Norway, officially the Kingdom of Norway (Norwegian: Kongeriket Norge (bokmål); Kongeriket Noreg (nynorsk)), is a country in Northern Europe that occupies the western portion of the Scandinavian Peninsula. It is bordered by Sweden, Finland, and Russia. Norway has a very elongated shape; the country's extensive coastline along the North Atlantic Ocean is home to its famous fjords.
The Kingdom of Norway also includes the Arctic island territories of Svalbard and Jan Mayen. Norwegian sovereignty of Svalbard is based upon the Svalbard Treaty, but this does not apply to Jan Mayen. Bouvet Island in the South Atlantic Ocean and a claim for Peter I Island in the South Pacific Ocean are also external dependencies, but these are not part of the Kingdom. Norway also claims Queen Maud Land in Antarctica, where it has established the Troll permanent research station.
Since World War II, Norway has experienced rapid economic growth and is now one of the wealthiest countries in the world, with a fully developed welfare system. This economic progress is caused in part by the exploitation of oil and gas reserves alongside the coast. Norway has ranked top among all countries in human development since 2001. [5] It also rated the most peaceful country in the world in a 2007 survey by Global Peace Index. [6]
The Viking age (8th to 11th centuries) was one of unification and expansion. Norwegians established settlements on Iceland, the Faroe Islands, Greenland and parts of Britain and Ireland, and attempted to settle at L'Anse aux Meadows in Newfoundland, Canada (the "Vinland" of the Saga of Eric the Red). Norwegians founded the modern-day Irish cities of Limerick, Dublin, and Waterford[7] and established trading communities near the Celtic settlements of Cork and Dublin[citation needed] which later became Ireland's two most important cities. The spread of Christianity in Norway in this period is in large part attributed to the missionary kings Olav Trygvason (995–1000) and St. Olav (1015–1028), although Haakon the Good was Norway's first Christian king. Norse traditions were slowly replaced during the 9th and 10th centuries.
