Norway, officially the Kingdom of Norway, is a Nordic country located in Northern Europe, occupying the western part of the Scandinavian Peninsula. Its territory is divided into eleven administrative provinces (fylker), with Oslo as its capital and most populous city. Known for its dramatic landscapes, fjords, and Viking heritage, Norway traces its historical roots to ancient settlements around 10,000 BC and later unification under King Harald Fairhair in the 9th century. The country shares linguistic ties with its Scandinavian neighbors, with Norwegian existing in two official written forms (Bokmål and Nynorsk) while maintaining mutual intelligibility with Danish and Swedish. English serves as the primary foreign language for international communication, followed by German and French. Norway’s modern identity emerged after gaining independence from Sweden in 1905, following centuries of unions with Denmark and Sweden.
