270 Amazing Facts About Norway

270 Interesting Facts About Norway

There is a town called “Hell” in Norway.
The country does not have any official religion.
In 2008, Norway donated $1 Billion to help save the Amazon rainforest.
A high-security prison in Norway has flatscreen TVs.
Elk is the national animal of Norway. It is one of the largest species within the deer family, Cervidae, in the world.
In area, Norway is little less than Sweden.
Norway and Svalbard islands have 1190 fjords collectively.
The country enjoys four seasons.
Sognefjorden is the world’s deepest fjord – 1308 m.
During the winter season in Northern Norway, the sun never rises and they have polar nights. While during the summer season in the same region, the sun never sets.
There are 25 national parks on Norway mainland.
Some of the famous churches of Norway include – Heddal, Borgund, Notodden.
Norway has the greatest length of any European country 1752 km (nne – ssw) and its maximum width is 430 km.
Easter and Christmas are among the major holidays in the country.
There are 25 national parks on Norway mainland.
There are almost 300 mountain peaks that are above 2,000 meters.
Football has the highest participation level of any sport in Norway.
The national day of Norway is officially called ‘Norwegian Constitution Day. It is celebrated on May 17th to commemorate Norway’s constitution of 1814.
Norway has obligatory military service. This lasts for 19 months and applies to men and women. It is the only European country to enforce national service on women and men.
The Nobel peace prize is annually awarded in Oslo since 1901.
Norway’s sovereign wealth fund is currently worth around $1 trillion.
In 2008, Norway knighted a Penguin – Sir Nils Olav
Norway shares a border with Russia. Yes really.
Norway is the world’s largest exporter of salmon.
Since 2008, same-sex marriage is allowed in Norway.
“Allemannsretten” is a term that says that every man and woman in Norway has the right of public access.
The Norwegians founded Dublin, Ireland, in A.D. 836.d
Norway’s Hardangervidda Plateau is the biggest mountain plateau in Europe and home to the continent’s largest herd of wild reindeer.
In 1990, Norway established a permanent research station, named Troll, in the Antarctic.
Between 1380 and 1418, Norway and Denmark were a union. And between 1814 and 1905, Norway and Sweden formed an alliance.
In January 1993, Norway’s Erling Kagge became the first man to go alone and entirely unaided to the South Pole.
In 1925 Norwegian Thor Bjørklund patented the model of cheese slicer most of us use today.
The paper clip was also invented by a Norwegian. It was patented by Johan Vaaler in 1890.
Our word for boyfriend/girlfriend is gender-neutral. We call our significant others kjæreste, which literally translates to “the dearest”.
Today there are two official forms of written Norwegian. Bokmål (which translates to “book tongue”) and Nynorsk (new Norwegian), each with its own dialects and variants. About 12% of the population use Nynorsk and for the rest of us, Nynorsk is a mandatory subject in school.
Despite what you might think, Norway isn’t powered by oil. Norwegian power production is almost 100% renewable and emission-free and around 95% of our domestic power usage is drawn from hydropower plants.
Cape Nordkinn in north Norway is the most northerly point of Continental Europe.
Norway has one active volcano. It is called Beerenberg and is on the island of Jan Mayen.
One of the world’s most iconic works of art, “The Scream,” was painted by Norwegian artist Edvard Munch in 1893.
Norway was a founding member of the United Nations, NATO, and the European Free Trade Association. It is not a member of the European Union.
Norway has the lowest reconviction rate (20%) of released prisoners in the world.
Norway was one of the founding nations of the United Nations in 1945, and the first U.N. Secretary-General was Norwegian Foreign Minister, Trygve Lie.
Norway introduced salmon sushi to the Japanese in the eighties
The paper clip is a Norwegian invention
In 2008, Norway knighted a king penguin. Nils Olav is his name.
The famous and expensive Voss Water is just water from the municipal supply in Iveland, Norway.
Sweden is so good at recycling, it now runs out of garbage to recycle and now imports garbage from Norway to fuel its energy programs.
The country has low crime and murder rate.
Norway has been ranked as the best functioning democracy in the world.
May 17th is celebrated as children’s day in the country.
The unemployment rate in Norway of low, it is near about 2%.
Norwegian children do not begin schooling until they are age 6.
The country is also famous for its Grandiosa Frozen Pizza. It is the most sold pizza brand in Norway. According to some estimate, twenty-four million units of Grandiosa are produced each year in Norway.
The country has strict regulations on Alcohol. They do not sell alcohol everywhere but have designated shops that sell the liquor.
Norwegians eat a lot of Tacos.
No one knows exactly how long Norway’s coastline is! If you draw a straight line along Norway’s sea borders it is around 2650 kilometers long. However, once you add in all the bays and long fjords the “real” length of its coastline could be over 25000 km (not counting islands and skerries).
The world’s largest deep-water coral reef, called the Røst Reef, is located off the coast of Lofoten. It was discovered in 2002, only 18 years ago.
You can go to Hell! No literally, it’s a small village outside Trondheim with around 1500 inhabitants.
Roald Dahl was born to Norwegian parents and spoke Norwegian.
In 2008 we knighted a penguin…Yes really! Brigadier Sir Nils Olav III, a king penguin, is the mascot and colonel-in-chief of His Majesty The King’s Guard.
Norway is one of the world’s biggest consumers of coffee. Annually, Norwegians consume around 9 kilos of coffee per person. I’m not one of them!
Wine and liquor are only sold in tax-frees and state-controlled stores called Vinmonopolet (the wine monopoly).
We get so excited when the weather is nice enough to sit outside and have a beer that we actually have a word for it; Utepils.
However, Norway is the world’s most expensive country to buy a beer in (at least we used to be, Iceland might have us beat at the moment). And cocktails are even worse, they often taste like water. Which is why we do most of our drinking before we go out.
Grandiosa frozen pizza is our unofficial national dish. Every year we consume around 25 million pizzas from this one brand! Which is a lot for a population of just over 5.4 million people.
In 1971 Norway abolished life imprisonment. Norway’s maximum sentence is now only 21 years.
Norway has a minimum security island-prison called Bastøy Prison. They aim to become “the first ecological prison in the world” and report reoffending rates as low as 16%.
When Norwegians graduate high school we have a traditional celebration called russefeiring. It’s basically a month-long crazy party, ending on our Constitution Day, the 17th of May.
If you would like to know about the income of any person or company in Norway, you could easily find this out by looking at their tax return. Because everyone’s tax returns are easily available to inspection to anyone in the country. In Norway, the top personal income tax rate is 47.8 percent, and the corporate tax rate has been cut to 25 percent.
Taxis are cheaper than personal cars for the same distance driven. This is done to encourage the use of public transport.
Taxes are abundant in Norway, they have TV tax, fuel tax, plastic bottle tax, sugar tax, etc.
Homeownership rates in Norway are among the highest in the world.
It is also the fifth largest oil exporter and the third largest gas exporter.
Svalbard has more bears than the people living in the region. It lies between mainland Norway and the North Pole.
Norway has a total area of 385,207 square kilometers.
The Population of Norway is 5.368 million, as of 2020.
Norway has the fourth-highest per-capita income in the world on the World Bank and IMF lists.
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, and the Democracy Index.
Norway is also the world’s second-largest exporter of fish, in value.
Hydroelectric plants generate roughly 98–99% of Norway’s electric power, more than any other country in the world.
Norway borders three countries: Finland, Sweden, and Russia. The longest border is shared with Sweden.
Norway’s highest mountain is called Galdhoppigen and is 2,469 m/8,100 ft high.
The largest lake in Norway is Lake Mjøsa.
In Norway, life expectancy rates are one of the highest in the world.
The biggest fjord in Norway is Sognefjord. This fjord is often referred to as the ‘King of Fjords’.
Norway’s flag is red with a blue cross outlined in white that extends to the ends of the flag.
The cheese slicer was invented in Norway in 1925 by Thor Bjørklund.
The official Christmas tree in Trafalgar Square in London has come from Norway every year since 1946.
Norway has won more medals in the Winter Olympics than any other country, with 332 to date since the first Winter Olympic Games in 1924.
Norwegian King Olav V won an Olympic gold medal in sailing in 1928 and was an active sailor all his life.
The Holmenkollen Ski Festival is the world’s oldest, established as early as 1872.
Norway introduced Salmon Sushi to Japan in the 80s.
Norway and Svalbard islands have 1190 fjords collectively.
Norwegians are avid readers. They spend more time reading than any other country in the world.
The office Language of Norway is Norwegian, however, More than 86% of the Norwegians make use of the English language for communication.
In 1251, Henry III of England was given a polar bear by the King of Norway. He kept it in the Tower of London, on a long chain so that it could swim in the Thames.
The monetary unit in Norway is the Norwegian krone, NOK.
The length of the Norwegian coastline is 25.148 km, including fjords.
The highest peak in Norway is Galdhøpiggen 2469 meters above the sea.
Norway and Europe’s northernmost point is the North Cape.
Kirkenes, Norway, is as far east as Cairo, farther east than Finland, and only 9 miles (15 km) from the Russian border.
Norway has the highest concentration of fjords in the world. Two of these, the Geiranger Fjord and the Nærøy fjord, feature on the Unesco World Heritage List.
The Lærdal Tunnel is the world’s longest road tunnel at 15 miles (24.5 km).
The Nobel Peace Prize is awarded in Norway by a Norwegian committee.
Snorre Sturluson’s Heimskringla (The History of Kings), written in the Old Norse Period (A.D. 750–1300), is still a bestseller in Norway today.
In 1251, Henry III of England was given a polar bear by the King of Norway. He kept it in the Tower of London, on a long chain so that it could swim in the Thames.
In 2011, Norway went through a nationwide butter shortage, where smugglers would often get caught smuggling butter and online auctions for one packet of butter reached as high as $77.
IKEA names sofas, coffee tables, bookshelves, media storage and doorknobs after places in Sweden; beds, wardrobes and hall furniture after places in Norway; carpets after places in Denmark and dining tables and chairs after places in Finland.
Dying is illegal in Longyearbyen, as bodies aren’t buried anymore because the permafrost in that town prevents them from decomposing.
Frozen pizza is so popular in Norway that when a popular brand released a new jingle, it reached #1 on the Norwegian charts.
Harald V is the present King of Norway. He represents the country and plays a ceremonial role.
More than 30% of the country has received higher education. Norwegian universities and state university colleges do not charge a tuition fee for international students.
Norway introduced Salmon Sushi to Japan in the 80s.
In 2017, Norway is ranked no. 1 in prosperity index while it stood second on the list in 2016.
Odd and Even are popular names for males in the country.
The late King Olav V used public transport and always paid the ticket. He might have done this to encourage people to make use of public transport instead of private vehicles to cut pollution and minimize traffic.
Norway was originally called “Nordweg” meaning the “Northern Way.”
The first ever ski jumper was a Norwegian. The Vefsn Nordland ski, found in Norway is dated to 5100 BC. Skiing could be by far one of the oldest sports in existence, if not the oldest.
Norway topped the list of Human Development Index (a statistical tool used to measure a country’s overall achievement in its social and economic dimensions) 9 times between 2001 and 2011. It stood on the second spot behind Iceland in 2007 and 2008. Lifespan, education level and GDP per capita are the three dimensions based on which the HDI is calculated.
Norway, Sweden, and Denmark all have one of the lowest income inequality in the world.
In 2017, Norway is the happiest place on Earth followed by Denmark, Iceland, and Switzerland.
Norway was ranked fifth out of 168 countries in Transparency International’s 2015 Corruption Perceptions Index. It is one of the world’s least corrupt countries.
The country has more English speakers than Canada. 76% of the Canadian population speaks English while 86% of the Norwegians make use of the English language for communication.
The country does not have any official religion.
In Norway, life expectancy rates are one of the highest in the world.
Norway has won more winter Olympics than any other country in the world.
Vikings originated in Norway.
Norwegians enjoy a four week holiday during the summers, thus they have plenty of time to hunt fish and have rest.
Football is the favorite sport in the country.
“Allemannsretten” is a term which says that every man and woman in Norway has the right of public access.
Between 1380 and 1418, Norway and Denmark were a union. And between 1814 and 1905, Norway and Sweden formed an alliance.
Norwegians are avid readers. They spend more time reading than any other country in the world.
The country is famous for some of its greatest waterfalls.
The country is visitor friendly between December and April.
Daylight in Norway varies greatly during the year.
The world’s sixth tallest and Europe’s highest waterfalls – Vinnufossen which is 860 m in height is located in Norway.
Norway is least likely to be affected by climate change while Chad is most vulnerable to it.
It is a very long country. The total length of its land boundaries is 2566 km (Finland 709 km, Sweden 1,666 km, Russia 191 km. ) Oslo, Bergen, Stavanger, Trondheim, Tromso are its five major cities.
The country is popular for fjords. It is one of the three Scandinavian countries. The other two being Denmark and Sweden.
One interesting fact about Norway is that the biggest population (4,642,526) of Norwegians outside Norway is in the U.S. Now, they account for 1.5% of the U.S. population.
The regions, Rjukan (Norway) and Viganella (Italy) are situated in deep valleys. In these areas, the mountains block sun rays for almost 6 months. And the residents use giant mirrors to reflect the sunlight down.
Norway has one of the longest coastlines in the world. Here are the top ten countries with the longest coastlines. 1. Canada – 202,080 km, 2. Indonesia – 54,716 km, 3. Greenland – 44,087 km, 4. Russia – 37,653 km, 5. Philippines – 36,289 km, 6. Japan – 29,751 km, 7. Australia – 25,760 km, 8. Norway – 25,148 km, 9. United States – 19,924 km, 10. Antarctica – 17,968 km.
The country also has the largest glacier in mainland Europe – Jostedalsbreen, at 487 square kilometer.
Hornindalsvatnet in Central Norway is Norway’s and Europe’s deepest lake – 514 m. Its surface is 53 m above sea level and its bottom is 461 m below sea level.
The longest road tunnel in the world is the Laerdal tunnel. It is 24.5 km long and it takes on an average 20 minutes to pass through the tunnel. It succeeds the Swiss Gotthard Road Tunnel which is 16.9 km in length.
Eiksund is the deepest undersea tunnel in Norway. It is a 7776 m long subsea tunnel on the north-west coast of Norway.
Only Norway, Austria and Liechtenstein have won more medals in winter Olympics than at summer Olympics.
Warm Gulf Stream keeps the climate of the country milder than what one would expect.
Norway is famous for reindeers, polar bears, whale meat, waffles, trolls, fish, Vikings etc.
More than 2/3rd of Norway is mountainous. There are almost 300 mountain peaks that are above 2,000 meters.
Norway shares the Scandinavian peninsula with Sweden and Finland.
Nearly 70% of the country is uninhabited.
Almost five million Norwegian Americans live in the U.S.
Beerenberg – 7,470 feet, is the only active volcano in the country. It last erupted in 1985. It is also the world’s northernmost volcano above sea level.
More Norwegians live in Minnesota than in any other U.S. state.
Norway has more than 50,000 islands.
Norway is a member of OECD, NATO (since 1949), WTO, Nordic Council and some more organizations. However, Norway is not a member of the European Union.
Norway has extensive reserves of natural gas, oil, hydropower, lumber, seafood, minerals, fresh water etc. After China, Norway is the world’s second-largest exporter of seafood, but it leads the world in the production of seafood.
Petroleum sector accounts for 37% of the country’s exports. The value of exports and imports taken together equals 69 percent of GDP. The United Kingdom, Germany, the Netherlands, France, and Sweden are the top export destinations of Norway. In 2016, it was the 30th largest export economy in the world.
Norway has a butter crisis since 2011. The cost of 250 gms of butter in the country is around $50.
The country also has one of the highest gasoline prices in the world at $1.89 a liter.
Norway is the world’s largest producer of Salmon.
The first well was drilled in Norway in the summer of 1966, but it was dry. In late 1960, offshore oil and gas were discovered in Norway. Production from the field started on 15 June 1971.
The country also has the world’s largest sovereign wealth fund valued at almost $1 trillion as of September 2017.
Roald Amundsen is the first person to reach the South Pole in the Antarctic on 14th December 1911.
In 2017, Norway became the first country in the world to turn off FM radio and switch to digital. However, the transition affects only national radio channels. Most local stations continue to broadcast in FM.
It is inspiring to learn the fact that half of all the new cars sold in Norway are hybrid or electric. This fact again emphasizes the attention of the country towards making use of clean and renewable sources of energy.
Norwegian passports display Aurora Borealis under UV lights. Here are some other cool passports that you may want to check.
98-99% of the country’s electricity comes from hydroelectric power.
The cheese slicer was also invented in Norway in 1925 by Thor Bjørklund. Irritated with the problems of cutting nice slices of the cheese with a regular knife, he invented the slicer.
The Aerosol spray can was invented by a Norwegian – Eric Rotheim in 1920. He was from Oslo.
Sondre Norheim (10 June 1825 – 9 March 1897) is a famous ski designer from Norway. And Sondre Norheim is known as the father of Telemark skiing.
Since 1947, Norway is sending the Trafalgar Christmas tree to the UK.
Roros is the coldest place in Norway with a minus 50 Celsius temperature.
Norway is also one of the few countries in the world to have established the ministry of environment.
Displaying advertisement to children 12 years old or younger is illegal in the country. The same rule also applies in Sweden.
Between 1978 and 1989 skateboards were banned in the country.
Since World War II, only 10 police officers have been killed in Norway. This statistic indicates how safe the country is. And on the other hand, not a single person has been killed by the Norwegian police since 2006. However, in the U.S. the police kill at least 1,000 people every year. In 2007, Norwegian police fired no shots whatsoever.
Norway abolished life imprisonment in 1971. Now the longest term in jail they have is of 21 years.
In 1993, Norway became the first country to grant paternity leave. The total benefit period for parental benefit in the case of a birth is 49 weeks at 100 percent coverage, and 59 weeks at 80 percent coverage.
Wine in the country is only sold through some special shops that are called “Vinmonopolet” – wine monopoly shops.96. The consequence of drunken driving is a jail term of 30 days.
Coffee plays a significant role in the Norwegian culture. Coffee and cakes are likes by a majority of the people.
Ferris is a mineral water which is produced in Larvik.
After Finland, Norwegians drink more coffee per person than any other country.
The Nobel peace prize is annually awarded in Oslo since 1901.
The country has one of the lowest crime rates in the world and it was voted as the best country to live in by the UN.
Internet access is made available to prisoners in their cells.
Whenever a book is published in Norway, the government buys 1000 copies of it and it distributes it to the libraries in the country so that people may have access to it without having to pay.
Viking Harald Fairhair became the first king of a united Norway in 872. He is believed to have been an incredibly handsome man, built like a bull and with long blonde hair.
Norway’s most striking architectural «invention» has to be the stave church, which looks like something out of a fantasy novel. The earliest stave church still standing today is Urnes Stave Church which dates all the way back to the 12th century.
Norway has the largest concentration of fjords of any country in the world. In fact, we have over 1100 of them!
Sognefjorden, which stretches 205 km inland from the ocean, is the longest fjord in Norway and the second-longest in the world.
You’ll find 10 of the world’s 30 tallest waterfalls in Norway. Vinnufossen at 860 meters is the tallest of them all and the 6th tallest in the world.
Kirkenes, close to the Russian border, is actually located farther east than all of Finland.
The world’s longest road tunnel is in Norway. Lærdalstunnelen connects Aurland and Lærdal in Vestland and is an astonishing 24,5 kilometers long. It’s divided into four sections, separated by three large mountain caves. The main tunnel has white lights and the caves have blue lighting with yellow lights along the walls to give an impression of sunrise.
We read a lot! I think Norwegians read around 15 books on average a year.
Norway has an active volcano! Beerenberg, located on Jan Mayen island which is situated around 1000 km west of mainland Norway, is the world’s northernmost volcano above sea level.
The world’s most remote island is a Norwegian territory. Bouvet Island is, according to Wikipedia, an uninhabited subantarctic high island located in the South Atlantic Ocean.
Half the world’s Sami population lives in Norway.
Europe’s largest herd of wild reindeer roams Hardangervidda, Europe’s biggest mountain plateau.
Our capital wasn’t always called Oslo. When the Vikings founded the city they named it Ánslo and during the Middle Ages, the name changed spelling to Óslo. Then after a fire destroyed much of the medieval city in 1624 it was rebuilt and named Christiana (later spelled Kristiania) after the current king. It wasn’t until 1925 that the name was changed back to Oslo.
The Nobel Peace Prize is awarded in Oslo every year and has been since the first award was handed out in 1901.
King Harald of Norway vowed to remain unmarried for life unless he could marry his true love. Sonja is the daughter of a clothing merchant and at the time it was controversial for a royal to marry a commoner. They eventually married in 1968 with help from the Norwegian Government, 9 years after they first met. The king and queen are still married to this day, 52 years later.
Norway is one of the happiest countries in the world. “The World Happiness Report is a landmark survey of the state of global happiness that ranks 156 countries by how happy their citizens perceive themselves to be.” It ranks countries using the Gallup World Poll and six factors: levels of GDP, life expectancy, generosity, social support, freedom and corruption income.
Many of Harry Hole’s favorite Oslo hangouts are real places you can visit. And just in case you didn’t know, detective “Harry Hole” is the main character in a series of popular crime novels written by Norwegian author Jo Nesbø.
Norway remained neutral during WWI. And we tried to do the same During WWII but we all know that didn’t last long.
Every year Norway gifts a Christmas tree to London as a way to thank Britain for their support during WWII.
Norway introduced salmon sushi to Japan. In 1980, during an attempt to expand seafood exports, a Norwegian delegation suggested that the Japanese should use salmon in their sushi. It took a while for it to catch on but we all know it did. Yum!
Income and wealth of all residents in Norway are public record. Up until 2013, we could look up anyone without them knowing. These days, however, you can tell who has been looking at your numbers.
Recycling is a way of life here in Norway and almost every household has different trash cans for food waste, plastic, glass and metal, paper and nonrecyclables.
Norway’s plastic recycling scheme is the best in the world. We recycle about 97% of our bottles and soda cans using a PANT-system. We pay a small “deposit” every time we buy a bottle or can and then get it back when we return it. It’s common for children to collect bottles from parks and beaches etc. in their spare time to earn a little bit of money.
Norway also has the largest number of electric cars per capita in the world.
Modern skiing was invented in Norway. Sondre Norheim from Morgedal is the man most often credited with the invention of what is now known as Telemark skiing.
Norway has won more medals than any other country at the Winter Olympics.
Contrary to popular belief polar bears do not roman the streets in mainland Norway. Not even in the far north. They are however know to wander close to town in Svalbard. And if you plan to go beyond the town limits of Longyearbyen, you have to bring a weapon for safety.
One would think our national coat of arms would feature a moose or maybe even a bear but it’s actually a rather exotic animal, the lion.
Norway has two official names: Norge in Bokmål and Noreg in Nynorsk. The English name Norway comes from the Old English word Norþweg mentioned in 880, meaning “northern way” or “way leading to the north”, which is how the Anglo-Saxons referred to the coastline of Atlantic Norway similar to the scientific consensus about the origin of the Norwegian language name. The Anglo-Saxons of Britain also referred to the kingdom of Norway in 880 as Norðmanna land.
The World’s Sixth tallest Waterfall is located in Norway, Vinnufossen which is 860 m in height.
The country also has the largest glacier in mainland Europe – Jostedalsbreen, at 487 square kilometers.
Hornindalsvatnet in Central Norway is Norway’s and Europe’s deepest lake – 514 m.
Eiksund is the deepest undersea tunnel in Norway. It is a 7776 m long subsea tunnel on the northwest coast of Norway.

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