At stake in this election:

• 165 seats in the Parliament (Storting)

Description of government structure:

• Chief of State: King HARALD V
• Head of Government: Prime Minister Jens STOLTENBERG
• Assembly: Norway has a unicameral Parliament (Storting) with 165 seats.

Description of electoral system:

• The King is hereditary N/A.
• Prime Minister is appointed by the monarch to serve a 4-year term.
• In the Parliament (Storting) 165 members are elected through an open-list proportional representation system to serve 4-year terms.***

*** There are 19 multi-member districts corresponding to Norway's counties. Any party that wins more than 4% of votes nationwide but does not win enough votes in any constituency to earn a seat is eligible for compensatory "levelling" seats. The electoral system is open list proportional representation; voters may reorder or cross out candidates on a party list.

In the process of passing legislation, the Storting is divided into two chambers, the Odelsting and the Lagting. After each general election, the Storting elects one quarter of its members to serve in the Lagting, while the remaining three quarters become members of the Odelsting.

Main parties in the electoral race:

• Party: Labour Party / Arbeiderpartiet (AP)
  • Leader: Jens STOLTENBERG
  • Seats won in last election: 61
• Party: Progress Party / Fremskrittspartiet (Frp)
  • Leader: Sin JENSEN
  • Seats won in last election: 38
• Party: Conservative Party / Høyre (H)
  • Leader: Erna SOLBERG
  • Seats won in last election: 23
• Party: Socialist Left Party / Sosialistisk Venstreparti (SV)
  • Leader: Kristin HALVORSEN
  • Seats won in last election: 15
• Party: Christian People's Party / Kristelig Folkeparti (Krf)
  • Leader: Dagfinn HOYBRATEN
  • Seats won in last election: 11
• Party: Center Party / Senterpartiet (Sp)
  • Leader: Aslaug HAGA
  • Seats won in last election: 10
• Party: Liberal Party / Venstre (V)
  • Leader: Lars SPONHEIM
  • Seats won in last election: 10

Population and number of registered voters:

• Population: 4,828,726 (2009)
• Registered Voters: 3,530,785 (August 2009)

Gender Data:

·         Female Population: 2,419,947 (2009)

·         Is Norway a signatory to CEDAW: Yes (17 July 1980)

·         Has Norway ratified CEDAW: Yes (21 May 1981)

·         Gender Quota: No

·         Female candidates in this election: Yes

·         Number of Female Parliamentarians: 67 (following the 2009 elections)

·         Human Development Index Position: 1 (2014)

·         Social Institutions and Gender Index (SIGI) Categorization: N/A

Disability Data:

·         Is Norway a signatory to CRPD: Yes (30 March 2007)

·         Has Norway ratified CRPD: Yes (3 June 2013)

·         Population with a disability: 677,062 (est.)