Study Abroad in Norway
Norway is one of the Nordic countries, occupying the
western part of the Scandinavian peninsula, with a
total area of 323 878 sq km. It is bordered by the North
Sea, the Norwegian Sea and Barents Sea in the west,
Russia, Finland and Sweden in the east, and the Skagerrak
(an arm of the North Sea) in the south. Most of the
country consists of mountains and plateaus. Forests are
found almost as far north as Nordkapp (the North
Cape). Norway's temperate climate is the result of the
warming Gulf Stream. Summers are remarkably mild for the
latitude, while winters are long and very cold, often
with plenty of snow. Rainfall is very heavy in the
west.
Norway is a country of socio-economic equality with a
high standard of living and a homogeneous population.
Apart from Oslo and adjacent suburbs, there are no
metropolitan cities in Norway. Norwegians usually live in
small communities with well developed road, air and
ferry communication. Many communities are built up
around one major business or industrial enterprise. The sea
along the coast is rich in natural resources like oil
and fish.
School attendance is mandatory for 10 years, from age
6 to 16, with an optional 11th year. Mandatory
subjects include Norwegian, religion, mathematics, music,
physical education, science, and English. Optional
courses in the arts and in other foreign languages, as well
as vocational training in such areas as office skills,
agriculture, and seamanship, are available in the
upper grades. With three years of additional high school,
students may take the examinations leading to
university study. A small percentage of college and university
students study abroad. Institutions of higher
education in Norway have been expanded to accommodate the
doubling of the student population that occurred between
the early 1980s and the mid 1990s. The country's four
universities are located in Oslo (established 1811),
Bergen (1946), Trondheim (1968), and Tromsø (1968).
As many students attend vocational schools as attend
colleges and universities, and a few thousand students
attend folk high schools—boarding schools offering a
one-year course designed for 17-year-old students from
rural areas. Only a few of Norway's schools charge
tuition, and all students are eligible for government
loans.
Science and research have limited means in a small
country. Nevertheless, the Foundation for Scientific and
Industrial Research at the Norwegian Institute of
Technology (SINTEF) was created in 1950 as an independent
organization at the Norwegian University of Science
and Technology to stimulate research and develop
cooperation with other public and private research
institutions and with private industry. SINTEF is financed by
the state and by payments for its services. In the
natural sciences, reflecting the country's intimacy with an
overpowering physical environment, individual efforts
of Norwegians have won particular acclaim.
Population
The population of Norway is 4,610,820 (2006 estimate).
The Norwegians are a remarkably homogenous people of
Germanic origin. Apart from several thousand Saami and
people of Finnish origin in the northern part of
Norway, the country has no large minority groups. Norway is
home to small numbers of Americans, Britons, Chileans,
Danes, Iranians, Pakistanis, Swedes, and Vietnamese,
among other groups.
Norway’s population is growing very slowly, with an
annual rate of increase of only 0.38 percent in 2006.
The birth rate has remained low and fairly steady since
1945, and death rates have declined due to improved
health measures and rising living standards. Today, life
expectancy in Norway is among the highest in the
world: 82 years for women and 77 years for men.
Economy
The Norwegian economy is a prosperous bastion of
welfare capitalism, featuring a combination of free market
activity and government intervention. The government
controls key areas such as the vital petroleum sector
(through large-scale state enterprises). The country is
richly endowed with natural resources - petroleum,
hydropower, fish, forests, and minerals - and is highly
dependent on its oil production and international oil
prices, with oil and gas accounting for one-third of
exports. Only Saudi Arabia and Russia export more oil
than Norway. Norway opted to stay out of the EU during a
referendum in November 1994; nonetheless, it
contributes sizably to the EU budget. The government has moved
ahead with privatization. Norwegians worry about that
time in the next two decades when the oil and gas will
begin to run out; accordingly, Norway has been saving
its oil-boosted budget surpluses in a Government
Petroleum Fund, which is invested abroad and now is valued
at more than $150 billion. After lackluster growth of
1% in 2002 and 0.5% in 2003, GDP growth picked up to
3.3% in 2004 and to 3.7% in 2005.
The major cities
The other major cities of norway- ar elisted below
along with their respective population :
Bergen
Trondheim
Stavanger
Kristiansand
Fredrikstad
Tromsø
Drammen
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