Norway

Europe's northernmost country is Norway, a long, narrow corridor separating the rest of Scandinavia from the Atlantic and Arctic Oceans. Over 50,000 islands increase the 1,553-mile (2,500-kilometer) coastline tenfold, filtering currents already tempered by the North Atlantic Current that leaves its harbors free of ice and snow. Its glaciated topography of rugged mountains, long fjords and thousands of lakes reduces its total arable land to less than 3 percent. Most of its 5 million residents live in the urban areas, including the major ports of Oslo (the capital), Stavenger, Bergen, and Trondheim. The remaining residents are quite scattered, with over 30 percent of Norwegian schools having less than 100 students. Norway boasts 100 percent literacy and one of the highest standards of living in the ...