DEMOGRAPHY AND SOCIAL INDICATORS
Norway is ranked 115 in the world in terms of population with 4.6 million people residing there in mid 2004. According to data obtained from World Bank Indicators, national growth rate in Norway during 1997-2003 was 0.6% same as that of high-income countries' group as a whole.
Norway is very sparsely populated with only 14 people living per sq km. Almost 79% of the people live in urban areas and live a long life (life expectancy at birth in Norway is 79 years, third highest among all countries of the world, according to (1997-2003) World Bank figures.
The UNDP 2004 report shows that 6.4 % of Norway's population lives below income poverty line (50% of median household income). Gross primary enrollment, which denotes the percent of school-age population, is 101%, with 101 for male and 102 for female population. Adult Literacy rate is 99 %. Norway is ranked 1st in 177 countries of the world in terms of human development index.
Norway labour force growth rate of 0.6% in last six years and was close to that of the other high-income countries' where workforce has grown at a rate of 0.7% during these years. Unemployment rate was estimated to be 4.2 % in Jan 2005, according to the Norway official statistics.
KEY ECONOMIC INDICATORS
Given Norway's small population, its Gross National income of $ 197,658 (2003) looks much less than other developed countries. It ranks 23rd in terms of total GNI, however, the GNI per capita as $ 43350 signifies the high standard of living enjoyed by its people. Its prosperity is due in large part to the discovery in the late 1960s of
offshore oil and gas deposits.
In terms of purchasing power parity, Per capita GNI in 2003 was US $ 43350, placing Norway among the top five countries ranked by GNI per capita. Average annual growth rate of GDP was 0.3 % during 2003. from as high as 10% in early 1980s, inflation rate has fallen to its all time low of 1 % in 1996. however, there were some years of slightly higher inflation rates also. For example, since June 2000, Norway has recorded rates of inflation in excess of 3.0% and has been characterised by acute inflationary pressures, stemming in particular from the labour market. Recently, however, the trend has seen a reversal; the most recent statistics revealed the Annual Inflation rate for March 2005 as 1%.
