Economy - overview:
The Norwegian economy is a prosperous bastion of welfare
capitalism, featuring a combination of free market activity and
government intervention. The government controls key areas, such as
the vital petroleum sector (through large-scale state enterprises).
The country is richly endowed with natural resources - petroleum,
hydropower, fish, forests, and minerals - and is highly dependent on
its oil production and international oil prices; in 1999, oil and
gas accounted for 35% of exports. Only Saudi Arabia and Russia
export more oil than Norway. Norway opted to stay out of the EU
during a referendum in November 1994. The government has moved ahead
with privatization. With arguably the highest quality of life
worldwide, Norwegians still worry about that time in the next two
decades when the oil and gas begin to run out. Accordingly, Norway
has been saving its oil-boosted budget surpluses in a Government
Petroleum Fund, which is invested abroad and now is valued at more
than $43 billion. GDP growth was a lackluster 1% in 2002 and 2003
against the background of a faltering European economy.
GDP:
purchasing power parity - $149.1 billion (2002 est.)
GDP - real growth rate:
1% (2002 est.)
GDP - per capita:
purchasing power parity - $33,000 (2002 est.)
GDP - composition by sector:
agriculture: 1.9%
industry: 30.8%
services: 67.3% (2000)
Population below poverty line:
NA%
Household income or consumption by percentage share:
lowest 10%: 4.1%
highest 10%: 21.8% (1995)
Distribution of family income - Gini index:
25.8 (1995)
Inflation rate (consumer prices):
1.3% (2001 est.)
Labor force:
2.4 million (2000 est.)
Labor force - by occupation:
services 74%, industry 22%, agriculture, forestry, and fishing 4%
(1995)
Unemployment rate:
3.9% (2002 est.)
Budget:
revenues: $71.7 billion
expenditures: $57.6 billion, including capital expenditures of $NA
(2000 est.)
Industries:
petroleum and gas, food processing, shipbuilding, pulp and paper
products, metals, chemicals, timber, mining, textiles, fishing
Industrial production growth rate:
1.2% (2002 est.)
Electricity - production:
120.1 billion kWh (2001)
Electricity - production by source:
fossil fuel: 0.4%
hydro: 99.3%
other: 0.4% (2001)
nuclear: 0%
Electricity - consumption:
115.3 billion kWh (2001)
Electricity - exports:
7.162 billion kWh (2001)
Electricity - imports:
10.76 billion kWh (2001)
Oil - production:
3.408 million bbl/day (2001 est.)
Oil - consumption:
171,100 bbl/day (2001 est.)
Oil - exports:
3.466 million bbl/day (2001)
Oil - imports:
88,870 bbl/day (2001)
Oil - proved reserves:
9.859 billion bbl (37257)
Natural gas - production:
54.6 billion cu m (2001 est.)
Natural gas - consumption:
4.1 billion cu m (2001 est.)
Natural gas - exports:
50.5 billion cu m (2001 est.)
Natural gas - imports:
0 cu m (2001 est.)
Natural gas - proved reserves:
1.716 trillion cu m (37257)
Agriculture - products:
barley, wheat, potatoes; pork, beef, veal, milk; fish
Exports:
$68.2 billion f.o.b. (2002 est.)
Exports - commodities:
petroleum and petroleum products, machinery and equipment, metals,
chemicals, ships, fish
Exports - partners:
UK 18.1%, Germany 13.8%, France 11%, US 9.2%, Netherlands 8.2%,
Sweden 8% (2002)
Imports:
$37.3 billion f.o.b. (2002 est.)
Imports - commodities:
machinery and equipment, chemicals, metals, foodstuffs
Imports - partners:
Sweden 17.7%, Germany 13.4%, UK 7.8%, Denmark 7.7%, US 5.7%,
Netherlands 5.3%, France 4.2%, Italy 4% (2002)
Debt - external:
$0 (Norway is a net external creditor)
Economic aid - donor:
ODA, $1.4 billion (1998)
Currency:
Norwegian krone (NOK)
Currency code:
NOK
Exchange rates:
Norwegian kroner per US dollar - 7.98 (2002), 8.99 (2001), 8.8
(2000), 7.8 (1999), 7.55 (1998)
Fiscal year:
calendar year