Building and construction

Statistics Norway has been compiling statistics on building and construction ever since 1900. However, the present statistics on production were introduced in 1966. Statistics have been kept on building starts, buildings under construction and building completions since 1946. These figures have been based on a central register of building activity since 1983.

Norway's oldest building cost statistics date back to 1932. The home-building cost indices used today were introduced in 1978.

Employment in the building and construction sector fluctuated considerably from 1966 until the early 1990s. The early 1970s and 1980s were periods of sharp decline, while the late 1970s and the interval from 1982 to 1988 were periods of significant growth. In 1988 total employment was as much as 38 per cent higher than in 1966. More recently, however, the industry suffered a severe recession as employment figures dropped by 31 per cent from 1988 to 1992.

The total utility floor space in completed buildings more than doubled from the early 1950s to the early 1970s. Factories and commercial buildings also showed a marked upswing in the mid-1980s. Like housing construction, however, the construction of those buildings was reduced by more than half from 1988 to 1992.

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