Municipal accounts, 2012, preliminary figures

Preliminary figures for 2012 estimate that gross operating surplus was about NOK 6.8 billion for all the municipalities combined. The estimations show that the municipalities’ gross operating revenue was approximately NOK 344 billion in 2012, while the gross operating expenditure was about NOK 337 billion. The gross surplus is estimated at 2 per cent of the gross revenues in 2012 compared to 1.7 per cent the previous year.

The net operating surplus for the Norwegian municipalities had a substantial increase from NOK 6.3 billion in 2011 to about NOK 9.3 billion in 2012.

Continuous investments in the Norwegian municipalities

The estimates for gross investment expenditures for 2012 combined indicate that the municipalities invested NOK 37 billion, compared to NOK 36 billion in 2011. The preliminary figures show that the deficit before loans and allocations decreased by approximately NOK 1.2 billion from 2011 to NOK 9.5 billion in 2012.

Estimations also indicate that the municipalities’ investments have been financed by the use of applied loans, which have also decreased by NOK 1.5 billion. Financing of investments by applied loans as a percentage of the gross capital expenditure was approximately 54.8 per cent in 2012, compared with about 60 per cent in 2011. The municipalities allocated NOK 0.9 billion of existing funds in 2012.

Expenditure to health and care services increases as a result of health care reform

The newly formed health and care services was introduced in 2012. Health services and social care services, as they were known until 2011, have now been merged to form the health and care services. Health and care services expenditures increased by about NOK 13 billion from 2011 to 2012. The increase is a result of the new health and care reform.

The municipalities’ expenditure for administration was NOK 20.8 billion in 2012, while expenditure for kindergartens, primary schools and care services amounted to a total of NOK 36.3, with NOK 61 and NOK 90.8 billion respectively.

Slight adjustment for the production of services

The percentage of 1-5 year-olds in kindergarten was 89.3 per cent in 2012, compared to 88.5 per cent the previous year. The figures for 2012 indicate that the number of children with special educational needs and children with additional Norwegian language needs has increased. There is also a slight increase in the number of children under the protection of child welfare services, whereas the number of social assistance recipients has been reduced from 2011 to 2012.