Norway - Geography

Here, let us take a look at the Geography of Norway. About two-thirds mountains; some 50,000 islands off its much-indented coastline; strategic location adjacent to sea lanes and air routes in North Atlantic; one of the most rugged and longest coastlines in the world. Mother's mean age at first birth is 29.8 years (2020 est.) (Note: data is calculated based on actual age at first births), whereas, the Maternal mortality ratio is 2 deaths/100,000 live births (2020 est.)

Geographical data of Norway
Location Northern Europe, bordering the North Sea and the North Atlantic Ocean, west of Sweden
Geographic coordinates 62 00 N, 10 00 E
Map references Europe
Tarrain glaciated; mostly high plateaus and rugged mountains broken by fertile valleys; small, scattered plains; coastline deeply indented by fjords; arctic tundra in north
Natural Resources petroleum, natural gas, iron ore, copper, lead, zinc, titanium, pyrites, nickel, fish, timber, hydropower
Natural Hazards

rockslides, avalanches

volcanism: Beerenberg (2,227 m) on Jan Mayen Island in the Norwegian Sea is the country's only active volcano

Irrigated Land 337 sq km (2016)
Major rivers (by length in km)
Major aquifers
Land Boundaries 2,566 km
Border Countries Finland 709 km; Sweden 1,666 km; Russia 191 km
Coastline 25,148 km (includes mainland 2,650 km, as well as long fjords, numerous small islands, and minor indentations 22,498 km; length of island coastlines 58,133 km)
Climate temperate along coast, modified by North Atlantic Current; colder interior with increased precipitation and colder summers; rainy year-round on west coast
Area
Total Area
Land Area 304,282 sq km
Water Area 19,520 sq km
comparative Area slightly larger than twice the size of Georgia; slightly larger than New Mexico
Maritime Claims
Territorial sea 12 nm
Contiguous zone 10 nm
Exclusive economic zone 200 nm
Continental shelf 200 nm
Elevations
Highest point Galdhopiggen 2,469 m
Lowest point Norwegian Sea 0 m
Mean elevation 460 m
Land Use
Agricultural land 2.7% (2018 est.)
Agricultural land: arable land arable land: 2.2% (2018 est.)
Agricultural land: permanent crops permanent crops: 0% (2018 est.)
Agricultural land: permanent pasture permanent pasture: 0.5% (2018 est.)
Forest 27.8% (2018 est.)
Other 69.5% (2018 est.)
Population Distribution

Most Norwegians live in the south where the climate is milder and there is better connectivity to mainland Europe; population clusters are found all along the North Sea coast in the southwest, and Skaggerak in the southeast; the interior areas of the north remain sparsely populated

People and Society

In Norway, the different Ethnic groups are such that we have: Norwegian 81.5% (includes about 60,000 Sami), other European 8.9%, other 9.6% (2021 est.)

Population
Pop growth rate 0.59% (2024 est.)
Birth rate 10.4 births/1,000 population (2024 est.)
Death rate 8.4 deaths/1,000 population (2024 est.)
Health expenditure 11.4% of GDP (2020)
Physicians Density
Hospital bed Density 3.5 beds/1,000 population (2018)
Total fertility rate 1.57 children born/woman (2024 est.)
Gross reproduction rate 0.77 (2024 est.)
Contraceptive prevalence rate NA
Est married women (ages 15-49) 50.2% (2023 est.)
Literacy
Education expenditures 5.9% of GDP (2020 est.)
Net Migration rate 3.9 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2024 est.)
Nationality Norwegian | Norwegian(s)
Languages
Religions Church of Norway (Evangelical Lutheran - official) 67.5%, Muslim 3.1%, Roman Catholic 3.1%, other Christian 3.8%, other 2.6%, unspecified 19.9% (2021 est.)
Age Structure
0-14 years 16.3% (male 461,979/female 438,243)
15-64 years 64.5% (male 1,820,692/female 1,734,818)
65 years and over 19.1% (2024 est.) (male 498,301/female 555,700)
Dependency Ratios
Total dependency ratio 54
Youth dependency ratio 26.1
Elderly dependency ratio 27.9
Potential support ratio 3.6 (2021 est.)
Median Age
Total 40.8 years (2024 est.)
Male 40.1 years
Female 41.5 years
Urbanization
Urban population 84% of total population (2023)
Rate of urbanization 1.32% annual rate of change (2020-25 est.)
Major urban areas (Pop) 1.086 million OSLO (capital) (2023).
Sex Ratio
At birth 1.05 male(s)/female
0-14 years 1.05 male(s)/female
15-64 years 1.05 male(s)/female
65 years and over 0.9 male(s)/female
Total population 1.02 male(s)/female (2024 est.)
Infant Motality
Total 1.8 deaths/1,000 live births (2024 est.)
Male 2.1 deaths/1,000 live births
Female 1.5 deaths/1,000 live births
Life Expectancy at birth
Total population 82.9 years (2024 est.)
Male 81.3 years
Female 84.6 years
Drinking Water Sources
Improved: urban urban: 100% of population
Improved: rural rural: 100% of population
Improved: total total: 100% of population
Unimproved: urban urban: 0% of population
Unimproved: rural rural: 0% of population
Unimproved: total total: 0% of population (2020 est.)
Sanitation facility acess
Improved: urban urban: 100% of population
Improved: rural rural: 100% of population
Improved: total total: 100% of population
Unimproved: urban urban: 0% of population
Unimproved: rural rural: 0% of population
Unimproved: total total: 0% of population (2020 est.)
Alcohol consumption per capita
Total 6.05 liters of pure alcohol (2019 est.)
Beer 2.63 liters of pure alcohol (2019 est.)
Wine 2.23 liters of pure alcohol (2019 est.)
Spirits 1 liters of pure alcohol (2019 est.)
Other alcohols 0.19 liters of pure alcohol (2019 est.)
Tobacco use
Total 16.2% (2020 est.)
Male 17% (2020 est.)
Female 15.4% (2020 est.)
Demographic profile

Norway is a trendsetter country in gender equality, especially in workforce participation.  Of particular value to families are the child and parental leave benefits.  This supplement is a monthly allowance paid to families from a month after birth until the child reaches 18 to defray some of the costs of raising children.  This is helpful to families with young children where the mother works limited hours.  The parental leave benefit is available to qualified mothers in a child’s first year, enabling parents to share at-home childcare for up to 49 weeks at full salary (or 59 weeks with 80% of their salary).  Afterward, parents can put their child in high-quality subsidized daycare or receive funding toward private child care or as compensation for one parent staying home to care for their child.

Norway was originally a country of emigration with almost 850,000 Norwegians going abroad between 1825 and 1945.  At the turn of the 20th century, most Norwegians emigrated temporarily to work in the US.  Immigrants to Norway in the 1960s were mostly from neighboring Nordic countries, with whom they shared a common labor market.  By the end of the 1960s, with a strong economy and population shortage, Norway admitted guest workers from Pakistan, Morocco, then Yugoslavia, and Turkey.  The labor migrants were expected to be temporary, but many settled in Norway.  Eventually, Norway imposed immigration restrictions and the majority of migrants came in as refugees or for family reunification.  Beginning in the 1990s, Norway’s migration policy aimed at achieving integration – including language instruction and integration into the job market – as well as combatting racism and xenophobia.

All Important Facts about Norway

Want to know more about Norway? Check all different factbooks for Norway below.

Norway is found in Northern Europe