Norway, formally the Kingdom of Norway, is a Nordic country in Northern Europe, situated on the Scandinavian Peninsula. The remote Arctic island of Jan Mayen and the archipelago of Svalbard also form part of Norway. Bouvet Island, located in the Subantarctic, is a dependency; Norway also claims the Antarctic territories of Peter I Island and Queen Maud Land. The capital and largest city in Norway is Oslo.
Scandinavia is a subregion of Northern Europe, with strong historical, cultural, and linguistic ties between its constituent peoples. Scandinavia most commonly refers to Denmark, Norway, and Sweden. It can sometimes also refer more narrowly to the Scandinavian Peninsula. In English usage, Scandinavia is sometimes used as a synonym for Nordic countries. Iceland and the Faroe Islands are sometimes included in Scandinavia for their ethnolinguistic relations with Sweden, Norway and Denmark. While Finland differs from other Nordic countries in this respect, some authors call it Scandinavian due to its economic and cultural similarities.
The Sámi are the traditionally Sámi-speaking peoples inhabiting the region of Sápmi, which today encompasses large northern parts of Norway, Sweden, Finland, and of the Kola Peninsula in Russia. The region of Sápmi was formerly known as Lapland, and the Sámi have historically been known in English as Lapps or Laplanders, but these terms are regarded as offensive by the Sámi, who prefer the area's name in their own languages, e.g. Northern Sámi Sápmi. Their traditional languages are the Sámi languages, which are classified as a branch of the Uralic language family.
Sápmi is the cultural region traditionally inhabited by the Sámi people. Sápmi is in Northern Europe and includes the northern parts of Fennoscandia, also known as the "Cap of the North".
The northern region of Europe has several definitions. A restrictive definition may describe Northern Europe as being roughly north of the southern coast of the Baltic Sea, which is about 54°N, or may be based on other geographical factors such as climate and ecology.
Finnmark is a county in the northern part of Norway.
The Church of Norway is an evangelical Lutheran denomination of Protestant Christianity and by far the largest Christian church in Norway. The church became the state church of Norway around 1020, and was established as a separate church intimately integrated with the state as a result of the Lutheran reformation in Denmark–Norway which broke ties with the Holy See in 1536–1537; the King of Norway was the church's head from 1537 to 2012. Historically the church was one of the main instruments of royal power and official authority, and an important part of the state administration; local government was based on the church's parishes with significant official responsibility held by the parish priest.
Finland is divided into 19 regions which are governed by regional councils that serve as forums of cooperation for the municipalities of each region. The councils are composed of delegates from the municipal councils. The main tasks of regional councils are regional planning, the development of enterprises, and education. Between 2004 and 2012, the regional council of Kainuu was elected via popular elections as part of an experimental regional administration.
Neiden is a village area in the Sápmi area along the Finland–Norway border with about 250 inhabitants. Neiden, situated along the Neiden River, actually consists of two villages 12 kilometers apart, separated by the border of Norway and Finland. One village is in Sør-Varanger Municipality in Troms og Finnmark county, Norway, and the other village is in Inari Municipality in Lapland, Finland. Neiden is the official name in Norway and Näätämö in Finland. The European route E6 highway runs through the Norwegian village of Neiden. The village on the Finnish side is close to the border and has border shops.
The Royal Norwegian Ministry of Government Administration, Reform and Church Affairs was a Norwegian ministry.
The Government agencies of Norway are state controlled organizations that act independently to carry out the policies of the Government of Norway. The Government Ministries are relatively small and merely policy-making organizations, allowed to control agencies by policy decisions but not by direct orders. A Minister is explicitly prohibited from interfering with the day-to-day operation in an agency or the outcome in individual cases. While no minister is allowed to give orders to agencies personally, they are subject to decisions made by the Government. Also, the Minister is normally the instance of appeals of agencies decisions.
The Royal Ministry of Education and Research is a Norwegian government ministry responsible for education, research, kindergartens and integration. The ministry was established in 1814 as the Royal Ministry of Church and Education Affairs.
The Sámi Parliament of Norway is the representative body for people of Sámi heritage in Norway. It acts as an institution of cultural autonomy for the Sami people of Norway.
The following outline provides an overview of, and topical guide to, the Kingdom of Norway.
Norway's elongated shape, its numerous internal geographical barriers and the often widely dispersed and separated settlements are all factors that have strongly influenced the structure of the country's administrative subdivisions. This structure has varied over time and is subject to continuous review. In 2017, the government decided to abolish some of the counties and to merge them with other counties to form larger ones, reducing the number of counties from 19 to 11, which was implemented on 1 January 2020. Following protests, the new government decided to abolish three of the new counties in 2022, and re-establish seven of the old ones. Taking effect on 1. January 2024 there are fifteen counties in Norway.
Sámi languages, in English also rendered as Sami and Saami, are a group of Uralic languages spoken by the Sámi people in Northern Europe. There are, depending on the nature and terms of division, ten or more Sami languages. Several spellings have been used for the Sámi languages, including Sámi, Sami, Saami, Saame, Sámic, Samic and Saamic, as well as the exonyms Lappish and Lappic. The last two, along with the term Lapp, are now often considered pejorative.
Sámi media refers to media in one of the Sámi languages or media that deals with Sámi-related issues in Norwegian, Swedish, English or some other non-Sámi language. The establishment of Sámi media in Norway coincides with the rise in nationalism there in the late 19th century. Much of the Sámi media has met the same fate over the years and been felled by a lack of funding or by going bankrupt.
Tromsø is a city in Tromsø Municipality in Troms og Finnmark county, Norway. The city is the administrative centre of the municipality as well as the administrative centre of Troms county. The Diocese of Nord-Hålogaland and its Bishop are based at the Tromsø Cathedral in the city. The city is located on the island of Tromsøya which sits in the Tromsøysundet strait, just off the mainland of Northern Norway. The mainland suburb of Tromsdalen is connected to the city centre on Tromsøya by the Tromsø Bridge and the Tromsøysund Tunnel. The suburb of Kvaløysletta on the island of Kvaløya is connected to the city centre by the Sandnessund Bridge.
Dieđut is a peer-reviewed academic journal published by the Nordic Sámi Institute. It features articles on social sciences, linguistics, and law. It was originally established to publish research findings from the Nordic Sámi Institute, but since 2005 has been affiliated with the Sámi University of Applied Sciences.
