Content
Published:
This is an archived release.
Mainland GDP up 0.5 per cent
According to preliminary seasonally-adjusted volume figures, Mainland Norway’s gross domestic product (GDP) was up 0.5 per cent from the 4th quarter last year to the 1st quarter this year. This is still below trend growth.
| 20131 | 2nd quarter 2013 | 3rd quarter 2013 | 4th quarter 2013 | 1st quarter 2014 | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 12013 are preliminary. | |||||
| Gross domestic product | 0.6 | 1.0 | 0.7 | -0.2 | 0.3 |
| Gross domestic product Mainland Norway | 2.0 | 0.3 | 0.5 | 0.5 | 0.5 |
| Petroleum activities and ocean transport | -3.5 | 3.6 | 1.3 | -2.6 | -0.2 |
| Final domestic use of goods and services | 3.2 | 0.8 | 1.0 | 0.5 | -1.2 |
| Final consumption expenditure of households and NPISH | 2.1 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.3 | 0.8 |
| Final consumption expenditure of general government | 1.8 | 0.1 | 0.3 | 0.5 | 0.9 |
| Gross fixed capital formation (GFCF) | 8.4 | 7.7 | -0.6 | -0.5 | -1.8 |
| Total exports | -3.3 | 2.6 | 0.7 | -2.7 | 1.6 |
| Total imports | 2.9 | 2.5 | 1.7 | -1.3 | -2.6 |
| Employed persons | 1.2 | 0.4 | 0.4 | 0.3 | 0.2 |
| Total hours worked | 0.6 | 0.3 | 0.4 | 0.3 | 0.1 |
A slight decline in value added in petroleum activities and ocean transport led to a 0.3 per cent increase in the total GDP in the first quarter of 2014.
Growth in manufacturing
Following a drop in the 4th quarter, the activity in manufacturing saw 0.5 per cent growth in the 1st quarter this year. Industries contributing to the increase include chemical products, machinery and other equipment and building of ships, oil platforms and modules. Industries with a lower gross value added in the 1st quarter include food products and production of metals.
Among other goods-producing industries , it was mainly agriculture and forestry, and electricity supply that saw an increase in value added.
Value added in mainland service activities, excluding general government, was up 0.3 per cent in the 1st quarter; a slower growth than seen in the second half of 2013. General government value added grew 0.7 per cent, which is higher than the growth throughout 2013. The growth was stronger in central than local government.
Stronger growth in household consumption
Household final consumption expenditures rose 0.8 per cent in the 1st quarter this year, up from 0.4 per cent growth in the 4th quarter last year. Following a reduction in the 3rd quarter and weak growth in the 4th quarter last year the consumption of goods was up 0.9 per cent in the first quarter this year. Services rose 0.8 per cent, up from 0.5 in the previous quarter. Travel expenditures abroad had a strong growth throughout 2013, but the growth came to a halt in the 1st quarter this year.
Lower mainland investments
The gross fixed capital formation (GFCF) in mainland Norway was down 1.9 per cent in the 1st quarter. Investments in both manufacturing and services decreased, while an increase was seen in electricity supply. Investments in dwellings continued to fall, and dropped 3.6 per cent in the 1st quarter.
GFCF in petroleum-related activities increased 2.4 per cent from the 4th to the 1st quarter, after a record high in the year 2013.
Increased exports and decreased imports
Exports of goods and services were up 1.6 per cent in the 1st quarter of 2014, mainly due to the growth in exports of crude oil and second hand vessels. Imports of goods and services decreased 2.6 per cent in the 1st quarter due to reduced imports of vessels and services, while imports of traditional goods increased somewhat.
Slow growth in employment
Employment grew by 0.2 per cent in the 1st quarter; a weaker growth rate than seen in the last three quarters of 2013. Total hours increased slightly by 0.1 per cent from the last quarter of 2013.
Revisions of the quarters of 2013
When compiling figures for the 1st quarter this year, revisions were made to the quarters in 2013 due to the incorporation of new information. The annual growth rate in Mainland GDP for 2013 has not changed and the estimate remains at 2.0 per cent. For an overview of revisions in the main aggregates, please see Table 48.
For an overview of the development in the GDP of some of our trading partners, see the OECD statistics .
Concepts and definitions in National AccountsOpen and readClose
For more information about definitions of the main concepts, variables and classifications in national accounts, see About the statistics, definitions.
How the figures are calculatedOpen and readClose
Four quarters in the Quarterly National Accounts (QNA) are preliminary annual figures until the Annual National Accounts (ANA) for year t are published in November in year t+2 and incorporated as a new base year in the QNA. Hence, 2011 is the base year in QNA when publishing data in May 2014.
In both ANA and QNA, the figures stripped of movements in prices are referred to as volume changes, or fixed price estimates in QNA, and this is done to identify the underlying cyclical pattern of the economy.
Note that in the time series in volume, the figures from the base year and onwards are fixed price figures, while data prior to the base year are chained volume figures. This means that additivity in volume is lost prior to the base year.
Planned changes in the national accounts statisticsOpen and readClose
New revised figures for national accounts and related statistics will be published in November and December 2014. Statistics Norway complies with international guidelines in its preparation of national accounts and statistics on foreign affairs. New international guidelines have now been issued for these statistics. Statistics Norway is currently in the process of implementing the changes, in addition to new source data for some of the statistics.
Contact
-
Pål Sletten
E-mail: pal.sletten@ssb.no
tel.: (+47) 99 29 06 84
-
Ingunn Sagelvmo
E-mail: ingunn.sagelvmo@ssb.no
tel.: (+47) 40 90 26 32
-
Pia Tønjum
E-mail: pia.tonjum@ssb.no
tel.: (+47) 48 99 12 07
-
Kristian Gimming
E-mail: kristian.gimming@ssb.no
tel.: (+47) 91 88 39 06