General government revenue and expenditure

Name: General government revenue and expenditure
Topic: Public sector

Division for Public Finance

National level only.

Annual and quarterly data.

Preliminary annual figures in tables 14668, 14670 og 14671 in the Statbank are released in March after the end of the reference period. Updated figures are released in June and in December.

Annual figures in tables 14669 og 14672 are released in June after the end of the reference period. Updated figures are released in December.

Quarterly figures in table 14667 are released approximately 75-80 days after the end of the reference period.

Eurostat

OECD

IMF

Collected and revised data are stored securely by Statistics Norway in compliance with applicable legislation on data processing.

Statistics Norway can grant access to the source data (de-identified or anonymised microdata) on which the statistics are based, for researchers and public authorities for the purposes of preparing statistical results and analyses. Access can be granted upon application and subject to conditions. Refer to the details about this at Access to data from Statistics Norway.

The purpose of the statistics is to provide long time series for revenue and expenditure in general government based on the international guidelines for national accounts and government finance statistics. Further, Norway is obliged to compile and report such statistics to EU’s statistical organization – Eurostat.

There are comparable figures from 1978 to the present.

General government revenue and expenditure is part of the national accounting system, which is important for analyzing the economic development. Statistics Norway's macroeconomic models are largely based on national accounts statistics. Other users are Norges Bank, the Ministry of Finance, research institutes and media.

The statistics can, among other things, contribute to describe the total size and composition of the general government and its impact on overall demand and supply, investments and tax burden. In addition, it can be used to compare general government in Norway and other countries.

No external users have access to statistics before they are released at 8 a.m. on ssb.no after at least three months’ advance notice in the release calendar. This is one of the most important principles in Statistics Norway for ensuring the equal treatment of users.

In principle, the statistics are incorporated directly into the national accounts. General government revenue and expenditure can be found in central and local government tables in the non financial sector accounts.

The budgetary central government fiscal account is published annually and quarterly. These figures are based on the Ministry of Finance’s own definitions, which deviates from the definitions used in the national accounts and government finance statistics. In addition, annual municipal accounts and county authority accounts are published according to the definitions in the Local government act.

In the StatBank, selected figures relating to the Government Pension Fund Global are published. Norges Bank reports accounting information about the fund to Statistics Norway. From this reporting, the accounting figures are passed on to a number of statistics, including general government revenue and expenditure – where the fund’s figures are incorporated into the central government sector. In the statistics, the economic transactions are classified somewhat differently from the fund’s own financial statements. As a result, the figures included in these statistics cannot be directly traced back to the fund’s annual reports. In the statistics, transactions are recorded on a gross basis as far as possible. For example, the fund’s interest income and interest expenses are recorded separately. Transaction costs are recorded as purchases of services, not as deductions from gains. Furthermore, net income related to derivatives and interest rate swap agreements is not considered revenue in the statistics – such income is instead recorded directly in the financial balance and does not contribute to net lending/borrowing in central government.

The statistics are developed, produced and disseminated pursuant to Act no. 32 of 21 June 2019 relating to official statistics and Statistics Norway (the Statistics Act).

The statistics are part of the national program for official statistics 2024-2027, main area Public finances.

Regulation (EU) No 549/2013 (ESA 2010) of The European Parliament and of the council of 21 May 2013 on the European system of national and regional accounts in the European Union (text with EEA relevance).

The population includes the institutional sector general government, as it is defined in the international guidelines. This sector consists of all government units and all non-market institutions that are controlled by central or local government units. Market based non-financial and financial corporations owned by government are not included.

The principal administrative register used is the budgetary central government fiscal account collected from The Norwegian Government Agency for Financial Management. This covers a number of government units such as the Parliament, all ministries, directorates, the Norwegian Armed Forces, police and prison services, law courts, the Norwegian Labour and Welfare Service and the National Insurance Scheme. Data can also be downloaded from statsregnskapet.no.

Public hospitals, as well as the Government Pension Fund, transmit financial statements directly to Statistics Norway.

Other extra-budgetary accounts, such as financial statements from public universities and university colleges public, research institutes, pension funds are collected from statsregnskapet.no.

Government controlled cultural institutions and various public funds are collected individually – from the respective units’ webpage or by special agreement.

Municipalities, county authorities, municipal companies (KF/FKF), inter-municipal companies (IKS) and joint parish councils are obliged to submit financial statements directly to Statistics Norway, via KOSTRA.

Accrued taxes on income and wealth are based on tax statistics for personal tax payers and tax statistics for companies.

Government expenditures related to research and development are estimated on the basis of statistics on R&D in the university and college sector and R&D in the institute sector.

In principle, all accounts are included. In practice some minor accounts are not collected.

The classification of transactions in government finance statistics are based on information in the collected datasets. These datasets contain a classification of transactions by type. Taxes, fees and charges, interest revenue and dividends are all examples of revenue types – while wages and salaries, interest expense, transfers to other sectors and acquisitions of fixed assets are examples of expenditure types. In addition, most accounts contain a classification by function or chapter that gives details regarding the various purposes of government spending – health, education, culture, etc.

Controls consist mainly of checking that the accounts are in balance (i.e. that expenditures equal revenues plus financing). The individual accounts from public hospitals, municipalities, county authorities and joint parish councils are subject to a number of automatic checks when they are reported electronically to Statistics Norway. Remaining checks are done on a macro level and based on the applied characteristics.

When quarterly and preliminary annual figures are released, not all data sources are available. As a consequence, these releases are to some degree based on estimations.

No seasonal adjustments are made.

Employees of Statistics Norway have a duty of confidentiality.

Statistics Norway does not publish figures if there is a risk of the respondent’s contribution being identified. This means that, as a general rule, figures are not published if fewer than three units form the basis of a cell in a table or if the contribution of one or two respondents constitutes a very large part of the cell total.

Statistics Norway can make exceptions to the general rule if deemed necessary to meet the requirements of the EEA agreement, if the respondent is a public authority, if the respondent has consented to this, or when the information disclosed is openly accessible to the public.

More information can be found on Statistics Norway’s website under Methods in official statistics, in the ‘Confidentiality’ section.

There are comparable figures from 1978 to the present.

Government finance statistics are compiled in the same way, and according to the same framework, every year to ensure comparability over time. One tries to avoid substantial breaks in the time series by carrying out any large changes in connection with retroactive revisions.

For the central government minor breaks may occur, since the fiscal account's chart of accounts is often adjusted through resolutions in the Parliament. Breaks in the time series occur relatively seldom for the local government accounts, since the chart of accounts is established by the Local Government Act.

When quarterly and preliminary annual figures are, not all data sources are available. As a consequence, these releases are to some degree based on estimations.

For some revenue and expenditure items the specifications in the administrative registries or submitted financial statements are not good enough to satisfy the international requirements for detailing level. In addition, the chart of accounts is not always adhered to well enough.

In connection with the collected financial statements the respondents may sometimes misunderstand the questionnaires. In addition, errors can be made by Statistics Norway with regards to the classification of transactions by type or function.

When final figures are released, all accounts and other data sources are normally available and will replace preliminary figures and estimations. Taxes from the petroleum industry and gross acquisitions of fixed assets are among the items that, under normal circumstances, are revised the most from preliminary to final release.