The name Norway comes from the Old Norse word norðrvegr, the way north, which the Geats and the Danes named the coastline of western Norway. The Anglo-Saxon name for Norway was Norðweg, which still lives on in the adjective and demonym Norwegian. NORWAY Capital: Oslo Population: 5.1M Median Age: 39.1 Ethnic Mix: Norwegian 94.4% (includes Sami, about 60,000), other European 3.6%, other 2% (2007 est) Language: Bokmal Norwegian, Nynorsk Norwegian, small Sami- and Finnish-speaking minorities Urban Population: 80.5% Land Size:385K sq km (149K sq mi) Natural Resources: Petroleum, natural gas, iron ore, copper, lead, zinc, titanium,fish, timber, hydropower Fun Facts: • • • • • • • Bokmål vs Nynorsk Officially it is called the Kingdom of Norway, which is a sovereign and unitary monarchy. Until 1814, the Kingdom included the Faroe Islands, Greenland and Iceland. Norway divides state power between the Parliament, the King, and the Supreme Court. The Kingdom has existed continuously for 1143 years Norway has rejected entering the EU twice. Norway is a founding member of UN and NATO. Norway is part of the Schengen Area. 1030 AD Adopted Christianity 800-1050 AD Viking Age 900 AD Unified into one Kingdom English: All human beings are born free and equal in dignity and rights. They are endowed with reason and conscience and should act towards one another in a spirit of brotherhood. Bokmål: Alle mennesker er født frie og med samme menneskeverd og menneskerettigheter. De er utstyrt med fornuft og samvittighet og bør handle mot hverandre i brorskapets ånd. Nynorsk: Alle menneske er fødde til fridom og med same menneskeverd og menneskerettar. Dei har fått fornuft og samvit og skal leve med kvarandre som brør. One of the most noticable features in nynorsk is how the bokmål suffixes an-, be-, het and -else are very little used - they've been imported from German, something the language purists didn't like very much. 1814-1905 AD Union with Sweden 1536 AD Becomes part of Denmark 1939 AD Declares neutrality in WWII 1905 AD Prince Carl of Denmark becomes King 1945 AD Founding member of UN