Norway.

                                                          

Norway officially Kingdom of Norway, is a sovereign State of Europe, whose form of government is the parliamentary democratic monarchy. Its territory is organized in eighteen provinces or fylker and its capital is Oslo.        

the third part of Norway is in glacial zones and most of it is more than 300 meters above sea level, it is understandable that the Norwegian climate is very cold. But at the same time, Norway is favored climatologically, since in the western region it is influenced by the current of the Gulf and by the winds that flow from the south and southwest, which protect from the glacial influence of the Arctic 

Ocean and generate an oceanic climate.

The southern and western parts of the country are totally exposed to the storm fronts of the North Atlantic and experience greater rainfall than the rest of the territory. In general, the south enjoys milder winters than other regions of the north, east or mountainous regions farthest from the ocean. The areas east of the coastal mountains are in the shade of the rain, so they receive less rainfall than the west. The lowlands around Oslo have warmer and sunny summers, as well as the cold and snow in winter are somewhat lower.

Due to the high latitude of Norway, there are large seasonal variations of daylight. From the end of May to the end of July, the sun never fully descends below the horizon in areas north of the Arctic Circle - hence the description of Norway as the "Land of the Midnight Sun" - and the rest of the country Experience a maximum of 20 hours of light per day. By contrast, from the end of November to the end of January, the sun never rises above the horizon in the north, and the daylight hours are very short in the rest of the country.

                          LANGUAGE

Norwegian is the native language of approximately 95% of the population. However, there are many dialects that can differ significantly from one another

                            RELIGION

About 71.5% of the population belongs to the Evangelical Lutheran Church of Norway, although many are not practicing members.82 The State supports the Church and the king appoints the clergy. However, full religious freedom is guaranteed and there are Protestant and Catholic groups representing 4% of the population.

The Norwegians are registered as members of the Church of Norway when they are baptized, and make use of the services of baptisms, confirmation, marriage and funerals, which are deeply rooted in the culture of this country.

A little over 10% of the population was not affiliated with the official church on January 1, 2009. Other Christian denominations congregate 4.2% of the population, including the Evangelical Free Lutheran Church, the Catholic Church, the Church Baptist, the Seventh-day Adventist Church, Methodist Church and Pentecostal congregations, among others. Among non-Christian religions Islam is the largest, and the second fastest growing. 1.5% of the population are Muslims. This is practiced by Somali immigrants, Arabs, Albanians and Turks, as well as Norwegians of Pakistani descent.

Other religions that have less than 1% are Judaism, Mormonism (Church of Christ (Latter-day Saints)) and Jehovah's Witnesses. Hindu immigrants introduced Hinduism, which has fewer than 5,000 followers. Buddhism has 11 associations and houses 0.42% of the population. Some Sami minorities retain their shamanistic religion even though they were converted to Christianity at the end of the 18th century by Norwegian and Danish missionaries.

                                                         CULTURE.

The Norwegian agricultural culture continues to play a role in the contemporary culture of this country. In the 18th century, it inspired a strong romantic nationalist movement, which is still visible in the Norwegian language and in the media. In the 19th century, Norwegian culture flourished with nationalist efforts to achieve an independent identity in the areas of literature, art and music.94

Norway has been a progressive country, which has adopted policies and laws in favor of the rights of women, minorities and the LGBT community. Already since 1884, 171 of its leaders, including five Prime Ministers for the Liberal Party and the Conservative Party, co-founded the Norwegian Association for Women's Rights.95 This campaign successfully campaigned for the right to education, to suffrage feminine and to work. In the 1970s, gender equality was also important within government priorities with the founding of a public body to promote it.

In 1990, Norway was the first country to recognize the ILO Convention 169 on Indigenous Peoples recommended by the United Nations. With respect to LGBT rights, Norway was the first country to apply anti-discrimination legislation protecting the rights of gays and lesbians. In 1993 Norway was the second country to legalize civil union for same-sex couples, and on January 1, 2009 Norway was the sixth country to do the same with equal marriage.

As a country that promotes human rights, Norway organizes the annual conference known as the Oslo Freedom Forum, a meeting described by the British weekly The Economist as the equivalent of the Davos Economic Forum on human rights.96

The Church-State separation occurred significantly later in Norway than in most of Europe and has not yet ended. In 2012 the Norwegian Parliament voted to give more autonomy to the Church in Norway, 97 a decision that was confirmed in a constitutional amendment on May 21, 2012.

                           TYPICAL FOOD

Brunost: Norwegian goat cheese.

Fårikål: Lamb cooked with onions and potatoes.

Smalahove: Head of smoked lamb.

Tørrfisk: Norwegian cod.

Lutefisk: Dry white fish with caustic soda.

Rakfisk: Fermented trout served raw and fillets.

Lefse: Bread made with potato, milk and yeast.

                            TOURISM

Bryggen, in Bergen, is a World Heritage Site.

Oslo highlights the Royal Palace, the Vigeland park, the town hall, the museum of Viking ships, the markets of the harbor areas, the paintings of Edvard Munch and the skiing trampolines of Holmenkollen, where the Winter Olympics were held of 1952.