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Steep rise in household income among the elderly – smaller rise among the young
statistikk
2015-12-16T10:00:00.000Z
Income and consumption;Immigration and immigrants
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ifhus, Income and wealth statistics for households, income statistics, household income, wealth statistics, wealth, household types (for example single, couples with children, couples without children), income accounts, income from employment, capital income, transfers (for example pension, supplementary benefit, cash for care), debts, poverty, low income, child poverty,Income and wealth, Income and consumption, Income and consumption, Immigration and immigrants
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Elderly households had an income rise of 21 per cent from 2009 to 2014. Couples with young children saw their household income rise 8 per cent in the same period.

Income and wealth statistics for households, 2014

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Steep rise in household income among the elderly – smaller rise among the young

Elderly households had an income rise of 21 per cent from 2009 to 2014. Couples with young children saw their household income rise 8 per cent in the same period.

Income after tax for households by type of household, Median1Published 16 December 2015
After tax median incomePer cent2
20142013 - 20142009 - 2014
1Students not included
2In constant prices
All households478 7001.010.8
Singles under 45 years275 0000.75.5
Singles 45-64 years309 2001.110.5
Singles 65 years and older248 4002.117.4
Couples without children, oldest person under 45 years569 1001.01.5
Couples without children, oldest person 45-64 years707 6002.016.3
Couples without children, oldest person 65 years and older533 1002.221.1
Couples with children 0-6 years721 7001.18.2
Couples with children 7-17 years831 4001.411.8
Couples with children, oldest child 18 years and older924 6001.614.1
Single mother/father with children 0-17 years391 6000.75.5
Single mother/father with children 18 years and older513 3001.010.1

Source: Statistics Norway

Figure 1. Income share of the top 10 per cent and bottom 10 per cent. Equivalent household income

Average household income rose by 1.8 per cent in 2014, while median income rose 1 per cent. This was a weaker growth than in the previous year, when average and median income rose by 2.5 and 1.9 per cent – all figures in fixed prices. In 2014, median household after-tax income was NOK 478 700, while average income was NOK 563 700.

Households with the most elderly members had the strongest rise in median household income. Couples without children (oldest person 65 years or older) had an increase in income in real terms of 21.1 per cent from 2009 to 2014. The corresponding income rise for all households was 10.8 per cent. Pensioners living alone and couples without children (oldest person aged 45-64 years) also had an income rise that was stronger than the general income growth.

Single people under 45 years, young couples without children, couples with young children and single parents had the weakest income growth between 2009 and 2014. The increase in these household groups’ median household income was well below the overall income growth.

Higher income inequality

The share of total household equivalent income received by the top decile was 21.2 per cent in 2014. This was an increase of 0.5 percentage points from the previous year. The share of income received by the bottom decile was 3.8 per cent in 2014 – down from 3.9 per cent in 2013. Other summary measures of inequality also show a more uneven income distribution. The Gini coefficient, which is a standard measure of income inequality, increased from 0.241 in 2013 to 0.247 in 2014.

The rise in income inequality in 2014 may be explained by a strong growth in property income, in particular dividends, which to a large extent are received by households at the top end of the distribution. In recent years, the income growth of households at the bottom of the income distribution has been significantly weaker than the general income growth. Many persons in the lowest income decile have an immigrant background. In the period 2004-2014, the proportion of persons in the lowest income class with an immigrant background doubled from 23 to 46 per cent. Households at the bottom of the income distribution often have a weak attachment to the labour market, and many are dependent on various social welfare transfers.

Net wealth highly skewed

The net worth of households consists of the sum of financial and non-financial wealth, minus liabilities. The distribution of net worth is highly skewed. Households in the highest 10 per cent for net worth owned 50.2 per cent of the total net worth in 2014. This was up from 49.5 per cent in 2013. The richest 1 per cent owned 19 per cent of the total net worth, while the richest 0.1 per cent of all households owned 8.8 per cent of the total net worth in 2014. In 2013, the corresponding figures were 18.3 and 8.3 per cent. The higher concentration of net wealth in the top end of the distribution can partly be explained by a strong increase in market values on shares, unit trusts, bond and money market funds. These types of financial capital are to a large extent owned by the wealthiest households.