<hdr>The World Factbook 1994: Norway<nl>Geography</hdr><body>
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<item><hi format=bold>Location:</hi> Nordic State, Northern Europe, bordering the North Atlantic Ocean, west of Sweden
<item><hi format=bold>Area:</hi>
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<item>• <hi format=ital>total area:</hi> 324,220 sq km
<item>• <hi format=ital>land area:</hi> 307,860 sq km
<item>• <hi format=ital>comparative area:</hi> slightly larger than New Mexico
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<item><hi format=bold>Land boundaries:</hi> total 2,515 km, Finland 729 km, Sweden 1,619 km, Russia 167 km
<item><hi format=bold>Coastline:</hi> 21,925 km (includes mainland 3,419 km, large islands 2,413 km, long fjords, numerous small islands, and minor indentations 16,093 km)
<item><hi format=bold>International disputes:</hi> territorial claim in Antarctica (Queen Maud Land); dispute between Denmark and Norway over maritime boundary in Arctic Ocean between Greenland and Jan Mayen has been settled by the International Court of Justice; maritime boundary dispute with Russia over portion of Barents Sea
<item><hi format=bold>Climate:</hi> temperate along coast, modified by North Atlantic Current; colder interior; rainy year-round on west coast
<item><hi format=bold>Terrain:</hi> glaciated; mostly high plateaus and rugged mountains broken by fertile valleys; small, scattered plains; coastline deeply indented by fjords; arctic tundra in north
<item>• <hi format=ital>meadows and pastures:</hi> 0%
<item>• <hi format=ital>forest and woodland:</hi> 27%
<item>• <hi format=ital>other:</hi> 70%
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<item><hi format=bold>Irrigated land:</hi> 950 sq km (1989)
<item><hi format=bold>Environment:</hi>
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<item>• <hi format=ital>current issues:</hi> water pollution; acid rain damaging forests and adversely affecting lakes, threatening fish stocks; air pollution from vehicle emissions
<item>• <hi format=ital>natural hazards:</hi> NA
<item>• <hi format=ital>international agreements:</hi> party to—Air Pollution, Air Pollution-Nitrogen Oxides, Air Pollution-Sulphur, Air Pollution-Volatile Organic Compounds, Antarctic-Environmental Protocol, Antarctic Treaty, Biodiversity, Climate Change, Endangered Species, Environmental Modification, Hazardous Wastes, Marine Dumping, Nuclear Test Ban, Ozone Layer Protection, Ship Pollution, Tropical Timber, Wetlands, Whaling; signed, but not ratified—Law of the Sea
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<item><hi format=bold>Note:</hi> about two-thirds mountains; some 50,000 islands off its much indented coastline; strategic location adjacent to sea lanes and air routes in North Atlantic; one of most rugged and longest coastlines in world; Norway and Turkey only NATO members having a land boundary with Russia