Norway is a country in Europe, in Scandinavia and the Nordic countries, with about 5.61 million people (2025) and an area of 624,500 square kilometres. Its capital is Oslo, and it shares land borders with 3 countries.
By Team Geography·Last reviewed
Flag of NorwayNorway in solid, land neighbours outlined, capital marked.
The app teaches each country through short hand written lenses: PLACE for physical geography, STORY for history and identity, NOW for the news, and THREAD for the ties between countries. Here is one of Norway's 17, in full.
PLACELens 1 of 17
Norway's coastline is longer than most countries are wide
If you straightened Norway's coast, every fjord, inlet, and island, it would stretch over 100,000 kilometers, roughly two and a half times around the Earth. The country is long and narrow, reaching above the Arctic Circle into territory where winter means months of darkness. Fjords carved by glaciers created a coastline that made Norwegians seafarers by necessity and fishermen by geography.
More on over 100,000 kilometers
Including all islands, Norway's coastline is one of the longest in the world. This geography shaped its maritime economy, from Viking-era exploration to today's fishing and offshore oil industries.
16 more lenses on Norway in the app
STORY Norway turned oil into the world's largest sovereign wealth fund
NOW Norway supplies Europe's gas and banks the difference
NOW The world's most successful petrostate is electrifying itself
THREAD A NATO founder that chose to stay outside the EU
PLACE Football along the fjords
STORY The night they beat Brazil
NOW From a long absence to the last eight
THREAD Scandinavia's shared road
PLACE Oil under the North Sea
STORY Built from the bottom up
NOW The window a small nation finally opened
THREAD Exports to the giants
PLACE An Arctic archipelago where forty-nine countries hold rights
STORY The people Norway tried to turn Norwegian
THREAD The fish diplomacy that outlasted the sanctions
PLACE Rain, altitude, and half of Europe's stored water
Titles only. The app brings each lens back on a spaced repetition schedule set by how well you knew it: New, Hazy or Clear.
Compare Norway with another country
Opens the country comparison tool with population, area, income and more side by side, every figure dated.
Common questions
What is the capital of Norway?
The capital of Norway is Oslo. Oslo lies at about 59.9 degrees north and 10.7 degrees east. Norway is in Europe, in the region often called Scandinavia and the Nordic countries. It is home to about 5.61 million people. The world capitals quiz on this site tests every capital, and the printable capitals sheets cover each continent.
What is the population of Norway?
About 5.61 million people live in Norway, according to the World Bank figures for 2025. That makes it the 117th most populous of the 195 countries. With an area of 624,500 square kilometres, that is about 9.0 people per square kilometre.
What countries border Norway?
Norway shares land borders with 3 countries: Finland, Russia and Sweden. The map on this page outlines each of them around Norway. The count includes only borders on land, not neighbours across a sea or a lake. Borders here follow Natural Earth at the 1:50 million scale, with Crimea shown as part of Ukraine and Western Sahara as a separate territory.
How big is Norway?
Norway covers 624,500 square kilometres, or about 241,121 square miles. That makes it the 43rd largest of the 195 countries. The figure is total surface area, which includes inland water such as lakes and rivers. Its population of about 5.61 million gives a density of 9.0 people per square kilometre.
Norway is a country in Europe, in Scandinavia and the Nordic countries, with about 5.61 million people (2025) and an area of 624,500 square kilometres. Its capital is Oslo, and it shares land borders with 3 countries.
Capital
Oslo
Continent
Europe
Region
Scandinavia and the Nordic countries
Population
5,610,870 2025, World Bank. 117th of 195.
Area
624,500 km² (241,121 sq mi) World Bank, surface area. 43rd largest of 195.
Population density
9.0 people per km²
Land neighbours
3: Finland, Russia, Sweden
Official name
Kingdom of Norway
UN status
Member state
PLACE · from the Geography app
Norway's coastline is longer than most countries are wide
If you straightened Norway's coast, every fjord, inlet, and island, it would stretch over 100,000 kilometers, roughly two and a half times around the Earth. The country is long and narrow, reaching above the Arctic Circle into territory where winter means months of darkness. Fjords carved by glaciers created a coastline that made Norwegians seafarers by necessity and fishermen by geography.
Keep going on your iPhone. Scan for Geography: the world, one country at a time, about five minutes a day. No quizzes and no streaks. playgeography.app/countries/norway/ · Map data: Natural Earth. Figures: World Bank and national sources, as listed on the page.
Geography · Country report
Norway
NameDate
Draw the flag
Colour Norway on the map, then fill in what you find.
Capital
Continent
Population
Area
Languages
Currency
Neighbours
Landmarks
Rivers or mountains
Three things I learned
1
2
3
One question I still have
?
Keep going on your iPhone. Scan for Geography: the world, one country at a time, about five minutes a day. No quizzes and no streaks. playgeography.app/countries/norway/ · Map data: Natural Earth. Figures: World Bank and national sources, as listed on the page.
