a subset of the Norwegian
register; ships on the NIS enjoy many benefits of flags of convenience
and do not have to be crewed by Norwegians (1997 est.)

Airports: 102 (1997 est.)

Airports-with paved runways:
total: 65
over 3,047 m: 1
2,438 to 3,047 m: 11
1,524 to 2,437 m: 14
914 to 1,523 m: 11
under 914 m: 28 (1997 est.)

Airports-with unpaved runways:
total: 37
914 to 1,523 m: 5
under 914 m: 32 (1997 est.)

Heliports: 1 (1997 est.)

@Norway:Military

Military branches: Norwegian Army, Royal Norwegian Navy (includes
Coast Artillery and Coast Guard), Royal Norwegian Air Force, Home
Guard

Military manpower-military age: 20 years of age

Military manpower-availability:
males age 15-49: 1,107,727 (1998 est.)

Military manpower-fit for military service:
males: 921,368 (1998 est.)

Military manpower-reaching military age annually:
males: 27,406 (1998 est.)

Military expenditures-dollar figure: $3.7 billion (1995)

Military expenditures-percent of GDP: 2.9% (1995)

@Norway:Transnational Issues

Disputes-international: territorial claim in Antarctica (Queen Maud
Land); Svalbard is the focus of a maritime boundary dispute in the
Barents Sea between Norway and Russia

Illicit drugs: minor transshipment point for drugs shipped via the CIS
and Baltic states for the European market; increasing domestic
consumption of cannabis and amphetamines

______________________________________________________________________

OMAN

@Oman:Geography

Location: Middle East, bordering the Arabian Sea, Gulf of Oman, and
Persian Gulf, between Yemen and UAE

Geographic coordinates: 21 00 N, 57 00 E

Map references: Middle East

Area:
total: 212,460 sq km
land: 212,460 sq km
water: 0 sq km

Area-comparative: slightly smaller than Kansas

Land boundaries:
total: 1,374 km
border countries: Saudi Arabia 676 km, UAE 410 km, Yemen 288 km

Coastline: 2,092 km

Maritime claims:
contiguous zone: 24 nm
exclusive economic zone: 200 nm
territorial sea: 12 nm

Climate: dry desert; hot, humid along coast; hot, dry interior; strong
southwest summer monsoon (May to September) in far south

Terrain: vast central desert plain, rugged mountains in north and
south

Elevation extremes:
lowest point: Arabian Sea 0 m
highest point: Jabal ash Sham 2,980 m

Natural resources: petroleum, copper, asbestos, some marble,
limestone, chromium, gypsum, natural gas

Land use:
arable land: 0%
permanent crops: 0%
permanen