Norway, known as the Kingdom of Norway in full, means "the road leading to the north". As one of the five Nordic countries, it is located in the western Scandinavia. Norway's territory is long and narrow from the north to the south, the coastline is long and tortuous with many coastal islands, and it is known as the "country with thousands of islands". It borders with Sweden, Finland and Russia, and the territory also includes the Svalbard and Jan Mayen Island. Its capital is Oslo.

Norway is a developed industrialized country, the oil industry is the pillar of its national economy, and Norway is also the largest oil producer in Western Europe and the world's third-largest oil exporter. Since 2001 Norway has been rated by the United Nations as the most livable country for six consecutive years and has consistently ranked first in the Global Human Development Index from 2009 to 2013.

Norway is a highly-developed capitalist country, a member of NATO, and its economy is a successful combination of market liberalization and government macro-control. Norway is also one of the pioneers in creating a modern welfare country. In addition, the papermaking, shipbuilding, machinery, water, electricity, chemicals and wood processing are Norway's traditional developed industries. Norway is not currently a member of the European Union and does not use the euro.