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In 2005 Norway celebrated 100 years as an independent nation. Norway
declared Independence after its union with Sweden was peacefully
dissolved in 1905.
With a population of only 4.5 million people, Norway and Scotland
(5.2 million) are similarly sized nations.
Like Scotland, Norway is lucky enough to have an abundance of
North Sea oil. Oil was discovered in the Norwegian sector of the
North Sea in the late 1960s, and extraction started in the 1970s.
However, there are marked differences between our two countries.
While Scotland's oil wealth has been squandered by successive UK
governments, Norway has invested its oil revenues in building a
nation with the highest standard of living in the world. Most of
Norway's oil wealth goes straight into a Petroleum Fund (now
rebranded as the Government Pension Fund - Global), established
in 1995, to benefit future generations. This fund is now worth a
total of £339.2 billion (as at 21st February 2011), i.e. in
Norwegian Kroner (NOK) it is worth 3,127,604,490,407. This is the
second largest sovereign wealth fund in the World.
Norway not only didn't suffer a recession in the "global
downturn", but helped fund the recovery in other countries through
loans to the International Monetary Fund (IMF) to help nations such
as Hungary, Iceland and, had it proved necessary, it would have
bankrolled loans to the UK.
For more information on the fund,
click here.
The UN has ranked Norway as the nation with the best quality of
life in the world. On measures such as wealth, educational levels
and life expectancy, Norway's success far outstrips that of
Scotland.
Norway demonstrates what Scotland could achieve for its citizens
with the full powers of Independence.
Norway may be a small nation, but Norway uses its place in the
international arena to work for peace and reconciliation. In the
past, Norway has mediated between Israel and the Palestine
Liberation Organisation, and the Sri Lankan Government and Tamils.
Not for Norway is the path of illegal conflict in Iraq.......
In terms of proportion of national income, Norway is also the
world's biggest giver of international aid. Let's make
Scotland the success that Norway has clearly become. |
