With an area of 386,958 sq.km (incl. Svalbard & Jan Mayen) and a population of only 4.5 million, Norway has a population density of only 11.7 per km² .

The capital city of Oslo has 512 000 inhabitants. The largest cities are situated in the southern part of the country and the majority of the population also lives here.

Language

The official language is Norwegian which is a Germanic language and closely related to both Danish and Swedish. In fact, these three languages are so close that the countries' inhabitants can easily communicate with each other.

The language of the Sami people is taught mostly in the northern part of the country where the large Sami communities are situated. This language is very different from Norwegian.

As learning English is compulsory in the Norwegian elementary schools already from an early age, most Norwegians have a good command of English. Most Norwegians also learn one or more foreign languages besides English - of which German, French and in recent years Spanish are most common.