Norway — Country Profile
Population, GDP, natural resources, leaders and history of Norway: the Magna Factbook country file, with its Magna Power score (--/100, ranked #-- of 195).
Last updated: October 2026
Norway is in Northern Europe, bordering the North Sea and the North Atlantic Ocean, west of Sweden. It covers 323,802 sq km. 26 October 1905 (Sweden agreed to the repeal of the union); notable earlier dates: ca. 872 (traditional unification of Norwegian kingdoms by HARALD Fairhair); 1397 (Kalmar Union of Denmark, Norway, and Sweden); 1524 (Denmark-Norway); 17 May 1814 (Norwegian constitution adopted); 4 November 1814 (Sweden-Norway union confirmed). Terrain: glaciated; mostly high plateaus and rugged mountains broken by fertile valleys; small, scattered pla…
| Capital | Oslo |
|---|---|
| Population | 5,509,733 (2024 est.) |
| GDP (PPP) | $507.68 billion (2024 est.) |
| GDP per capita (PPP) | $91,100 (2024 est.) |
| Real GDP growth | 2.1% (2024 est.) |
| Inflation | 3.1% (2024 est.) |
| Unemployment | 4% (2024 est.) |
| Public debt | 36.5% of GDP (2017 est.) |
| Exports | $229.205 billion (2024 est.) |
| Imports | $162.467 billion (2024 est.) |
| Life expectancy | 82.9 years (2024 est.) |
| Median age | 41 years (2025 est.) |
| Urbanization | 84% of total population (2023) |
| Government | parliamentary constitutional monarchy |
| Independence | 7 June 1905 (union with Sweden declared dissolved); 26 October 1905 (Sweden agreed to the repeal of the union); notable earlier dates: ca. 872 (traditional unification of Norwegian kingdoms by HARALD Fairhair); 1397 (Kalmar Union of Denmark, Norway, and Sweden); 1524 (Denmark-Norway); 17 May 1814 (Norwegian constitution adopted); 4 November 1814 (Sweden-Norway union confirmed) |
| Languages | Bokmal Norwegian (official), Nynorsk Norwegian (official), small Sami- and Finnish-speaking minorities |
Norway’s GDP is $507.68 billion (2024 est.) in purchasing-power-parity terms. At official exchange rates it stands at $483.727 billion (2024 est.). Real GDP grew 2.1% (2024 est.). See where Norway ranks among all 195 countries by GDP.
POWER --/100 — The Magna Power score is our 0–100 composite of structural national power — nine components, 135 indicators. It is the Bureau's own assessment, not a mirror of World Bank or CIA figures.
Momentum 0 — Quarterly momentum: the Bureau's read on the country's trajectory over the last quarter, from −10 (deteriorating fast) to +10 (accelerating).
The world's largest sovereign wealth fund was stewarded through another steady quarter, with mainland growth holding and oil revenues flowing.
No drama, no breakthroughs — Norway's momentum is measured in decades, and Jul–Sep 2026 was a quiet one.
- What our model rewards: inflation tamed at 3.1%; a current-account surplus of $83 billion — the world pays it more than it pays out
Oil, Natural gas, Iron ore, Copper, Lead, Zinc, Titanium, Nickel, Timber, Hydropower.
Energy is the physical base of economic power — what a country can generate, move and burn decides what it can build, sell and defend.
| Electricity access | 100% (2022 est.) |
|---|---|
| Installed capacity mix (CIA) | fossil fuels: 1.2% of total installed capacity (2023 est.); solar: 0.2% of total installed capacity (2023 est.); wind: 9.2% of total installed capacity (2023 est.); hydroelectricity: 89.1% of total installed capacity (2023 est.) |
| Energy consumption per capita (CIA) | 206.961 million Btu/person (2023 est.) |
| Primary energy consumption (OWID) | 555.6 TWh (2024) |
| Electricity generation (OWID) | 156.1 TWh (2024) |
| Energy per capita (OWID) | 99,635 kWh per person (2024) |
| Electricity generation mix (OWID) | Hydro 88.7%, Wind 9.3%, Gas 1.1%, Oil 0.5%, Solar 0.2%, Coal 0.0% (2024) |
| Low-carbon share of electricity (OWID) | 98.4% (2024) |
| Carbon intensity of electricity (OWID) | 30.7 gCO2/kWh (2024) |
Sources: CIA World Factbook, Energy section; Our World in Data (IEA/Ember), 2024.
Trade shows what the world buys from a country and what the country must buy from the world — the balance between the two is a direct measure of economic leverage.
| Exports | $229.205 billion (2024 est.) |
|---|---|
| Imports | $162.467 billion (2024 est.) |
| Trade balance (calculated) | Surplus of $66.7 billion (2024), calculated from the CIA export and import figures above. |
| Key industries | petroleum and gas, shipping, fishing, aquaculture, food processing, shipbuilding, pulp and paper products, metals, chemicals, timber, mining, textiles |
Source: CIA World Factbook, Economy section.
Jonas Gahr Støre — Prime Minister. King HARALD V (since 17 January 1991)
Norway maintains 74 embassies and 7 consulates abroad, hosts 68 foreign diplomatic missions, holds permanent missions to UN New York, UN Geneva, NATO Brussels, OECD Paris, UNESCO Paris, OSCE Vienna, CoE Strasbourg. The breadth of a diplomatic network is a direct measure of diplomatic power — it shows how far a country’s influence, alliances and interests reach.
| Embassies abroad | 74 |
|---|---|
| Consulates abroad | 7 |
| Foreign missions hosted | 68 |
| Multilateral missions | UN New York, UN Geneva, NATO Brussels, OECD Paris, UNESCO Paris, OSCE Vienna, CoE Strasbourg |
Source: Abroad: Lowy GDI 2024 via Wikipedia https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_countries_by_number_of_diplomatic_missions . Hosted: Consular Affairs Center in-country ranking, Jan 2026 (Oslo 68). Multilateral rosters as for AUT.
Transport networks are economic power made physical — ports, runways, railways and pipelines decide what a country can move, sell and defend.
| Sea access | Coastal — 25148 km of coastline. |
|---|---|
| Airports (total) | 146 + 113 heliports (registration prefix LN) |
| Major seaports | Bergen, Drammen, Hammerfest, Harstad, Horten, Karsto, Mongstad, Oslo, Stavanger, Tromso, Trondheim |
| Railways | 3848 km |
| Pipelines | 8,520 km gas, 1,304 km oil/condensate (2017) |
Major airports
Bergen Airport, Flesland (BGO) — Bergen; Bodø Airport (BOO) — Bodø; Harstad/Narvik Airport (EVE) — Evenes; Kristiansand Airport (KRS) — Kristiansand(Kjevik); Oslo-Gardermoen International Airport (OSL) — Oslo (Gardermoen); Sandefjord Airport, Torp (TRF) — Sandefjord(Torp); Stavanger Airport, Sola (SVG) — Stavanger; Tromsø Airport (TOS) — Tromsø; Trondheim Airport, Værnes (TRD) — Trondheim; Ålesund Airport (AES) — Ålesund.
Showing 10 of 15 major airports.
Terminals
| LNG export terminals | Kamoy, Kollsnes, Melkoya Island, Tjeldbergodden |
|---|---|
| LNG import terminals | Fredrikstad, Mosjoen |
Sources: OurAirports public-domain extract (2026-10-02); per-entry Wikipedia links included; CIA World Factbook via cia_factbook snapshot (2026-09-28); theodora.com CIA mirror (CIA World Factbook Transportation section), scraped 2026-10-02
| Political system | parliamentary constitutional monarchy |
|---|---|
| Last election | 2025 — parliamentary; 2025-09-08; winner: Jonas Gahr Støre (Labour); red-green bloc 88/169 Wikipedia |
| Next election | 2029 — parliamentary (scheduled) |
Source: constitutional schedule / public election calendar
POWER --/100 Ranked #-- of 195 countries in the Magna Country Rankings. Full ranking breakdown for Norway.
This profile covers the population, economy, natural resources, leaders, and history of Norway — with the Bureau’s live national-power score of --/100, ranking #-- of 195 countries.
What is Norway's power score?
Norway has a Magna Power score of --/100. The score measures structural power — the proven capacity to shape events — across nine components.