Norway’s high level of oil and gas exports and its extremely robust capital reserves, which are again amongst the highest in the world in per capita terms, make it likely that Norway will continue to be one of the wealthiest countries in the world for at least the short and medium term. This bodes well for continued investment in the freight services sector, which in turn is good news for every shipping company and freight company that operates in Norway.

The cost of living is about 30% higher in Norway than in America and the standard of living is one of the highest in the world. These are amongst the factors that led Foreign Policy Magazine in 2009 to judge Norway to be the best functioning and most stable country in the world – a quite remarkable accolade!

The country has achieved this enviable situation partly because Norway has been blessed with natural resources, including oil, natural gas, fish, forestry and minerals, which are particularly high in relation to the small size of the population. In fact, fish have been exported from Lofoten for over 1000 years.The freight services industry has developed and strengthened over the long term to become the model of efficiency it is today. Meanwhile, export revenues from oil and gas make up 45% of total exports and account for 20% of GDP. So shipping companies and freight services have geared up to handle the specific needs of these industries in terms of storage conditions and handling, as well as the more general freight forwarding needs of some other sectors.

This abundance of natural resources and the income they generate for Norway has led to a situation where the hourly productivity levels as well as average hourly wages in Norway are among the highest in the world.

Norway has stayed outside the European Union, following referendums in 1972 and 1994, but together with Liechtenstein and Iceland, it takes part through the European Economic Area agreement and other inter-governmental agreements between the EU member states. This means that Norway is integrated with the EU internal market in the main and freight transport too has benefited as a result of co-operation across borders with other European countries.

As a result of the winning combination of factors, some of which are outlined here, The Norwegian trade surplus for 2008 was around 80 billion dollars, so Norway is well cushioned against the effects of the global financial crisis and in fact it was the only Western country to run a state budget surplus in 2009. Overall, it is one of the countries in the world to be least affected by the worldwide downturn in 2008 and 2009 and unemployment in Norway is still running at under 4%.

So the freight transport sector in Norway can face the future with confidence, as the economy is in good shape and there is likely to be continued substantial government investment in the international freight infrastructure and the industries which it serves.

The international car hire companies available in Norway are Budget, Sixt, Avis, Thrifty, Alamo, and Auto Europe. Get your choice of a car from these companies and secure your private ride while in Norway. Don’t take the chance and rely on public transportation alone. While taxis are easily available in the area, it could be very hard to hail one during the summer months when tourism is at its peak.

Norway is very popular for its beautiful coastline. Travel here if you would like to have a taste of European living. The towns are a scenic spot on their own. The Arctic borders of Norway are great places to spend some leisure time at since the waters are cool, calm, and peaceful.

With the car as your only tool, you can explore Norway in all its glory. Norway is referred to as a fly-and-drive destination. This means that the roads of the country are always in perfect condition and the high mountains offer scenery that you wouldn’t otherwise see elsewhere.

Norway is a sight-seeing country, no doubt about it. Aside from the romantic beaches, the panoramic views all around the city are the very best that it could offer. Get your ride and make your visit to Norway a blast. Hire a car prior to arrival to ensure yourself of a splendid vacation. It’s the only way you can really enjoy your stay.

The fjord cuts almost 200 kilometers inland and when the ship steered into some of the side fjords, which are in fact quite independent, you get the impression of being tested for claustrophobia. The cliffs are so impossibly high and so close that there is a tangible sense of enclosure, of being locked within the landscape itself.

The landscape is beautiful and deserted. You look around in wonder, knowing that Valhalla is near at hand, the hall where heroes and gods feast before the final battle and the end of the world.

You fear that at any moment a Viking “drakkar” may glide out from the mists, full of merciless conquerors. Instead, you might come across a thousand-year-old wooden church, six storeys high, resembling in shape a Viking helmet. Or, more frequently, you’ll find a herd of goats with bells round their necks.

The secrets of the hundreds of fjords, cutting into the Norwegian shores like wrinkles in her skin, are made more tantalising yet by the colorful houses of the locals. Many people come here to breathe deeply and experience one of the most beautiful countries in Europe, a landscape so sparsely populated that it just swallows up crowds without trace.

Norwegian fjords are a fisherman’s paradise teeming with cod, mackerel, sea trout, wolf-fish, sea-devils and of course the king of the fish, the wild salmon. You’d have to search high and low for a better place to fish: a snack perched on a steep slope, its pillars washed by the sea. The views open out across the fjord to ragged rocks dusted with snow and the midnight sun gleaning on the dark waters. And the catch? None, except perhaps a meter long cod or delicious Salmon! It may look like a normal lake but it’s actually northern wilderness. Norway is a country with most unreliable weather forecasts – they are of no use anyway, since you turn a corner and everything is different. “We have two seasons,” Norwegian say, “a white winter and green winter. There’s no such thing as bad weather. You can only be poorly dressed.”

The topography of Norway is not that much friendly and can be called very intense. It contains some very high plateaus, steep fjords, mountains and some very fertile valleys. The climate is also full of varieties and it can be very pleasant around the coastal areas and surprisingly cooler in the inner part of the country. Because of its northern most position on the globe, it experiences long days during summer season and long nights during winter season. During summer, you can witness sunlight until the midnight and therefore, Norway is also known as the land of midnight sun.

As far as the people of Norway are concerned, they are very friendly. People living there are known as Norwegians. As per the latest population count, which was held in 2006, the population of Norway was 4,593,000. The population is not increasing very fast as the annual growth rate is only .41 percent. A surprising fact is that there is only one person for every 15 square miles of land. Most of the people living in Norway are the blend of people from all the Scandinavian countries. The main majority is the mix of Nordic, Alpine and Baltic people who have intermixed with each other for centuries now. People of Norway do not believe in migrating to some other place hence, the immigration rate is very low. It was registered that there were only 300,000 immigrants in 2006.

From the religion point of view, Norwegians are very particular and finicky. More than 87 percent of total of Norwegian people believe in Christianity as their religion and have very firm faith on the church of Norway. The church of Norway is under the Lutheran concept of preaching. Although, Christianity is the widely spread religion but you can also find some Pentecostal Christians, Roman Catholics and Muslims in very small percentages.

Norwegians basically speak two languages i.e. Bokmal Norwegian and Nynorsk. However Norwegian is widely spoken and is the chief language which is taught in the school system. But still, some Sámi and Finish speaking communities can also be found here but not much in number. The literacy of Norway is very close to 100 percent. Also, the life expectancy is very high as the Norwegian male can live up to 76 years and females there can live up to 81 years.