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)

Economy

Economy - overview: Norway is a prosperous bastion of welfare
capitalism. The economy consists of 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 agriculture, fishing, and
areas with sparse resources. Norway maintains an extensive welfare
system that helps propel public sector expenditures to more than 50%
of GDP and results in one of the highest average tax levels in the
world (46%). 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.
Only Saudi Arabia exports more oil than Norway. Norway imports more
than half its food needs. Economic growth, only 1.6% in 1993, has
improved steadily over the past few years, resulting in a budget
surplus in 1996. Oslo opted to stay out of the EU during a referendum
in November 1994. Despite their high per capita income - outstripped
among major nations only by the US - and their generous welfare
benefits, the Norwegians worry about that time in the 21st century
when the oil and gas run out.

GDP: purchasing power parity - $114.1 billion (1996 est.)

GDP - real growth rate: 4.8% (1996 est.)

GDP - per capita: purchasing power parity - $26,200 (1996 est.)

GDP - composition by sector:
agriculture: 2.9%
industry: 34.7%
services : 62.4% (1991)

Inflation rate - consumer price index: 1.2% (1996 est.)

Labor force:
total: 2.13 million
by occupation: services 71%, industry 23%, agriculture, forestry, and
fishing 6% (1993)

Unemployment rate: 4.5% (1996 est.)

Budget:
revenues: $48.6 billion
expenditures: $53 billion, including capital expenditures of $NA (1994
est.)

Industries: petroleum and gas, food processing, shipbuilding, pulp and
paper products, metals, chemicals, timber, mining, textiles, fishing

Industrial production growth rate: 3% (1996 est.)

Electricity - capacity: 26.43 million kW (1994)

Electricity - producti