Norway is a member of the United Nations and apart of the Council of Europe. Located in northern Europe, Norway also is divided in 19 regional authority areas. The Norwegian economy can be described as "welfare capitalism" including a combination of free market economy, government interventions and regulations. Norway's health care system has "various mechanism, such as exemptions and ceilings out-of-pocket payments, [that] limit the financial burden of care on individuals". In other words, Norway has created a system that ensures affordable basic medical services to all of its citizen that are registered as a resident or if they work in the country. .
In 2014, data collected shows that Norway's populations consist of 5,109,059 people in a total area of 385,252 square kilometers. Norway is ranked number two in the "Countries that Spend The Most on Health Care" according to, 24/7 Wallst.com. The country has the "most nationalized health care system in the developed world". 84.1% of the citizens are covered by the public sector. The nation pays more than $800.00 per person in health care and is well organized within its two main sectors, which are primary health and long-term care on one side and hospitals and specialist services on the other. A benefit from this system is that foreign students automatically are included in Norway's health coverage, if their period of stay exceeds one year. The National Insurance Scheme insures them, which is a "universal tax-funded single-payer health system". The NIS covers retirement, disability pensions, unemployment compensation and other benefits in addition to its service to health care. The most important taxes are value added taxes (VAD), which is consumption tax, income tax from the petroleum sector, employers' social security and tax on "ordinary income" for persons. According to foxbussiness.