Chapter 79
Economic overview: Norway has a mixed economy involving 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 also 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 burdens 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. Norway imports more than half its food needs. Economic growth, only 1.6% in 1993, moved up to 5.5% in 1994 and remained strong in 1995. Oslo opted to stay out of the EU during a referendum in November 1994.
GDP: purchasing power parity - $106.2 billion (1995 est.)
GDP real growth rate: 4.5% (1995 est.)
GDP per capita: $24,500 (1995 est.)
GDP composition by sector: agriculture: 2.9% industry: 34.7% services: 62.4% (1991)
Inflation rate (consumer prices): 2.5% (1995 est.)
Labor force: 2.13 million by occupation: services 71%, industry 23%, agriculture, forestry, and fishing 6% (1993)
Unemployment rate: 8% (including people in job-training programs; November 1995)
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: 7.4% (1994)
Electricity: capacity: 27,280,000 kW production: 118 billion kWh consumption per capita: 23,735 kWh (1993)
Agriculture: oats, other grains; beef, milk; livestock output exceeds value of crops; among world's top 10 fishing nations; fish catch of 1.76 million metric tons in 1989
Illicit drugs: transshipment point for drugs shipped via the CIS and Baltic states for the European market
Exports: $34.7 billion (f.o.b., 1994) commodities: petroleum and petroleum products 43%, metals and products 11%, foodstuffs (mostly fish) 9%, chemicals and raw materials 25%, natural gas 6.0%, ships 5.4% partners: EU 77.8% (UK 20.8%, Germany 12.4%, France 8.12%), Sweden 9.4%, US 6.7%, Japan 1.9% (1994)
Imports: $27.3 billion (c.i.f., 1994) commodities: machinery and equipment and manufactured consumer goods 54%, chemicals and other industrial inputs 39%, foodstuffs 6% partners: EU 68.9% (Germany 13.9%, UK 10.4%, Denmark 7.4%), Sweden 15%, US 7.4%, Japan 6.0% (1994)
External debt: $NA
Economic aid: donor: ODA, $1.014 billion (1993)
Currency: 1 Norwegian krone (NKr) = 100 oere
Exchange rates: Norwegian kroner (NKr) per US$1 - 6.4160 (January 1996), 6.3352 (1995), 7.0576 (1994), 7.0941 (1993), 6.2145 (1992), 6.4829 (1991)
Fiscal year: calendar year
Transportation --------------
Railways: total: 4,027 km standard gauge: 4,027 km 1.435-m gauge (2422 km electrified; 96 km double track) (1995)
Highways: total: 88,922 km paved: 61,356 km (including 75 km of expressways) unpaved: 27,566 km (1990 est.)
Waterways: 1,577 km along west coast; 2.4 m draft vessels maximum
Pipelines: refined products 53 km
Ports: Bergen, Drammen, Flora, Hammerfest, Harstad, Haugesund, Kristiansand, Larvik, Narvik, Oslo, Porsgrunn, Stavanger, Tromso, Trondheim
Merchant marine: total: 712 ships (1,000 GRT or over) totaling 19,278,205 GRT/32,209,679 DWT ships by type: bulk 114, cargo 98, chemical tanker 83, combination bulk 10, combination ore/oil 31, container 15, liquefied gas tanker 87, oil tanker 148, passenger 10, passenger-cargo 2, railcar carrier 1, refrigerated cargo 13, roll-on/roll-off cargo 49, short-sea passenger 21, vehicle carrier 30 note: the government has created an internal register, the Norwegian International Ship Register (NIS), as a subset of the Norwegian register; ships on the NIS enjoy many benefits of flags of convenience and do not have to be crewed by Norwegians (1995 est.)
Airports: total: 102 with paved runways over 3 047 m: 1 with paved runways 2 438 to 3 047 m: 12 with paved runways 1 524 to 2 437 m: 13 with paved runways 914 to 1 523 m: 11 with paved runways under 914 m: 60 with unpaved runways 914 to 1 523 m: 5 (1995 est.)
Heliports: 1 (1995 est.)
Communications --------------
Telephones: 2.39 million (1986 est.)
Telephone system: high-quality domestic and international telephone, telegraph, and telex services domestic: NA domestic satellite earth stations international: 2 buried coaxial cable systems; 4 coaxial submarine cables; satellite earth stations - NA Eutelsat, NA Intelsat (Atlantic Ocean), and 1 Inmarsat (Atlantic and Indian Ocean Regions); note - Norway shares the Inmarsat earth station with the other Nordic countries (Denmark, Finland, Iceland, and Sweden)
Radio broadcast stations: AM 46, FM 493 (350 private and 143 government), shortwave 0
Radios: 3.3 million (1993 est.)
Television broadcast stations: 54 (repeaters 2,100)
Televisions: 1.5 million (1993 est.)
Defense -------
Branches: Norwegian Army, Royal Norwegian Navy (includes Coast Artillery and Coast Guard), Royal Norwegian Air Force, Home Guard
Manpower availability: males age 15-49: 1,125,302 males fit for military service: 937,309 males reach military age (20) annually: 28,328 (1996 est.)
Defense expenditures: exchange rate conversion - $3.7 billion, 2.9% of GDP (1995)
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@Oman ----
Map ---
Location: 21 00 N, 57 00 E -- Middle East, bordering the Arabian Sea, Gulf of Oman, and Persian Gulf, between Yemen and UAE
Flag ----
Description: three horizontal bands of white (top, double width), red, and green (double width) with a broad, vertical, red band on the hoist side; the national emblem (a khanjar dagger in its sheath superimposed on two crossed swords in scabbards) in white is centered at the top of the vertical band
Geography ---------
Location: Middle East, bordering the Arabian Sea, Gulf of Oman, and Persian Gulf, between Yemen and UAE
Geographic coordinates: 21 00 N, 57 00 E
Map references: Middle East
Area: total area: 212,460 sq km land area: 212,460 sq km comparative area: slightly smaller than Kansas
Land boundaries: total: 1,374 km border countries: Saudi Arabia 676 km, UAE 410 km, Yemen 288 km
Coastline: 2,092 km
Maritime claims: contiguous zone: 24 nm exclusive economic zone: 200 nm territorial sea: 12 nm
International disputes: no defined boundary with most of UAE, but Administrative Line in far north
Climate: dry desert; hot, humid along coast; hot, dry interior; strong southwest summer monsoon (May to September) in far south
Terrain: vast central desert plain, rugged mountains in north and south lowest point: Arabian Sea 0 m highest point: Jabal ash Sham 2,980 m
Natural resources: petroleum, copper, asbestos, some marble, limestone, chromium, gypsum, natural gas
Land use: arable land: 2% permanent crops: 0% meadows and pastures: 5% forest and woodland: 0% other: 93%
Irrigated land: 410 sq km (1989 est.)
Environment: current issues: rising soil salinity; beach pollution from oil spills; very limited natural fresh water resources natural hazards: summer winds often raise large sandstorms and dust storms in interior; periodic droughts international agreements: party to - Biodiversity, Climate Change, Law of the Sea, Marine Dumping, Ship Pollution; signed, but not ratified - Hazardous Wastes
Geographic note: strategic location with small foothold on Musandam Peninsula controlling Strait of Hormuz, a vital transit point for world crude oil
People ------
Population: 2,186,548 (July 1996 est.)
Age structure: 0-14 years: 46% (male 511,664; female 493,369) 15-64 years: 51% (male 609,423; female 513,042) 65 years and over: 3% (male 26,623; female 32,427) (July 1996 est.)
Population growth rate: 3.53% (1996 est.)
Birth rate: 37.86 births/1,000 population (1996 est.)
Death rate: 4.44 deaths/1,000 population (1996 est.)
Net migration rate: 1.84 migrant(s)/1,000 population (1996 est.)
Sex ratio: at birth: 1.05 male(s)/female under 15 years: 1.04 male(s)/female 15-64 years: 1.19 male(s)/female 65 years and over: 0.82 male(s)/female all ages: 1.1 male(s)/female (1996 est.)
Infant mortality rate: 27.3 deaths/1,000 live births (1996 est.)
Life expectancy at birth: total population: 70.53 years male: 68.59 years female: 72.57 years (1996 est.)
Total fertility rate: 6.09 children born/woman (1996 est.)
Nationality: noun: Omani(s) adjective: Omani
Ethnic divisions: Arab, Baluchi, South Asian (Indian, Pakistani, Sri Lankan, Bangladeshi), African
Religions: Ibadhi Muslim 75%, Sunni Muslim, Shi'a Muslim, Hindu
Languages: Arabic (official), English, Baluchi, Urdu, Indian dialects
Literacy: NA
Government ----------
Name of country: conventional long form: Sultanate of Oman conventional short form: Oman local long form: Saltanat Uman local short form: Uman
Data code: MU
Type of government: monarchy
Capital: Muscat
Administrative divisions: 6 regions (mintaqah, singular - mintaqat) and 2 governorates* (muhafazah, singular - muhafazat) Ad Dakhiliyah, Al Batinah, Al Wusta, Ash Sharqiyah, Az Zahirah, Masqat, Musandam*, Zufar*
Independence: 1650 (expulsion of the Portuguese)
National holiday: National Day, 18 November (1940)
Constitution: none
Legal system: based on English common law and Islamic law; ultimate appeal to the sultan; has not accepted compulsory ICJ jurisdiction
Suffrage: none
Executive branch: chief of state and head of government: Sultan and Prime Minister QABOOS bin Said Al Said (since 23 July 1970) is a hereditary monarch; cabinet: Cabinet was appointed by the sultan
Legislative branch: unicameral Consultative Council (Majlis ash Shura): a 60-member body with advisory powers only
Judicial branch: none; traditional Islamic judges and a nascent civil court system, administered by region
Political parties and leaders: none
Other political or pressure groups: NA
International organization participation: ABEDA, AFESD, AL, AMF, ESCWA, FAO, G-77, GCC, IBRD, ICAO, IDA, IDB, IFAD, IFC, ILO, IMF, IMO, Inmarsat, Intelsat, Interpol, IOC, ISO (correspondent), ITU, NAM, OIC, UN, UN Security Council (temporary), UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNIDO, UPU, WFTU, WHO, WMO
Diplomatic representation in US: chief of mission: Ambassador Abdallah bin Muhammad bin Aqil al-DHAHAB chancery: 2535 Belmont Road, NW, Washington, DC 20008 telephone: [1] (202) 387-1980 through 1982 FAX: [1] (202) 745-4933
US diplomatic representation: chief of mission: Ambassador Frances D. COOK embassy: address NA, Muscat mailing address: P. O. Box 202, Code No. 115, Medinat Qaboos, Muscat telephone: [968] 698989 FAX: [968] 699779
Flag: three horizontal bands of white (top, double width), red, and green (double width) with a broad, vertical, red band on the hoist side; the national emblem (a khanjar dagger in its sheath superimposed on two crossed swords in scabbards) in white is centered at the top of the vertical band
Economy -------
Economic overview: Economic performance is closely tied to the fortunes of the oil industry. Petroleum accounts for nearly 90% of export earnings, about 75% of government revenues, and roughly 40% of GDP. Oman has proved oil reserves of 4 billion barrels, equivalent to about 20 years' supply at the current rate of extraction. Agriculture is carried on at a subsistence level and the general population depends on imported food. The government is encouraging private investment, both domestic and foreign, as a prime force for further economic development.
GDP: purchasing power parity - $19.1 billion (1995 est.)
GDP real growth rate: 3.5% (1995 est.)
GDP per capita: $10,800 (1995 est.)
GDP composition by sector: agriculture: 3% industry: 60% services: 37%
Inflation rate (consumer prices): -0.7% (1994 est.)
Labor force: 454,000 by occupation: agriculture 37% (1993 est.)
Unemployment rate: NA%
Budget: revenues: $4.7 billion expenditures: $5.6 billion, including capital expenditures of $NA (1995 est.)
Industries: crude oil production and refining, natural gas production, construction, cement, copper
Industrial production growth rate: 3% (1994 est.)
Electricity: capacity: 1,540,000 kW production: 6 billion kWh consumption per capita: 3,407 kWh (1993)
Agriculture: dates, limes, bananas, alfalfa, vegetables; camels, cattle; annual fish catch averages 100,000 metric tons
Exports: $4.8 billion (f.o.b., 1994 est.) commodities: petroleum 87%, reexports, fish, processed copper, textiles partners: Japan 35%, South Korea 15.8%, US 9%, China 8%, Thailand 5% (1994)
Imports: $4 billion (c.i.f., 1994 est.) commodities: machinery, transportation equipment, manufactured goods, food, livestock, lubricants partners: UAE 27% (largely reexports), Japan 20%, UK 15%, US 5%, Germany 4% (1993)
External debt: $3 billion (1993)
Economic aid: recipient: ODA, $82 million (1993)
Currency: 1 Omani rial (RO) = 1,000 baiza
Exchange rates: Omani rials (RO) per US$1 - 0.3845 (fixed rate since 1986)
Fiscal year: calendar year
Transportation --------------
Railways: 0 km
Highways: total: 25,948 km paved: 4,930 km (including 413 km of expressways) unpaved: 21,018 km (1992 est.)
Pipelines: crude oil 1,300 km; natural gas 1,030 km
Ports: Matrah, Mina' al Fahl, Mina' Raysut
Merchant marine: total: 3 ships (1,000 GRT or over) totaling 16,306 GRT/8,210 DWT ships by type: cargo 1, passenger 1, passenger-cargo 1 (1995 est.)
Airports: total: 129 with paved runways over 3 047 m: 4 with paved runways 1 524 to 2 437 m: 1 with paved runways 914 to 1 523 m: 1 with paved runways under 914 m: 34 with unpaved runways over 3 047 m: 3 with unpaved runways 2 438 to 3 047 m: 3 with unpaved runways 1 524 to 2 437 m: 57 with unpaved runways 914 to 1 523 m: 26 (1995 est.)
Heliports: 1 (1995 est.)
Communications --------------
Telephones: 150,000 (1994 est.)
Telephone system: modern system consisting of open wire, microwave, and radiotelephone communication stations; limited coaxial cable domestic: open wire, microwave, radiotelephone communications, and a domestic satellite system with 8 earth stations international: satellite earth stations - 2 Intelsat (Indian Ocean) and 1 Arabsat
Radio broadcast stations: AM 2, FM 4, shortwave 1
Radios: 1.043 million (1992 est.)
Television broadcast stations: 9
Televisions: 1.195 million (1992 est.)
Defense -------
Branches: Army, Navy, Air Force, paramilitary (includes Royal Oman Police)
Manpower availability: males age 15-49: 532,113 males fit for military service: 301,747 (1996 est.)
Defense expenditures: exchange rate conversion - $1.82 billion, 13.7% of GDP (1996)
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@Pacific Ocean -------------
Map ---
Location: 0 00 N, 160 00 W -- body of water between Antarctica, Asia, Australia, and the Western Hemisphere
Geography ---------
Location: body of water between Antarctica, Asia, Australia, and the Western Hemisphere
Geographic coordinates: 0 00 N, 160 00 W
Map references: World
Area: total area: 165.384 million sq km comparative area: about 18 times the size of the US; the largest ocean (followed by the Atlantic Ocean, the Indian Ocean, and the Arctic Ocean); covers about one-third of the global surface; larger than the total land area of the world note: includes Bali Sea, Bellingshausen Sea, Bering Sea, Bering Strait, Coral Sea, East China Sea, Flores Sea, Gulf of Alaska, Gulf of Tonkin, Java Sea, Philippine Sea, Ross Sea, Savu Sea, Sea of Japan, Sea of Okhotsk, South China Sea, Tasman Sea, Timor Sea, and other tributary water bodies
Coastline: 135,663 km
International disputes: some maritime disputes (see littoral states)
Climate: planetary air pressure systems and resultant wind patterns exhibit remarkable uniformity in the south and east; trade winds and westerly winds are well-developed patterns, modified by seasonal fluctuations; tropical cyclones (hurricanes) may form south of Mexico from June to October and affect Mexico and Central America; continental influences cause climatic uniformity to be much less pronounced in the eastern and western regions at the same latitude in the North Pacific Ocean; the western Pacific is monsoonal - a rainy season occurs during the summer months, when moisture-laden winds blow from the ocean over the land, and a dry season during the winter months, when dry winds blow from the Asian land mass back to the ocean; tropical cyclones (typhoons) may strike southeast and East Asia from May to December
Terrain: surface currents in the northern Pacific are dominated by a clockwise, warm-water gyre (broad circular system of currents) and in the southern Pacific by a counterclockwise, cool-water gyre; in the northern Pacific, sea ice forms in the Bering Sea and Sea of Okhotsk in winter; in the southern Pacific, sea ice from Antarctica reaches its northernmost extent in October; the ocean floor in the eastern Pacific is dominated by the East Pacific Rise, while the western Pacific is dissected by deep trenches, including the Marianas Trench, which is the world's deepest lowest point: Marianas Trench -10,924 m highest point: sea level 0 m
Natural resources: oil and gas fields, polymetallic nodules, sand and gravel aggregates, placer deposits, fish
Environment: current issues: endangered marine species include the dugong, sea lion, sea otter, seals, turtles, and whales; oil pollution in Philippine Sea and South China Sea natural hazards: surrounded by a zone of violent volcanic and earthquake activity sometimes referred to as the "Pacific Ring of Fire"; subject to tropical cyclones (typhoons) in southeast and east Asia from May to December (most frequent from July to October); tropical cyclones (hurricanes) may form south of Mexico and strike Central America and Mexico from June to October (most common in August and September); southern shipping lanes subject to icebergs from Antarctica; occasional El Nino phenomenon occurs off the coast of Peru, when the trade winds slacken and the warm Equatorial Countercurrent moves south, killing the plankton that is the primary food source for anchovies; consequently, the anchovies move to better feeding grounds, causing resident marine birds to starve by the thousands because of the loss of their food source; ships subject to superstructure icing in extreme north from October to May and in extreme south from May to October; persistent fog in the northern Pacific can be a maritime hazard from June to December international agreements: NA
Geographic note: the major choke points are the Bering Strait, Panama Canal, Luzon Strait, and the Singapore Strait; the Equator divides the Pacific Ocean into the North Pacific Ocean and the South Pacific Ocean; dotted with low coral islands and rugged volcanic islands in the southwestern Pacific Ocean
Government ----------
Data code: none; the US Government has not approved a standard for hydrographic codes - see the Cross-Reference List of Hydrographic Codes appendix
Economy -------
Economic overview: The Pacific Ocean is a major contributor to the world economy and particularly to those nations its waters directly touch. It provides low-cost sea transportation between East and West, extensive fishing grounds, offshore oil and gas fields, minerals, and sand and gravel for the construction industry. In 1985 over half (54%) of the world's fish catch came from the Pacific Ocean, which is the only ocean where the fish catch has increased every year since 1978. Exploitation of offshore oil and gas reserves is playing an ever-increasing role in the energy supplies of Australia, NZ, China, US, and Peru. The high cost of recovering offshore oil and gas, combined with the wide swings in world prices for oil since 1985, has slowed but not stopped new drillings.
Transportation --------------
Ports: Bangkok (Thailand), Hong Kong, Kao-hsiung (Taiwan), Los Angeles (US), Manila (Philippines), Pusan (South Korea), San Francisco (US), Seattle (US), Shanghai (China), Singapore, Sydney (Australia), Vladivostok (Russia), Wellington (NZ), Yokohama (Japan)
Communications --------------
Telephone system: international: several submarine cables with network nodal points on Guam and Hawaii
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@Pakistan --------
Map ---
Location: 30 00 N, 70 00 E -- Southern Asia, bordering the Arabian Sea, between India and Iran
Flag ----
Description: green with a vertical white band (symbolizing the role of religious minorities) on the hoist side; a large white crescent and star are centered in the green field; the crescent, star, and color green are traditional symbols of Islam
Geography ---------
Location: Southern Asia, bordering the Arabian Sea, between India and Iran
Geographic coordinates: 30 00 N, 70 00 E
Map references: Asia
Area: total area: 803,940 sq km land area: 778,720 sq km comparative area: slightly less than twice the size of California
Land boundaries: total: 6,774 km border countries: Afghanistan 2,430 km, China 523 km, India 2,912 km, Iran 909 km
Coastline: 1,046 km
Maritime claims: contiguous zone: 24 nm continental shelf: 200 nm or to the edge of the continental margin exclusive economic zone: 200 nm territorial sea: 12 nm
International disputes: status of Kashmir with India; border dispute with Afghanistan (Durand Line); water-sharing problems over the Indus (Wular Barrage) with upstream riparian India
Climate: mostly hot, dry desert; temperate in northwest; arctic in north
Terrain: flat Indus plain in east; mountains in north and northwest; Balochistan plateau in west lowest point: Indian Ocean 0 m highest point: K2 (Mt. Godwin-Austen) 8,611 m
Natural resources: land, extensive natural gas reserves, limited petroleum, poor quality coal, iron ore, copper, salt, limestone
Land use: arable land: 23% permanent crops: 0% meadows and pastures: 6% forest and woodland: 4% other: 67% (1993)
Irrigated land: 170,000 sq km (1992)
Environment: current issues: water pollution from raw sewage, industrial wastes, and agricultural runoff; limited natural fresh water resources; a majority of the population does not have access to potable water; deforestation; soil erosion; desertification natural hazards: frequent earthquakes, occasionally severe especially in north and west; flooding along the Indus after heavy rains (July and August) international agreements: party to - Biodiversity, Climate Change, Endangered Species, Environmental Modification, Hazardous Wastes, Nuclear Test Ban, Ozone Layer Protection, Ship Pollution, Wetlands; signed, but not ratified - Desertification, Law of the Sea, Marine Life Conservation
Geographic note: controls Khyber Pass and Bolan Pass, traditional invasion routes between Central Asia and the Indian Subcontinent
People ------
Population: 129,275,660 (July 1996 est.)