Norway

Norway is a country in northern Europe, occupying the western and northern part of the Scandinavian Peninsula. Its capital is Oslo, while much of the population lives in the south and along the coast. Norway shares land borders with Sweden, Finland and Russia, and its territory also includes Svalbard and Jan Mayen.

The country has a long, deeply indented coastline facing the North Atlantic, the Norwegian Sea and the Barents Sea. Its many fjords are long, narrow sea inlets formed when glaciers carved valleys that were later flooded by the ocean. Mountains, plateaus, valleys, forests and glaciers shape the landscape, with strong regional differences in climate.

Norway's northern position influences its natural environment. Above the Arctic Circle, the Sun can remain above the horizon for part of summer, producing the midnight sun, while winter brings periods of polar night in the far north. These phenomena vary with latitude and do not occur everywhere there. Norway is a constitutional monarchy and a parliamentary democracy.

Norwegian has two official written standards, Bokmål and Nynorsk, while several Sámi languages have official status in designated areas. The Sámi are the Indigenous people of northern parts of Norway and neighboring regions. Norway also makes extensive use of hydropower, taking advantage of its mountainous terrain, rivers and abundant precipitation.