IMO, INMARSAT, INTELSAT, INTERPOL, IOC, IOM, ISO, ITU, LORCS,
MTCR, NACC, NATO, NC, NEA, NIB, NSG, OECD, PCA, UN, UNAVEM, UNCTAD, UNESCO,
UNHCR, UNIDO, UNIFIL, UNIIMOG, UNMOGIP, UNTSO, UPU, WHO, WIPO, WMO, ZC

:Norway Government

Diplomatic representation:
Ambassador Kjeld VIBE; Chancery at 2720 34th Street NW, Washington, DC
20008; telephone (202) 333-6000; there are Norwegian Consulates General in
Houston, Los Angeles, Minneapolis, New York, and San Francisco, and
Consulates in Miami and New Orleans
US:
Ambassador Loret Miller RUPPE; Embassy at Drammensveien 18, 0244 Oslo 2
(mailing address is APO AE 09707); telephone [47] (2) 44-85-50; FAX [47] (2)
43-07-77
Flag:
red with a blue cross outlined in white that extends to the edges of the
flag; the vertical part of the cross is shifted to the hoist side in the
style of the Dannebrog (Danish flag)

:Norway Economy

Overview:
Norway has a mixed economy involving a combination of free market activity
and government intervention. The government controls key areas, such as the
vital petroleum sector, through large-scale state enterprises and
extensively subsidizes agricultural, fishing, and other sectors. Norway also
maintains an extensive welfare system that helps propel public-sector
expenditures to slightly more than 50% of the GDP and results in one of the
highest average tax burdens in the world (54%). A small country with a high
dependence on international trade, Norway is basically an exporter of raw
materials and semiprocessed goods, with an abundance of small- and
medium-sized firms, and is ranked among the major shipping nations. The
country is richly endowed with natural resources - petroleum, hydropower,
fish, forests, and minerals - and is highly dependent on its oil sector to
keep its economy afloat. Although one of the government's main priorities is
to reduce this dependency, this situation is not likely to improve for years
to come. The government also hopes to reduce unemployment and strengthen and
diversify the economy through tax reform and an expansionary 1992 budget.
Forecasters predict that economic growth will rise slightly in 1992 because
of public-sector expansion and moderate improvements in private investment
and demand. Inflation will remain about 3%, while unemployment continues at
record levels of over 5% becaus