General government, financial assets and liabilities

Net financial assets

Net financial assets correspond to financial assets minus liabilities.

Net borrowing/lending

Net borrowing/lending is defined as net acquisition of financial assets less net incurrence of liabilities.

Net revaluations

Revaluations are mainly capital gains or losses due to changes in market prices of financial instruments.

Change in net financial assets:

Changes in net financial assets from one period to the next are explained by net borrowing/lending and net revaluations.

General government gross debt according to the Maastricht definition

The Maastricht criteria are a set of economic and legal requirements that EU member countries must meet in order to join the Economic and Monetary Union and adopt the euro as their currency. One of the criteria is related to the total debt in the general government, stating that it should not exceed 60 percent of the country's GDP. Total debt according to the Maastricht criteria includes only marketable securities, which are certificate and bond loans, as well as loans. Other obligations, such as financial derivatives and trade credits, are not included.

In the national accounts' financial statements and in statistics on public finances, debt is primarily valued at market price. However, when measuring debt according to the Maastricht criteria, the nominal value is the basis. The nominal value is the amount that the issuer (debtor) is obligated to pay to the holder (creditor) upon maturity, which is the redemption price. In the statistical tables, this debt measured in this way is referred to as gross public debt.

General government

The statistics cover the general government with the sub-sectors central and local government. The sector comprises non-market-oriented activities that are directly managed and controlled by central government political and administrative authorities. Non-market-oriented activities will here mean that it is primarily financed by taxes and fees - and not by sales revenue.

Central government

The sector includes non-market-oriented activities that are directly managed and controlled by central government political and administrative authorities. Examples of units within this sector include the parliament, the ministries, the directorates, supervisory bodies, the Norwegian Labor and Welfare Agency, the Norwegian Tax Administration, the Armed Forces, the Police, the courts, the universities, the health institutions and the Government Pension Fund Global. The state's business operations, state-owned enterprises and state loan institutions are not considered part of the central government.

Local government

This sector includes municipalities, county councils and joint church councils. In addition, the sector includes municipal enterprises, county municipal enterprises and inter-municipal cooperation, if these operate non-market-oriented activities. Most management companies are found within water and sewage, waste disposal, services related to property management, public administration, health services, library and museum operations as well as within the operation of sports and sports facilities.

National accounting standards

The statistics are based on the guidelines for financial accounting in the national accounting standards System of National Accounts 2008 (SNA 2008) and European System of Accounts 2010 (ESA 2010), as well as the IMF's Government Finance Statistics Manual 2014 (GFSM 2014).

Sector classification

Each institutional sector comprises institutional units with broadly similar behaviour. The institutional units are grouped into mutually exclusive institutional sectors on the basis of economic activity, organizational structure and ownership. Institutional units are autonomous entities that are capable, in their own right, of owning assets, incurring liabilities and engaging in economic activities and in transactions with other entities. In most cases, the institutional unit is identical to the legal unit or persons or groups of persons in the form of households.

The institutional sector classification in the financial accounts is based on the recommendations of the SNA 2008 and ESA 2010.

The classification of financial assets and liabilities

The statistics contain a limited number of financial instrument groups. The financial instruments are grouped in claim and debt items with similar economic functions. Classification of the financial instrument groups is based on the recommendations of the SNA 2008 and ESA 2010. The classifications are described below.

Certificates and treasury bills

A certificate is a tradable security with a maturity period not exceeding one year. Treasury bills are a type of certificate issued by Norges Bank on behalf of the Norwegian government.

Bonds

Bonds are tradable financial instruments that serve as debt certificates. Bonds have a maturity period of more than one year.

Lending/Loan

The object includes forms of loan other than negotiable debt securities. This also includes so-called repo loans, i.e. loans linked to repurchase agreements.

Shares (Quoted and unquoted)

Quoted shares are equity instruments that are listed on a stock exchange. Unqouted shares are equity instruments that are not listed on a stock exchange.

Other equity/capital contribution

This category includes other forms of equity than those classified as shares. Examples include the state's capital in state-owned enterprises (Statkraft SF, Statnett SF, etc.) and the fixed capital in the state's financial engagement in petroleum activities (SDØE).

Insurance technical reserves

In this statistics, insurance technical reserves include claims between the central and local government and pension funds and other pension institutions.

Other accounts receivable/payable

Comprise claims and debt that is due to differences in timing between transactions and payments. For example, credit extended to a customer/supplier credit, deferred tax claims/liabilities.

Central government debt

Table 05830 in the statistics database displays the central government's debt according to the definitions provided by the Ministry of Finance and the Central Bank of Norway. Unlike other tables, this table is not based on international standards. For instance, it does not include loans taken by other entities within the general government other than the central government. This means that local government debt is not included in this table.