Preliminary figures from General government revenue and expenditure show that government surplus equalled petroleum revenues in 2024. In Norway, surplus in the general government sector is closely connected to income from export of oil and natural gas. A prominent share of said revenues accrues to government through taxes and distributed income from state-owned corporations engaged in petroleum activities.

Government petroleum revenues peaked in 2022 – surpassing NOK 1,450 billion, mainly due to sky-high prices on natural gas. In 2023 and 2024 prices on crude oil and natural gas fell to less extreme levels, which explains the reduction in government revenues and surplus.

Figure 1. Revenues from petroleum and surplus in general government. NOK billion

Source: General government revenue and expenditure, Statistics Norway

Government expenditure up

General government expenditure amounted to NOK 2,523 billion in 2024. This corresponds to 62.3 per cent of GDP for Mainland-Norway consists of all domestic production activity except exploration of crude oil and natural gas, transport via pipelines and ocean transport. – almost 2 percentage points higher than in 2023. Particularly capital transfers and interest expenses increased sharply. Grants aimed to finance military equipment in Ukraine is the main contributor to higher capital transfer in 2024.

Interest expenses have risen substantially in recent years. In 2021, interest expenses amounted to NOK 18 billion. In 2024, interest almost reached 80 billion. Accrued interest on the secured borrowing of Government Pension Fund Global (GFPG) contributed most to the growth, see fact box below. The second largest contributor was interest on local government debt. As GPFG and the total general government sector is in a net financial asset position, increased interest expense is offset by vast interest revenues.

Figure 2. General government expenditure. Per cent of GDP Mainland Norway

Source: General government revenue and expenditure, Statistics Norway

Secured lending and borrowing consists of collateralised transactions, where the fund posts or receives securities or cash to or from a counterparty, with collateral in the form of other securities or cash. Transactions take place under various agreements such as securities lending agreements, repurchase and reverse repurchase agreements and equity swaps in combination with purchases or sales of equities. The objective of secured lending and borrowing is to provide an incremental return on the fund’s holdings. Transactions are also used in connection with liquidity management.