Increase in both debts and assets

Preliminary figures from tax return statistics show that debts increased by NOK 36 billion, or six per cent from 1995 to 1996. Total debts entered in personal tax returns amounted to NOK 634 billion in 1996. Although debts increased, gross wealth rose even more.

Gross wealth grew by a total of NOK 43 billion, to altogether NOK 909 billion. This caused net private wealth to increase by NOK 6.5 billion from 1995 to 1996.

44,000 more have debts

The average debts of those who have debts increased from NOK 292,000 in 1995 to NOK 303,000 in 1996. The figures show that nearly 44,000 more persons had debts in 1996 compared to 1995.

112,000 new shareholders

The asset item that increased the most from 1995 to 1996 was shares in Norwegian companies, including shares in mutual funds. Here the increase was nearly 23 per cent, from NOK 66.7 billion in 1995 to NOK 82.3 billion in 1996. During the same period the number of persons with assets in Norwegian shares increased by 17 per cent. While 645,000 persons had assets in Norwegian shares in 1995, the number increased to 757,000 persons in 1996.

New Statistics

Statistics are published annually in the Weekly Bulletin of Statistics and the Official Statistics of Norway (NOS) Tax Return Statistics and Regional Statistics. Final figures from the Tax Return Statistics will be published in first quarter 1998. More information: Ingunn Heide, tel. +47 62 88 51 83, e-mail: ihe@ssb.no or Grethe Sparby, tel. +47 62 88 52 41, e-mail: gsp@ssb.no.

Weekly Bulletin issue no. 50, 1997