Foreign subsidiaries in Norway, 2007-2014

National level. Abroad is divided into countries and country groups.

Yearly. The statistics are released within 20 months after the reference year, starting with the statistics for the year 2007.

Reporting to Eurostat and the OECD

Raw data and revised microdata are stored in accordance with Statistics Norway's standard for archiving files (DataDok).

The purpose is to provide a complete overview of foreign-controlled enterprises' economic activity in Norway, and their effect on the Norwegian economy, particularly in relation to employment and added value.

The statistics are internationally known as Foreign Affiliates Statistics. A simplified name is inward FATS..

Figures on foreign-controlled enterprises' activity in Norway are used to measure the extent of globalisation, international trade negotiations and economic research, amongst other things. Users are authorities, industry, embassies, education and research institutes etc. Data is also reported to Eurostat (the Statistical Office of the European Communities) and the OECD, in line with the obligations stipulated in the EEA agreement and other international agreements.

No external users have access to the statistics and analyses before they are published and accessible simultaneously for all users on ssb.no at 10 am. Prior to this, a minimum of three months' advance notice is given in the Statistics Release Calendar. This is one of Statistics Norway’s key principles for ensuring that all users are treated equally.

The figures for the individual industries included in the FATS statistics are based on Statistics Norway's enterprise-based structure statistics for these industries. The structure statistics provide detailed information on the activity in different industries. The direct link to the structure statistics makes it possible to make industry comparisons between nationally-controlled and foreign-controlled enterprises. For more information about the different industries see structure statistics

For some industries Statistics Norway releases statistics that differs from the ordinary structural business statistics. This applies to “Mining and quarrying” (NACE 06) and “Electricity, gas, steam and air conditioning supply” (NACE 35). The performance of these industries will thus be slightly different from the results recorded in the Inward FATS statistics. The annual statistics for the extraction of crude oil and natural gas uses field/concession as observation unit, while the annual statistics for electricity includes all electricity plants that have a license for electricity generation, transmission and distribution of electricity or trade of electricity. The annual statistics for district heating is based on data collected by questionnaire and includes all district-heating plants. The inward FATS statistics only includes investments in material assets. Exploration and concept studies are thus excluded since these are intellectual property assets. 

With regard to foreign ownership, the statistics on foreign direct investments in Norway (inward FDI) are related to the FATS statistics. The statistics on inward FDI stocks describe the liabilities abroad in the form of foreign-owned share capital and other capital linked to direct investments. However, these statistics say little about how foreign ownership interests in Norway affect other aspects of the Norwegian economy. The FATS statistics are extremely helpful in being able to describe this effect, and are a natural continuation of Statistics Norway'' existing statistics on the globalisation field.

Statistics on Norwegian enterprises abroad (outward FATS) http://www.ssb.no/ufats/ shows equivalent relations where norwegians controll enterprises outside Norway.The statistics follow the same international requirements as inward FATS

The statistics are based on the re-use of various primary statistics and the associated authority, which is § 2-2 and § 3-2 of the Statistics Act. 2-2 and § 3-2 of the Statistics Act.

Regulation (EC) no. 716/2007 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 20 June 2007 on Community statistics on the structure and activity of foreign affiliates (the FATS regulation)

The statistics are prepared in line with recommendations by Eurostat, stipulated in "Recommendations manual on the production of Foreign Affiliates Statistics"

The statistics cover foreign-controlled enterprises in Norway, i.e. subsidiaries that are controlled either directly or indirectly by an enterprise abroad. See section 4.1 for a closer definition of "foreign-controlled". Only active enterprises are included in the population. Figures are also presented for the industry as a whole as a reference for the statistics on the foreign-controlled enterprises.

The statistics cover enterprises within the main industry sectors; oil and gas exploration and mining and quarrying, manufacturing, Electricity, gas, steam and air conditioning supply, water supply, sewerage, waste management and remidiation,construction, wholesale an retail trade, transporttation and storage, accomdation and food service activities, information and communication, real estate activities, professional, scientific and tecnical activities and administrative and support services activities.

Enterprises within financial services and insurance are not included in the population. Neither are agriculture and forestry, fishing, public administration, education, health and social work and other community, social and personal service activities.

In order to define which companies are controlled from abroad, we use the Directorate of Taxes' register of shareholders. The press and Internet etc. are also used to map new foreign-controlled enterprises in Norway, and to map the ultimate country of ownership (the country in which the enterprise in the ownership chain that is not controlled by another enterprise is located).

The FATS statistics include a full count of active foreign-controlled enterprises.

There is no separate data collection for statistics on foreign-controlled enterprises' activity in Norway, cf. 3.2. These statistics are based on Statistic's Norway's structure statistics, which in turn use data from administrative registers such as the Directorate of Taxes' standard industrial form, the register of company accounts at Brønnøysund, the census of entrepreneurs liable to value added tax (the VAT register) and the Norwegian Labour and Welfare Organisation's register of employers and employees. Additional information is also collected for the structure statistics from separate forms completed by a sample of enterprises.

Controls and alignments are carried out in the structure statistics of the data that emanates from tax questionnaires and supplementary forms for the enterprises included in the sample. Industry classification, number of employees, turnover, salary expenses, other operating costs, operating result, investments and costs of goods are all particularly critical controls.

The revision of the data material is carried out according to comparisons with figures for the previous year, the central register of establishments and enterprises, the register of company accounts at Brønnøysund, other available sources and in consultation with the customer where necessary.

With regard to the foreign-controlled enterprises, ownership is checked by reviewing the data from the register of shareholders, and with information from accounts and the companies' websites etc. on the enterprises' ultimate country of ownership.

Not relevant

Figures are not published where a cell in the table consists of less than three units, as this may enable the identification of a respondent, i.e. where figures can be traced to a respondent. This also applies to cells with more than three units where one or two respondents dominate the figures.

Definitions of some identifiers, e.g. number of employees, have changed during the period to which the figures relate. Attempts have been made to take this into consideration in order to make the figures as comparable as possible over time.