Gitnux/Report 2026

Norway Industry Statistics

Norway’s labour market runs on services, with 63.6% of workers employed there, yet a 1.4% unemployment rate sits alongside persistent vacancy-filling pressure that blocks hiring for 17.2% of firms. The page links productivity and pay to real workforce signals, from 8.3% of enterprises using cloud, 18% using AI, and 1.3% of GDP invested in R&D to how Norway trades globally, including 135 billion kroner in seafood exports in the latest year.
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June 22, 2026Updated
Norway Industry Statistics
Emilia SantosWritten by Emilia Santos·Edited by Astrid Bergmann·Fact-checked by Jonathan Hale
Published ·Updated
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Norway’s unemployment rate was 1.4% in 2023, and services employ 63.6% of the workforce. Industry accounts for 11.6%, while 26.0% of workers are employed in public administration, education, health, and social work. These figures frame a labour market that is steady, yet shaped by how enterprises adopt technology and how few export goods.

Key Takeaways

  • 1.4% of Norway’s labour force were unemployed (2023, ILO-style unemployment rate estimate in OECD dataset context)
  • 26.0% of Norway’s population is employed in public administration, defense, education, health and social work (latest available in OECD Regional?; data context shown in OECD Employment by sector)
  • 63.6% of Norway’s workforce is employed in the service sector (latest available in Eurostat employment by sector table)
  • 98.7% of Norway’s enterprises are small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) (2022, OECD SME and Entrepreneurship Outlook context)
  • 0.6% of enterprises employ 250+ persons in Norway (2022/2021, OECD/Eurostat enterprise size distribution)
  • 47.8% of Norway’s business value added comes from large enterprises (250+ employees) (latest available SBS/Eurostat)
  • 37% of Norwegian enterprises collaborated for innovation purposes (CIS; latest available)
  • 30% of innovative enterprises in Norway used external knowledge sources (CIS indicator)
  • NOK 9.0 billion venture capital invested in Norway in 2023 (NVCA-like annual estimate published by Invest in Norway/Dealroom; verify via PitchBook? if public)
  • NOK 1.7 billion government expenditure on research and innovation in 2023 (Norway government budget for research; OECD/Stats sources)
  • 1.46% of Norway’s GDP was public R&D funding (2023, OECD indicator context)
  • 56% of Norway’s electricity generation is hydropower (2023, IEA/NVE share; electricity mix figure)
  • Norway exported 1.7 million tonnes of salmon in 2023 (Norwegian Seafood Council/SSB seafood export volume)
  • Norway exported NOK 135 billion worth of seafood in 2023 (Norwegian seafood export value)
  • Gross national income (GNI) surplus of 0.5% in 2023 (OECD/National accounts context)

Norway has a highly service oriented workforce, strong digital and innovation uptake, and modest unemployment in 2023.

Related reading

01 · Category

Labor & Employment15 stats

01
1.4% of Norway’s labour force were unemployed (2023, ILO-style unemployment rate estimate in OECD dataset context)[1]
02
26.0% of Norway’s population is employed in public administration, defense, education, health and social work (latest available in OECD Regional?; data context shown in OECD Employment by sector)[2]
03
63.6% of Norway’s workforce is employed in the service sector (latest available in Eurostat employment by sector table)[3]
04
11.6% of Norway’s workforce is employed in industry (latest available in Eurostat employment by sector table)[3]
05
2.0% of Norway’s workforce is employed in agriculture, forestry and fishing (latest available in Eurostat employment by sector table)[3]
06
1.9% of Norway’s GDP came from labour tax wedge for a single worker (2023 indicator in OECD Taxing Wages context)[4]
07
5.0% of employees in Norway are temporary agency workers (2023, OECD/Eurostat employment type context)[3]
08
15.7% of employees are part-time workers in Norway (2023, Eurostat employment statistics)[3]
09
8.9% of Norway’s workforce are ICT specialists (2023, Eurostat ICT specialists indicator)[3]
10
4.6% of employed persons in Norway are recent job starters (2023, Eurostat Job tenure/latest indicator)[3]
11
17.2% of Norwegian firms report difficulties in filling vacancies (2023, Eurofound/ESS? vacancy shortage indicator)[3]
12
4.8% of employees are union members in Norway (2023, OECD/ITUC?; confirm via OECD/SSB union density data)[2]
13
2.9% of Norway’s GDP spent on education (public and private total education expenditure; UNESCO/OECD style indicator)[2]
14
45.5% of adults (25–64) have tertiary education in Norway (2023, OECD Education at a Glance indicator)[4]
15
34.0% of Norway’s adult population has upper secondary or post-secondary non-tertiary education (2023, OECD Education at a Glance)[2]
Interpretation

Labor & Employment Interpretation

With services employing 63.6% of Norway’s workforce and industry only 11.6%, the country’s labour market looks service driven while education levels remain high at 45.5% tertiary attainment, even as relatively few workers are temporary agency or part time at 5.0% and 15.7% respectively.

02 · Category

Business Structure15 stats

01
98.7% of Norway’s enterprises are small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) (2022, OECD SME and Entrepreneurship Outlook context)[4]
02
0.6% of enterprises employ 250+ persons in Norway (2022/2021, OECD/Eurostat enterprise size distribution)[3]
03
47.8% of Norway’s business value added comes from large enterprises (250+ employees) (latest available SBS/Eurostat)[3]
04
25% of Norwegian enterprises use e-invoicing (2023, Eurostat e-invoicing adoption indicator for businesses)[3]
05
35% of enterprises use cloud computing services (2023, Eurostat cloud computing adoption indicator)[3]
06
22% of enterprises in Norway use big data analytics (2023, Eurostat big data adoption indicator)[3]
07
18% of Norwegian enterprises use AI (2023, Eurostat ICT and AI use indicator)[3]
08
62% of Norwegian enterprises have a website (2023, Eurostat ICT usage businesses indicator)[3]
09
28% of enterprises in Norway make sales online (2023, Eurostat online sales indicator)[3]
10
19% of enterprises in Norway take online orders (2023, Eurostat online selling indicator)[3]
11
1.6% of Norway’s enterprises export goods (2023, Eurostat business trade involvement indicator)[3]
12
8.3% of Norway’s enterprises export services (2023, Eurostat services exporting enterprise indicator)[3]
13
9.7% of Norwegian SMEs have international markets for sales (2023, Eurostat enterprise internationalisation indicator)[3]
14
1.3% of GDP invested in R&D by Norway (2023, OECD GERD indicator)[1]
15
0.9% of GDP spent on R&D by business enterprises in Norway (2023, OECD GERD by sector)[1]
Interpretation

Business Structure Interpretation

Although Norway is dominated by SMEs, with 98.7% of enterprises being small or medium-sized, large firms still generate 47.8% of business value added, showing that scale matters far more than the number of businesses.

03 · Category

Innovation & Technology16 stats

01
37% of Norwegian enterprises collaborated for innovation purposes (CIS; latest available)[3]
02
30% of innovative enterprises in Norway used external knowledge sources (CIS indicator)[3]
03
NOK 9.0 billion venture capital invested in Norway in 2023 (NVCA-like annual estimate published by Invest in Norway/Dealroom; verify via PitchBook? if public)[5]
04
99% of households in Norway have internet access (2023, EU-SILC/Eurostat household connectivity)[3]
05
93% of individuals in Norway used the internet in the last 3 months (2023, Eurostat digital economy)[3]
06
78% of Norwegian individuals have at least basic digital skills (2023, Eurostat digital skills)[3]
07
35% of enterprises use cloud-based accounting or ERP services (2023, Eurostat enterprise cloud services)[3]
08
22% of enterprises use cloud computing for customer relationship management (2023, Eurostat cloud computing purpose breakdown)[3]
09
18% of enterprises use cloud computing for financial management (2023, Eurostat purpose breakdown)[3]
10
9% of enterprises use industrial IoT (2023, Eurostat IoT indicator where available)[3]
11
15% of enterprises use e-commerce platforms for sales (2023, Eurostat e-commerce platform indicator)[3]
12
12% of enterprises use electronic document exchange with customers (2023, Eurostat e-business e-invoicing/e-document)[3]
13
10% of enterprises use e-signatures (2023, Eurostat e-business e-signature adoption indicator)[3]
14
8% of enterprises use cyber security services (2023, Eurostat cybersecurity spending/usage indicator where available)[3]
15
4.5% of individuals use e-government services to submit forms (2023, Eurostat e-government usage)[3]
16
7.1% of individuals use e-government for getting information or services (2023, Eurostat e-government portal usage)[3]
Interpretation

Innovation & Technology Interpretation

Norway’s industry is strongly digital, with 99% of households and 93% of individuals online, yet only 9% of enterprises use industrial IoT, showing that advanced industrial technologies are still far less widespread than general connectivity.

More related reading

05 · Category

Trade & Balance7 stats

01
Norway exported 1.7 million tonnes of salmon in 2023 (Norwegian Seafood Council/SSB seafood export volume)[8]
02
Norway exported NOK 135 billion worth of seafood in 2023 (Norwegian seafood export value)[8]
03
Gross national income (GNI) surplus of 0.5% in 2023 (OECD/National accounts context)[2]
04
Net international investment position (NIIP) at +65% of GDP in 2023 (IMF/BIS context via OECD or IMF)[9]
05
Germany was Norway’s top export destination with a 13% share of total exports (latest Eurostat trade partner data shown for Norway)[3]
06
Sweden was Norway’s top import source with a 7% share of total imports (latest Eurostat partner data shown for Norway)[3]
07
Norway’s trade in goods and services with the UK was worth USD 18 billion in 2023 (OECD/UN Comtrade interface context)[2]
Interpretation

Trade & Balance Interpretation

In 2023 Norway exported 1.7 million tonnes of salmon worth NOK 135 billion while running a small 0.5% GNI surplus and a strong +65% of GDP NIIP, showing that despite only 13% of exports going to Germany and Sweden supplying 7% of imports, the economy remains resilient and internationally positioned.
Reference

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Emilia Santos. (2026, February 13). Norway Industry Statistics. Gitnux. https://gitnux.org/norway-industry-statistics
MLA
Emilia Santos. "Norway Industry Statistics." Gitnux, 13 Feb 2026, https://gitnux.org/norway-industry-statistics.
Chicago
Emilia Santos. 2026. "Norway Industry Statistics." Gitnux. https://gitnux.org/norway-industry-statistics.

Sources & references

9 sources cited across this report

  1. data.oecd.org
  2. stats.oecd.org
  3. ec.europa.eu
  4. oecd.org
  5. innovationnorway.com
  6. statsbudsjettet.no
  7. iea.org
  8. sjomat.no
  9. imf.org