FUN FACTS ABOUT NORWAY!

•* The official name of Norway is ‘Kingdom of Norway’.


•* Norway follows the system of Constitutional monarchy and Parliamentary democracy.

•* Norway is situated in Northern Europe.

•* Norway comprises of western and northern parts of the Scandinavian peninsula and the northern territories of Jan Mayen and the Svalbard archipelago, along with Bouvet Island, Peter I Island and Queen Maud Land in the southern hemisphere.

•* The official language of Norway is Norwegian (Bokmal and Nynorsk). However, in some districts, Sámi is also an official language.

•* Norway has an official Protestant State Church, based on the Evangelical-Lutheran religion.

•* Norway is the sixth largest country of Europe, in terms of land mass. However, in terms of population, it ranks only 28th.

•* Norway is one of the members of the Council of the Baltic Sea States.

•* The coastline of Norway, including fjords and bays, stretches over 20,000 kilometers.•* As per historical accounts, the small kingdoms of Norway were united into a single state around 885 AD, by Harald the Fairhaired, a Viking King.

•* It is believed that the name Norway means “Path to the North”.

•* The highest mountain in Norway is Galdhopiggen (2,469 m). The largest lake in the country is Mjosa.

•* The Jostedalsbreen, in Norway, is the largest glacier in Northern Europe.

•* Pagan Gods, like Odin and Thor, were worshipped in Norway before it converted to Christianity, in 995.

•* Plague (Black Death) killed over a third of the population of Norway in the mid-14th century.

•* Hundreds of thousands of Norwegians migrated to USA in the 19th century.

•* The Christmas tree, which stands in Trafalgar Square in London, has been presented by ‘City of Oslo’ to the UK, for over fifty years.

•* The per capita income of Norway ranks among the highest in the world.

•* Norwegian Constitution was signed on 17th May, 1814. The day is celebrated as a national holiday in the country.

•* As per Encyclopedia Britannica, Norwegians read more than any other population in the world.

•* Norway is counted amongst the wealthiest countries of the world.

•* Norway was rated the most peaceful country in the world, in a survey conducted by Global Peace Index in 2007.

Doesn’t this make you want to go to Norway??!