Norway - Nepal: Facts

FROM ISSUE # 81 (September 2002) | IN THIS ISSUE
	REFER TO FRIEND		PRINT THIS ARTICLE

Norway

Norway was occupied by Germany in World War II. The war ended in 1945 and in 1949, Norway became a member of NATO. Oil and gas was discovered in Norwegian territory in the late 1960s. This boosted their economy, and today Norway is one of the richest countries in the world.

Total Area: 324,220 sq km
Land: 307,860 sq km
Water: 16,360 sq km

Terrain: glaciated; mostly high plateaus and rugged mountains broken by fertile valleys; small, scattered plains; coastline deeply indented by fjords; arctic tundra in north

Natural resources: petroleum, copper, natural gas, pyrites, nickel, iron ore, zinc, lead, fish, timber, hydropower

Environment - current issues: water pollution; acid rain damaging forests and adversely affecting lakes, threatening fish stocks; air pollution from vehicle emissions

Population: 4,503,440 (July 2001 est.)
Population growth rate: 0.49% (2001 est.)

Birth rate: 12.6 births/1,000 population (2001 est.)

Death Rate: 9.83 deaths/1,000 population (2001 est.)

Infant mortality rate: 3.94 deaths/1,000 live births (2001 est.)

Ethnic groups: Norwegian (Nordic, Alpine, Baltic), Sami 20,000

Religions: Evangelical Lutheran 86% (state church), other Protestant and Roman Catholic 3%, other 1%, none and unknown 10% (1997)

Population below poverty line: NA

Exchange rates: Norwegian kroner per US dollar - 8.7784 (January 2001)

Languages: Norwegian (official)
Note: small Sami and Finnish-speaking minorities

Internet users: 2.36 million (October 2000)

Nepal

Total Area: 140,800 sq km
Land: 136,800 sq km
Water: 4,000 sq km

Terrain: Terai or flat river plain of the Ganges in south, central hill region, rugged Himalayas in north

Natural resources: quartz, water, timber, hydropower, scenic beauty, small deposits of lignite, copper, cobalt, iron ore

Environment - current issues: deforestation (overuse of wood for fuel and lack of alternatives); contaminated water (with human and animal wastes, agricultural runoff, and industrial effluents); wildlife conservation; vehicular emissions

Population: 25,284,463 (July 2001 est.)
Population growth rate: 2.32% (2001 est.)

Birth rate: 33.4 births/1,000 population (2001 est.)

Infant mortality rate: 74.14 deaths/1,000 live births (2001 est.)

Ethnic groups: Brahman, Chetri, Newar, Gurung, Magar, Tamang, Rai, Limbu, Sherpa, Tharu, and others (1995)

Religions: Hinduism 86.2%, Buddhism 7.8%, Islam 3.8%, other 2.2%
Note: only official Hindu state in the world (1995)

Population below poverty line: 42% (FY95/96 est.)

Exchange rates: Nepalese rupees per US dollar - 74.129 (January 2001), 71.104 (2000), 68.239 (1999), 65.976 (1998), 58.010 (1997), 56.692 (1996)

Languages: Nepali (official; spoken by 90% of the population), about a dozen other languages and about 30 Major dialects; note - many in government and business also speak English (1995)

Internet users: 35,000 (2000)

(From CIA Fact Book.)