The Norwegian economy  depends largely on its natural resources, particularly on its oil reserves. Norway’s annual oil revenue amounts to approximately USD 40 billion and more than half of its exports come from this sector.

(Source: BBC News)

Gross domestic product (GDP)

In 2010, GDP at current prices was NOK 2,505.076 billion, an increase of 5.2% over 2009.

(Source: Statistics Norway)

 

In 2010, GDP at constant prices (2007=100) was NOK 2,268.771 billion, an increase of 0.57% over 2009.

 

(Source: IMF)

Gross national income (GNI)

GNI per capita in Norway was USD 54,880 in 2009, a decrease of 9.30% from 2008.

(Source: worldbank.org)

 

Income tax rate

Income tax rates on individual incomes in Norway are:

Taxable income (NOK)	Tax Rate (%)
0 – 456,400	NIL
456,401 – 741,700	9
741,701 and above	1

(Source: taxrates.cc)

Corporate tax rate

Corporate taxes on companies in Norway are levied at 28%.

(Source: taxrates.cc)

Inflation rate

In 2010, the inflation rate in Norway was 2.5%.

 

 

 (Source: Statistics Norway, IMF)

Foreign direct investment (FDI) inflow

In 2009, FDI inflows were NOK 850,285 million, an increase of 7.67% compared to 2008 figures.

 

(Source: Statistics Norway)

 

Banking sector assets

 

In 2010, Norway's total assets amounted to NOK 3,460,215 million, an increase of 15.15% over 2009.

Balance Sheet – Assets of Bank of Norway (NOK million)
	2010	2009
Total international reserves	308,829	281,170
Total other foreign assets	6,729	2,336
Total foreign. financial assets excl. GPFG	315,557	283,506
Total domestic financial assets	68,391	82,821
Total other domestic assets	1,807	1,895
Total domestic financial and other assets	70,197	84,716
Total assets excl. GPFG	385,754	368,222
Investments, GPFG	3,074,461	2,636,815
Total Assets	3,460,215	3,005,037

 (Source: Central Bank of Norway)

 

Consumer price index

The CPI increased to 2.47% in 2010, compared to 2009.

(Source: Statistics Norway)

Interest rates

Annual Average Interest rate (%)
Year	Sight deposit rate	Overnight lending rate
2010	1.92	2.92
2009	1.75	2.75
2008	5.32	6.32
2007	4.38	5.59
2006	2.74	4.74
2005	1.92	3.92

 (Source: Central Bank of Norway)

 

Money supply

The measures of the money supply are – M0, M1and M2.

M0 is the money supply in the form of any liquid or cash assets held within a central bank and the amount of physical currency circulating in the economy.

M2 refers to time deposits, exchange bills, mortgage bonds, and real estate bonds. 

M3 refers to notes and coins outside the banking system and residents deposits within the national banking system, excluding those of the state and the monetary institutions.

Monetary Aggregates in Norway (NOK million)
Year	M0	M1	M2
2010 (Jan-May)	94,154	731,469	15,22,865
2009	128,742.2	740,519	1,510,400.0
2008	96,754.5	740,531	1,459,602.1
2007	77,314.2	722,591	1,335,321.5
2006	74,162.1	611,829	1,148,350.3
2005	75,638.5	507,404	1,029,647.8

 (Source: Central Bank of Norway- excel sheet)

 Government expenditure

In 2010, the total government expenditure was NOK 898.6 billion, an increase of 3.44% over 2009. In 2011, government spending is forecasted to be NOK 960.1billion.

(Source: Central Bank of Norway)

Official exchange rate

NOK/USD rate in 2010 was 6.045. In 2010, the exchange rate slightly decreased over 2009.  

(Source: Central Bank of Norway)

 

Government finances

Fiscal budget

In 2010, Norway's fiscal budget was in surplus and amounted to NOK 227.6 billion.

(Source: Central Bank of Norway)

Total revenues

In 2010, Norway's total revenues amounted to NOK 1041.8 billion, a decrease of 0.96% over 2009.

(Source: Central Bank of Norway)

 

Tax revenues

In 2010, tax revenues amounted to NOK 855,366 million, an increase of 0.19% over 2009.

(Source: Central Bank of Norway)

Balance of payments

The current account surplus was NOK 322 billion in 2010, an increase of 3.21% over 2009.

Balance of Payments (NOK billion)
	2010	2009
Balance of goods and services	343	352
Balance of income and current transfers	-20	-41
Current account balance	322	312
Capital transfers etc. to abroad, net	1	1
Net lending	322	311
Direct investment, net	-8	132
Portfolio investment, net	117	12
Other investment, net	134	373
Revaluations, net	183	26
Increase in Norway`s net assets	504	337

(Source: Statistics Norway)

Labour force data

(Source: Statistics Norway)

In Q4 2010, the labour force participation rate in Norway was 71.4%. The labour force participation rate was 68.3% for women and 74.5% for men.

(Source: Statistics Norway)

Unemployment rate

The unemployment rate in Norway was 3.3% in January 2010.

(Source: Statistics Norway)

Employment

In 2009, 25.3% of the total number of employed people were technicians and associate professionals and 23.7% of the total number of employed people were service sector and market sales workers.

(Source: Statistics Norway)

Average monthly wages

In 2009, the average monthly wage of a worker in Norway was NOK 35,200, an increase of 3.2% over 2008.

Average Monthly Earnings (NOK)
	2009	2008
Males	37,800	36,700
Females	32,000	30,800
Total	35,200	34,100

(Source: Statistics Norway)

Norway is a constitutional monarchy with a parliamentary representative democracy. The power in Norway is shared at three different levels – the legislative, the executive and the the judiciary. Executive powers are exercised by the King and the council of ministers led by the prime minister. Legislative powers are exercised by the government and the Storting. The judicial powers are free from legislative and executive powers and are executed by the courts of law.

The people of Norway exercise the legislative power through the Storting (parliament). The Storting consists of 169 members who are elected by the citizens of Norway for a four-year term. The Storting also nominates a president, five vice-presidents and two secretaries.

(Source: Constitution of Norway)

The main political parties in Norway are:

• Labour Party
• Conservative Party
•  Progress Party
• Christian Democrats
• Socialist Left
• Centre Party
• Liberals

After the general elections in 2009, the coalition government was made up of the Labour Party, the Centre Party and Socialist Left and was re-elected for a second term. Jens Stoltenberg of the Labour Party is the current Prime Minister of Norway.

 (Source: fco.gov.uk)

Judicial system

The judiciary in Norway consists of:

• Supreme Court
• Labour Court of Norway
• National Courts Administration
• Conciliation boards
• Land consolidation courts
• District courts
• Courts of appeal

The Supreme Court forms the highest entity of the judicial system in Norway. It regulates and supervises the functioning of the judicial system in Norway.

(Source: norway.no, Constitution of Norway)

Business and economic freedom

Norway scores 70.3 on the index of economic freedom making it 30^th freest economy in 2011.

(Source: Heritage.org)

Corruption perception

Norway ranked 10^th position on the Corruption Perceptions Index (CPI) 2010. CPI measures the perceived level of public-sector corruption in 180 countries and territories around the world.

(Source: transparency.org)

Freedom of information

Norway’s press media is free from influence from political parties and any government involvement and enjoys considerable freedom. The constitution of Norway protects the right to freedom of expression, right to freedom of the press and the right to information.

The Norway Post, VG, Aftenposten, Dagbladet and Morgenbladet are key newspapers in Norway while Telenor is a chief Nordic broadband, telecoms and satellite TV provider.

Norway is ranked 1^st on Press Freedom Index 2010 conducted by rsf.org

(Source:BBC News, rsf.org)

The total population of Norway in 2010 was 4.85 million, increasing by approximately 1.23% over the previous year.

(Source: Statistics Norway)

Gender representation in Norway is almost equal. The total male population in Norway in 2010 was 2.426 million while the female population was 2.431 million accounting for approximately 50.05% of the total population.

 (Source: Statistics Norway)

(Source: Statistics Norway)

The 16-66 year age group accounts for the highest share of the population with 66.93%, followed by 6-15 year age group which accounts for 12.72% of the total population.

(Source: Statistics Norway)

The Life expectancy at birth in 2009 was 78.6 years for men and 83.1 years for women.

(Source: Statistics Norway)

Birth rate and death rate

In 2008, the crude birth rate (per 1,000 people) was 13 and the death rate (per 1,000 people) was 9.

(Source: worldbank.org)

Infant mortality rate

In 2009, the infant mortality rate (per 1,000 live births) was 3.

(Source: worldbank.org)

Migration

26,549 people emigrated from Norway in 2009, an increase of nearly 12.42% from the previous year. In 2009, the total number of immigrants accounted for 65,186 people. The immigration numbers decreased by 2.65% over 2008

(Source: Statistics Norway)

Norway was ranked 1^st on the Human Development Index 2010 conducted by the United Nations. The HDI provides a composite measure of three dimensions of human development: living a long and healthy life (measured by life expectancy), being educated (measured by adult literacy and gross enrolment in education) and basic standard of living (measured by purchasing power parity, PPP, income). 

(Source: UNDP)

Education

In Norway, education is compulsory for every citizen aged from 6 to 16. There are four levels of education -

• Pre-school
• Primary education
• Secondary education
• Higher education

Pre-school education is provided by kindergartens and nursery schools before the age of six.

Primary school education forms the first level of compulsory education. Children aged six are enrolled in primary schools in Norway. The duration of primary education is from 6-12 years of age.

The second level of general education is secondary school. Students aged 12-15 years go for lower secondary education after the completion of primary education. Post compulsory secondary education includes general upper secondary education and vocational training from 15-18 years of age.

Higher education includes state institutions, universities, specialised university colleges University, colleges and art colleges.

(Source: euroeducation.net)

Education resources

(Source: Statistics Norway)

Healthcare

Norway has a well developed healthcare system. It has universal health-insurance coverage and access to a broad range of modern medical services. The health service in Norway is funded through taxes taken directly from salaries or tax revenues.

(Source: healthcare-economist.com)

(Source: Statistics Norway)

Mass public transit

The various means of mass public transport in Norway include buses, cabs, trams and trains.

Roadways

The total length of the road network in Norway was 27,467 Km by the end of 2009.

(Source: Statistics Norway)

 Railways

(Source: Statistics Norway)

Ports

There are approximately 80 ports in Norway. Some of the busiest ports in Norway are - Port of Oslo, Port of Drammen, Port of Tonsberg, Port of Larvik, Port of Grenland, Port of Karmsund, Port of Bergen and Port of Narvik and are some of the most important ports in Norway. 

(Source: Worldportsource, Statistics Norway)

Airports

 There are approximately 30 airports in Norway. Some of the important airports are listed below:

(Source: aircraft-charter-world.com)

Telecommunications

In 2009, there were 1.7 million fixed telephone line subscribers and 5.3 million mobile phone subscribers in Norway.

(Source: itu.int)

(Source: itu.int)

Internet access

In June 2010, Norway had 4,431,100 internet users compared to 2,200,000 internet users in 2000. The internet penetration rate increased from 49.3% in 2000 to 94.8% in 2010.

(Source: internetworldstats.com)