norway 挪威英文简介

挪威英文简介

Norway ，officially the Kingdom of Norway, is a Scandinavian unitary

constitutional monarchy whose territory comprises the western portion of

the Scandinavian Peninsula, Jan Mayen, the Arctic archipelago of

Svalbard and the subantarctic Bouvet Island. Norway has a total area of

385,252 square kilometres (148,747 sq mi) and a population of about 5

million. It is the second least densely populated country in Europe. The

country shares a long border with Sweden; it is also bordered by Finland

and Russia to the north-east; in its south Norway borders the Skagerrak

Strait across from Denmark. The capital city of Norway is Oslo. Norway's

extensive coastline, facing the North Atlantic Ocean and the Barents Sea,

is home to its famous fjords.

Two centuries of Viking raids tapered off following the adoption of

Christianity by King Olav Tryggvason in 994. A period of civil war ended

in the 13th century when Norway expanded its control overseas to parts

of Britain, Ireland, Iceland, and Greenland. Norwegian territorial power

peaked in 1265, but competition from the Hanseatic League and the

spread of the Black Death weakened the country. In 1380, Norway was

absorbed into a union with Denmark that lasted more than four centuries.

In 1814, Norwegians resisted the cession of their country to Sweden and

adopted a new constitution. Sweden went to war with Norway but agreed

to let Norway keep its constitution in return for accepting the union under

a Swedish king. Rising nationalism throughout the 19th century led to a

1905 referendum granting Norway independence. Although Norway

remained neutral in World War I, it suffered heavy losses to its shipping.

Norway proclaimed its neutrality at the outset of World War II, but was

nonetheless occupied for five years by the Third Reich. In 1949,

neutrality was abandoned and Norway became a founding member of

NATO. Discovery of oil and gas in adjacent waters in the late 1960s

boosted Norway's economic fortunes. In referenda held in 1972 and 1994,

Norway rejected joining the European Union. Key domestic issues

include immigration and integration of ethnic minorities, maintaining the

country's extensive social safety net with an aging population, and

preserving economic competitiveness.

Norway is a unitary parliamentary democracy and constitutional

monarchy, with King Harald V as its head of state and Jens Stoltenberg as

its prime minister. It is a unitary state with administrative subdivisions on

two levels known as 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. Although

having rejected European Union membership in two referenda, Norway

maintains close ties with the union and its member countries, as well as

with the United States. Norway participates with United Nations forces in

international missions, notably in Afghanistan, Kosovo, Sudan and Libya.

Norway is a founding member of the United Nations, NATO, the Council

of Europe, and the Nordic Council; a member of the European Economic

Area, the WTO, and the OECD; and is also a part of the Schengen Area.

Norway has extensive reserves of petroleum, natural gas, minerals,

lumber, seafood, fresh water, and hydropower. The country has the

fourth-highest per capita income in the world. On a per-capita basis, it is

the world's largest producer of oil and natural gas outside the Middle East,

and the petroleum industry accounts for around a quarter of the country's

gross domestic product. The country maintains a Nordic welfare model

with universal health care, subsidized higher education, and a

comprehensive social security system. From 2001 to 2006, and then again

from 2009 through 2011, Norway has had the highest human

development index ranking in the world. In 2011, Norway also ranked the

highest on the Democracy Index, and according to UNDP Norway is the

world's best country.