Doing Business în Norway

1.Welcome to Norway

Norway is renowned for its rugged beauty with mountains, fjords and glaciers. It is the Land of the Midnight Sun. Norway is situated on the northern outskirts of Europe and comprises the western half of the

Scandinavian Peninsula.

It is the fourth largest country in Europe by area.

Only approximately 21% of Norway’s mainland is fertile soil. The rest is mainly mountains and fjords. 80% of the Norwegian mainland is located more than 150 metres above sea level and about one-third of the country is located above the Arctic Circle. However, the Norwegian climate is less severe than one might expect from its geographical location and only the extreme parts of the country have an alpine or arctic climate. The rest of the

country enjoys temperate climate conditions, thanks to the proximity of the Gulf Stream.

Norway has a small population with only 4.6 million inhabitants. is among the world's wealthiest, with per capita GDP about the same as in the U.S. The wealth is more evenly distributed, so every Norwegian is an enabled consumer. The currency is the Norwegian krone (plural “kroner”), a currency which over the last few years has remained stable due to a strong economy.

Norway’s official language is Norwegian, a northern Germanic language closely related to Danish and Swedish.

Norway is a constitutional monarchy and the Norwegian Constitution of 1814 builds upon the principle of popular sovereignty, the principle of division of power and certain fundamental human rights and freedoms.

2. Industry, trade and economy

In recent years, Norway has enjoyed substantial economic prosperity and it is listed as one of the richest countries in the world. For four consecutive years, the United Nations has ranked Norway as having the highest standard of living in the world. The primary reason for this prosperity is the discovery of oil and gas reserves on the Norwegian continental shelf in the 1960s and the consequent development of the country’s oil and gas industry.

Norway is the world’s seventh largest producer and third largest exporter of oil. It was the second largest producer of gas in Europe, and the third largest exporter of gas, providing approximately 19% of Europe’s total gas consumption. The petroleum sector accounts for over 20% of the value creation in the country, twice the value creation of the manufacturing industry and 15 times the total value creation of the primary industries. Crude oil, natural gas and pipeline services account for almost half of the value of Norway’s exports.

Other profitable industries include the fishing, shipping, forestry and metallurgic industries. The country’s main trading partners are the Northern European countries. Due to its high volume of export, Norway has developed a substantial trade surplus.

For the globe-trotting international business person doing business in a foreign country offers certain intercultural challenges. Understanding a country's business culture, protocol and etiquette is important in achieving success abroad.