Norway

Norway is a country in northern Europe occupying the western portion of the Scandinavian Peninsula. It is bordered by Sweden, Finland and Russia, as well as the North Atlantic and Arctic oceans. Oslo is both its capital and largest city, Norwegian is its principal official language, and the country is governed as a constitutional monarchy. Its dramatic landscape includes mountains, glaciers, deep coastal fjords, thousands of islands and an exceptionally long coastline extending north of the Arctic Circle.

Norway developed from smaller kingdoms that were gradually unified during the Viking Age. It later entered political unions with Denmark and Sweden before becoming fully independent in 1905. Norway remained neutral during the First World War but was occupied by Germany from 1940 until 1945. During the twentieth century, shipping, fishing, hydroelectric power and the discovery of North Sea oil and natural gas helped create a prosperous modern economy. Although closely connected with its European neighbors, Norway is not a member of the European Union.