Annual non-financial sector accounts, national accounts, 2014

National income for Norway was NOK 2 699 billion in 2014. This was nearly NOK 66 billion higher than 2013. Gross domestic product increased by NOK 83 billion, which explains much of the increase in national income. Property income from abroad also helped to draw up national income, while increased depreciation contributed negatively.

Disposable income for Norway is determined by taking account of current transfers to and from abroad. The current transfers to abroad are higher than those received from abroad, which means that disposable income is lower than national income. The disposable income for Norway increased by NOK 61 billion and is estimated at NOK 2 648 billion in 2014. This represents NOK 515 300 per capita.

Growth in real disposable income declined in the years 2011-2013, while real income in 2014 was approximately the same as the year before.

Savings for Norway are estimated at NOK 668 billion. Consumption increased more than the increase in disposable income, so savings for Norway fell by NOK 31 billion from 2013 to 2014. The savings rate was 25 per cent, which is 2 percentage points lower than in 2013.

Lower savings percentage in general government

Savings in Norway are mainly made through the central government. The central government’s share of total savings was NOK 51 per cent in 2014. This is a decrease of 5 percentage points compared to the year before, and the lowest savings ratio since 1998. Savings in the central government were NOK 339 billion; NOK 54 billion less than the year before. A fall in government revenues from petroleum taxes made the largest contribution to the decline. The reduction started in 2013, when revenues from petroleum taxes fell by NOK 33 billion from the year before. The decrease in 2014 was related to a fall in the prices of crude oil and gas.

An increase in the central government's expenditure, public pensions and benefits also contributed to the decline in savings.

In contrast to the central government, the local government has had negative savings since 2007. Total savings in the public sector therefore ended at NOK 334 billion in 2014; a decrease of NOK 52 billion compared to the year before.

Increased household saving

Disposable income for households was NOK 1 257 billion in 2014; 5.1 per cent more than the year before. Households’ main source of income; wage income, increased by 4.5 per cent and together with public pensions and benefits was the largest contributor to growth in disposable income. Calculated per capita, disposable income was about NOK 244 700, compared to NOK 235 500 in 2013.

Real disposable income increased by 2.7 per cent in 2014. This represents an increase in real disposable income per capita of 1.4 per cent from the year before.

Disposable income and adjustments for household savings in pension funds increased more than consumption, and savings thus increased by NOK 17 billion to NOK 115 billion in 2014. This is equal to a disposable income per capita of approximately NOK 22 300.

The savings ratio is estimated at 8.5 per cent, which is the highest level since 2005.

Net lending in enterprises

The preliminary figures for 2014 show that savings in the corporate sector were NOK 217 billion. This is about NOK 5 billion higher than the year before. Gross investment minus depreciation was higher than savings. This meant that enterprises had negative net lending or net borrowing of NOK 49 billion, compared to NOK 33 billion the year before.