Training

In Norway, compulsory schooling ranges from 6 to 16 years of age. The elementary school is divided into two stages: primary school from first to seventh grade and secondary school from class eight to ten. The municipality is responsible for the public school, which most of the pupils attend. Free schools are not at all as common as in Sweden.

• COUNTRYAAH: Country facts of Norway, including geography profile, population statistics, and business data.

Virtually all students complete primary school. All children who stay in Norway for more than three months have the right – and duty – to attend compulsory school, which is free of charge.

Small children can go to preschool (kindergarten). More than 90 percent of all Norwegian children aged one to five attend preschool.

All pupils who have left primary school are entitled to three years of upper secondary or vocational education in a so-called secondary school. Almost all students study further at this level.

Universities are located in Oslo (since 1811), Bergen, Tromsø, Trondheim, Stavanger, Ås, Kristiansand and Bodø. There are a wide range of specialized and professional colleges, including a fisheries college. Adult education is well developed, not least through the folk high schools.

• Andyeducation: Introduction to education system in Norway, including compulsory schooling and higher education.

FACTS – EDUCATION

Proportion of children starting primary school

99.9 percent (2017)

Number of pupils per teacher in primary school

9 (2016)

Public expenditure on education as a percentage of GDP

15.7 percent (2015)

Public expenditure on education as a percentage of the state budget

15.7 percent (2015)

2016

December

The diplomatic relations with China are restored

December 18

China and Norway agree to start free trade talks. This means that the break in the diplomatic relations that occurred in 2010 as a result of the Norwegian Nobel Committee awarding the peace award to the imprisoned Chinese dissident Liu Xiaobo is now over.

October

US soldiers are to be trained in Norway

October 24th

The Norwegian government announces that 330 American marines will be placed in Norway in rounds for training in maneuvering in Arctic conditions. The American soldiers are supposed to be about 100 miles from the Russian border, but the decision is still expected to cause dissatisfaction in Russia. The US already has a lot of military equipment in Norway, but no troops.

Budget holes are covered with oil money

October 6

The government presents its budget for 2017. It includes, among other things, new investments in the defense, reduced corporate taxes (to 24 percent) and investments in infrastructure to reduce unemployment. To get the budget together, the government will have to take 225 billion Norwegian kroner (about 240 billion Swedish kronor) from the oil fund.

June

Mullah Krekar can be extradited to Italy

June 26

A Norwegian court has ruled that disputed religious leader Mullah Krekar may be extradited to Italy where he is suspected of conspiring with militant Sunni Muslims.

The government wants to invest in defense

17th of June

The Norwegian government announces plans for a major upgrading of the defense. If the proposal is approved by the parliament, Norway will buy over 50 new fighter planes, four new submarines and new surveillance plan. Prime Minister Solberg justifies the plans with a deteriorating geopolitical situation in the immediate area.

May

Norway strengthens its contribution to the fight against IS

May 2

Prime Minister Solberg announces that Norway will send 60 soldiers to Jordan to train Syrian soldiers in the fight against IS. In the past, Norwegians have been training Kurdish peshmerga soldiers in Iraqi Kurdistan.

April

Thirteen dead in helicopter accident

April 29

All 13 people aboard a transport helicopter on the way from an oil platform outside Bergen perish when the helicopter crashes.

The state appeals against the judgment on Breivik

26th of April

The Norwegian state appeals against Oslo District Court’s judgment that Breivik’s human rights were violated in prison.

“The Norwegian state treats Breivik inhumane”

April 20

The Oslo District Court states that the Nazi and mass murderer Anders Behring Breivik has been “treated inhumane” as he has been in an isolation cell for almost five years since the terrorist attack in Oslo and Utöya in 2011. The court says that Breivik’s human rights have been violated by too strict restrictions on correspondence and visits. Breivik sued the state in March 2016 and demands to be able to communicate more with its supporters. Staff at the prison where Breivik is sitting say that no changes to the prisoner’s routines are planned.

January

Refugees are rejected to Russia

Norway sends back a first group of dozens of refugees who have made their way to the country by crossing the border with Russia in the north. A total of 5,500 asylum seekers reside at a facility in Northern Norway after entering this country. The UN has warned Norway that the rejections could be a violation of the UN Refugee Convention. The rejections are temporarily stopped by the Norwegian authorities when Russia makes contact and calls for better coordination between the two countries.