Norway is commonly known for being one of the best places to live not only in Europe, but in all of the world. This country has had constant development and a stable economy for the past years, providing the perfect social and economical conditions for the local families as well as foreigners who move to this beautiful country.
On top of that, Norway also offers some of the most beautiful sights one will ever see, such as the famous northern lights that make everyone’s jaws drop with their beauty and magnificence. There are lots of cool things about Norway and, in this article, we’ll go over 8 interesting facts about this picturesque European country!
Norway Facts
1. Norway is home to the famous northern lights.
The northern lights are certainly one of the most beautiful phenomena on Earth. In a nutshell, the northern lights are formed when the sun emits charged particles that penetrate the Earth and collide with the molecules and atoms that exist in our planet’s atmosphere. When this collision happens, it produces countless bursts of light that make up the northern lights — or aurora borealis.
However, this extraordinary event doesn’t occur just anywhere in the world. There are a few select locations where you can see the northern lights firsthand, and Norway is one of those places. An interesting fact about Norway is that there are several tours you can take in this country in order to see the aurora borealis.
This phenomenon occurs between late September and late March in Norway.
2. They have the longest road tunnel in the world.
Norway has many fjords and mountainous regions. Because of that, some areas of the country may be slightly dangerous for road transportation. That’s why the Norwegian government has to rely on road tunnels.
The Laerdal Tunnel in Norway is the longest in the world, with a total length of 24.5 kilometers. This road tunnel connects the Norwegian municipalities of Aurland and Laerdal.
3. Norway has more medals in the Winter Olympics than any other country.
Norway is a tiny country in Europe — it’s total area is only approximately 345 square kilometers, which is less than that of the U.S. state of California —, however, size hasn’t stopped this nation of becoming a force to be reckoned with at the Winter Olympics.
Overall, Norway has won 368 medals, and 132 of these are gold medals. The United States comes in second place on the ranking of countries with most medals, with 305 medals overall.
There are quite a few reasons as to why Norway is so good at winter sports. First, their athletes have access to several snowy locations in their Scandinavian country, which means that they have plenty of places to practice all throughout the year.
Secondly, Norway has a policy that doesn’t allow athletes under 13 to have scores. That way, young athletes won’t grow up in an environment where they have to feel like competing against everyone all the time, an interesting fact about Norway. This policy allows athletes to develop more healthily, thus they feel less nervous in competitions such as the Olympics.
4. They have a village called Hell!
Yep, Norway has its very own hell! Though it’s nothing like the other type of hell people talk about. Hell is a small village with a population of around 1,600 people and it has become quite the touristic attraction due to its peculiar name.
There are lots of jokes and puns that people make when they visit Hell, especially because this village’s weather is pretty cold. “Hell has frozen over” is a common joke among tourists, and it’s even printed on the village’s postcards.
5. Norway is one of the best places to live in the world.
For several years now, Norway has been the first place on the Human Development Index (HDI). The HDI measures life expectancy, level of education, and the GNI of a country, thus Norway is one of the best places to live in terms of: 1) living a long and healthy life — they have a free healthcare system; 2) of obtaining a high level of education — they have free higher education; and 3) in terms of income.
On top of that, according to the World Happiness Report, Norway is the third happiest country on the planet, a fun Norway fact.
6. They invented modern skiing.
Knowing that Norway has won more medals in the Winter Olympics than any other country should come as no surprise once you find out that they invented modern skiing!
Sondre Norheim, a man from a Norwegian region called Telemark, loved skiing back in his day, but he hated the equipment that was available at the time. This was during the 1850s.
It was then that Sondre decided to upgrade his skiing equipment and he made a crucial change to the binding of the skis. Sondre added a binding for the heel to keep the ski from slipping off even when he performed long jumps or sharp turns. On top of that, he cut his wooden skis so they would have a slight inward curve towards the middle of the skis, which made them easier to turn.
This prototype is known as the telemark ski.
7. Norwegians read more than many other populations.
According to The New Publishing Standard, 9 out of 10 Norwegians read books in a habitual manner. That’s a lot of people, even for a country with a population of less than 6 million. It is estimated that Norwegians read approximately 15 books per year, which is a higher statistic than most countries across the globe.
On top of that, it is known that most of the population in Norway reads books in the English language.
8. The population’s tax records are public!
Norway is a very wealthy country, as well as being a very expensive place to live. On top of that, this country has a strong sense of transparency that has been present in the Norwegian community since the creation of the personal income tax. The population is allowed to check everyone’s tax returns, and this helps the authorities find out when someone is being corrupt, an interesting fact about Norway.
However, in order to access this public information, people must log in to their personal accounts. Each search that is made on the website is cataloged, thus everyone can see who accessed their tax records!
CONCLUSION
Norway is a developed country in Europe that has led the world’s ranking of best places to live for many years now. They have taken in part in several important moments of humanity, such as the invention of modern skiing, and this country is also one of the few places where the aurora borealis can be seen. In fact, Norway is one of the countries that has the most spots where one can watch the northern lights.
On top of that, Norway is the fourth happiest country in the world, meaning that its population is very happy with their lifestyle and the opportunities that they have in life. This Scandinavian country is also a beast when it comes to Winter Olympics!
I hope that this article on Norway facts was helpful. If you are interested, visit the Country Facts Page!
