🇳🇴Norway

Norway is a constitutional monarchy and parliamentary democracy in Northern Europe. It is a founding member of NATO (1949) and part of the European Economic Area and the Schengen Area, but — unusually for Western Europe — it is not a member of the European Union, having rejected membership in referendums in 1972 and 1994. Legislative power rests with the Storting, a unicameral parliament of 169 members elected for fixed four-year terms; Norway holds no snap elections, so the parliament always serves its full term. Members are chosen by party-list proportional representation using the modified Sainte-Laguë method across 19 multi-member constituencies, with 150 constituency seats topped up by 19 nationwide levelling seats (utjevningsmandater) awarded to parties that clear a 4% national threshold, making the overall result highly proportional. The monarch — King Harald V — is a ceremonial head of state, while executive power lies with a prime minister and cabinet that must retain the confidence of the Storting. Norwegian politics is organised around two broad blocs: a "red-green" left led by the Labour Party (Arbeiderpartiet), the Centre Party (Senterpartiet) and the Socialist Left (SV), and a non-socialist right led by the Conservatives (Høyre) and the Progress Party (Fremskrittspartiet), with the Liberals (Venstre), Christian Democrats (KrF), Greens (MDG) and Red (Rødt) completing the spectrum. The Conservative-led governments of Erna Solberg (2013–2021) gave way to Jonas Gahr Støre's Labour-led red-green government in 2021, which was returned to office in 2025. Between Storting elections Norway holds combined municipal (kommunestyrevalg) and county (fylkestingsvalg) council elections — in 2015, 2019 and 2023 — and elects the Sámi Parliament (Sameting). Elections are administered by the Norwegian Election Directorate (Valgdirektoratet) and results are published at valgresultat.no. Norway consistently ranks among the world's most robust and least corrupt democracies.