Norway

Two centuries of Viking raids into Europe tapered off following the adoption of Christianity by King Olav TRYGGVASON in 994. Conversion of the Norwegian kingdom occurred over the next several decades. In 1397, 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 then invaded 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 Nazi Germany (1940-45). In 1949, neutrality was abandoned and Norway became a member of NATO. Discovery of oil and gas in adjacent waters in the late 1960s boosted Norway's economic fortunes. The current focus is on containing spending on the extensive welfare system and planning for the time when petroleum reserves are depleted. In referenda held in 1972 and 1994, Norway rejected joining the EU.
==Economical characteristics==
* Currency: Norwegian krone (ISO code: NOK)
* Central bank discount rate: 4% (31 December 2008)
* Commercial banks lending rate: 7.28% (31 December 2008)
* is part of the Eurozone 
===Statistics===
Statistic / Year 	1999 	2000 	2001 	2002 	2003 	2004 	2005 	2006 	2007 	2008
GDP (million USD)World Bank. "Norway: GDP", from World Bank Data. Referenced 2010-09-29. 	159 045	168 288	170 923	191 927	225 110	258 581	302 013	336 734	388 473	451 830
Govt. debt (% of GDP)World Bank. "Norway: government debt", from World Bank Data. Referenced 2010-09-29. 	 	23.471 	19.925 	28.590 	36.859 	39.175 	36.157 	49.432 	47.112 	44.861
Govt. revenue (% of GDP)World Bank. "Norway: government revenue", from World Bank Data. Referenced 2010-09-29. 	 	48.396 	47.379 	47.491 	46.080 	47.671 	48.794 	50.903 	50.549 	51.164
Govt. expenses (% of GDP)World Bank. "Norway: government expenses", from World Bank Data. Referenced 2010-09-29.	 	32.611 	33.312 	38.159 	37.532 	35.642 	33.254 	31.821 	31.720 	30.655
Debt to revenue (years) 	 	0.485 	0.421 	0.602 	0.800 	0.822 	0.741 	0.971 	0.932 	0.877
==References==
Note: statistical data was rounded. Different sources may use different methodologies for their estimates. Debt to revenue is calculated by dividing the two variables from their original ('unrounded') values. It represents how long it would a government take to repay its entire debt if it used its whole revenue for this purpose.
==External links==
* Norway on Wikipedia
* Central bank of Norway
* BBC country profile
* New Challenges to the Nordic Welfare Model (pdf) by Bruce Bawer, May/June 2001
* Austrian Economics: Application on Norwegian Business Cycles (pdf), by Håkon Bjerkenes, Håkon Kiil, and Paal Anker-Nilssen, June 2010
Category:Countries