OECD Economic Surveys: Norway 2019

Abstract

This Survey is published on the responsibility of the Economic and Development Review Committee of the OECD, which is charged with the examination of the economic situation of member countries.

The economic situation and policies of Norway were reviewed by the Committee on 4 November 2019. The draft report was then revised in light of the discussions and given final approval as the agreed report of the whole Committee on 18 November 2019.

The Secretariat’s draft report was prepared for the Committee by Philip Hemmings and Urban Sila under the supervision of Sebastian Barnes. It benefitted from contributions by Alex Hijzen, Stefan Thewissen and Christopher Prinz. Research assistance was provided by Béatrice Guérard. Editorial assistance was provided by Michelle Ortiz.

The previous Survey of Norway was issued in January 2018.

Information about the latest as well as previous Surveys and more information about how Surveys are prepared is available at http://www.oecd.org/eco/surveys

Basic Statistics of Norway, 2018

(Numbers in parentheses refer to the OECD average)1

LAND, PEOPLE AND ELECTORAL CYCLE
Population (million)	5.3		Population density per km²	14.6	(37.8)
Under 15 (%)	17.5	(17.8)	Life expectancy (years, 2017)	82.5	(80.1)
Over 65 (%)	17.0	(17.1)	Men (2017)	80.9	(77.5)
Foreign born (%)	15.5		Women (2017)	84.2	(82.9)
Latest 5-year average growth (%)	0.9	(0.6)	Latest general election	september-2017
ECONOMY
Gross domestic product (GDP)			Value added shares (%)
In current prices (billion USD)	434.4		Primary sector	2.1	(2.4)
In current prices (billion NOK)	3 530.9		Industry including construction	35.3	(27.5)
Latest 5-year average real growth (%)	1.7	(2.3)	Services	62.6	(70.1)
Per capita (000 USD PPP)	65.5	(46.4)
GENERAL GOVERNMENT
Per cent of GDP
Expenditure	48.8	(41.2)	Gross financial debt (OECD: 2017)	45.7	(112.4)
Revenue	56.1	(38.2)	Net financial debt (OECD: 2017)	-282.0	(69.6)
EXTERNAL ACCOUNTS
Exchange rate (NOK per USD)	8.13		Main exports (% of total merchandise exports)
PPP exchange rate (USA = 1)	10.14		Mineral fuels, lubricants and related materials	62.0
In per cent of GDP			Food and live animals	10.4
Exports of goods and services	38.4	(56.2)	Machinery and transport equipment	8.2
Imports of goods and services	32.6	(52.1)	Main imports (% of total merchandise imports)
Current account balance	7.2	(0.3)	Machinery and transport equipment	38.4
Net international investment position	186.6		Manufactured goods	15.0
			Miscellaneous manufactured articles	14.3
LABOUR MARKET, SKILLS AND INNOVATION
Employment rate (aged 15 and over, %)	74.8	(68.4)	Unemployment rate, Labour Force Survey (aged 15 and over, %)	3.8	(5.3)
Men	76.9	(76.0)	Youth (aged 15-24, %)	9.7	(11.1)
Women	72.7	(60.9)	Long-term unemployed (1 year and over, %)	0.5	(1.5)
Participation rate for 15-64 year-olds (%)	78.0	(72.4)	Tertiary educational attainment (aged 25-64, %,	43.6	(36.9)
Average hours worked per year)	1 416	(1734)	Gross domestic expenditure on R&D (% of GDP, 2016)	2.0	(2.5)
ENVIRONMENT
Total primary energy supply per capita (toe, 2017)	5.1	(4.1)	CO2 emissions from fuel combustion per capita (tonnes, 2016)	6.8	(9.0)
Renewables (%, 2017)	52.8	(10.2)	Water abstractions per capita (1 000 m³, 2007)	0.6
Exposure to air pollution (more than 10 g/m³ of PM 2.5, % of population, 2017)	3.8	(58.7)	Municipal waste per capita (tonnes, 2017)	0.7	(0.5)
SOCIETY
Income inequality (Gini coefficient, 2017, OECD: 2016)	0.262	(0.310)	Education outcomes (PISA score, 2015)
Relative poverty rate (%, 2017, OECD: 2016)	8.4	(11.6)	Reading	513	(492)
Median gross household income (000 USD PPP, 2017, OECD: 2016)	36.8	(23.6)	Mathematics	502	(490)
Public and private spending (% of GDP)			Science	498	(493)
Health care	10.2	(8.8)	Share of women in parliament (%)	41.4	(29.7)
Pensions (2015)	8.8	(8.5)	Net official development assistance (% of GNI, 2017)	1.0	(0.4)
Education (public, 2017)	6.4	(4.5)

1. The year is indicated in parenthesis if it deviates from the year in the main title of this table.

2. Where the OECD aggregate is not provided in the source database, a simple OECD average of latest available data is calculated where data exist for at least 80% of member countries.

Source: Calculations based on data extracted from databases of the following organisations: OECD, International Energy Agency, International Labour Organisation, International Monetary Fund, World Bank.