NORWAY

NORWAY HEALH SYSTEM

Compulsory membership in a national health-insurance system

guarantees all Norwegians free medical care in hospitals,
compensation for doctors' fees, and free medicine, as well as an
allowance to compensate for lost wages.

Membership fees securing cash benefits during illness or

pregnancy, covered by another insurance fund, are compulsory
for salaried employees and optional for the self-employed. Most
Norwegian doctors work in hospitals, the majority of which are
owned by the state, counties, and municipalities. Extensive
programs of preventive medicine have conquered Norway's
ancient nemesis, tuberculosis.

There is also a well-developed system of maternal and child

health care, as well as compulsory school health services and
free family counseling by professionals. A public dental service
provides care for about nine-tenths of children between 7 and
15 years of age. In some municipalities dental care has been
extended downward to 3 years of age and upward to 20 years.

A “people's pension” was established in Norway in 1967 to

ensure all citizens a standard of living reasonably close to the
level that an individual had achieved during his or her working
life. The pension covers old age and cases of disability or loss of
support. The premiums are paid by the individual members,
employers, municipalities, and the state. The basic pension is
adjusted every year, regardless of the plan's income.
Supplementary pensions vary according to income and pension-
earning time. The state pays a family allowance for all children
up to 16 years of age

Education

School attendance is mandatory for 10 years, from age 6 to 16,

with an optional 11th year. Mandatory subjects include
Norwegian, religion, mathematics, music, physical education,
science, and English. Optional courses in the arts and in other
foreign languages, as well as vocational training in such areas
as office skills, agriculture, and seamanship, are available in the
upper grades. With three years of additional high school,
students may take the examinations leading to university study.
A small percentage of college and university students study
abroad. Institutions of higher education in Norway have been
expanded to accommodate the doubling of the student
population that occurred between the early 1980s and the mid
1990s. The country's four universities are located in Oslo
(established 1811), Bergen (1946), Trondheim (1968), and
Tromsø (1968).
As many students attend vocational schools as attend colleges
and universities, and a few thousand students attend folk high
schools—boarding schools offering a one-year course designed
for 17-year-old students from rural areas. Only a few of
Norway's schools charge tuition, and all students are eligible for
government loans

Daily life and social customs

Although Norway is in most ways very modern, it has

maintained many of its traditions. Storytelling and folklore, in
which trolls play a prominent role, are still common. On festive
occasions folk costumes are worn and folk singing is performed
—especially on Grunnlovsdagen (Constitution Day), commonly
called Syttende Mai (May 17), the date of its celebration. Other
popular festivals include Sankhansaften (Midsummer's Eve),
Olsok (St. Olaf's Day), and Jul (Christmas), the last of which is
marked by family feasts whose fare varies from region to region
but that are traditionally marked by the presence of seven kinds
of cake.
The national costume, the bunad, is characterized by double-
shuttle woven wool skirts or dresses for women, accompanied
by jackets with scarves. Colourful accessories (e.g., purses and
shoes) complete the outfit. The bunad for men generally
consists of a three-piece suit that also is very colourful and
heavily embroidered. Traditionally Norwegians had two bunader,
one for special occasions and one for everyday wear.
The country's natural landscape—its Arctic environment and
vast coasts—has shaped Norway's customs and history, as
outdoor activities are central to the life of most Norwegians. In
particular, the country's cuisine reflects its environment. Fish
dishes such as laks (salmon) and torsk (cod) are popular.
Lutefisk, cod soaked in lye, is common during the Christmas
holidays. Sour-cream porridge, pinnekjøtt (dried mutton ribs),
reker (boiled shrimp), meatcakes, lefse (griddlecakes), geitost
(a sweet semihard cheese made from cow's or goat's milk), and
reindeer, moose, elk, and other wildlife also are popular
traditional delicacies. The strong liquor called aquavit (also
spelled akevitt), made of fermented grain or potatoes, is also
widely used.
In northern Norway the Sami maintain a distinct culture. Long
known as reindeer herders, they maintain their own national
dress. While many Sami have modernized and few continue to
practice traditional nomadic life, a variation of that lifestyle
continues. Where once the whole family followed the herd, now
only the men do, with women and children remaining behind in
towns and villages. Sami Easter festivals include reindeer races
and chanting (joik).