NOK | Norwegian Krone

• Norwegian Krone became the national currency of Norway in 1875, when the country joined the Scandinavian Monetary Union. The change of the Krone is Øre.
• On the 10 and 20-krone coins, the effigy of the current monarch is depicted, while on the 10-krone coin his motto is also illustrated. Earlier, on 1 and 5-krone coins the portrait of the monarch was represented, but now they illustrate only royal and national symbols.
• Between 1875 and 1878 the complete coin series was issued: 1, 2, 5, 10, 25, 50 Øre and 1, 2, 10, 20-krone coins. In 1917, 2-krone coins were withdrawn from circulation, the first 1 and 2 Øre coins were issued in 1963, the last 10 Øre coins were made in 1992, and on 1st May 2012 50 Øre coins were also withdrawn from circulation. Currently, only krone coins are used. The banknotes come in the denominations of 50, 100, 200, 500 and 1,000 krones.
• Norway has a huge oil reserve, the excessive extraction of which deteriorates the other economic sectors. Returns from the raw material strengthen the country’s currency against other currencies, which makes it more expensive to produce for export, therefore, the activities based on export will deteriorate. The Norwegian central bank realized the risk of appreciation of the Norwegian krone, and has been making efforts to weaken the currency since 2011. In 2011 and 2012 the bank reduced the interest rates in order to reduce inflation close to the inflation target of 2.5%.
• The returns from the oil sector were used to create a fund, which is composed of a domestic and an international investment fund. The Norwegian Fund is the financing mechanism established by Norway as the donor country. The purpose of the fund is to decrease economic and social inequalities, and to enhance bilateral connections between the donor country and the beneficiary countries. The beneficiary countries of the Norwegian fund are those member states of the European Union which joined the EU after 2004, including Hungary. There are five areas (program areas) which are supported by the donor country. These are: Green industry innovation, Descent work and tripartite dialogue, Bilateral research cooperation, Capacity building and institutional cooperation, Public health.