Claim: Norway has existed continuously for many years.

Norway -LRB- -LSB- Norgehelp = no -RSB- -LRB- Bokmål -RRB- or -LRB- Nynorsk -RRB- -RRB- , officially the Kingdom of Norway , is a sovereign state and unitary monarchy whose territory comprises the western portion of the Scandinavian Peninsula plus the island Jan Mayen and the archipelago of Svalbard . The Antarctic Peter I Island and the sub-Antarctic Bouvet Island are dependent territories and thus not considered part of the Kingdom . Norway also lays claim to a section of Antarctica known as Queen Maud Land . Until 1814 , the kingdom included the Faroe Islands , Greenland and Iceland . It also included Bohuslän until 1658 , Jämtland and Härjedalen until 1645 , Shetland and Orkney until 1468 , and the Hebrides and Isle of Man until 1266 .   Norway has a total area of 385252 km2 and a population of 5,258,317 -LRB- as of January 2017 -RRB- . The country shares a long eastern border with Sweden -LRB- 1,619 km or 1,006 mi long -RRB- . Norway is bordered by Finland and Russia to the north-east , and the Skagerrak Strait to the south , with Denmark on the other side . Norway has an extensive coastline , facing the North Atlantic Ocean and the Barents Sea .   King Harald V of the Dano-German House of Glücksburg is the current King of Norway . Erna Solberg became Prime Minister in 2013 , replacing Jens Stoltenberg . A constitutional monarchy , Norway divides state power between the Parliament , the Cabinet and the Supreme Court , as determined by the 1814 Constitution . The kingdom is established as a merger of several petty kingdoms . By the traditional count from the year 872 , the kingdom has existed continuously for 1,144 years and the list of Norwegian monarchs includes over sixty kings and earls .   Norway has both administrative and political subdivisions on two levels : 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 . Norway maintains close ties with the European Union and the United States . Norway is a founding member of the United Nations , NATO , the Council of Europe , the Antarctic Treaty 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 .   The country maintains a combination of market economy and a Nordic welfare model with universal health care and a comprehensive social security system . Norway has extensive reserves of petroleum , natural gas , minerals , lumber , seafood , fresh water and hydropower . The petroleum industry accounts for around a quarter of the country 's gross domestic product -LRB- GDP -RRB- . On a per-capita basis , Norway is the world 's largest producer of oil and natural gas outside the Middle East .   The country has the fourth-highest per capita income in the world on the World Bank and IMF lists . On the CIA 's GDP -LRB- PPP -RRB- per capita list -LRB- 2015 estimate -RRB- which includes territories and some regions , Norway ranks as number eleven . From 2001 to 2006 , and then again from 2009 to 2017 , Norway had the highest Human Development Index ranking in the world . It also has the highest inequality-adjusted ranking . Norway ranks first on the World Happiness Report , the OECD Better Life Index , the Index of Public Integrity and the Democracy Index .