By 1990 Norway was Europe 's largest oil producer and by 1995 it was the world 's second-largest oil exporter . Membership in the European Union was rejected in a 1994 referendum , with Norway instead joining the European Economic Area and later also the Schengen Area . Large public investments in the 1990s were a new National Hospital and Oslo Airport , Gardermoen — connected to the capital with Norway 's first high-speed railway , the Gardermoen Line . A number of large government companies , such as Statoil , Telenor and Kongsberg were privatized . Lillehammer hosted the 1994 Winter Olympics . The end of the Cold War resulted in cooperation with Russia and reduced military activity . The Norwegian Armed Forces shifted their focus from defending an invasion to being mobile for use in NATO operations abroad and participated in the NATO bombing of Yugoslavia , the War in Afghanistan and the Libyan Civil War . The 2011 Norway attacks saw a Norwegian far-right terrorist bomb the Government Headquarters and Workers ' Youth League camp at Utøya , killing 77 people
2011 Norway attacks
2011 Norway attacks
History of Norway