Culture Statistics 2019

This publication provides updated figures and information on culture. The main purpose of the publication is to present an overview of available statistics on various aspects of culture in Norway. A selection of some main results within culture in this publication is given below.

Public expenditure

Governmental expenditure on cultural purposes in the Ministry of Culture’s budget for 2019 was close to NOK 13 billion. The corresponding figure in the county authorities and local authorities was NOK 1.8 billion and NOK 14.1 billion respectively.

Employment and enterprises in cultural industries

A total of 3 percent of all employed persons in Norway had their main job within the cultural industries in 2019. Oslo has the largest share by a large margin, with 41 per cent of all employment in the cultural and creative industries.

Cultural policy instruments

In 2019, Arts Council Norway allocated NOK 982 million from the Norwegian Cultural Fund to several cultural purposes. Music received the majority; 40 per cent of the Norwegian Cultural Fund. In 2019, visual artists made up the largest group of recipients under the Government Grants for Artists scheme, receiving 521 grants, out of a total of 1 734 grants.

Music and theatre

Theatre, opera and dance are still popular attractions within the field of performing arts. In 2019, the music institutions which report to the Arts Council Norway held over 1 380 concerts for a total of 711 400 audience members. A total of 2.2 million people went to the theatre- and/or opera-institutions which report to the Arts Council Norway.

Museums

In 2019, about 10.4 million people visited Norwegian museums, which had a total of about 61.9 million objects. There were a total of 2 664 exhibitions in the museums, 14 more exhibitions than in 2018.

Libraries

In 2019, a total of 12,2 million books were loaned from public libraries, with an average of 2.3 loans per capita. The libraries had close to 26 million registered visits and 64 000 arrangements.

Films and cinemas

In 2019, a total of 11.3 million cinema visits were registered. This is a 7 per cent decrease from the previous year, when 12.1 million people visited Norwegian cinemas. The cinema visits correspond to 2.1 per capita.

Sound and vision

On an average day, the share of the population who listened to the radio in 2019 was 48 per cent. The share of the population who watched ordinary TV was 48 per cent, whereas in 2008, the share was 60 per cent.

Sports

At the end of 2019, 1.9 million memberships were registered with the Norwegian Olympic and Paralympic Committee and Confederation of Sports. The number of teams has decreased somewhat and is now close to 8 000. There were 57 500 sport facilities, an increase of 530 from 2018.

Culture Schools and the Cultural School Bag

In 2019, 13 per cent of all children aged 6-15 were pupils at culture schools, the same percentage as in 2018. In connection with the Cultural School Bag, 46 400 events were held at primary and lower secondary schools, while upper secondary schools hosted 3 900 events.