A Few Key Facts...

...About Our New Home

As I used to do at C²J² Suiter in China, I will give you some general information about Norway and Stavanger

Our new 'home' for the next few years

Norway or 'Norge' (in Bokmål), 'Noreg' (in Nynorsk) or 'Norga '(in Sami) and officially the Kingdom of Norway or 'Kongeriket Norge' (in Bokmål), and 'Kongeriket Noreg' (in Nynorsk)… and I thought I was done with different dialects when I left China!!!

Although some medieval texts attribute the name to a mythical King Nórr, it is conventionally derived today from Old Norse 'norðvegr', meaning "the northern route" (the way northwards).

Norway:

• Area: 385,199 square km
• Length: 1,752 km
• Shortest Width: 6 km
• Widest part: 430 km
• Population: 4,660,00 inhabitants (14.2 hab/km²)
• Currency: Norwegian kroner (NOK) 1 krone = 100 øre
• Language: Norwegian (Bokmål and Nynorsk), Sámi is also an official language
• Unitary constitutional monarchy with a parliamentary system of government. His majesty King Harald V is the head of state and Prime Minister Jens Stoltenberg is the head of government

Stavanger:

• Longitude : 5.70 or 5° 42’ 4”
• Latitude: 58.90 or 58° 58’ 54”
• Population : 120,000 inhabitants
• Check our Stavagner Webcam:

Trivial facts:

• Slightly larger than New Mexico
• Border countries: Sweden, Finland and Russia
• The average hourly wages in Norway are among the highest in the world.
• The wage difference between the lowest paid worker and the CEO of most companies is much smaller than in comparable western economies.
• Cost of living is about 30% higher in Norway than in the United States and 25% higher than the United Kingdom.
• The standard of living in Norway is among the highest in the world.
• Norway is the seventh largest oil exporter and the third largest gas exporter in the world, but it is not a member of the OPEC.
• There are almost 4.7 million Norwegian Americans according to the 2006 U.S. census. The number of Americans of Norwegian descent living in the U.S. today is roughly equal to the current population of Norway
• Norwegian language has two official written forms, Bokmål and Nynorsk. Bokmål is used by the vast majority, about 85–90%.
• Traditionally, English, German and French were considered the main foreign languages in Norway. These languages, for instance, had been used on Norwegian passports until the 1990s, and university students have a general right to use these languages when submitting their theses.
• Norway has conscription for males (6–12 months of training) and voluntary service for females.
• The American Ambassador to Norway is Barry White. Not this one….Barry B. White!

Sources: Wikipedia, Norway.org and CIA