In the spirit of their adventurous Viking ancestors, today's Norwegians keep exploring new horizons — and setting records along the way. For example, Norway ranks third among nations in closing the "gender gap" (extending equal opportunities to women and men). It is also one of the world's top 10 leaders in expanding Internet communications. And in trade, Norway regularly ranks second or third in the export of seafood and natural gas — facts that help explain why it has one of the world's highest per-capita GDPs ($58,600 in 2009).

Here's a profile of Norway today:

Area	125,181 sq mi — approximately the size of New Mexico
Population	4.7 million — 77% urban (2009)
Religion of Majority	Church of Norway (Lutheran) — 85.7%
Government	Constitutional monarchy: Chief of state, King Harald V; Head of government, Prime Minister Jens Stoltenberg
Key Industries	Petroleum and gas, food processing, shipbuilding, pulp and paper, metals, chemicals, timber, mining, textiles, fishing
Gross Domestic Product (GDP)*	$273.1 billion (2009)
Basis of GDP	Farming 2.2%, Industry 45.1%, Services 52.7% (2009)
Exports	$122.0 billion (2009)
Imports	$64.5 billion (2009)
Key Trading Partners	EU (UK, Germany, Sweden, others), USA, China

* Norway's GDP earnings are reported here in terms of their purchasing-power parity (ppp). That's the dollar value of the "universal basket" of goods and services those earnings could buy within Norway (at Norwegian prices).

Sources: CIA World Factbook, April 2010; International Telecommunication Union, 2010; World Economic Forum, 2009