Norway

Through the ages

Rivals in history

The kingdoms, empires and states Norway fought or stood against, from the first to today.

1. 🇬🇧 Anglo-Saxon England793 to 1066

   Norwegian Vikings raided English and Scottish coasts for more than two centuries, and Erik Bloodaxe ruled York around 950. The era closed in September 1066, when Harald Hardrada's invasion was crushed by King Harold II at Stamford Bridge.

2. 🇩🇰 Kingdom of Denmark970 to 1035

   Danish kings repeatedly claimed overlordship of Norway. Harald Bluetooth controlled the south around 970, King Olaf Tryggvason was killed at the sea battle of Svolder around 1000 fighting Danes and Swedes, and Cnut the Great ruled Norway from 1028 to 1035.

3. 🇬🇧 Kingdom of Scotland1263 to 1266

   Scotland and Norway disputed the Hebrides and the Isle of Man. After King Haakon IV's great expedition ended inconclusively at the Battle of Largs in 1263, Norway sold the islands to Scotland by the Treaty of Perth in 1266.

4. 🇸🇪 Kingdom of Sweden1563 to 1720

   As part of Denmark-Norway, Norway fought Sweden again and again: the Northern Seven Years' War, the Kalmar War and the wars that cost it Jamtland, Harjedalen and Bohuslan. Charles XII of Sweden was killed besieging Fredriksten fortress at Halden in 1718.

5. 🇸🇪 Kingdom of Sweden1814 to 1905

   Sweden forced Norway into union after a short war in the summer of 1814. Disputes over Norway's own consuls and foreign affairs led the Norwegian parliament to dissolve the union in 1905, and Sweden accepted after talks at Karlstad.

6. 🇩🇪 Nazi Germany1940 to 1945

   Germany invaded on 9 April 1940 to secure the iron ore route through Narvik and bases on the Atlantic. Norwegian and Allied forces fought for two months, and the occupation, with Vidkun Quisling's collaborationist regime, lasted until May 1945.

7. 🇷🇺 Soviet Union and Russia1944 to 2010

   Neighbours again since the Red Army drove German troops out of Finnmark in 1944. In the Cold War Norway was NATO's northern flank facing Soviet bases on the Kola peninsula. A forty year dispute over the Barents Sea boundary was settled by treaty in 2010.

Today

Norway now

Two centuries of Viking raids into Europe tapered off after King Olav TRYGGVASON adopted Christianity in 994; conversion of the Norwegian kingdom occurred over the next several decades. In 1397, Norway was absorbed into a union with Denmark that lasted more than four centuries. In 1814, Norwegians resisted the cession of their country to Sweden and adopted a new constitution. Sweden then invaded Norway but agreed to let Norway keep its constitution in return for accepting the union under a Swedish king.

Capital

Oslo

Government

parliamentary constitutional monarchy

Head of government

Jonas Gahr Støre

Head of state

Haakon VIII of Norway

Languages

Sámi, Bokmål, Norwegian

Area

624,500 km²

Through time

Then and now

• Population5.5 million2023 · 3.3 million in 1950
• Life expectancy83.3 years2023 · 71.6 years in 1950
• GDP per person$88,3662022 · $8,655 in 1950
• Living in cities84%2025 · 48% in 1950
• Literacy99%1950
• Political regimeLiberal democracy2025 · Liberal democracy in 1950
• Military alliancesNATO2024 · NATO in 1950
• Military spending3.3% of GDP2025 · 2.4% of GDP in 1950
• War deathsNone2025

Population: HYDE 3.3, Gapminder and UN WPP. GDP per capita: Maddison Project Database 2023. Urban share: UN WPP. Life expectancy: Riley, HMD, UN WPP. Literacy: OWID historical estimates, World Bank, UNESCO. Military spending: SIPRI. War deaths: UCDP. Political regime: V-Dem, Regimes of the World. All via Our World in Data (CC BY 4.0). Alliances and organization memberships: compiled by Atlas. Satellites in orbit: CelesTrak SATCAT. Modern borders, backcast.

Relations

Close partners and tensions

Summarised from World Bank and Wikipedia data, updated 24 October 2026.