Updated the 5th of March 2019

Regional gap in GDP per capita, 2000-16 Index of regional disparity in GDP per capita, 2016

The gap in GDP per capita between the richest (Oslo) and the poorest (Hedmark and Oppland) Norwegian regions has been stable over the last sixteen years. Norway remains below the OECD median country in terms of regional economic disparities.

With a productivity growth of 1.5% per year over the period 2000-16, Oslo region had the highest productivity growth and is now the most productive region in Norway. The region of Agder and Rogaland, which averaged productivity growth of 1% per year in 2000-16, recorded rapid growth in the early 2000s, before experiencing a slump in productivity from which it only recovered in recent years.

Youth unemployment rates are well below the OECD average in all Norwegian regions. With 12.1% of youths unemployed, Oslo and Akershus has the highest youth unemployment in Norway, which was still clearly below the OECD average (15.1%) in 2017.

Productivity trends, most and least dynamic regions, 2000-16 Youth unemployment rate, 15-24 years old, 2007-17

Source: OECD Regional Database. Notes: (1) Figure on regional gap in GDP per capita: OECD regions refer to the administrative tier of subnational government (large regions, Territorial Level 2); Norway is composed of seven large regions. (2) Figure on index of regional disparity: top (bottom) 20% regions are defined as those with the highest (lowest) GDP per capita until the equivalent of 20% of national population is reached, this indicator provides a harmonised measure to rank OECD countries, using data for small regions (Territorial Level 3) when available. (3) Productivity is measured as GDP per employee at place of work in constant prices, constant Purchasing Power Parities (reference year 2010).

10 000

20 000

30 000

40 000

50 000

60 000

70 000

80 000

2000 2005 2010 2016

GDP per capita in USD PPP

Lowest regionHedmark and Oppland

Highest regionOslo Region

39 395 USD

69 091 USD

54 359 USDNorway

1

2

3

4

Top 20 % richest over bottom 20% poorest regionsRatio

Country (number of regions considered)

Small regions(TL3)

Large regions (TL2)

2016 2000

70 000

75 000

80 000

85 000

90 000

95 000

100 000

105 000

110 000

115 000

2000 2005 2010 2016

GDP per worker in USD PPP

Agder and Rogaland: lowest productivity growth (+1% annually)

Oslo Region: highest productivity growth (+1.5% annually)

Oslo Region: highest productivity in 2016 and highest productivity growth (+1.5% average annual growth over 2000-16)

OECD

0

5

10

15

20

25

2007 2012 2017

rate (%)

Lowest rateTrøndelag

Highest rateOslo region

7.4%

12.2%

10.4%Norway

Regions and Cities at a Glance 2018 – NORWAY http://www.oecd.org/regional

Economic trends in regions

Updated the 5th of March 2019

Relative ranking of the regions with the best and worst outcomes in the 11 well-being dimensions, with respect to all 402 OECD regions. The eleven dimensions are ordered by decreasing regional disparities in the country. Each well-being dimension is measured by the indicators in the table below.

Norway is the OECD country with the highest score in environment, with all seven regions ranking in the top 20% of OECD regions. Regions in Norway perform relatively well in all well-being dimensions, but large disparities are observed in community (perceived social network support) and safety (homicide rates). Western Norway is among the safest regions in the OECD, and Hedmark and Oppland, the least safe region in the country, still fares better than the OECD median region.

Both the 20% top performing and 20% lowest performing Norwegian regions fare better than the OECD median region in all well-being dimensions except for community and educational attainments.

Source: OECD Regional Database. Visualisation: https://www.oecdregionalwellbeing.org. Notes: (1) OECD regions refer to the first administrative tier of subnational government (large regions, Territorial Level 2); Norway is composed of seven large regions. (2) Household income per capita data are based on USD constant PPP, constant prices (year 2010).

Trøndelag

WesternNorway

Trøndelag

Hedmark andOppland

Oslo Region

Trøndelag

Oslo Region

Oslo Region

Oslo Region

Oslo Region

Hedmark andOppland

NorthernNorway

Hedmark andOppland

South-EasternNorway

Oslo Region

Hedmark andOppland

Hedmark andOppland

NorthernNorway

NorthernNorway

Trøndelag

Hedmark andOppland

NorthernNorway

Community Safety Jobs Housing Health LifeSatisfaction

Education CivicEngagement

Access toservices

Income Environment

Top region Bottom region

Ra

nkin

g o

f O

EC

D r

eg

ion

s(1

to

40

2)

top

20

%b

otto

m 2

0%

mid

dle

60

%

Oslo Region Regions (Landsdeler)

Top 20% Bottom 20%

Community

Perceived social netw ork support (%), 2013 93.8 91.4 95.6 91.4

Safety

Homicide Rate (per 100 000 people), 2016 0.5 1.3 0.2 0.7

Jobs

Employment rate 15 to 64 years old (%), 2017 73.7 67.7 75.5 71.0

Unemployment rate 15 to 64 years old (%), 2017 4.3 5.5 3.0 5.2

Housing

Rooms per person, 2016 2.0 1.8 2.1 1.8

Health

Life Expectancy at birth (years), 2016 82.5 80.4 83.0 81.9

Age adjusted mortality rate (per 1 000 people), 2016 7.3 8.1 7.0 7.7

Life Satisfaction

Life satisfaction (scale from 0 to 10), 2013 7.5 6.8 7.6 7.5

Education

Labour force w ith at least upper secondary education (%), 2017 82.4 81.7 84.7 79.1

Civic engagement

Voters in last national election (%), 2017 or lastest year 78.2 70.9 80.7 74.7

Access to services

Households w ith broadband access (%), 2017 94.0 78.0 96.0 90.3

Income

Disposable income per capita (in USD PPP), 2016 24 549 17 695 27 125 23 018

Environment

Level of air pollution in PM 2.5 (µg/m³), 2015 4.5 12.4 4.3 6.3

Norw egian regionsCountry

Average

OECD median

region

Differences in well-being across regions

Updated the 5th of March 2019

OECD population is concentrated in cities* Percentage of population in cities, 2016

Source: OECD Metropolitan Database. Number of cities: 6 in Norway and 1 138 in the OECD.

In Norway, half of the population lives in cities of more than 50 000 inhabitants. The share of population in cities with more than 500 000 people is 26% compared to 55% in the OECD area.

Importance of metropolitan areas Cities above 500 000 people, 2016

Contribution of metropolitan areas to GDP growth Cities above 500 000 people, 2000-16

Oslo metropolitan area accounts for 33% of national GDP. Between 2000 and 2016 it generated 46% of the national GDP growth.

Oslo is among the top 5% OECD metropolitan areas in terms of GDP per capita.

In terms of PM 2.5 levels, Oslo is among the third of OECD metropolitan areas with the lowest level of air pollution across the OECD.

OECD Metropolitan areas ranking Cities above 500 000 people

GDP per capita, 2016

Air pollution (PM2.5), 2017

Source: OECD Metropolitan Database. Number of metropolitan areas with a population of over 500 000: 1 in Norway compared to 327 in the OECD.

* Note: Cities are defined here as functional urban areas, which are composed by high-density urban centres of at least 50 000 people and their areas of influence (commuting zone). For more information, see: http://www.oecd.org/cfe/regional-policy/functionalurbanareasbycountry.htm.

26%

20%

4%

50%

United States

people in citieswith population above 500 000

peopleoutside cities

United States

people in cities withpopulation between50 000 and 250 000

5.2 million people - 50% live in cities

United StatesNorway

people in cities with population between 250 000 and 500 000

OECD average

1.2 billion people - 70%live in cities

people in citieswith population

above 500 000

people in cities withpopulation between

50 000 and 250 000

peopleoutside cities

55%

9%

30%

people in cities with populationbetween 250 000 and 500 000

6%

33% 29% 26%

63%58% 55%

0

10

20

30

40

50

60

70

80

% of nationalGDP

% of nationalemployment

% of nationalpopulation

Norway OECD average%

46%

68%

Osl

o

0

10

20

30

40

50

60

70

80

1 2

%

All metropolitan areas Largest contributor

Norway OECD average

32

7 m

etr

op

olit

an

are

as

0

20 000

40 000

60 000

80 000

100 000USD PPP

Top 20% richest metropolitan areas

Bottom 20% poorest metropolitan areas

0

10

20

30

Lev el of air pollution in PM 2.5 (µg/m³)

Top 20% least polluted metropolitan areas

Bottom 20% most polluted metropolitan areas

Metropolitan areas in the national economy

Updated the 5th of March 2019

Subnational government expenditure by function As a share of total subnational government expenditure, 2016

Subnational government expenditure amounts to USD 9 915 per capita in Norway compared to an OECD average of USD 6 817. In Norway, this is equivalent to 33.2% of total public expenditure and to 16.9% of GDP. In comparison, across the OECD, subnational government expenditure accounts for 40.4% of total public expenditure and for 16.2% of GDP. Social protection and education are the two largest spending items for subnational governments in Norway: together they represent 53% of subnational expenditure compared to 39% in the OECD area.

In Norway, 41.6% of total public investment was carried out by subnational governments compared to an OECD average of 56.9%.

Role of subnational governments in public investment Subnational government public investment per capita, 2016

Source: OECD Subnational Government Structure and Finance Database.

Note: The function ‘Other’ includes housing and community amenities, recreation, culture and religion; environment; public order and safety.

OECD Regions and Cities at a Glance 2018

The 2018 edition of OECD Regions and Cities at a Glance shows how regions and cities contribute to national growth and the well-being of societies. It updates its regular set of region-by-region indicators, examining a wide range of policies and trends and identifying those regions that are outperforming or lagging behind in their country.

Consult this publication on line: https://oe.cd/pub/2n9

General public services 8% 14% General public services

Health 14% 18% Health

Economic affairs 10% 14% Economic affairs

Education 24% 25% Education

Other 15% 15% Other

Social protectionSocial protection 29% 14%

0

1

2

3

4

5

6

7

0

1

2

3

4

5

6

7

Norway OECD average

Subnational expenditure per capita: USD 9 915 USD 6 817

0

500

1 000

1 500

2 000

2 500

3 000

3 500

Total public investmentUSD 3 076 per capita5.2% of GDP Total public investment

USD 1 278 per capita3.0% of GDP

Subnational governmentinvestmentUSD 1 280 per capita41.6% of public invest.

USD per capita

Subnational government investmentUSD 727 per capita 56.9% of public invest.

OECD averageNorway

Subnational government finance