Monarchy and parliamentary democracy Norway The Arctic circle Oslo The Golf stream To sum up Norway: We are few and the country is sparsely populated. The climate may be harsh. We have a royal family, but ruled by a Government and a Parliament. We rely on a strong welfare state – The Nordic model which is characterised by the following: Free public services (such as free education and universal healthcare), public pension plans, low barriers to free trade, low level of corruption, high percentage of workers belonging to a labour union, high percentage of women participation in the working life, high degree of gender equality and high tax burden. Our official language is Norwegian and Sami, but most Norwegian speak English quite well. Approximately 300 bachelor and master programmes offered are taught in English 5 295 619 inhabitants. 15 per square km. Monarchy and parliamentary democracy Strong welfare state Norwegian language 75 000 USD per capita