List the name of the country

• Norway

List the names of project group members / authors of your report

• Qinglan Li, Salonee Seecharan, Robin Stanton

Provide a black and white map outlining the country with a scale bar, and points placed showing the five largest urban areas / agglomerations, and the capital city.

Figure 1. Norway Map, based on Norway Statistics (2020) data; map rendered from RStudio “Maps” package

Please include text or a figure (or both) than answer these questions:

• What are the 5 most populous urban areas/agglomerations in your country? How many people are estimated to live in each of these urban areas?
  • Oslo: 1,036,059
  • Bergen: 259,958
  • Stavanger/Sandnes: 228,287
  • Trondheim: 189,271
  • Fredrikstad/Sarpsborg: 116,373
• How many and what percentage of your country’s population is living in urban areas, and in rural areas?
  • urban areas = 4,416,981/82.29% (Statistics Norway, 2020)
  • rural areas = 940,251/17.71% (Worldbank, 2020)
• What is the average population density in rural areas, and in urban areas, in your country?
  • urban areas = 1,991 per sq km (Statistics Norway, 2020)
  • rural areas = 3.50 per sq km (Worldbank, 2020)

Are there any climatic or geophysical features of the landscape that help explain the location of your country’s largest city? What are they?

• The largest city in Norway, which is also its capital, Oslo, is located in the center of the country’s most important agricultural areas (Vinge, 2016). “The climate of Norway limits the area suitable for cultivating grains, with grassland farming being the only option in many parts of the country,” Vinge (2016) indicates (88). As such, it would not be unfounded to postulate that the capital, and the most populous city, was established where it is due in large part to this attribute. Furthermore, according to the Port of Oslo (2020), Oslo plays a large role in connecting Norway with the rest of the world, “Port of Oslo has always been a gateway connecting the world to the city of Oslo and Norway. It plays a significant role facilitating transport of cargo and people to and from Norway. It is also a strategic transportation hub connecting the eastern region of Norway to the global marketplace.” As such, one may also assume that the prime placement of the port city played a role in its standing as the capital. Image 1. Oslo

What is your country’s Crude Mortality Rate? Is it higher or lower than its neighbors to the north and the south?

• 7.7 in 2018 (Worldbank, 2020)
• Finland: 9.9; Sweden: 9.1. (Worldbank, 2020)
• Norway’s is lower than them both

What is your country’s Crude Fertility Rate? Is it higher or lower than its neighbors to the north and the south?

• 10 (Worldbank, 2020)
• Finland: 9; Sweden: 11. (Worldbank, 2020)
• Norway’s is lower than Sweden’s but higher than Finland’s

What is your country’s life expectancy at birth (e_0), for males and for females?

• 82.8 years (Worldbank, 2020)

Figure 2. Life Expectancy, based on Worldbank (2020) data

What is your country’s infant mortality rate (q_0)?

• 2.0 (per 1,000 live births) (Worldbank, 2020)

Figure 3. Infant Mortality Rate, based on Worldbank (2020) data

What trend is apparent in life expectancy and infant mortality over the last 20 years, in your country?

• Infant mortality has decreased over the last 20 years, drastically at first and then more steadily afterwards
• Life expectancy has remained steadily going up in very small increments

Median age

• The median age in Norway is 39.8 years. (Worldometers, 2020)

Percent of population that is ‘working age’ (15-64, as defined by the Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis)

• As of 2018, the working age group of 3,458,350 accounted for 65.31% of the country’s total population of 5,295,619 (Statistics Norway, 2020).

Age pyramid: what fraction of your county’s population is aged 0-4, 5-9, 10-14, 15-19, 20-24, 25-29, 30-34, 35-39, 40-44, 45-49, 50-54, 55-59, 60-64, 65-69, 70-74, 75-79, 80-84, 85-89, 90+? Please display these data in an age pyramid, which separates male and female data

Figure 4. Age-sex Population Pyramid in Norway, displaying 2018 population structure, based on United Nations (2020) data

Are there any noticeable discontinuities or “jumps” in the age structure of your population? If so, can you identify historical events that contributed to this?

• N/A

Top three languages (by # of speakers) spoken in your country.

• Norway has two official languages: Norwegian and Sami (Nord News, 2020)
• Over 95% of the population (5.2 millions) speaks Norwegian (BBC, 2014)
• Two top minority languages:
  • Sami, spoken by 0.37% of the population (approx. 20,000), mostly indigenous people of Norway (BBC, 2014)
  • Finnish, spoken by 0.2% of the population (BBC, 2014)

Image 2. Sami

Geographic distribution of major language speakers.

• 95% of the population spoke Norwegian which covers most of the geographical area of Norway
• Minority languages like Finnish and Sami are mainly used in the northern region of the country(BBC, 2014)

How much of the country’s food is produced internally versus imported?

• Due to its cold climate and short growing season each year the Norwegian crop production is limited in both variety and quantity. Research conducted by the Norwegian Agricultural Economic Research Institute in collaboration with the Kyoto University showed, only three percent of its land was cultivated. As such, Norway has been depending relatively heavily on imported food supplies.

• Per data released by Norway’s Directorate for Health and Social Affairs in 2006, the Norwegian food consumption was broken down to the following composition: Cereals (29%), potatoes (5%), sugar (13%), vegetable margarine and fat (9%), fruit and berries (4%), vegetables, nuts, cocoa (5%), meat (13%), egg (1%), fish (2%), milk (18%) and animal margarine (1%).

• According to the data by Flaten, O. & Hisano, S. (2007), self-sufficiency in food (i.e., the ratio of consumption of domestically produced food to the total domestic consumption of food) hovered steadily around 50% from 1970s to 2005. The rate specific to the country’s agricultural products increased from less than 40% to over 50% during the same time period. The researchers attributed this increase to the stronger production in wheat over the years.

• Meanwhile, the self-sufficiency rates for meat and eggs were each close to 100%, while those for potatoes and cereals were 80% and 60%, respectively. Consumption of sugar, vegetable margarine, tropical fruits, and nuts and cocoa relied solely on the country’s imports. (Flaten, O. & Hisano, S., 2007)

Figure 5. Norwegian Food self-sufficiency, The Directorate for Health Social Affairs (2006)

Five Largest Industries

• Two of Norway’s most important industries are the nation’s seafood industry and agriculture. Following World War II, the Norwegian policy makers have been placing a great emphasis on the importance of its food industry. Among the country’s post-war concerns are income preservation in its farming communities and the prevention from food shortages in future times of crises.

• Norway is the world’s second largest seafood exporter, second only to China. Norway’s self-sufficiency in fish and dairy products exceeded 100%, contributing to the country’s export capability in those categories. In fact, most of the fish products (both wild-caught and farm-raised) went for export. Specifically in the salmon product category, Norway supplies close to half of the total world production. Image 3. Norway Aquaculture

• The relatively small scale of the Norwegian agriculture means it almost exclusively serves the domestic market. About 75% of Norway’s farm revenues have been derived from livestock products. Among the products cultivated are milk, meat, eggs, grains and temperate fruits and vegetables. Many dairy, sheep and beef farms are located in sparsely populated areas in fjord and mountainous regions and in Northern parts of the country.

• Another major industry of Norway’s is petroleum and gas. As the country generates almost 98% of its electricity from hydropower, most of the oil and gas is exported overseas. Norway is the world’s sixth largest supplier of crude oil and second largest exporter of natural gas. Oil and gas exports contribute to around 17% of the national GDP. Image 4. Norway Oil

• Tourism is another industry which has played a key role in the Norwegian economy. Around half of the country’s tourists come from Germany, Sweden, Denmark and the UK every year. Most of the tourists reportedly visit the country for a glimpse of the Northern Lights.

Image 5. Norway Northern Light

• Last but not least, manufacturing has been a major sector for the Norwegian economy. Making up the bulk of Norway’s biggest exports in this sector are metals, paper and chemicals. Norway has, for example, become one of the world’s largest exporters of aluminum. About half of Norway’s industries are situated in the Oslofjord area. Other industrial centers are located around major cities along the coast as far north as Trondheim.

Rate of youth unemployment

• According to the youth unemployment data gathered by the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) in 2019, 9.57% of youth labor force were unemployed women, while the male youth unemployment rate in the same year was at 10.28% of youth labor force. Meanwhile, the most recent data from the third quarter of 2020 reveal that unemployed women make up 11.63% of youth labor force and unemployed men comprise 11.57% of youth labor force.

Median income

• In 2013 median income in Norway almost hit 120,000 kroner per year ($19,300) - well higher than that in Sweden (at $18,630). The study highlighted huge wage disparities across the European Union, with workers in Portugal reporting median incomes of just $5,500, barely more than a quarter of what their counterparts enjoy in Norway. Even in relatively ‘rich’ European Union countries such as France and the United Kingdom the median salaries were $12,445, and $12,339 respectively, well below the Nordic countries. (Worldometer, 2020)

Years of schooling among adults aged 25, Norway (United Nations, 2019)

• Ranked No.1 among all the UN countries
• Expected years of schooling 18.1 years
• Mean years of schooling 12.6 years

Percent of those aged 25+ who have graduated from a college / university i.e. “higher education”.

• 32% as ranked No.1 in the world (United Nations, 2019)
  • In Norway, 32 per cent of the population has a higher education. This proportion has increased by 0.8 percentage points since last year, and by 25 percentage points since 1970 when Statistics Norway began recording education statistics.

Image 6. University of Oslo

Median cost of yearly tuition at a college / university (in local currency and as percent of median adult income);

• 0 USD for Public schools, approximately 650 USD for Private institutions (OECD, 2017).
  • Generally, students at state universities and higher education institutions in Norway do not pay tuition fees. This is the same case for students from the European Union and for non-EU students. However, all students have to pay a semester fee of NOK 300-600 (equivalent to approximately 30 – 60 US Dollar) each semester (OECD, 2017).
• The median self-reported income per capita between 2006 and 2012 in Norway is $19,308 (Statista, 2013).
  • 0% for those who graduated from public universities
  • 3.37% for those who graduated from private universities