Pioneers of one type of artificial fertiliser, which was a little bit ironic, because Norway lacks sufficient fertile soils to feed its population regardless of any type of artificial fertiliser. Something to do with Norway's unfortunate geography and miserable climate. It didn't make Norway rich, though. Just some Norwegians.
@@johnmcmullan9741 Yes, it was the lumber industry that was Norways big thing before railways allowed countries like Finland and Russia to access their own forests for trade, and Norway had the fjords that afforded easy transport of lumber.
Yeah, a YT video that lacks any credible evidence. The believe Norway was ever rich before, or after, oil is just that, a belief. Based on a very loose article (an opinion piece) published by an incompetent economist who was evidently statistically illiterate and in denial of Norway's historical poverty, which is still observable today in that romanticised 'rural museum' depicting an abject lack of social progress for generations.
Norway's wealth didn't start with timber, that was mostly in the south. In the north fish was the gold. Especially dry and salted fish, since those could be exported over longer distances. 2.2 percent cultivated landscape sounds very inferior until you factor in how much of Norway which water and rocks. The areas that are not have plenty of farmland, some of them are ideal for anything from fruits to potatoes. Areas like Jæren in the south west, Hardanger and Lærdal in the west, more or less anywhere in the south eastern parts of Norway and the mid section of Norway, Trøndelag, are highly cultivated areas. Even in northern parts of Norway you will find farms, but mostly cattle, sheep, pigs and poultry. Hurdling of reindeer also is located to the most northern areas of the country. Even though the main provider in the north always have been fish and fishing there have also been access to meat. Many Norwegian cities and towns have been shaped around it's income. Fredrikstad was/is known as plank city, because that was where most of the timber was shipped out to foreign markets from. The river Glomma which floated the most timber met a deep fjord there, larger ships could access easily. The dialect in Fredrikstad also is heavily influenced by the Dutch language because many of the tradesmen buying the planks and the ships trsnsporting them came from the Netherlands. Sandefjord was built around whaling and the large shipping and whaling company Kosmos. Not only the owners of the company, but many of the whalers doing the actual whaling anywhere from the coast off Norway to the Antarctic lived there. Both Sandefjord and Fredrikstad is in the south east of Norway. Narvik in the north emerged because it was the closest harbour to ship Swedish coal from. So a railway was built from Kiruna in Sweden to Narvik, and Narvik gradually grew. Kongsberg close to the Swedish border emerged around the silver mining that used to be done there. Thesedays it is more famous for high tech weapon production. Røros in Trøndelag is another town to emerge from mining. This time copper mining. Bergen, although having been a large city - even the capitol a period - for a long time grew in wealth and importance from being to fish what Fredrikstad was to timber, the point where it was exported from. Merchants, mostly German Hanseats, established themselves in the city and bought fish that was shipped to foreign markets. Fishermen came all the way from northern Norway, plus the entire coastline inbetween and to the south of Bergen, and made Bergen the key trade and shipping city in the country. Årdal, also on the west coast, but a little north of Bergen emerged around the aluminium plant that was built there. Ironically it is only a little mountain separating it from Lærdal, famous for it's fruit and salmon fishing. European kings from England and Germany came to fish salmon in the famous Lærdal river. And to relax at a luxery hotel surrounded by stunning scenery. Høyanger, Odda, Husnes and Sauda are other city centres on the west coast like Årdal, having emerged from industry built because of the easy access to hydro power and fjord access for easy transportation of the end product. That the Gulf stream (the actual stream, not the airplane) secures ice free harbours all year round to most of the Norwegian coastline have made Norway very attractive for high energy manufacturing.
In Narvik, iron ore is shipped from Kiruna - not coal. There have never been coal mines in northern Sweden, only in the south. Kongsberg is famous for its silver mines, but it is far from the Swedish border. Kongsberg is located west of the Oslo fjord. Kongsvinger, on the other hand, is close to Sweden.
It can be added that Norway's southernmost part of the country was rich in oak forest, which was a particularly sought-after building material. Arendal was a shipping port for oak, and several families set up as shipowners. Venice rests on Norwegian timber, floated down the river Nidelva and shipped out from Arendal. Amsterdam also rests on Norwegian timber, hammered into the sand.
@@zatraz2573 You are absolutely right. Sorry for the mistakes. I typed the comment while watching the last day of the cross country skiing world cup on tv - congrats to Jessie Diggins and Harald Østberg Amundsen on winning the women and men's world cup respectively - I probably should have checked the comment before posting instead. Sorry.
@@ahkkariq7406 Thanks for the info on Arendal. Very interesting. I almost included Arendal myself, but not for timber, for building boats. As I am sure you know Arendal and the areas close by, has a long tradition for that. One of the most famous brands even being called Nidelv.
There are a lot of misunderstandings about Norway and some Prime Ministers are being accused of not knowing what they are talking about. Since 1850, Norway has always been among the 8 richest countries in the world - in fact. Forests and fish are one thing, but also the huge merchant fleet of ships, their insurance and international transport companies. In addition, we had cheap power from hydropower which enabled us to become steel and not least Europe's largest aluminum producer. Likewise with fabrics and woolen goods - we had enormous factories that produced fabrics that were exported to Europe. Also other substances such as magnesium etc. We had the great advantage after WW2 that Germany needed our factories and therefore they were not bombed - but existed better than before the war so we had an extreme boom in industrial production immediately after the war because the infrastructure was also better and 100% up and running. We were also a major exporter of equipment for electrification - engines from the smallest to the very largest for boats. We also built boats up to 250,000 tonnes and could repair anything that went on water.
That's not what the data show at all. Norway has been disproportionately exploited by a minority for centuries. Still is. There's actually photographic evidence along with documented descriptions detailing abject poverty in Norway in the late 19th century. Why are you so ashamed of Norway's impoverished history? Were it not for food imports from Denmark, Norway would have been largely depopulated and abandoned centuries ago. Now the population is twice what it was 100 years ago. Without food imports, Norway soon becomes a humanitarian crisis. Norway has never been wealthy. Enough of the insecurity, please. You people are a bit weird.
@@johnmcmullan9741 Where do you get your data from? Food imports from Denmark ?? That's the dumbest thing I've ever heard. We do not import food from Denmark at all. Of course, we do not have enough agriculture to produce all the vegetables and fruit we need - in winter we get it from Southern Europe, Israel and South America. We have an overproduction of red meat, lamb and chicken. We are also the world's largest exporter of fish after China, exporting more than $20 billion in 2024. We expect to have achieved the $50 billion result before 2030 with land-based production. Maybe you should get your act together and get the right information. You will find them in "Our world in Data" and in UN historical data - then you will quickly find out that Norway's GDP/per per capita since 1828 has been very high and after WW2 top ranking because our factories were not bombed by Germany - they needed the products and infrastructure. It was us who supplied, among other things, heavy water for atomic bombs long before anyone else and we also had two research reactors long before anyone else, e.g. for the production of ion rods for the world's hospitals.
@@lpdude2005 I was referring to historical food imports from Denmark during Denmark's rule over Norway, centuries ago. Without which I suspect Norway, due to its unfortunate geography and miserable climate, most likely would have been largely decolonised due to food shortages and famine. It's well documented. what was exported from Denmark, that is. As far as GDP per capita goes, it has never been an indicator of wealth distribution within a society. Perhaps you need to learn some more advanced economics. Norway has among the worst (least equitable) distributions of wealth in Europe. You are free to fact check and confirm anything I have stated. Don't waste your time boring me with your BS believes. Why do you think so many Norwegians struggle with the world's highest debt-to-income ratios and a chronically weakening currency making imports more and more expensive? Again, learn some more advanced economics.
@@johnmcmullan9741 I think I have as good a grasp of finances as you do - so I think we'll leave that unanswered. I think you have an unimaginable hatred for Norway - probably for a mistake you yourself have made at one time or another. Yes - we imported grain from Denmark - we imported everything else we needed through our merchant fleet, which in 1870 was the third largest in the world. We have always had one of the world's largest merchant fleets of ships from the 17th century sailing ships to steam and diesel engines all over the world as today. The Norwegian diet in the 1850s was quite simple in the countryside. It went in porridge, meat - preferably dried meat with land storage time and of course fish. In the cities it was quite different and we probably had electricity in our houses and on our streets earlier than some other countries. Most Norwegians do not have your opinion about the weather or climate - because we are born with it - we live with it and can make money from it. On the other hand, I think your financial ideas are more reminiscent of what you wish it would have been than truths. Most people who claim something that is not the case or true also tend not to add links to their opinions - just like you.
@@lpdude2005 One of us clearly needs to BS. All my statements can be fact-checked and confirmed as being true. Fact. Because the truth matters to me more than someone else's BS. Another fact.
Good to see this being brought up. This myth is really annoying(wich is said both in Norway at times and by foreigners often) as it both belittles the ingenuity, sacrifice and hard work of our ancestors, but also takes away one of the greatest achievements of our Norwegian culture overall. In that we populated one of the most inhospitable lands in Europe, "tamed" it, and turned it into one of the most prosperous nations in the world. "We/You were just lucky" and "Without oil we/you would be poor" are flat out lies when it comes to our history, legacy and culture, and should be corrected everytime it is uttered.
Oddly enough we don't really use much of our oil revenue, but rather invest it abroad. Sadly the forestry industry was ruined by the outsourcing craze in the early 2000 where the then profitable Norske Skog moved it's production to China and subsequently went bankrupt. Because of relatively high wealth tax in Norway, businesses are often owned from abroad by Norwegian expats or sold outright to foreign entities. Privatization of the infrastructure sector has led to higher cost, not the expected reduced prices and better services resulting from increased competition.
Another issue about only 2.x% of land for agriculture is that businesses wants to build there sometimes (malls, apartment buildings, parking lots etc.) Which makes the soil kinda important should we ever need to help ourselves be more self sufficient in the future.
Nice, I actually suggested this video in the Google Docs a couple of weeks ago, very glad to see you checking it out, since I found it to be a refreshing video finally addressing the wealth myth regarding oil.
@norXmal Wow. I also suggested this video on his google form the day after this video was released too. There might be some misinformation, but overall I always love RealLifeLore how deep he dives into these topics.
@@douglashtang Wise men think alike, jokes aside, I can't say for sure how much misinformation is there or not. Even though it is about my country. But I do know what was more or less correct or at least what I was taught in school. Was definitely the pre-train lumber industry, albeit I didn't know it was the biggest in Europe at the time. The re-acquisitions of the dams, which changed how we would cooperate with investors. The aluminiun industry and heavy water were two others. Didn't learn about how big the maritime was, that had to be learned on own accord.
I think whoever made the video misunderstood something or mixed up numbers. Norway's cultivated areas are significantly higher than 2.2%, which is the same figure for how large a part of Norway is built up including infrastructure.
Actually, for human food production, it's significantly less than 2.2%, because most of the the thin 'anaemic' soils and the miserable climate are only capable of supporting production of low-quality fodder crops. Fact. Even the Norway authorities openly admit those damning stats, which actually show Norway has never been a wealthy nation and never will be. Only the economically illiterate seem to believe otherwise. It's so weird how Norwegians spend so much time online incessantly bigging themselves up and pretending not to notice how Norway's historical poverty on the periphery of civilisation stares them in face on a daily basis, even in the 21st century.
It's not that far off. According to "Norsk institutt for bioøkonomi" in 2022 (not including Svalbard) 3.5% was cultivated and approx. 1/3 of this is usable for producing human food (Grain, potatoes and vegetables). According to the same report 1.7% is built up.
@@spiff256 The quality of food produced in Norway is very poor generally. So much of what little gets produced in Norway gets wasted. Lots of rotten vegetables. Meat toughened by a culture of animal abuse. Experimental farmed fish. Etc. It's awful and screams among the worst kinds of poverty in Europe.
I grew up in that time when log rafting was common through the rivers in Norway. I remember it well. You should see how men ran on the logs in the water to drive the timber down the lakes. It was a dangerous job but it had to be done. Today, the timber is transported on trucks
I just drove past a farm in Norway last week, with a sign reading: "Eggs - Self service", meaning I could drive up to the farm, go in and pick out as many eggs I'd like and leave payment even if there was nobody there. Reminds me why I love Norway.
The same situation in Ireland as in Norway. The state is massively rich, not necessarily people. I know for a fact that a lot of people are struggling in Ireland and Norway.
The state being rich means the people are rich. Individuals being rich means just a very few are rich. What you are describing is a good thing for Norway.
@@Koreviking not necessarily. The state taxes you 'til the inch of your life and sucks up all incentive. It's suffocating our economy. Our money is being wasted on climate, immigration, foreign aid and pay- to- play schemes. Norway is massively mismanaged, but we have oil and gas so many people are still relatively well off. I know alot of people though who struggle and who really shouldn't, because they have plenty of money. It's just that all their money is swallowed up by inflation.
i remember seeing at the end of the 80's early 90's they floated tree logs down the rivers etc and we had a paper making/water generator in our town as well. ... they were beginning to cut down on that industry though during that time ( floating them down/dangerously walking on them while on water to move the logs etc ). i was very young
My late grandpa was a wood craftsman, and my best friend owns his own salmon factory on a nearby island, right behind a big fjord that leads into the city i live
Norway has been wealthy as a people for a long time, but during feudalism and capitalism, there were extreme differences between wealthy and poor. But when the anger began to rise in the 1800s, instead of giving in to fear (USA) or allowing it to happen (Russia), we chose to compromise. This allowed us to avoid these massive conflicts and as it turns out, peace is good for business.
In addition to timber, fish, hydroelectricity, shipping, and oil there is a special work attitude. It is said that you can "nail a west Norwegian to the wall, and he will thrive and get rich!". The invention of artificial fertilizer and aluminum production also contributes to the picture. The income from the oil was (and still is) placed in the world's biggest investment fund, the "Pension Fund", currently worth around 2.000 billion US dollars. All of that money is invested abroad and only a tiny percentage of the income from the oil industry can be used per year. More than 96% of the annual revenue from the industry is placed in the long-term "Pension Fund". Every year hundreds of millions of dollars are added to the fund. But Norwegians don't see that money, because the export industry is thriving without oil money. We have high taxes so the system runs well without support. We have free hospitals, free education, free universities, and excellent roads. The only "Downside" is that alcohol and tobacco are expensive! The British have done the exact opposite and have spent all the income from their oil to subsidize government spending.
It's an amazing history. I live in Norway and my house was initially built for lumber workers in 1940. They used Norwegian wood that is over 100 years old now and still strong and healthy. No wonder Norwegian wood was distributed everywhere in Europe 😊
I like your genuine reflections. Hope you produce more about Scandinavia = brother people who in modern times never had borders between them. Always, then (before the EU) and now, allowed free/uncontrolled travel and free to work in all Scandinavian countries in between We are a true brotherhood
A true brotherhood - were we constantly were at war with each other? Norway and Sweden are the two countries in the world that have been at war with each other the most times.
I think the word "together" and later "equality" is a huge clue here. The bigger the dissimilarities in interests and views, the more people pull in different directions. While lots can be gained in new impulses and experiences from other nations settling in one's country (within the limitation of integration, off course), having a system where a country is divided in independent states may not be the best of ideas.
Minerals and the import of oil - based on whale fat, should also be mentioned if going back in time, as should the amazing boats of our Vikings, and how they did trading - and not just plundering.
It’s actual a stereotype that Norway was “poor” before finding the oil. Actually compared to other countries at the time Norway did quite well. We have an abundance when it comes to natural resources and ore oil we did well but transporting timber!
Its much more to explaine..but frome the industrial revolution scandinavia got more prospurose! Another thing.. to many means becuse of Cooperatives, fishermen, farmers, forestowners.. started Cooperatives, they owned there own industries as members! The wealt get even distrubated, between members! Later Unions started cooperative shops and industries, and insurance companies.. whos get the profit of those, the owners/members! In anayway I remeber when I was young traveling to Norway to buy cheap stuff, now Norweigans travel to Sweden to buy cheap stuff! The oil is only a bonus.. on top of a quite well function society for the majority of Norweigans!
We were prosperous before the industrial revolution, exporting tons of timber, fish and more to the rest of Europe and earning money on shipping. Also, whale hunting was huge.
@@Koreviking Exactly.. or rather.. the population was independent and self reliant.. reliant on each other at first.. that spilled ower to our kings and our goverments quite early, that get reliant on those indipendent population to run our nordic countrys! Soo, in Nordic countrys the population tends to trust there goverment and authoritys.. becuse they tend to put up and rule the whole country to benefit moste of its citicens??
@@stiglarsson8405 I’m not prepared to suggest that the entire economic historical development in Scandinavia can be summed up in two sentences. It is a lot more complex than that.
@@Koreviking If I have to summon scandinavia included Finland.. its this that our land wasnt sutible for high yeald agricultural production! Soo we was less affected by feudalism.. soo not that many aristocraty owning big chunk of land! It was the farmers that own there own land, fishermen that own there own boats, handymen in the city and tradesmen that owned there own bussines.. those guys was those that become our middle class! Those was the mayority.. they was even representet at the parliment of that time.. the king was reliante of them.. for taxes, soldiers.. to bear the brunt of the goverment! Scandinavias prosperety mostly rely on good democraty that make good institutions! "The 2024 Nobel Prize in Economics: Explained" ua-cam.com/video/P60TX-dwd4s/v-deo.html
The decentralised system of wealth distribution in Norway is now starting to fail. many districts have huge economical problems, while the largest population centres grow. The capitalists are catching up here too. Good video though. Hope you watch some even older history videos on Norway too!
If you're referring to the GDP, it's important to understand that we're intentionally keeping ours low. That's what Petoro is for. We're one political decision away from tripling our GDP, but we don't want to. Because it would make our economy unsustainable.
The 2,2% arable land is quite false. There is a lot more arable land in Norway, but due to the meat industri, and the subsidizing of the meat industri, a lot of arable land is used to grow gras for cows rather than food for people, since it is more economic to produce meat, due to the subsidizing, rather than non-meat food for people. Grew up on a farm in Norway so this I know quite well.
We wasn't "poor" before the oil. We did just fine. We had our potatoes, our pigs, our chickens. We exported fish...and we made a living. I grew up in the 70's. My grandfather was a local butcher. My father was a carpenter. And a techer....Norway was never "poor", but we wasn't where we are now....before the oil. We are actually a hard working people, yes...we have social benefits that few other countries have. But we have, or used to have, a culture of working really hard.
Interesting to see how the contrast between international media and our politicians. International media: Norway might become the richest country in the world!!! Norway is earning big time on export of gas during war in ukraine Politicians: guys, we're struggling economically, we can't afford to reduce the prices of food or electricity, our currency has been plummeting in value since 2020, we have to increase the retirement age to 70 years
Well, it’s not true that we are RISING to become the richest country now, we are actually FALLING from being the richest or in the top tree ten years ago. So yes, these times are harder.
good video that explains a lot about norwegian ecconomy, and why oil arent main reason we doing so well. i think another good reason norway are doing so good are because how the worker unions are doing in norway, and this is a video that explain that part in a good way ua-cam.com/video/lgDLwgsDzzM/v-deo.html
The main problem that made Norway one of the poorest nations in Europe, apart from its unfortunate geography and miserable climate on the periphery, a nation that bypassed pretty much all major social developments in Europe for almost 1000 years, from the renaissances, Enlightenment, Scientific and Industrial revolutions, was the inequity. Wealth distribution has always been very inequitable in Norway (as documented by Malthus and others) and it was made a lot worse by Norway's unfortunate geography and miserable climate. It's always been a resource-poor nation. Toxic fish and fossil fuels don't make Norway a wealthy nation at all. Norway is officially the world's least self-sufficient nation with one of Europe's worst economies, struggling with skills shortages and so many gaps in expertise compared with other European economies. Norwegians just want to believe economics is all about GDP per capita. At best, it makes a minority of disproportionately rich Norwegians, but most are very far from being rich, in reality, due to grossly inequitable wealth distribution. Two respected Norwegian professors in economics have analysed the data and think wealth distribution in Norway is likely even worse than in France and the UK. Interestingly, the quality of life is actually much better generally in France and the UK than it is in Norway. Do the maths.
Historian Sturla Ellingvåg, who has the YT channel Viking Stories, tells about how Norwegians 5,000 years ago could get out by boat to islands that were 50 kilometers out to sea.
I see some claim Norway was weathy before. There was industires that was doing well, but overall it was not wealthy. As most countries today, the net state budgets was negative late in the 60ties
Norway is every thing American isn't. Norwegians are trusting and socially aware where Americans are completely the opposite the average American is also willfully ignorant and is unaware of life outside of American bubble. When you think that Norway has a population 5.5 million people this is smaller than New York at 8.26 million yet Norway was above America on the list you used . The other countries wre also small by comparison which highlights the decline of America overall from being the best country on the planet.
Where does the delusion that the U.S. has been the best country on the planet come from? It is not factual. Most Americans came to America because they were poor and starving where they were. For them America was an improvement, and they wrote home about how great America was. But when you compare directly the decendents of siblings where some has emigrated to the U.S. others have stayed behind, the descendents of those who stayed behind are better off in their European countries today, than their distant relatives in the U.S. are. Unless you are very rich, America is not a particularly easy place to live. The best jobs require Ivy league education. That is either very costly, or depend on being granted a scholarship. The costs of health and dental care forces many to stick with jobs they hate because they are afraid of not getting a similar health insurance if they change job. The political system is corrupt in it's construction, since in practice two political parties controll everything from the legislative to the judiciary. Everyone from president, congress and state and city representatives, to Supreme Court jusices, judges and DAs in general have to side with one of two parties to be able to hold the seat they hold. The parties are cheered on by media loyal to them, and attacked by media supportive of the other party to an extent it is difficult to know what to believe, so people choose a side and stick with it no matter what. The only people who really have political power are those rich enough to back winning candidates and owning media outlets, that way guiding the policies in the direction they want it. On top of that you have more gun crimes of any civilized country,l shool- and mass shootings are almost common, and it is near impossible to sue companies or powerful people who can afford the top lawyers necessary to delay, or get cases dismissed on technicalities. Looking from the outside, thinking USA to be the best country in the world makes me think of the lobster being boiled alive, but not realizing it cause the water feels so warm and nice - until it is too late. I fear the U.S. has reached that point with Trump turning a former political party into a cult worshipping himself religiously regardless what he does. It is tragic to think back on the simple fact that if more Republicans had done as Mitt Romney, voted to impeach Trump, Trump would have been finished politically, and the U.S. could have returned to the stable and solid Western democracy it was.
the top counties above Norway are Tax heavens... so they are only rich on paper. not in reality. Norway is the only one there not a tax heaven. so in reality nr1
Fun fact.. 24 hours after watching you will still have no idea about Norwegian history, because you will forget everything about it.. 😂😂 and become it's not so important for you or people too remember..😊 you gonna forget 99% of it, and still think about oils when you thinking about Norway.. and not the new information.
OK,OK - to say Norway was wealthy prior to the oil age is an exaggeration. Up to the early 60s Norway was an outpost in Europe economically in class with the poorest east European countries today. We struggled with poor infrastructure (remember even the Nazis struggled with that in occupied Norway!) and limited industrial capacity. Yes, there were some very rich individuals but those fortunes were mostly either inherited or due to hard-working entrepreneurs. Apart from the very few cities - at that time equivalent to European towns - many, many people lived in fairly rural areas involved in either farming or fishing (or both) next to their primary work just to get by
Not true. Yes, because of topography our roads were not the best, but the electricity grid has always been good, same with airports and harbours. We were a leading shipbuilding country before oil, and had many industry cities, also tech companies like Tandberg and strong companies within farmacy.
Ha! Notice that the original narrator correctly said that before oil, Norway was a “RELATIVELY” wealthy country, I.e., there was nothing impressive about its level of wealth.
If you with your mouth confesses that Jesus is Lord & dead for are sins, and in your heart believe that God raised him from the died, then you will be saved. Repent from sin and follow the Lord.
@@JoannDavi: The richest man in the world is also relatively wealthy. That is what relatively means. There obviously aren't any rich people in the world today, since the rich people in history would be quadrillionaires by today's measure.
On the list: USA with 330-340 million people. All the rest are tiny, although The Netherlands crosses 10 (but not 20) million people (and is below the USA on the list).
Did you notice that all of those per capita richest countries - except the USA - are tiny, as in populations under 10 million (some under even 1 million)? It’s very impressive when a country with 330-340 million people is on the list.
No, because it wasn't social but hierarchical. Structures of obedience do not build trust. That's why capitalism and communism are inherently unstable.
We were actually que well off even before the oil. We were pioneers in artifishial fertelizers, early computer programming and aluminium production.
Norway used to be great in shipping as well. The biggest in several periods.
@@oh515 dont forget the forestation companies! most of old oppland were only forestation companies
Norway is also a big producer of Ferrosilicon, which is used to make stainless steel.
Pioneers of one type of artificial fertiliser, which was a little bit ironic, because Norway lacks sufficient fertile soils to feed its population regardless of any type of artificial fertiliser. Something to do with Norway's unfortunate geography and miserable climate. It didn't make Norway rich, though. Just some Norwegians.
@@johnmcmullan9741 Yes, it was the lumber industry that was Norways big thing before railways allowed countries like Finland and Russia to access their own forests for trade, and Norway had the fjords that afforded easy transport of lumber.
We need to buy this guy a ticket to Norway
Finally! A video that doesn’t point to oil as the single reason for the relative economic success of Norway.
Yeah, a YT video that lacks any credible evidence. The believe Norway was ever rich before, or after, oil is just that, a belief. Based on a very loose article (an opinion piece) published by an incompetent economist who was evidently statistically illiterate and in denial of Norway's historical poverty, which is still observable today in that romanticised 'rural museum' depicting an abject lack of social progress for generations.
@@johnmcmullan9741Well, that’s the most ignorant reply I’ve received in a while. American?
@@jandmath I have read the BS article. Please try to disprove anything I have stated. Try to get a grip on reality first.
Norway's wealth didn't start with timber, that was mostly in the south. In the north fish was the gold. Especially dry and salted fish, since those could be exported over longer distances. 2.2 percent cultivated landscape sounds very inferior until you factor in how much of Norway which water and rocks. The areas that are not have plenty of farmland, some of them are ideal for anything from fruits to potatoes. Areas like Jæren in the south west, Hardanger and Lærdal in the west, more or less anywhere in the south eastern parts of Norway and the mid section of Norway, Trøndelag, are highly cultivated areas. Even in northern parts of Norway you will find farms, but mostly cattle, sheep, pigs and poultry. Hurdling of reindeer also is located to the most northern areas of the country. Even though the main provider in the north always have been fish and fishing there have also been access to meat.
Many Norwegian cities and towns have been shaped around it's income. Fredrikstad was/is known as plank city, because that was where most of the timber was shipped out to foreign markets from. The river Glomma which floated the most timber met a deep fjord there, larger ships could access easily. The dialect in Fredrikstad also is heavily influenced by the Dutch language because many of the tradesmen buying the planks and the ships trsnsporting them came from the Netherlands. Sandefjord was built around whaling and the large shipping and whaling company Kosmos. Not only the owners of the company, but many of the whalers doing the actual whaling anywhere from the coast off Norway to the Antarctic lived there. Both Sandefjord and Fredrikstad is in the south east of Norway. Narvik in the north emerged because it was the closest harbour to ship Swedish coal from. So a railway was built from Kiruna in Sweden to Narvik, and Narvik gradually grew. Kongsberg close to the Swedish border emerged around the silver mining that used to be done there. Thesedays it is more famous for high tech weapon production. Røros in Trøndelag is another town to emerge from mining. This time copper mining. Bergen, although having been a large city - even the capitol a period - for a long time grew in wealth and importance from being to fish what Fredrikstad was to timber, the point where it was exported from. Merchants, mostly German Hanseats, established themselves in the city and bought fish that was shipped to foreign markets. Fishermen came all the way from northern Norway, plus the entire coastline inbetween and to the south of Bergen, and made Bergen the key trade and shipping city in the country. Årdal, also on the west coast, but a little north of Bergen emerged around the aluminium plant that was built there. Ironically it is only a little mountain separating it from Lærdal, famous for it's fruit and salmon fishing. European kings from England and Germany came to fish salmon in the famous Lærdal river. And to relax at a luxery hotel surrounded by stunning scenery. Høyanger, Odda, Husnes and Sauda are other city centres on the west coast like Årdal, having emerged from industry built because of the easy access to hydro power and fjord access for easy transportation of the end product. That the Gulf stream (the actual stream, not the airplane) secures ice free harbours all year round to most of the Norwegian coastline have made Norway very attractive for high energy manufacturing.
In Narvik, iron ore is shipped from Kiruna - not coal. There have never been coal mines in northern Sweden, only in the south. Kongsberg is famous for its silver mines, but it is far from the Swedish border. Kongsberg is located west of the Oslo fjord. Kongsvinger, on the other hand, is close to Sweden.
It can be added that Norway's southernmost part of the country was rich in oak forest, which was a particularly sought-after building material. Arendal was a shipping port for oak, and several families set up as shipowners. Venice rests on Norwegian timber, floated down the river Nidelva and shipped out from Arendal. Amsterdam also rests on Norwegian timber, hammered into the sand.
@@zatraz2573 Yes, the coal in Norway came from Svalbard, Store Norske Kullkompani, Spitsbergen.
@@zatraz2573 You are absolutely right. Sorry for the mistakes. I typed the comment while watching the last day of the cross country skiing world cup on tv - congrats to Jessie Diggins and Harald Østberg Amundsen on winning the women and men's world cup respectively - I probably should have checked the comment before posting instead. Sorry.
@@ahkkariq7406 Thanks for the info on Arendal. Very interesting. I almost included Arendal myself, but not for timber, for building boats. As I am sure you know Arendal and the areas close by, has a long tradition for that. One of the most famous brands even being called Nidelv.
There are a lot of misunderstandings about Norway and some Prime Ministers are being accused of not knowing what they are talking about. Since 1850, Norway has always been among the 8 richest countries in the world - in fact. Forests and fish are one thing, but also the huge merchant fleet of ships, their insurance and international transport companies. In addition, we had cheap power from hydropower which enabled us to become steel and not least Europe's largest aluminum producer. Likewise with fabrics and woolen goods - we had enormous factories that produced fabrics that were exported to Europe. Also other substances such as magnesium etc. We had the great advantage after WW2 that Germany needed our factories and therefore they were not bombed - but existed better than before the war so we had an extreme boom in industrial production immediately after the war because the infrastructure was also better and 100% up and running. We were also a major exporter of equipment for electrification - engines from the smallest to the very largest for boats. We also built boats up to 250,000 tonnes and could repair anything that went on water.
That's not what the data show at all. Norway has been disproportionately exploited by a minority for centuries. Still is. There's actually photographic evidence along with documented descriptions detailing abject poverty in Norway in the late 19th century. Why are you so ashamed of Norway's impoverished history? Were it not for food imports from Denmark, Norway would have been largely depopulated and abandoned centuries ago. Now the population is twice what it was 100 years ago. Without food imports, Norway soon becomes a humanitarian crisis. Norway has never been wealthy. Enough of the insecurity, please. You people are a bit weird.
@@johnmcmullan9741 Where do you get your data from? Food imports from Denmark ?? That's the dumbest thing I've ever heard. We do not import food from Denmark at all. Of course, we do not have enough agriculture to produce all the vegetables and fruit we need - in winter we get it from Southern Europe, Israel and South America. We have an overproduction of red meat, lamb and chicken. We are also the world's largest exporter of fish after China, exporting more than $20 billion in 2024. We expect to have achieved the $50 billion result before 2030 with land-based production.
Maybe you should get your act together and get the right information. You will find them in "Our world in Data" and in UN historical data - then you will quickly find out that Norway's GDP/per per capita since 1828 has been very high and after WW2 top ranking because our factories were not bombed by Germany - they needed the products and infrastructure. It was us who supplied, among other things, heavy water for atomic bombs long before anyone else and we also had two research reactors long before anyone else, e.g. for the production of ion rods for the world's hospitals.
@@lpdude2005 I was referring to historical food imports from Denmark during Denmark's rule over Norway, centuries ago. Without which I suspect Norway, due to its unfortunate geography and miserable climate, most likely would have been largely decolonised due to food shortages and famine. It's well documented. what was exported from Denmark, that is. As far as GDP per capita goes, it has never been an indicator of wealth distribution within a society. Perhaps you need to learn some more advanced economics. Norway has among the worst (least equitable) distributions of wealth in Europe. You are free to fact check and confirm anything I have stated. Don't waste your time boring me with your BS believes. Why do you think so many Norwegians struggle with the world's highest debt-to-income ratios and a chronically weakening currency making imports more and more expensive? Again, learn some more advanced economics.
@@johnmcmullan9741 I think I have as good a grasp of finances as you do - so I think we'll leave that unanswered. I think you have an unimaginable hatred for Norway - probably for a mistake you yourself have made at one time or another. Yes - we imported grain from Denmark - we imported everything else we needed through our merchant fleet, which in 1870 was the third largest in the world. We have always had one of the world's largest merchant fleets of ships from the 17th century sailing ships to steam and diesel engines all over the world as today. The Norwegian diet in the 1850s was quite simple in the countryside. It went in porridge, meat - preferably dried meat with land storage time and of course fish. In the cities it was quite different and we probably had electricity in our houses and on our streets earlier than some other countries. Most Norwegians do not have your opinion about the weather or climate - because we are born with it - we live with it and can make money from it. On the other hand, I think your financial ideas are more reminiscent of what you wish it would have been than truths. Most people who claim something that is not the case or true also tend not to add links to their opinions - just like you.
@@lpdude2005 One of us clearly needs to BS. All my statements can be fact-checked and confirmed as being true. Fact. Because the truth matters to me more than someone else's BS. Another fact.
Good to see this being brought up. This myth is really annoying(wich is said both in Norway at times and by foreigners often) as it both belittles the ingenuity, sacrifice and hard work of our ancestors, but also takes away one of the greatest achievements of our Norwegian culture overall. In that we populated one of the most inhospitable lands in Europe, "tamed" it, and turned it into one of the most prosperous nations in the world.
"We/You were just lucky" and "Without oil we/you would be poor" are flat out lies when it comes to our history, legacy and culture, and should be corrected everytime it is uttered.
What Norwegian culture? 'Norwegian charisma'? You believe that developed out of a culture of wealth and generosity, do you? LOL!
Oddly enough we don't really use much of our oil revenue, but rather invest it abroad. Sadly the forestry industry was ruined by the outsourcing craze in the early 2000 where the then profitable Norske Skog moved it's production to China and subsequently went bankrupt.
Because of relatively high wealth tax in Norway, businesses are often owned from abroad by Norwegian expats or sold outright to foreign entities. Privatization of the infrastructure sector has led to higher cost, not the expected reduced prices and better services resulting from increased competition.
Great one Tyler, when i saw this even I learned new stuff about our country ; )
I would love if you made some long videoes as well.And I really hope to see you go into stuff like Lars Monsen and his wildlife adventures
Oh yea totanlly 🥳🥳
Alt for Norge osv
7:20 I loved your reaction there. 🤣 Actually we were quite well set before the oil as well.
Another issue about only 2.x% of land for agriculture is that businesses wants to build there sometimes (malls, apartment buildings, parking lots etc.) Which makes the soil kinda important should we ever need to help ourselves be more self sufficient in the future.
Nice, I actually suggested this video in the Google Docs a couple of weeks ago, very glad to see you checking it out,
since I found it to be a refreshing video finally addressing the wealth myth regarding oil.
@norXmal Wow. I also suggested this video on his google form the day after this video was released too. There might be some misinformation, but overall I always love RealLifeLore how deep he dives into these topics.
@@douglashtang Wise men think alike, jokes aside, I can't say for sure how much misinformation is there or not.
Even though it is about my country.
But I do know what was more or less correct or at least what I was taught in school.
Was definitely the pre-train lumber industry, albeit I didn't know it was the biggest in Europe at the time.
The re-acquisitions of the dams, which changed how we would cooperate with investors.
The aluminiun industry and heavy water were two others.
Didn't learn about how big the maritime was, that had to be learned on own accord.
I think whoever made the video misunderstood something or mixed up numbers. Norway's cultivated areas are significantly higher than 2.2%, which is the same figure for how large a part of Norway is built up including infrastructure.
Actually, for human food production, it's significantly less than 2.2%, because most of the the thin 'anaemic' soils and the miserable climate are only capable of supporting production of low-quality fodder crops. Fact. Even the Norway authorities openly admit those damning stats, which actually show Norway has never been a wealthy nation and never will be. Only the economically illiterate seem to believe otherwise. It's so weird how Norwegians spend so much time online incessantly bigging themselves up and pretending not to notice how Norway's historical poverty on the periphery of civilisation stares them in face on a daily basis, even in the 21st century.
It's not that far off. According to "Norsk institutt for bioøkonomi" in 2022 (not including Svalbard) 3.5% was cultivated and approx. 1/3 of this is usable for producing human food (Grain, potatoes and vegetables). According to the same report 1.7% is built up.
@@spiff256 The quality of food produced in Norway is very poor generally. So much of what little gets produced in Norway gets wasted. Lots of rotten vegetables. Meat toughened by a culture of animal abuse. Experimental farmed fish. Etc. It's awful and screams among the worst kinds of poverty in Europe.
well ... there are farms in the north too but alot depends on what you grow
We also had one of the world's largest merchant fleets, which gave many people work and made the shipowners rich.
I grew up in that time when log rafting was common through the rivers in Norway. I remember it well. You should see how men ran on the logs in the water to drive the timber down the lakes. It was a dangerous job but it had to be done. Today, the timber is transported on trucks
I just drove past a farm in Norway last week, with a sign reading: "Eggs - Self service", meaning I could drive up to the farm, go in and pick out as many eggs I'd like and leave payment even if there was nobody there. Reminds me why I love Norway.
It was no roads in the mountain area so the fjords was the highway also for the Vikings
The same situation in Ireland as in Norway. The state is massively rich, not necessarily people. I know for a fact that a lot of people are struggling in Ireland and Norway.
Correct.
Not really the same. Norwegians have a lot higher comsumption, and owns more real estate than the Irish. We are just spoiled and complain more..
@@okklidokkli yep, this is so very true! fucked up, but true
The state being rich means the people are rich. Individuals being rich means just a very few are rich. What you are describing is a good thing for Norway.
@@Koreviking not necessarily. The state taxes you 'til the inch of your life and sucks up all incentive. It's suffocating our economy. Our money is being wasted on climate, immigration, foreign aid and pay- to- play schemes. Norway is massively mismanaged, but we have oil and gas so many people are still relatively well off. I know alot of people though who struggle and who really shouldn't, because they have plenty of money. It's just that all their money is swallowed up by inflation.
Very good Episode!
i remember seeing at the end of the 80's early 90's they floated tree logs down the rivers etc and we had a paper making/water generator in our town as well. ... they were beginning to cut down on that industry though during that time ( floating them down/dangerously walking on them while on water to move the logs etc ). i was very young
Important video !!
The role of oil is over played for Norway !!
BS
My late grandpa was a wood craftsman, and my best friend owns his own salmon factory on a nearby island, right behind a big fjord that leads into the city i live
Norway has been wealthy as a people for a long time, but during feudalism and capitalism, there were extreme differences between wealthy and poor. But when the anger began to rise in the 1800s, instead of giving in to fear (USA) or allowing it to happen (Russia), we chose to compromise. This allowed us to avoid these massive conflicts and as it turns out, peace is good for business.
In addition to timber, fish, hydroelectricity, shipping, and oil there is a special work attitude. It is said that you can "nail a west Norwegian to the wall, and he will thrive and get rich!". The invention of artificial fertilizer and aluminum production also contributes to the picture. The income from the oil was (and still is) placed in the world's biggest investment fund, the "Pension Fund", currently worth around 2.000 billion US dollars. All of that money is invested abroad and only a tiny percentage of the income from the oil industry can be used per year. More than 96% of the annual revenue from the industry is placed in the long-term "Pension Fund". Every year hundreds of millions of dollars are added to the fund. But Norwegians don't see that money, because the export industry is thriving without oil money. We have high taxes so the system runs well without support. We have free hospitals, free education, free universities, and excellent roads. The only "Downside" is that alcohol and tobacco are expensive! The British have done the exact opposite and have spent all the income from their oil to subsidize government spending.
Tyler you got to understand that this is before the automobiles and road building 😊. Back then traveling was either by water or horse and boogies
It's an amazing history. I live in Norway and my house was initially built for lumber workers in 1940. They used Norwegian wood that is over 100 years old now and still strong and healthy. No wonder Norwegian wood was distributed everywhere in Europe 😊
I like your genuine reflections. Hope you produce more about Scandinavia = brother people who in modern times never had borders between them. Always, then (before the EU) and now, allowed free/uncontrolled travel and free to work in all Scandinavian countries in between We are a true brotherhood
A true brotherhood - were we constantly were at war with each other? Norway and Sweden are the two countries in the world that have been at war with each other the most times.
I think the word "together" and later "equality" is a huge clue here. The bigger the dissimilarities in interests and views, the more people pull in different directions. While lots can be gained in new impulses and experiences from other nations settling in one's country (within the limitation of integration, off course), having a system where a country is divided in independent states may not be the best of ideas.
Minerals and the import of oil - based on whale fat, should also be mentioned if going back in time, as should the amazing boats of our Vikings, and how they did trading - and not just plundering.
At 3:10 you paused the video on a picture of my home town, Lillehammer! 👍
I am curious about Norway´s , "world´s largest phosphate deposit".
It’s actual a stereotype that Norway was “poor” before finding the oil. Actually compared to other countries at the time Norway did quite well. We have an abundance when it comes to natural resources and ore oil we did well but transporting timber!
Thanks
GDP is not wealth, it's more like yearly income than what you own.
Norway via Sweden co shipping iron ore from my actual town ... that's why Hitler wanted Norway in the WWII
awh... when is part 2 out?
3:18
*Finally* he gets it.
I really get doubts about a report that uses the term: X times smaller.
Oil, fish 4:40
"This is a whole part of Norwegian history I had no idea about". Me as a Norwegian thinking to myself: me neither, man. Me neither.
Its much more to explaine..but frome the industrial revolution scandinavia got more prospurose!
Another thing.. to many means becuse of Cooperatives, fishermen, farmers, forestowners.. started Cooperatives, they owned there own industries as members! The wealt get even distrubated, between members! Later Unions started cooperative shops and industries, and insurance companies.. whos get the profit of those, the owners/members!
In anayway I remeber when I was young traveling to Norway to buy cheap stuff, now Norweigans travel to Sweden to buy cheap stuff! The oil is only a bonus.. on top of a quite well function society for the majority of Norweigans!
We were prosperous before the industrial revolution, exporting tons of timber, fish and more to the rest of Europe and earning money on shipping. Also, whale hunting was huge.
@@Koreviking Exactly.. or rather.. the population was independent and self reliant.. reliant on each other at first.. that spilled ower to our kings and our goverments quite early, that get reliant on those indipendent population to run our nordic countrys!
Soo, in Nordic countrys the population tends to trust there goverment and authoritys.. becuse they tend to put up and rule the whole country to benefit moste of its citicens??
@@stiglarsson8405 I’m not prepared to suggest that the entire economic historical development in Scandinavia can be summed up in two sentences. It is a lot more complex than that.
@@Koreviking If I have to summon scandinavia included Finland.. its this that our land wasnt sutible for high yeald agricultural production!
Soo we was less affected by feudalism.. soo not that many aristocraty owning big chunk of land!
It was the farmers that own there own land, fishermen that own there own boats, handymen in the city and tradesmen that owned there own bussines.. those guys was those that become our middle class!
Those was the mayority.. they was even representet at the parliment of that time.. the king was reliante of them.. for taxes, soldiers.. to bear the brunt of the goverment!
Scandinavias prosperety mostly rely on good democraty that make good institutions!
"The 2024 Nobel Prize in Economics: Explained"
ua-cam.com/video/P60TX-dwd4s/v-deo.html
@@stiglarsson8405 Like I said, it’s a lot more complex than that.
The decentralised system of wealth distribution in Norway is now starting to fail. many districts have huge economical problems, while the largest population centres grow. The capitalists are catching up here too. Good video though. Hope you watch some even older history videos on Norway too!
I worked in wood production industry selling bags of wood/logs lemme tell you it's not that cheap it's a tough job and takes quite alot of time
8 place, we will take that🎉🎉
If you're referring to the GDP, it's important to understand that we're intentionally keeping ours low. That's what Petoro is for. We're one political decision away from tripling our GDP, but we don't want to. Because it would make our economy unsustainable.
And it will still be rich without oil in the future.
Hello from Bodø Norway :D
hi I'm from bodø too :D
The 2,2% arable land is quite false. There is a lot more arable land in Norway, but due to the meat industri, and the subsidizing of the meat industri, a lot of arable land is used to grow gras for cows rather than food for people, since it is more economic to produce meat, due to the subsidizing, rather than non-meat food for people. Grew up on a farm in Norway so this I know quite well.
We wasn't "poor" before the oil. We did just fine. We had our potatoes, our pigs, our chickens. We exported fish...and we made a living. I grew up in the 70's. My grandfather was a local butcher. My father was a carpenter. And a techer....Norway was never "poor", but we wasn't where we are now....before the oil.
We are actually a hard working people, yes...we have social benefits that few other countries have. But we have, or used to have, a culture of working really hard.
In mars 2024 the oilfond passed 3 million kroner each person
hell there's things that actually can date back to viking times
Have you learned about the ships the Vikings used? If not, will you do it?
Interesting to see how the contrast between international media and our politicians.
International media: Norway might become the richest country in the world!!! Norway is earning big time on export of gas during war in ukraine
Politicians: guys, we're struggling economically, we can't afford to reduce the prices of food or electricity, our currency has been plummeting in value since 2020, we have to increase the retirement age to 70 years
Well, it’s not true that we are RISING to become the richest country now, we are actually FALLING from being the richest or in the top tree ten years ago. So yes, these times are harder.
good video that explains a lot about norwegian ecconomy, and why oil arent main reason we doing so well. i think another good reason norway are doing so good are because how the worker unions are doing in norway, and this is a video that explain that part in a good way
ua-cam.com/video/lgDLwgsDzzM/v-deo.html
Vikings wad specialist on water 😊
The main problem that made Norway one of the poorest nations in Europe, apart from its unfortunate geography and miserable climate on the periphery, a nation that bypassed pretty much all major social developments in Europe for almost 1000 years, from the renaissances, Enlightenment, Scientific and Industrial revolutions, was the inequity. Wealth distribution has always been very inequitable in Norway (as documented by Malthus and others) and it was made a lot worse by Norway's unfortunate geography and miserable climate. It's always been a resource-poor nation. Toxic fish and fossil fuels don't make Norway a wealthy nation at all. Norway is officially the world's least self-sufficient nation with one of Europe's worst economies, struggling with skills shortages and so many gaps in expertise compared with other European economies. Norwegians just want to believe economics is all about GDP per capita. At best, it makes a minority of disproportionately rich Norwegians, but most are very far from being rich, in reality, due to grossly inequitable wealth distribution. Two respected Norwegian professors in economics have analysed the data and think wealth distribution in Norway is likely even worse than in France and the UK. Interestingly, the quality of life is actually much better generally in France and the UK than it is in Norway. Do the maths.
Hi I’m just curious: have u been to Norway before? And also, is there anything that you don’t like about Norway? 😅
rail road you mean the things that dosent work?
Norse have rules the seas since long before the Vikings (Vikingur = Explorer) roamed the oceans...
Historian Sturla Ellingvåg, who has the YT channel Viking Stories, tells about how Norwegians 5,000 years ago could get out by boat to islands that were 50 kilometers out to sea.
The fond passed 17tousand billion kr now
In the seventies I used to spend two months in SYDEN every year. Yet I was not rich...just normal.
omg I wish I could give more info🤩 pllis❤
On our way? We’ve been going down in the previous years. We’ve been on top for approximately twenty years.
thanks to the Vikings for making Norway a rich country
The Vikings did not make Norway rich. At all.
Pleace play Norwegian wood, The Beatles
did you know that Norwegian is 1 of the easiest language to learn
The irony now is that we are on top what buying new Tesla's regard😂😂
Why do you think the vikings went to other country's 😂 Becaurce it was difficult to farm the land ❤ Greetings from Norway ❤
Yes, I remember. 😎
😂@@steinarhaugen7617
I see some claim Norway was weathy before. There was industires that was doing well, but overall it was not wealthy. As most countries today, the net state budgets was negative late in the 60ties
We are the sea people 😂❤
The Beatles: Norwegian wood
Vhofor lager du bare norske vidioa.???
Denne kanalen er for Norge. Han har andre kanaler for andre land. Tyler Rumple er kanalen for Storbritannia og Tyler Bucket er for Canada.
Norway i rich on natural resources
Norway is every thing American isn't. Norwegians are trusting and socially aware where Americans are completely the opposite the average American is also willfully ignorant and is unaware of life outside of American bubble. When you think that Norway has a population 5.5 million people this is smaller than New York at 8.26 million yet Norway was above America on the list you used . The other countries wre also small by comparison which highlights the decline of America overall from being the best country on the planet.
USA has never been the "greatest country on earth" even though you like to think that 😅
Where does the delusion that the U.S. has been the best country on the planet come from? It is not factual. Most Americans came to America because they were poor and starving where they were. For them America was an improvement, and they wrote home about how great America was. But when you compare directly the decendents of siblings where some has emigrated to the U.S. others have stayed behind, the descendents of those who stayed behind are better off in their European countries today, than their distant relatives in the U.S. are. Unless you are very rich, America is not a particularly easy place to live. The best jobs require Ivy league education. That is either very costly, or depend on being granted a scholarship. The costs of health and dental care forces many to stick with jobs they hate because they are afraid of not getting a similar health insurance if they change job. The political system is corrupt in it's construction, since in practice two political parties controll everything from the legislative to the judiciary. Everyone from president, congress and state and city representatives, to Supreme Court jusices, judges and DAs in general have to side with one of two parties to be able to hold the seat they hold. The parties are cheered on by media loyal to them, and attacked by media supportive of the other party to an extent it is difficult to know what to believe, so people choose a side and stick with it no matter what. The only people who really have political power are those rich enough to back winning candidates and owning media outlets, that way guiding the policies in the direction they want it. On top of that you have more gun crimes of any civilized country,l shool- and mass shootings are almost common, and it is near impossible to sue companies or powerful people who can afford the top lawyers necessary to delay, or get cases dismissed on technicalities. Looking from the outside, thinking USA to be the best country in the world makes me think of the lobster being boiled alive, but not realizing it cause the water feels so warm and nice - until it is too late. I fear the U.S. has reached that point with Trump turning a former political party into a cult worshipping himself religiously regardless what he does. It is tragic to think back on the simple fact that if more Republicans had done as Mitt Romney, voted to impeach Trump, Trump would have been finished politically, and the U.S. could have returned to the stable and solid Western democracy it was.
Norway has verticality and weather😅 winds at 60m/s this winter. Only a few areas are suitable for population
Oil is Oil .
yes yes work smart not hard yes yes
the top counties above Norway are Tax heavens... so they are only rich on paper. not in reality.
Norway is the only one there not a tax heaven. so in reality nr1
The joke is NoWay.
Many of the countries he was comparing to around 1800 didn't excist at the time, has he really done that much research? Sceptical ...
Why 1 million Norwegians immigrated as illegal immigrants to colonized America…
i think norway have plenty of pepole
Fun fact.. 24 hours after watching you will still have no idea about Norwegian history, because you will forget everything about it.. 😂😂 and become it's not so important for you or people too remember..😊 you gonna forget 99% of it, and still think about oils when you thinking about Norway.. and not the new information.
At least he is trying. While others complain.
OK,OK - to say Norway was wealthy prior to the oil age is an exaggeration. Up to the early 60s Norway was an outpost in Europe economically in class with the poorest east European countries today. We struggled with poor infrastructure (remember even the Nazis struggled with that in occupied Norway!) and limited industrial capacity. Yes, there were some very rich individuals but those fortunes were mostly either inherited or due to hard-working entrepreneurs. Apart from the very few cities - at that time equivalent to European towns - many, many people lived in fairly rural areas involved in either farming or fishing (or both) next to their primary work just to get by
Not true. Yes, because of topography our roads were not the best, but the electricity grid has always been good, same with airports and harbours. We were a leading shipbuilding country before oil, and had many industry cities, also tech companies like Tandberg and strong companies within farmacy.
Ha! Notice that the original narrator correctly said that before oil, Norway was a “RELATIVELY” wealthy country, I.e., there was nothing impressive about its level of wealth.
If you with your mouth confesses that Jesus is Lord & dead for are sins, and in your heart believe that God raised him from the died, then you will be saved.
Repent from sin and follow the Lord.
Tyler
Was Norway rich before oil? No.
(Ireland’s numbers are rather fake, because corporations “say” they made their income there.)
Was Norway poor before the oil? Also no
@@Henoik - It was “relatively” wealthy, as the original narrator said.
@@JoannDavi: The richest man in the world is also relatively wealthy. That is what relatively means. There obviously aren't any rich people in the world today, since the rich people in history would be quadrillionaires by today's measure.
Though a necessity for people to live, agriculture is a tiny percentage of any country’s GDP in the modern world.
On the list: USA with 330-340 million people. All the rest are tiny, although The Netherlands crosses 10 (but not 20) million people (and is below the USA on the list).
Did you notice that all of those per capita richest countries - except the USA - are tiny, as in populations under 10 million (some under even 1 million)?
It’s very impressive when a country with 330-340 million people is on the list.
Not really when you look at the reality. 1% are rich 20% average and the rest dirt poor in USA.
If shipbuilding = trusting society, the USA had the world’s most trusting society by a mile during WWII.
Wow, look at all these comments you just made! Is this the day you go from obsessed to manic?
No, because it wasn't social but hierarchical. Structures of obedience do not build trust. That's why capitalism and communism are inherently unstable.
I worked on oftbanen
Irland number one?????
It's only because of tax freedom for foreign companies. Don't believe the numbers
That is just on paper. Per.cap. No tax.