Focus on forests

Key figures 2010
Wooded areas:	40 per cent of the land area
Employed in forestry:	6 500 (2009)
Productive forest area:	25 per cent of the land area
Forestry and the forest industry as part of the GDP:	0.54 per cent (2009)
Annual commercial roundwood removal:	8.3 million m³
Annual consume of energy wood in households:	3.5 million m³
Annual growth:	24.6 million m³
Protected forest area as a percentage of productive forest area: 2.45 per cent

Explanation of terms

Productive forest area:
Forest area that, on average, can produce more than 0.1m³ timber per decare in favourable stand conditions per annum.
Standing volume:
The total volume of trees in the forest measured in cubic metres without the bark.
Annual growth:
The volume the standing forest increases by in a year measured in cubic metres.
Roundwood removal:
Felling of trees.
Timber and wood product industry:
Includes sawmills and other industries that produce wood-based products.
Wood processing industry:
Includes paper and cellulose industries and chipboard and hardboard industry.
Gross Domestic Product (GDP):
The value of everything that is produced in a country. The GDP includes the added value in all market-oriented business activity, apart from public administration, special interest organisations and production for own use. The GDP per capita is often used as a gauge of a country's standard of living.

Focus on

Forests

Forestry and the forestry industry have played a significant role in Norway for several hundred years. A hundred years ago, it was commonly believed that our forests would soon no longer exist, and initiatives were implemented to counteract the deforestation.

The annual felling volume has been relatively stable for the last 80 years, while the volume of forest and the annual increment of new forest have increased two and a half time during this period.

Converted to the current value of the NOK, timber prices have halved in the past 30 years.

During the same period, the number of people employed in forestry and the forestry industry has halved, and the traditional forestry worker has been replaced by felling machines.

In the last 20 years, the annual planted area and the area of seeding forest has more than halved, and the building of woodland roads has been reduced to a tenth.

In 2010, the turnover in the forestry industry in Norway was NOK 44 billion. This corresponds to 5.8 per cent of the total turnover in Norwegian industry.