Norway is a very modern western country with one of the highest living standards in the world. It is a very safe nation and has a highly-educated population. Norway boasts some of the most spectacular natural scenery and wildlife in the world. With kilometres and kilometres of coastline, fjords, lakes, mountains, it’s no wonder that Norway is becoming an increasingly popular tourist and study abroad destination.

Here are some key facts: 

Capital (and largest city)	Oslo 59°56′N 10°41′E
Official languages	Norwegian1 (Bokmål and Nynorsk) Sami
Government	Constitutional monarchy
- King	Harald V
- Prime Minister	Jens Stoltenberg
Constitution	17 May 1814
- Independence	from union with Sweden
- Declared	7 June 1905
- Recognised	26 October 1905
Area
- Total	385,155 km² (61st2) 148,746 sq mi
- Water (%)	7.03 [1]
Population
- 2006 estimate	4,640,219 [2] (114th)
- Density	12/km² (202nd) 31/sq mi
GDP (PPP)	2005 estimate
- Total	$195.13 billion (42nd)
- Per capita	$42,364 (2nd)
GDP (nominal)	2005 estimate
- Total	$296.01 billion (25th)
- Per capita	$64,193 (2nd)
HDI  (2006)	0.965 (high) (1st)
Currency	Norwegian krone (NOK)
Time zone	CET (UTC+1)
- Summer (DST)	CEST (UTC+2)
Internet TLD	.no4
Calling code	+47
1 The official national language is Norwegian bokmål and nynorsk. Sami is a co-official language in six municipalities and Finnish in one other. 2 Includes Svalbard and Jan Mayen. 3 This percentage is for the mainland and also includes glaciers. 4 Two more TLDs have been assigned, but to date not used: .sj for Svalbard, Peter I Island and Jan Mayen; .bv for Bouvet Island.

Norway is rapidly becoming a multicultural society, and this makes it difficult to say what a “typical” Norwegian is. That being said, we’ll try to generalize for you anyway: Norwegians are very friendly people. Many are curious and inquisitive as well. Most Norwegian students love meeting international students, comparing the similarities and differences in the countries, and practicing their English. 

The main spoken language is Norwegian, with several regional dialects. Norwegians from distinct regions generally understand each other well. You might be surprised to learn that English is also widely spoken. Young people tend to speak it especially well - most have taken English in school since they were quite young! 

In general, Norwegain students are probably just as diverse as students back at your home university. Many are into sports (especially football), outdoor activities, music, partying, clubs, volunteer work, or anything else students from home like to do in their leisure time. There is a wide variety of student clubs and organizations that make it easy to meet people who like to do the same sorts of things you do. So, while you’re here, get involved! As always, the International Office at Bodø University College is here if you need help getting hooked up with your favourite activities.

Norwegian Fun Facts
- Norway is one of the five Nordic nations along with Sweden, Denmark, Finland and Iceland.

- Norway is a Protestant country with a state church. Many people do not practise their religion even though they consider themselves Christians.

- Norway has almost 22,000 km of coastline!

- About 4.6 million people live in Norway. Of this, about 20,000 are Sami, the indigenous population in Norway.

- The Norwegian government is a constitutional monarchy, with the king as head of state and the president as head of government.

- Norway is a relatively small country: 324,220 sq km, of which 307,860 sq km is land and 16,360 sq. km. is water. This represents an area slightly larger than the U.S. state of New Mexico.

- About 2/3 of the land in Norway is considered mountain terrain.

- Norway has over 50,000 islands off its coast.

- Only Saudi Arabia and Russia export more oil than Norway.