Facts About Norway [Source: Norwegian Ministry of Foreign Affairs 2007]
Geography:
Length of the coastline, mainland: 25 148 km
Length of island coastlines: 58 133 km
Greatest breadth, mainland: 432 km
Narrowest breadth, mainland: 2 km
Kingdom of Norway: 385 199 km2
Mainland: 323 802 km2
Largest Lake: Mjøsa (362 km2)
Longest River: Glomma (500 km)
Highest Waterfall: Kjelfossen (840 m)
Highest Mountain: Galdhøpiggen (2469 m)
Largest Glacier: Jostedalsbreen (487 km2)
Longest Fjord: Sognefjorden (204 km)
Largest inhabited island: Hinnøya (2198 km2)
Air Temperature Averages
(measured between 1961-1990, in degrees C)
Oslo: min -5, max +17
Bergen: min 2, max +15
Vardø: min -6, max +9
Rain
(measured between 1961-1990, in mm)
Oslo: 763 (min in Feb, max in Sep)
Bergen: 2 250 (min in May, max in Sep)
Trondheim: 925 (min in May, max in Sep)
Bodø: 1 020 (min in May, max in Oct)
Tromsø: 1 031 (min in May, max in Oct)
Vardø: 563 (min in May, max in Nov)
Population (2006)
Population: 4 681 134
Live births, total: 58 545
Deaths, total: 41 253
In-migration: 45 776
Out-migration: 22 053
Top 5 boy names: Jonas, Mathias, Alexander, Andreas, Elias
Top 5 girl names: Thea, Emma, Sara, Julie, Ida
Official Languages
Norwegian (2 forms: Bokmal and Nynorsk)
Sami (equal status with Norwegian in parts of Troms and Finnmark countries)
Religion
Protestant Christianity
Education
Universities
University of Oslo: 29 732 students (60.3% female)
University of Bergen: 15 743 students (58.4% female)
University of Tromsø: 5 869 students (57.2% female)
Norw. Univ. of Science & Techn: 19 950 (47.2% female)
Norw. School of Econ & Busin.: 2 573 students (37.8% female)
Norwegian Academy of Music: 562 (56.6% female)
Foreign Students in Norway
Sweden: 1 056
Denmark: 779
Germany: 462
UK: 314
USA: 314
Netherlands: 138
Belgium: 22
Norwegian Students Abroad
UK: 2 743
Australia: 2 185
Denmark: 2 384
Sweden: 1 090
USA: 925
Netherlands: 349
Belgium: 22
Tourism
Top 5 tourists in 2005
Germany: 1 750 000
Denmark: 1 050 000
Sweden: 850 000
Netherlands: 750 000
UK: 700 000
Official Flag Days and Public Holidays
21 Jan: Princess Ingrid Alexandra's birthday
6 Feb: Sami National Day
1 May: Labour Day
17 May: Constitution Day!!
7 June: Dissolution of union with Sweden 1905
4 July: Queen Sonja's Birthday
20 July: Crown Prince Haakon's birthday
29 July: St. Olav's Day
19 Aug: Crown Princess Mette-Marit's birthday
Language Training
Grammar & Pronounciation
To learn the grammar, I suggest you to get some textbooks. I can recommend the "Nøkkel til Norge"-series:
Anne BJØRNEBEK, Live Løveid RYKKJA, Rasa ZIBURKUTE, Nøkkel til Norge - Introduksjonskurs I Norsk for utenlandske studenter - Center for International University Cooperation (SIU) - The Norwegian Council of Universities, Bergen, 1998 (incl. 2 audiocassettes)
For learning pronounciation, it is better to download some audio-courses on your computer / ipod. "Pimsleur" offers really good language trainings and is easy to follow.
Can't get enough?
If you would really like to learn the language, Norway offers a wide range of opportunities for you:
- International Summer School (ISS) program of the Universitiy of Oslo offers language & culture courses every summer. Be sure to check whether your country offers scholarships!
Source: http://www.uio.no/iss
- Folkhøgskole: A year at a folk high school in Norway gives you a unique opportunity to be part of the Norwegian culture, learn Norwegian, and participate in an exciting learning community along with other young people from Norway and the rest of the world.
Source: http://www.folkhogskole.no
- More general information about studying in Norway:
Source: http://www.studyinnorway.no
Some common sentences:
God dag! (Hello)
Hvordan har du det? (How are you)
Unnskyld (Excuse me)
Hvor er... (Where is..)
...toalettet (the toilet)
...Stortingsgate (Parlement Street)
...Drammensveien (famous street in Oslo)
Adjø (goodbye)
Snakker du engelsk? (Do you speak English?)
Tysk (German)
Fransk (French)
Spansk (Spanish)
Norsk (Norwegian)
Kunne du snakke litt langsommere? (Can you please speak more slowly?)
Jeg forstår ikke (I don't understand)
Jeg er sulten (I am hungry)
Jeg er tørst (I am thirsty)
Jeg har gått meg vill (I am lost)
Mitt navn er... (My name is..)
Kan du være så vennlig å hjelpe meg? (Can you please help me)
Numbers
0 null
1 en
2 to
3 tre
4 fire
5 fem
6 seks
7 syv/sju
8 åtte
9 ni
10 ti
11 elleve
12 tolv
13 tretten
14 fjorten
15 femten
16 seksten
17 sytten
18 atten
19 nitten
20 tyve/tjue
21 enogtyve / tjueen
30 tredve / trettien
40 førti
41 enogførti / førtien
100 hundre
101 hundre og en
1000 tusen
1 000 000 en million
Clock
klokken åtte om morgenen (8 am - in the morning)
klokken elleve om formiddagen (11 am - before noon)
klokken to om ettermiddagen (2 pm - in the afternoon)
klokken åtte om kvelden (8 pm - in the evening)
klokken to om natten (2 am - at night)
Days
søndag - Sunday
mandag - Monday
tirsdag - Tuesday
onsdag - Wednesday
torsdag - Thursday
fredag - Friday
lørdag - Saturday
