Heritage Sites.
Posts from Norway
Egersund, rich on fish and fear of the almighty
Egersund is a small town on the south-western coast of Norway. It has always been a good landing port for fishing boats coming in with their catch....
VIDEO – Norway – Egersund
Watch this video from Egersund, a quiet little town on the south-western coast of Norway. Here's a little collection of photos and video clips to...
The Helleren houses in Jøssingfjord
Helleren is a large cliff overhanging two houses at the end of the Jøssingfjord, on the southwestern coast of Norway. They were built in the early...
Sogndalstrand, the first Norwegian Cittaslow
Sogndalstrand is a picturesque little town on the southwestern coast of Norway. It became an important trading port from the 1600's onward but fell...
Flekkefjord, the town that was
Flekkefjord is a small town marking the transition between the southern coastline of Norway, Sørlandet, and the western part of Vestlandet. ...
VIDEO – Norway – Helleren in Jøssingfjord
Watch a video from Helleren in Jøssingfjord. Helleren is a large cliff overhanging two houses at the end of the Jøssingfjord, on the southwestern...
VIDEO – Norway – Sogndalstrand
Watch a video from Sogndalstrand. It is a picturesque little town on the southwestern coast of Norway. Sogndalstrand became an important trading...
VIDEO – Norway – Flekkefjord
Watch a video from Flekkefjord, a small town marking the transition between the southern coastline of Norway, Sørlandet, and the western part of...
VIDEO – Norway – Bergen – Bryggen
This video is from Bryggen in Bergen. It is number 59 on UNESCO's World Heritage List. The video takes you into the alleys. Audio (1): "Jeg tok min...
The Art Nouveau town of Ålesund
In the night of January 23rd 1904 practically the entire wooden town centre of Ålesund on the Norwegian West Coast was destroyed in a fire. ...
VIDEO – Norway – Ålesund
Watch a video from Ålesund. The city burned down in 1904 and resurrected like a phoenix bird in a completely new costume. Over a hundred years...
VIDEO – Norway – Jæren – Tungenes
This video from Tungenes with its lighthouse is from a series of hikes on the coastal strip of Jæren in south-western Norway. This one is about the...
Jæren – The Tungenes hike
This is about the Tungenes hike, one of many hikes on the coast of Jæren, Norway. Make a round trip of only 3.9 km. Orientation Tungenes -...
VIDEO – Norway – Lysefjorden 6 – Vinddalen
This video from Vinddalen is part of the Lysefjord series. This area in south-western Norway serves as a superb hiking ground for numerous trips. ...
VIDEO – Norway – Lysefjorden 5 – Kjerag
This video from Kjerag is part of the Lysefjord series. This area in south-western Norway serves as a superb hiking ground for numerous trips. ...
VIDEO – Norway – Lysefjorden 4 – Songedalen
This video from Songedalen is part of the Lysefjord series. This area in south-western Norway serves as a superb hiking ground for numerous...
VIDEO – Norway – Lysefjorden 3 – Preikestolen
This video from Preikestolen is part of the Lysefjord series. This area in south-western Norway serves as a superb hiking ground for numerous...
VIDEO – Norway – Lysefjorden 2 – Ulvaskog
This video from Ulvaskog is part of the Lysefjord series. This area in south-western Norway serves as a superb hiking ground for numerous...
VIDEO – Norway – Lysefjord boat trip
The video from a Lysefjord boat trip takes us from the bottom of Lysebotn and out. We get glimpses of the famous mountains of Kjerag and...
Lysefjord – The Vinddalen hike
The Vinddalen hike (12 km) is one of several hikes along the Lysefjord in Norway. This time it was a very wet hike up the Vinddalen valley to the...
Lysefjord – The Kjerag hike
The Kjerag hike (2-3 hrs each way) is one of several hikes along the Lysefjord in Norway. Start at Øygardsstølen ("Eagle's Nest") and hike to Kjerag...
Lysefjord – The Songedalen hike
The Songedalen hike is one of several hikes along the Lysefjord in Norway. This hike is a very long one of 34 km but you can make it shorter. ...
Lysefjord – The Preikestolen hike
The Preikestolen hike is one of several hikes along the Lysefjord in Norway. Preikestolen (The Pulpit Rock) is one of the highlights of Norway. The...
Lysefjord – The Ulvaskog hike
The Ulvaskog hike (7 km) is one of several hikes along the Lysefjord in Norway. Start at the parking lot on the Botne road, continue via the timber...
A fact sheet about Norway
This is Wikipedia’s introduction. Find Sandalsand’s articles from Norway above.
Hard facts
- Official name: Kingdom of Norway
- Capital and largest city: Oslo
- Official languages: Norwegian; Sami
- Official minority languages: Kven, Romani, Romanes
- Writing system: Latin
- Ethnic groups: Norwegian
- Religion: Lutheran
Geography
Norway has a total area of 385,207 square kilometres and had a population of 5,385,300 in November 2020. The country shares a long eastern border with Sweden at a length of 1,619 km. It is bordered by Finland and Russia to the northeast and the Skagerrak strait to the south, on the other side of which are Denmark and the United Kingdom. Norway has an extensive coastline, facing the North Atlantic Ocean and the Barents Sea.
Political system
Norway is a constitutional monarchy, and divides state power between the Parliament, the cabinet and the Supreme Court. The kingdom was established in 872 as a merger of many petty kingdoms and has existed continuously for 1,150 years. King Harald V is the current King of Norway.
Norway has both administrative and political subdivisions on two levels: counties and municipalities. The Sámi people have a certain amount of self-determination and influence over traditional territories through the Sámi Parliament and the Finnmark Act. Norway maintains close ties with both the European Union and the United States. Norway is also a founding member of the United Nations, NATO, the European Free Trade Association, the Council of Europe, the Antarctic Treaty, and the Nordic Council; a member of the European Economic Area, the WTO, and the OECD; and a part of the Schengen Area. In addition, the Norwegian languages share mutual intelligibility with Danish and Swedish.
Life in Norway
Norway maintains the Nordic welfare model with universal health care and a comprehensive social security system, and its values are rooted in egalitarian ideals. The Norwegian state has large ownership positions in key industrial sectors, having extensive reserves of petroleum, natural gas, minerals, lumber, seafood, and fresh water. The petroleum industry accounts for around a quarter of the country’s gross domestic product (GDP).
The country has the fourth-highest per-capita income in the world on the World Bank and IMF lists. On the CIA’s GDP (PPP) per capita list which includes autonomous territories and regions, Norway ranks as number eleven. It has the world’s largest sovereign wealth fund, with a value of US$1 trillion. Norway has had the highest Human Development Index ranking in the world since 2009, a position also held previously between 2001 and 2006; it also has the highest inequality-adjusted ranking per 2018. Norway ranked first on the World Happiness Report for 2017 and currently ranks first on the OECD Better Life Index, the Index of Public Integrity, the Freedom Index, and the Democracy Index. Norway also has one of the lowest crime rates in the world.
Source
Wikipedia on a Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License. Date: 2022-02-22
I got the travel bug when I was quite young. My parents took me and my sisters out of school and we travelled all over Europe. It was an eye-opening experience and, although I love Norway, I also enjoy visiting new countries. I don’t get homesick. (Magnus Carlsen, chess player)