:Norway Economy
Industries:
petroleum and gas, food processing, shipbuilding, pulp and paper products,
metals, chemicals, timber, mining, textiles, fishing
Agriculture:
accounts for 2.8% of GDP and 6.4% of labor force; among world's top 10
fishing nations; livestock output exceeds value of crops; over half of food
needs imported; fish catch of 1.76 million metric tons in 1989
Economic aid:
donor - ODA and OOF commitments (1970-89), $4.4 billion
Currency:
Norwegian krone (plural - kroner); 1 Norwegian krone (NKr) = 100 re
Exchange rates:
Norwegian kroner (NKr) per US$1 - 6.1956 (January 1992), 6.4829 (1991),
6.2597 (1990), 6.9045 (1989), 6.5170 (1988), 6.7375 (1987)
Fiscal year:
calendar year
:Norway Communications
Railroads:
4,223 km 1.435-meter standard gauge; Norwegian State Railways (NSB) operates
4,219 km (2,450 km electrified and 96 km double track); 4 km other
Highways:
79,540 km total; 38,580 km paved; 40,960 km gravel, crushed stone, and earth
Inland waterways:
1,577 km along west coast; 2.4 m draft vessels maximum
Pipelines:
refined products 53 km
Ports:
Oslo, Bergen, Fredrikstad, Kristiansand, Stavanger, Trondheim
Merchant marine:
864 ships (1,000 GRT or over) totaling 22,978,202 GRT/40,128,177 DWT;
includes 12 passenger, 20 short-sea passenger, 118 cargo, 2 passenger-cargo,
19 refrigerated cargo, 16 container, 49 roll-on/roll-off, 22 vehicle
carrier, 1 railcar carrier, 180 oil tanker, 93 chemical tanker, 83 liquefied
gas, 28 combination ore/oil, 211 bulk, 10 combination bulk; note - the
government has created a captive register, the Norwegian International Ship
Register (NIS), as a subset of the Norwegian register; ships on the NIS
enjoy many benefits of flags of convenience and do not have to be crewed by
Norwegians; the majority of ships (777) under the Norwegian flag are now
registered with the NIS
Civil air:
76 major transport aircraft
Airports:
103 total, 102 usable; 64 with permanent-surface runways; none with runways
over 3,659 m; 12 with runways 2,440-3,659 m; 16 with runways 1,220-2,439 m
Telecommunications:
high-quality domestic and international telephone, telegraph, and telex
services; 2 buried coaxial cable systems; 3,102,000 telephones; broadcast
stations - 46 AM, 350 private and 143 government FM, 54 (2,100 repeaters)
TV; 4 coaxial submarine cables; 3 communications satellite earth stations
operating in the EUTELSAT, INTELSAT (1 Atlantic Ocean), MARISAT, and
domestic systems
:Norway Defense Forces
Branches:
Norwegian Army, Royal Norwegian Navy, Royal Norwegian Air Force, Home Guard
Manpower availability:
males 15-49, 1,129,871; 944,290 fit for military service; 33,175 reach
military age (20) annually
Defense expenditures:
exchange rate conversion - $3.8 billion, 3.8% of GDP (1991)
:Oman Geography
Total area:
212,460 km2
Land area:
212,460 km2
Comparative area:
slightly smaller than Kansas
Land boundaries:
1,374 km total; Saudi Arabia 676 km, UAE 410 km, Yemen 288 km
Coastline:
2,092 km
Maritime claims:
Continental shelf:
to be defined
Exclusive economic zone:
200 nm
Territorial sea:
12 nm
Disputes:
no defined boundary with most of UAE; Administrative Line with UAE in far
north; there is a proposed treaty with Yemen (which has not yet been
formally accepted) to settle the Omani-Yemeni boundary
Climate:
dry desert; hot, humid along coast; hot, dry interior; strong southwest
summer monsoon (May to September) in far south
Terrain:
vast central desert plain, rugged mountains in north and south
Natural resources:
crude oil, copper, asbestos, some marble, limestone, chromium, gypsum,
natural gas
Land use:
arable land NEGL%; permanent crops NEGL%; meadows and pastures 5%; forest
and woodland NEGL%; other 95%; includes irrigated NEGL%
Environment:
summer winds often raise large sandstorms and duststorms in interior; sparse
natural freshwater resources
Note:
strategic location with small foothold on Musandam Peninsula controlling
Strait of Hormuz (17% of world's oil production transits this point going
from Persian Gulf to Arabian Sea)
:Oman People
Population:
1,587,581 (July 1992), growth rate 3.5% (1992)
Birth rate:
41 births/1,000 population (1992)
Death rate:
6 deaths/1,000 population (1992)
Net migration rate:
0 migrants/1,000 population (1992)
Infant mortality rate:
40 deaths/1,000 live births (1992)
Life expectancy at birth:
65 years male, 69 years female (1992)
Total fertility rate:
6.6 children born/woman (1992)
Nationality:
noun - Omani(s); adjective - Omani
Ethnic divisions:
mostly Arab, with small Balochi, Zanzibari, and South Asian (Indian,
Pakistani, Bangladeshi) groups
Religions:
Ibadhi Muslim 75%; remainder Sunni Muslim, Shi`a Muslim, some Hindu
Languages:
Arabic (official); English, Balochi, Urdu, Indian dialects
Literacy:
NA% (male NA%, female NA%)
Labor force:
430,000; agriculture 60% (est.); 58% are non-Omani
Organized labor:
trade unions are illegal