7 June 1905 (Norway declared the union with Sweden dissolved); 26 October 1905 (Sweden agreed to the repeal of the union)
22 May 1990 (Republic of Yemen was established with the merger of the Yemen Arab Republic [Yemen (Sanaa) or North Yemen] and the Marxist-dominated People's Democratic Republic of Yemen [Yemen (Aden) or South Yemen]); note - previously North Yemen became independent in November 1918 (from the Ottoman Empire) and became a republic with the overthrow of the theocratic Imamate in 1962; South Yemen became independent on 30 November 1967 (from the UK)
Religions
Church of Norway 85.7%, Pentecostal 1%, Roman Catholic 1%, other Christian 2.4%, Muslim 1.8%, other 8.1% (2004)
Muslim including Shaf'i (Sunni) and Zaydi (Shia), small numbers of Jewish, Christian, and Hindu
Languages
Bokmal Norwegian (official), Nynorsk Norwegian (official), small Sami- and Finnish-speaking minorities; note - Sami is official in six municipalities
Arabic
Exports
petroleum and petroleum products, machinery and equipment, metals, chemicals, ships, fish
crude oil, coffee, dried and salted fish
External Debt
$644,500,000,000 $
$6,613,000,000 US
Exchange Rate
Norwegian kroner (NOK) per US dollar - 5.6361 (2008), 5.86 (2007), 6.418 (2006), 6.445 (2005), 6.7327 (2004)
Yemeni rials (YER) per US dollar - 199.76 (2008 est.), 199.14 (2007), 197.18 (2006), 192.67 (2005), 184.78 (2004)
Military Budget as percentage of GDP
1.900%
6.600%
Beijing Olympics Medal Count
10
0
Location
Northern Europe, bordering the North Sea and the North Atlantic Ocean, west of Sweden
Middle East, bordering the Arabian Sea, Gulf of Aden, and Red Sea, between Oman and Saudi Arabia
Area
323,802 km sq
527,968 km sq
Coastline
25,148 km
1,906 km
Climate
temperate along coast, modified by North Atlantic Current; colder interior with increased precipitation and colder summers; rainy year-round on west coast
mostly desert; hot and humid along west coast; temperate in western mountains affected by seasonal monsoon; extraordinarily hot, dry, harsh desert in east
