1. WORLD'S LONGEST ROAD TUNNEL IS IN NORWAY
At an astonishing 15 miles (24.5 km) long, the Lærdal Tunnel is the world’s longest. Costing 1 billion Norwegian kroner to build (that's about USD $110m or N42b) the tunnel connects the small communities of Lærdal and Aurland. Its design is admired all around the world, as it incorporates features to help manage the mental strain on drivers. Every 6km there is a cave to separate sections of road. The lighting varies throughout the tunnel and caves to break routine and provide a varied view.

2. NOBEL PEACE PRIZE IS AWARDED IN OSLO
The Norwegian capital has been the proud venue of the Nobel Peace Prize ceremony every year (with just a few exceptions) since 1901. The other Nobel prizes in Chemistry, Literature, Physics and Physiology or Medicine are awarded in Stockholm, Sweden. That's due to the wishes of Alfred Nobel, the Swedish chemist who bequeathed his wealth to create the awards upon his death. No-one's quite sure why he chose Norway for the Peace Prize.

3. WORLD'S MOST REMOTE ISLAND IS A NORWEGIAN TERRITORY
But it may surprise you to learn it's not in the north! It's actually on the other side of the world. Administered by Norway since 1929, Bouvet Island in the South Atlantic Ocean is Planet Earth's most remote island. It is located approximately 1,700km north of the coastline of Antarctica and 2,600km away from the South African coast. The closest inhabited land is the British overseas territory of Tristan da Cunha, more than 2,000km away. Tristan is also an extremely remote place, with no airport.

4. HAS A LAND BORDER WITH RUSSIA
Altough there is just one road crossing, the Norway-Russia land border is actually 120 miles long. The Storskog crossing on the E105 highway is the northernmost road border crossing in Europe. In September 2017, a new tunnel and bridge opened on the Norway side of the border, decreasing travel time for those crossing the border.

5. NORWAY IS HOME TO HELL
Yes, really! A little over one thousand Norwegians can say they live in Hell. The small village is within walking distance of Trondheim's international airport and even has its own train station.

6. NORWAY INTRODUCED SALMON SUSHI TO JAPAN
While sushi is absolutely a Japanese invention, they did not use salmon in the dish until it was suggested by a Norwegian delegation in the 1980s.

7. INCOME & WEALTH OF ALL RESIDENTS IS ON PUBLIC RECORD
Everyone living in Norway has three figures taken from their annual tax return published: their annual income, income tax paid, and total wealth. Yes, really! Prior 2013, this data was completely open and searchable by anyone. That has since changed though, and now a person is able to see who has looked up their own data. The thought behind this concept is that tax evasion becomes much more difficult. If you're recording a low income and/or wealth but are driving around in a brand-new Tesla, the authorities are going to get suspicious.

8. FIRST U.N. SECRETARY-GENERAL WAS NORWEGIAN
In fact, Norway was a founding member of the United Nations back in 1945, when 850 delegates from 50 nations met in San Francisco. Those delegates discussed the proposals worked out by the representatives from China, the Soviet Union, the UK and the USA from August to October the previous year. The pragmatic and determined Trygve Lie, who served as Norwegian Foreign Minister during the Second World War years of exile in London, took up the post as Secretary-General during the post-war years from 1946 to 1952. He passed away in 1968 at the age 72.

9. NORWAY ROCKS THE WINTER OLYMPICS
Norway is the world's most successful nation at the Winter Olympic Games. Despite having little more than 5 million residents, Norway has won more medals than any other country in Olympic history. Following the 2018 games in South Korea, Norway's total medal haul stood at 368, including 132 golds, from the 23 competitions. Their closest rivals in the table were the USA (305/105) and Germany (238/92).

10. NORWAY HAS A VOLCANO!
But don't panic, it's nowhere near the country's biggest cities and won't impact Norway's mainland if it were to erupt. That's because Norway's only active volcano is on the island of Jan Mayen in the Norwegian Sea. It's about half-way between Norway and Greenland, north of Iceland, and is considered together with Svalbard for administrative purposes by the Government. Although no permanent residents live anywhere near the 7,306 feet (2,227 m) Beerenberg volcano, research scientists regularly visit the island and even some cruise ships stop by.

11. NORWAY ISN'T CALLED NORWAY!
At least, not in Norwegian. Norway is the name of the country in the English language. In Norwegian, the country is called Norge. In the lesser-used nynorsk variety of Norwegian, the spelling is Noreg. In fact, the full name of the country is actually the Kingdom of Norway. In Norwegian, this is written as Kongeriket Norge, or Kongeriket Noreg in nynorsk. Other names for the country include Norwegen (Germany), Noruega (Spanish & Portuguesre), Norvegia (Italian), Norvège (French), and Norja (Finnish). Meanwhile, the Norwegian language is known in Norway as norsk.

12. NORWAY ISN'T POWERED BY OIL
Sure, Norway's oil and gas industry has powered the economy, but it doesn't power the nation's homes. Around 98% of Norway's domestic power usage is drawn from hydroelectric power plants. Although Norway is only ranked 9th globally based on the percentage of domestic power sourced from renewable sources, the country actually generates more electricity than all of the 8 countries ranked above them – combined!

13. NO-ONE KNOWS HOW LONG NORWAY'S COASTLINE IS!
It's known throughout the world for its jagged mountains and stunning fjords, but believe it or not, no-one knows for sure just how long Norway's epic coast is. The somewhat counterintuitive observation that the coastline of a landmass does not have a well-defined length is known as the coastline paradox. Because of the fractal nature of a coastline, you can only define its length by using units of a specific length. When the unit length differs, the total length differs – and the difference can be massive.

Stretching all the way from the Oslofjord down to the sunny south, in and out of the many western fjords and then stretching out for many, miles northward before bending around the top of the Scandinavian peninsular to meet with Russia, only one thing's for sure: It's very long!

14. NORWAY WAS NEUTRAL DURING THE FIRST WORLD WAR
After WW1 broke out, Norway declared its neutrality. Despite this, Norway still made trade agreements with Great Britain and in 1917 allowed them take control of Norwegian sea vessels. Norway’s impartial position was in place until April 1940, just two months into the Second World War, when the Germans invaded. The Scandinavian country was an attractive location for Adolf Hitler, who was interested by its many accessible sea ports and the extraction of iron ore from nearby Sweden.

15. NORWAY'S CAPITAL WASN’T ALWAYS CALLED OSLO
Founded in 1040, its name was originally spelt Ânslo or Áslo. In 1624, after a great fire destroyed large parts of the city, the decision was made to move and rebuild it closer to Akershus Fortress. The move also involved changing the name to Christiania in honour of the ruling monarch, King Christian IV. Between 1814 and 1905, the city existed as a co-official capital of the union between Norway and Sweden. In 1877, after the spelling reform, the city’s name was altered to Kristiania. It remained that way until 1925, when it returned to its origin name, Oslo.

The city also has a nickname, Tigerstaden (the City of Tigers). Named so in 1870 by Norwegian writer Bjørnstjerne Bjørnson who referred to the city as an inhospitable environment (cold and uninviting). There is statue of a tiger outside Olso Central Station in honour of the reference.

SOURCE (abridged): https://www.lifeinnorway.net/norway-facts/

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