EUROPE

Norway

A long, fjord-shredded strip of northern Europe, Norway reaches so far above the Arctic Circle that the summer sun refuses to set, and its deep coastal inlets are the stuff of postcards.

WHAT THE FLAG MEANS ◢

A red field with a blue Nordic cross outlined in white, its vertical arm shifted toward the hoist. Article 120 of the constitution provides only that the form and colours of the flag are determined by law, assigning them no meaning. The off-centre cross is the Nordic form shared with Norway's neighbours, and the red, white and blue are conventionally said to have been chosen in 1821 as the colours of liberty, after France and the United States.

Norway FACTS ◢

Capital	Oslo
Continent	Europe
Population	5,610,870 (2025)
Area	385,207 km²
Population density	15/km²
Currency	Norwegian krone (NOK)
Official language	Norwegian
Calling code	+47
Internet TLD	.no
Time zone	UTC+01:00
Drives on the	Right
ISO codes	NO / NOR

DID YOU KNOW? ◢

Its heavily indented coastline is famous for fjords, deep sea inlets carved by ancient glaciers.
Parts of the country lie so far north that the sun never fully sets in summer, earning the nickname the land of the midnight sun.
It regularly tops global rankings for quality of life and human development.
The Nobel Peace Prize is awarded each year in its capital, Oslo.