Publication of the national accounts for 2024

Publication of the monthly national accounts for April and May is postponed until the publication of the 2nd quarter. Similarly, figures for July and August will be released together with the publication of the 3rd quarter.

National accounts

Updated: 18 March 2024

Next update: 11 April 2024

Seasonally adjusted volume growth for GDP mainland Norway
Seasonally adjusted volume growth for GDP mainland Norway
January 2024
0.4
%
Final expenditure and gross domestic product. Seasonally adjusted. Percentage change in volume
Final expenditure and gross domestic product. Seasonally adjusted. Percentage change in volume1
202220234th quarter 2023November 2023December 2023January 2024
Gross domestic product3.00.51.51.00.40.0
Gross domestic product Mainland Norway3.70.70.2-0.1-0.30.4
Petroleum activities and ocean transport0.6-0.16.24.82.8-1.6
Final domestic use of goods and services5.40.1-0.21.1-0.20.8
Final consumption expenditure of households and NPISH6.2-0.70.70.3-0.2-0.4
Final consumption expenditure of general government1.13.61.00.60.60.0
Gross fixed capital formation (GFCF)5.20.31.8-0.1-5.4-5.5
Total exports4.51.43.30.31.8-0.7
Total imports12.50.7-0.70.40.61.4
Employed persons3.91.30.1
Total hours worked3.90.80.3
1Figures from 2022 onwards are preliminary.
Explanation of symbols

Selected tables and charts from this statistics

  • Final expenditure and gross domestic product. Monthly. Seasonally adjusted figures. Percentage change in volume from the previous period
    Final expenditure and gross domestic product. Monthly. Seasonally adjusted figures. Percentage change in volume from the previous period1
    June 2023July 2023August 2023September 2023October 2023November 2023December 2023January 2024
    Final consumption expenditure of households and NPISHs-0.50.3-0.6-0.51.00.3-0.2-0.4
    ¬ Household final consumption expenditure-0.50.3-0.7-0.61.10.3-0.2-0.4
    ¬¬ Goods-1.2-0.4-0.7-1.02.41.0-1.0-1.4
    ¬¬ Services0.10.9-0.3-0.10.20.10.50.1
    ¬¬ Direct purchases abroad by resident households-1.72.2-1.2-0.20.3-2.23.3-0.1
    ¬¬ Direct purchases by non-residents-3.85.82.72.44.6-0.17.7-5.2
    ¬ Final consumption expenditure of NPISHs0.00.30.20.70.00.00.2-1.1
    Final consumption expenditure of general governmen0.7-0.20.70.50.10.60.60.0
    ¬ Final consumption expenditure of central government0.9-0.81.20.90.00.30.80.3
    ¬¬¬ Central government, civilian0.9-1.01.30.90.20.20.80.4
    ¬¬¬ Central government, defence0.90.50.81.0-1.00.71.1-0.6
    ¬ Final consumption expenditure of local government0.50.50.20.00.10.80.4-0.3
    Gross fixed capital formation (GFCF)1.1-2.41.4-2.24.3-0.1-5.4-5.5
    ¬ Extraction and transport via pipelines (GFCF)-3.511.41.2-3.216.6-1.9-15.1-4.9
    ¬ Ocean transport (GFCF)528.9-98.110 826.2-71.6214.80.0-0.6-98.0
    ¬ Mainland Norway (GFCF)1.0-3.9-1.0-0.20.00.3-3.0-3.4
    ¬¬ Mainland Norway excluding general government (GFCF)8.6-6.7-1.4-0.3-2.70.7-4.5-2.5
    ¬¬¬ Industries (GFCF)12.5-8.8-1.81.0-2.80.1-4.2-3.3
    ¬¬¬¬ Services activities incidential to extraction (GFCF)1.05.75.50.617.5-1.19.5-34.9
    ¬¬¬¬ Other services (GFCF)11.1-13.15.2-0.5-5.4-2.5-5.9-5.3
    ¬¬¬¬ Manufacturing and mining (GFCF)1.2-3.52.7-0.510.6-0.71.03.6
    ¬¬¬¬ Production of other goods (GFCF)30.53.6-29.010.0-4.813.2-3.30.7
    ¬¬¬ Dwelling service (households) (GFCF)-0.6-0.9-0.5-3.5-2.52.0-5.2-0.5
    ¬¬¬ General government (GFCF)-17.14.80.10.07.4-0.50.6-5.5
    Acquisitions less disposals of valuables5.5-3.2-1.1-4.5-0.8-0.1-0.115.2
    Changes in stocks and statistical discrepancies-13.9-41.18.344.0-89.0288.1106.599.8
    Gross capital formation-0.6-6.11.90.8-4.43.0-0.93.4
    Final domestic use of goods and services-0.2-1.80.50.1-0.81.1-0.20.8
    Final demand from Mainland Norway (excl. changes in stocks)0.2-0.9-0.3-0.20.50.4-0.6-1.0
    Final demand from general government-2.90.70.60.41.40.30.6-1.0
    Total exports1.01.8-3.0-3.25.80.31.8-0.7
    ¬ Traditional goods (export)-2.40.9-5.35.81.62.4-4.02.4
    ¬ Crude oil and natural gas (export)2.64.8-4.1-8.010.1-1.45.5-2.0
    ¬ Ships, oil platforms and aircraft (export)34.587.565.4-89.7-28.3336.8-80.1249.8
    ¬ Services (export)1.1-4.50.21.22.00.31.8-1.7
    Total use of goods and services0.2-0.6-0.7-1.01.30.80.50.3
    Total imports0.3-4.5-2.12.9-1.90.40.61.4
    ¬ Tradisjonelle varer (import)-2.0-2.6-2.84.2-4.31.21.50.5
    ¬ Crude oil and natural gas (import)56.13.127.355.1-11.9-11.4-48.858.9
    ¬ Ships, oil platforms and aircraft (import)34.9-45.3-27.3-22.7-17.3-6.6-1.7118.4
    ¬ Services (import)0.3-3.30.00.53.0-0.21.2-1.3
    Gross domestic product, market values2 0.10.7-0.3-2.22.31.00.40.0
    Gross domestic product Mainland Norway, market values2 0.10.1-0.40.30.4-0.1-0.30.4
    Petroleum activities and ocean transport3 0.22.9-0.1-10.69.84.82.8-1.6
    Gross domestic product Mainland Norway, basic values0.20.1-0.50.40.3-0.2-0.30.5
    ¬ Mainland Norway excluding general government (GDP)0.30.2-0.60.50.3-0.5-0.40.7
    ¬¬ Manufacturing and mining (GDP)-1.51.2-0.4-1.41.3-0.70.3-0.2
    ¬¬ Production of other goods (GDP)2.3-0.2-1.31.20.2-2.1-1.72.0
    ¬¬ Service activities (GDP)0.00.1-0.40.60.20.0-0.20.5
    ¬ General government (GDP)0.00.0-0.20.10.40.50.3-0.1
    Taxes and subsidies products-0.5-0.30.4-0.30.70.5-0.2-0.3
    1Figures from 2022 onwards are preliminary
    2Gross domestic product is measured at market prices, while value added by industry is measured at basic prices
    3Includes oil and gas extraction, transport via pipelines and ocean transport
    Explanation of symbols
  • Final expenditure and gross domestic product. Rolling three-month sum. Seasonally adjusted. Percentage change in volume
    Final expenditure and gross domestic product. Rolling three-month sum. Seasonally adjusted. Percentage change in volume1 2
    April 2023 - June 2023May 2023 - July 2023June 2023 - August 2023July 2023 - September 2023August 2023 - October 2023September 2023 - November 2023October 2023 - December 2023November 2023 - January 2024
    Final consumption expenditure of households and NPISHs0.70.5-0.3-0.2-0.6-0.10.60.5
    ¬ Household final consumption expenditure0.70.5-0.3-0.3-0.7-0.10.60.5
    ¬¬ Goods0.5-0.2-1.6-1.1-1.10.41.91.2
    ¬¬ Services0.70.90.90.80.30.10.20.5
    ¬¬ Direct purchases abroad by resident households2.11.70.20.8-0.4-0.8-0.60.1
    ¬¬ Direct purchases by non-residents1.0-0.70.65.28.59.39.87.1
    ¬ Final consumption expenditure of NPISHs0.40.70.70.91.01.00.60.0
    Final consumption expenditure of general governmen1.01.41.41.31.21.11.21.2
    ¬ Final consumption expenditure of central government0.71.21.41.31.61.51.51.3
    ¬¬¬ Central government, civilian0.61.21.31.21.51.61.61.3
    ¬¬¬ Central government, defence1.51.72.02.21.81.30.80.9
    ¬ Final consumption expenditure of local government1.41.71.51.20.70.70.91.1
    Gross fixed capital formation (GFCF)0.02.61.40.10.10.61.2-3.5
    ¬ Extraction and transport via pipelines (GFCF)5.67.26.38.510.811.47.4-5.0
    ¬ Ocean transport (GFCF)-29.2..711.2161.9288.139.4106.9-17.3
    ¬ Mainland Norway (GFCF)-0.91.2-0.6-2.3-3.5-2.2-1.3-2.9
    ¬¬ Mainland Norway excluding general government (GFCF)-2.2-0.60.7-2.6-4.4-5.1-4.4-5.0
    ¬¬¬ Industries (GFCF)0.82.93.6-1.9-4.4-5.1-4.0-5.2
    ¬¬¬¬ Services activities incidential to extraction (GFCF)8.712.111.312.416.818.123.03.0
    ¬¬¬¬ Other services (GFCF)1.73.13.4-2.6-3.1-6.3-7.6-11.5
    ¬¬¬¬ Manufacturing and mining (GFCF)-3.2-1.5-0.9-0.23.96.911.07.8
    ¬¬¬¬ Production of other goods (GFCF)-0.15.27.6-1.5-17.4-11.6-3.710.7
    ¬¬¬ Dwelling service (households) (GFCF)-9.0-8.5-5.9-4.1-4.4-5.1-5.4-4.6
    ¬¬¬ General government (GFCF)2.96.7-4.2-1.6-0.96.47.22.7
    Acquisitions less disposals of valuables-7.6-6.6-1.5-2.7-4.7-6.7-4.32.7
    Changes in stocks and statistical discrepancies-14.8-29.7-35.1-38.7-39.7-36.6-39.270.4
    Gross capital formation-2.0-1.6-2.7-4.4-3.5-2.1-1.70.7
    Final domestic use of goods and services0.00.1-0.6-1.1-1.0-0.40.10.7
    Final demand from Mainland Norway (excl. changes in stocks)0.40.90.1-0.3-0.8-0.20.3-0.1
    Final demand from general government1.42.40.40.70.82.02.31.5
    Total exports1.3-0.1-0.4-1.4-1.8-0.93.23.9
    ¬ Traditional goods (export)3.50.4-4.1-1.6-1.34.23.83.4
    ¬ Crude oil and natural gas (export)0.40.22.0-0.7-2.5-3.53.55.2
    ¬ Ships, oil platforms and aircraft (export)83.751.5127.279.80.9-74.0-73.0-48.0
    ¬ Services (export)0.0-1.9-2.6-3.7-1.11.23.72.7
    Total use of goods and services0.40.0-0.5-1.2-1.3-0.51.11.8
    Total imports2.51.4-1.8-3.7-3.7-1.2-0.21.0
    ¬ Tradisjonelle varer (import)1.5-0.1-3.0-3.3-3.9-1.2-1.30.8
    ¬ Crude oil and natural gas (import)-22.3-42.6-5.623.592.562.1-4.2-28.1
    ¬ Ships, oil platforms and aircraft (import)137.1194.649.7-38.3-58.0-58.9-42.12.3
    ¬ Services (import)0.6-0.4-2.2-2.6-0.81.33.62.3
    Gross domestic product, market values3 -0.3-0.4-0.1-0.4-0.5-0.31.52.1
    Gross domestic product Mainland Norway, market values0.10.30.10.20.00.30.30.2
    Petroleum activities and ocean transport4 -1.6-2.7-0.8-2.2-2.4-2.46.08.7
    Gross domestic product Mainland Norway, basic values0.40.50.20.20.00.20.20.1
    ¬ Mainland Norway excluding general government (GDP)0.40.50.30.20.00.20.0-0.2
    ¬¬ Manufacturing and mining (GDP)0.01.10.50.3-0.6-0.6-0.1-0.1
    ¬¬ Production of other goods (GDP)0.70.30.70.30.2-0.3-1.4-2.0
    ¬¬ Service activities (GDP)0.40.50.20.20.10.40.30.3
    ¬ General government (GDP)0.30.40.10.00.00.40.80.9
    Taxes and subsidies products-1.6-0.8-0.80.00.10.50.90.6
    1Figures from 2022 onwards are prelimanry
    2Rolling three-month growth is calculated by comparing a three-month period with the previous three-month period, for example growth in May to July compared with February to April. Furthermore, March, June, September and December represent the quarters in a year. For example, March will represent the first quarter.
    3Gross domestic product is measured at market prices, while value added by industry is measured at basic prices.
    4Includes oil and gas extraction, transport via pipelines and ocean transport.
    Explanation of symbols
  • Final expenditure and gross domestic product. Quarter and year. At current prices. NOK million
    Final expenditure and gross domestic product. Quarter and year. At current prices. NOK million1
    202220234th quarter 20221st quarter 20232nd quarter 20233rd quarter 20234th quarter 2023
    Final consumption expenditure of households and NPISHs1 816 1301 924 072503 984460 071484 465466 129513 406
    ¬ Household final consumption expenditure1 712 0181 813 020475 534431 383457 282441 179483 176
    ¬¬ Goods831 470833 225240 757194 117211 862199 273227 972
    ¬¬ Services812 606881 696211 175218 436217 819218 384227 058
    ¬¬ Direct purchases abroad by resident households123 391163 55231 97029 52843 86351 42238 739
    ¬¬ Direct purchases by non-residents-55 448-65 453-8 368-10 698-16 263-27 900-10 592
    ¬ Final consumption expenditure of NPISHs104 111111 05228 45028 68927 18324 95030 230
    Final consumption expenditure of general governmen1 037 4541 124 781263 916267 118284 464279 690293 509
    ¬ Final consumption expenditure of central government520 806565 149135 977134 481142 193138 416150 059
    ¬¬¬ Central government, civilian457 233494 446119 022117 970124 193121 021131 262
    ¬¬¬ Central government, defence63 57370 70316 95516 51118 00017 39518 797
    ¬ Final consumption expenditure of local government516 648559 632127 939132 637142 271141 274143 450
    Gross fixed capital formation (GFCF)1 123 8521 199 899313 199274 778294 162296 022334 938
    ¬ Extraction and transport via pipelines (GFCF)176 961215 92347 45545 44751 17756 37362 926
    ¬ Ocean transport (GFCF)18 71311 3626 7481 3601 2092 7446 049
    ¬ Mainland Norway (GFCF)928 178972 614258 996227 970241 777236 904265 963
    ¬¬ Industries (GFCF)451 013503 447118 299120 610128 365126 836127 637
    ¬¬¬ Services activities incidential to extraction (GFCF)5 1646 5751 5471 2771 6341 4602 204
    ¬¬¬ Other services (GFCF)314 825340 61378 57783 79888 23887 47681 102
    ¬¬¬ Manufacturing and mining (GFCF)58 49672 90718 17916 74917 06816 47522 615
    ¬¬¬ Production of other goods (GFCF)72 52783 35119 99618 78621 42521 42621 715
    ¬¬ welling service (households) (GFCF)235 422207 71760 19157 31651 26949 95049 182
    ¬¬ General government (GFCF)241 744261 45080 50650 04462 14360 11889 145
    Acquisitions less disposals of valuables2352796973686077
    Changes in stocks and statistical discrepancies114 248125 22933 61984 21320 3889 23111 397
    Gross capital formation1 238 3351 325 407346 887359 064314 618305 313346 412
    Final domestic use of goods and services4 091 9194 374 2601 114 7871 086 2531 083 5471 051 1321 153 328
    Final demand from Mainland Norway (excl. changes in stocks)3 781 7624 021 4671 026 896955 1591 010 706982 7231 072 879
    Final demand from general government1 279 1981 386 231344 421317 162346 608339 808382 654
    Total exports3 165 7662 419 612759 605643 421570 742564 350641 100
    ¬ Traditional goods (export)626 475662 090170 408166 835165 663156 118173 474
    ¬ Crude oil and natural gas (export)2 014 3991 194 085454 368348 518264 620255 816325 131
    ¬ Ships, oil platforms and aircraft (export)11 4197 0781 9511 1291 8193 0431 087
    ¬ Services (export)513 473556 359132 879126 939138 640149 373141 408
    Total use of goods and services7 257 6846 793 8721 874 3921 729 6741 654 2891 615 4811 794 427
    Total imports1 549 4951 665 233425 896395 797430 337413 106425 994
    ¬ Tradisjonelle varer (import)975 008993 279268 198248 572255 129234 481255 097
    ¬ Crude oil and natural gas (import)22 98426 5157 0727 4875 5336 8296 666
    ¬ Ships, oil platforms and aircraft (import)27 33729 7847 2895 37512 4717 5314 407
    ¬ Services (import)524 166615 655143 337134 363157 204164 265159 823
    Gross domestic product, market values2 5 708 1905 128 6391 448 4961 333 8771 223 9521 202 3761 368 433
    Gross domestic product Mainland Norway, market values2 3 646 3283 857 472972 177964 122947 310930 1441 015 896
    Petroleum activities and ocean transport3 2 061 8621 271 167476 319369 755276 642272 232352 538
    Gross domestic product Mainland Norway, basic values3 221 4783 400 238858 171858 511833 010817 229891 487
    ¬ Mainland Norway excluding general government (GDP)2 436 2922 556 091660 126659 183617 865607 394671 648
    ¬¬ Manufacturing and mining (GDP)290 250320 09880 03080 20779 21479 35881 319
    ¬¬ Production of other goods (GDP)538 952492 524148 778138 607110 424112 363131 129
    ¬¬ Service activities (GDP)1 607 0891 743 468431 318440 369428 228415 673459 200
    ¬ General government (GDP)785 187844 147198 045199 328215 144209 835219 839
    Taxes and subsidies products424 850457 234114 006105 611114 300112 914124 408
    1Figures from 2022 onwards are prelimanry
    2Gross domestic product is measured at market prices, while value added by industry is measured at basic prices
    3Includes oil and gas extraction, transport via pipelines and ocean transport.
    Explanation of symbols
  • Final expenditure and gross domestic product. Quarter and year. At constant 2021-prices. NOK million
    Final expenditure and gross domestic product. Quarter and year. At constant 2021-prices. NOK million1
    202220234th quarter 20221st quarter 20232nd quarter 20233rd quarter 20234th quarter 2023
    Final consumption expenditure of households and NPISHs1 727 4951 714 932467 340416 810430 688416 167451 267
    ¬ Household final consumption expenditure1 625 2871 611 418440 144389 280405 403392 787423 947
    ¬¬ Goods781 498741 303218 762176 077188 106176 944200 177
    ¬¬ Services780 832797 026200 941198 187197 234198 735202 870
    ¬¬ Direct purchases abroad by resident households113 245129 47627 94524 53434 16540 88429 893
    ¬¬ Direct purchases by non-residents-50 288-56 388-7 505-9 517-14 102-23 776-8 993
    ¬ Final consumption expenditure of NPISHs102 208103 51527 19627 52925 28523 38027 320
    Final consumption expenditure of general governmen981 4601 017 100249 786249 305252 425255 255260 115
    ¬ Final consumption expenditure of central government494 542510 289127 265125 785126 464127 051130 989
    ¬¬¬ Central government, civilian435 820448 555112 342110 623111 224111 429115 280
    ¬¬¬ Central government, defence58 72261 73414 92215 16215 24015 62215 709
    ¬ Final consumption expenditure of local government486 918506 812122 521123 520125 961128 204129 126
    Gross fixed capital formation (GFCF)1 044 0121 046 969283 017244 875256 875258 459286 759
    ¬ Extraction and transport via pipelines (GFCF)166 315183 72042 84539 83643 44648 62951 809
    ¬ Ocean transport (GFCF)16 7649 3595 7601 2509092 3504 850
    ¬ Mainland Norway (GFCF)860 870853 890234 412203 789212 521207 480230 100
    ¬¬Næringer (bruttoinvestering)420 582441 110107 614107 575112 567110 870110 099
    ¬¬¬ Services activities incidential to extraction (GFCF)4 7915 6111 3891 1171 3981 2501 847
    ¬¬¬ Other services (GFCF)294 708300 42071 91975 12477 79376 98070 523
    ¬¬¬ Manufacturing and mining (GFCF)54 32263 20316 43614 84714 84814 25719 252
    ¬¬¬ Production of other goods (GFCF)66 76171 87617 87016 48718 52918 38318 477
    ¬¬ Dwelling service (households) (GFCF)217 072183 30654 12351 39445 24443 84542 824
    ¬¬ General government (GFCF)223 217229 47472 67544 82154 71052 76577 178
    Acquisitions less disposals of valuables2262446465605267
    Changes in stocks and statistical discrepancies127 459106 06534 49076 96516 8243 9888 288
    Gross capital formation1 171 6961 153 278317 571321 905273 759262 500295 114
    Final domestic use of goods and services3 880 6513 885 3111 034 697988 020956 873933 9221 006 496
    Final demand from Mainland Norway (excl. changes in stocks)3 569 8253 585 923951 538869 904895 634878 902941 483
    Final demand from general government1 204 6771 246 575322 460294 126307 136308 020337 293
    Total exports1 944 5901 972 767499 757490 226483 716484 953513 871
    ¬ Traditional goods (export)481 077510 539130 384125 590123 654124 688136 606
    ¬ Crude oil and natural gas (export)994 142983 687254 566254 718234 112231 261263 596
    ¬ Ships, oil platforms and aircraft (export)11 0485 9861 7198511 5642 811760
    ¬ Services (export)458 322472 555113 088109 066124 386126 193112 910
    Total use of goods and services5 825 2415 858 0771 534 4541 478 2451 440 5891 418 8761 520 367
    Total imports1 371 3481 381 287364 134333 927358 985343 946344 428
    ¬ Tradisjonelle varer (import)843 366812 159226 547205 697208 563194 162203 738
    ¬ Crude oil and natural gas (import)14 48316 5104 3624 8653 3694 2294 047
    ¬ Ships, oil platforms and aircraft (import)24 70724 0026 1874 22610 0186 1783 580
    ¬ Services (import)488 793528 615127 038119 139137 035139 377133 063
    Gross domestic product, market values2 4 453 8924 476 7911 170 3201 144 3191 081 6041 074 9291 175 939
    Gross domestic product Mainland Norway, market values2 3 439 6163 463 910904 874878 899841 686840 136903 188
    Petroleum activities and ocean transport1 014 2771 012 880265 446265 419239 918234 793272 751
    Gross domestic product Mainland Norway, basic values3 002 1253 031 896787 562773 830734 720735 990787 356
    ¬ Mainland Norway excluding general government (GDP)2 244 8042 262 888595 094583 254542 616544 136592 883
    ¬¬ Manufacturing and mining (GDP)247 933248 36963 76664 26760 99159 07064 041
    ¬¬ Production of other goods (GDP)419 389417 401112 644110 15791 609103 833111 801
    ¬¬ Service activities (GDP)1 577 4821 597 118418 684408 830390 015381 233417 041
    ¬ General government (GDP)757 322769 008192 468190 576192 104191 854194 474
    Taxes and subsidies products437 490432 015117 312105 070106 967104 146115 832
    1Figures from 2022 onwards are preliminary
    2Gross domestic product is measured at market prices, while value added by industry is measured at basic prices
    Explanation of symbols
  • Final expenditure and gross domestic product. Quarter and year. Percentage change in volume from the same period in the previous year
    Final expenditure and gross domestic product. Quarter and year. Percentage change in volume from the same period in the previous year1
    202220234th quarter 20221st quarter 20232nd quarter 20233rd quarter 20234th quarter 2023
    Final consumption expenditure of households and NPISHs6.2-0.73.93.2-1.3-0.9-3.4
    ¬ Household final consumption expenditure5.9-0.94.13.0-1.3-0.9-3.7
    ¬¬ Goods-3.8-5.1-0.4-3.3-4.3-3.9-8.5
    ¬¬ Services10.22.14.75.80.61.21.0
    ¬¬ Direct purchases abroad by resident households265.114.372.757.68.07.37.0
    ¬¬ Direct purchases by non-residents199.412.151.234.53.97.419.8
    ¬ Final consumption expenditure of NPISHs11.91.30.16.1-0.7-0.90.5
    Final consumption expenditure of general governmen1.13.61.42.83.44.14.1
    ¬ Final consumption expenditure of central government2.73.23.33.92.93.12.9
    ¬¬¬ Central government, civilian2.52.93.13.92.62.62.6
    ¬¬¬ Central government, defence4.05.14.33.64.76.95.3
    ¬ Final consumption expenditure of local government-0.54.1-0.41.84.05.15.4
    Gross fixed capital formation (GFCF)5.20.32.6-0.2-0.30.21.3
    ¬ Extraction and transport via pipelines (GFCF)-7.110.5-8.80.34.215.620.9
    ¬ Ocean transport (GFCF)25.9-44.223.1-80.4-71.049.5-15.8
    ¬ Mainland Norway (GFCF)7.6-0.84.52.3-0.1-3.2-1.8
    ¬¬ Industries (GFCF)17.14.910.06.96.83.72.3
    ¬¬¬ Services activities incidential to extraction (GFCF)146.817.1107.413.4-6.936.333.0
    ¬¬¬ Other services (GFCF)26.61.915.12.75.51.4-1.9
    ¬¬¬ Manufacturing and mining (GFCF)15.216.38.929.311.68.917.1
    ¬¬¬ Production of other goods (GFCF)-13.67.7-8.79.69.88.33.4
    ¬¬ Dwelling service (households) (GFCF)-1.4-15.6-2.0-7.9-16.9-16.7-20.9
    ¬¬ General government (GFCF)1.32.82.04.83.4-3.86.2
    Acquisitions less disposals of valuables74.98.310.325.32.12.84.5
    Changes in stocks and statistical discrepancies37.8-16.847.728.813.5-78.3-76.0
    Gross capital formation8.0-1.66.15.50.5-5.1-7.1
    Final domestic use of goods and services5.40.13.93.80.4-0.8-2.7
    Final demand from Mainland Norway (excl. changes in stocks)5.10.53.42.90.3-0.1-1.1
    Final demand from general government1.13.51.63.13.42.64.6
    Total exports4.51.41.44.93.2-4.62.8
    ¬ Traditional goods (export)-2.56.10.77.613.00.14.8
    ¬ Crude oil and natural gas (export)1.3-1.10.10.8-2.4-6.43.5
    ¬ Ships, oil platforms and aircraft (export)-45.0-45.8-78.4-48.2-34.7-46.9-55.8
    ¬ Services (export)25.13.112.113.16.2-4.1-0.2
    Total use of goods and services5.10.63.14.21.3-2.2-0.9
    Total imports12.50.79.97.74.7-3.0-5.4
    ¬ Tradisjonelle varer (import)3.4-3.77.82.90.5-7.2-10.1
    ¬ Crude oil and natural gas (import)-26.314.017.773.9-14.825.5-7.2
    ¬ Ships, oil platforms and aircraft (import)-34.1-2.9-47.3-50.0102.420.9-42.1
    ¬ Services (import)41.28.120.120.68.61.94.7
    Gross domestic product, market values2 3.00.51.23.20.3-1.90.5
    Gross domestic product Mainland Norway, market values2 3.70.71.72.90.2-0.1-0.2
    Petroleum activities and ocean transport3 0.6-0.1-0.64.00.3-7.82.8
    Gross domestic product Mainland Norway, basic values4.01.02.03.20.70.10.0
    ¬ Mainland Norway excluding general government (GDP)4.40.81.73.30.4-0.1-0.4
    ¬¬ Manufacturing and mining (GDP)-0.50.2-0.81.1-0.3-0.60.4
    ¬¬ Production of other goods (GDP)0.7-0.5-1.6-0.2-0.9-0.1-0.7
    ¬¬ Service activities (GDP)6.21.23.14.60.80.0-0.4
    ¬ General government (GDP)3.01.52.72.91.70.61.0
    Taxes and subsidies products1.9-1.30.11.1-3.0-1.7-1.3
    1Figures from 2022 onwards are prelimanry
    2Gross domestic product is measured at market prices, while value added by industry is measured at basic prices.
    3Includes oil and gas extraction, transport via pipelines and ocean transport.
    Explanation of symbols
  • Final expenditure and gross domestic product. Quarter and year. Percentage change in prices from the same period in the previous year
    Final expenditure and gross domestic product. Quarter and year. Percentage change in prices from the same period in the previous year1
    202220234th quarter 20221st quarter 20232nd quarter 20233rd quarter 20234th quarter 2023
    Final consumption expenditure of households and NPISHs5.16.76.97.47.86.45.5
    ¬ Household final consumption expenditure5.36.87.07.58.06.55.5
    ¬¬ Goods6.45.67.78.27.34.23.5
    ¬¬ Services4.16.35.45.66.36.76.5
    ¬¬ Direct purchases abroad by resident households9.015.914.818.319.814.913.3
    ¬¬ Direct purchases by non-residents10.35.310.47.75.14.75.6
    ¬ Final consumption expenditure of NPISHs1.95.34.85.45.15.15.8
    Final consumption expenditure of general governmen5.74.64.73.53.74.46.8
    ¬ Final consumption expenditure of central government5.35.24.64.04.64.77.2
    ¬¬¬ Central government, civilian4.95.14.13.44.64.77.5
    ¬¬¬ Central government, defence8.35.88.18.64.84.65.3
    ¬ Final consumption expenditure of local government6.14.14.73.02.74.16.4
    Gross fixed capital formation (GFCF)7.66.57.58.06.95.65.5
    ¬ Extraction and transport via pipelines (GFCF)6.410.59.610.810.610.39.7
    ¬ Ocean transport (GFCF)11.68.87.44.720.3-2.86.5
    ¬ Mainland Norway (GFCF)7.85.67.07.56.24.74.6
    ¬¬ Industries (GFCF)7.26.48.08.17.05.55.5
    ¬¬¬ Services activities incidential to extraction (GFCF)7.88.76.610.19.48.17.1
    ¬¬¬ Other services (GFCF)6.86.16.47.76.65.15.3
    ¬¬¬ Manufacturing and mining (GFCF)7.77.18.88.77.86.56.2
    ¬¬¬ Production of other goods (GFCF)8.66.713.29.27.46.05.0
    ¬¬ Dwelling service (households) (GFCF)8.54.55.56.74.93.33.3
    ¬¬ General government (GFCF)8.35.27.07.25.84.44.3
    Acquisitions less disposals of valuables4.19.68.412.010.89.46.9
    Changes in stocks and statistical discrepancies-10.431.711.122.7270.789.141.1
    Gross capital formation5.78.77.310.511.56.37.5
    Final domestic use of goods and services5.46.86.57.47.85.86.4
    Final demand from Mainland Norway (excl. changes in stocks)5.95.96.36.36.35.45.6
    Final demand from general government6.24.75.24.14.04.46.2
    Total exports62.8-24.710.1-13.2-22.4-40.0-17.9
    ¬ Traditional goods (export)30.2-0.419.58.0-0.1-6.0-2.8
    ¬ Crude oil and natural gas (export)102.6-40.16.8-24.0-37.8-59.2-30.9
    ¬ Ships, oil platforms and aircraft (export)3.414.439.132.91.912.426.1
    ¬ Services (export)12.05.110.55.12.26.76.6
    Total use of goods and services24.6-6.97.7-1.2-4.8-16.9-3.4
    Total imports13.06.712.210.28.23.85.7
    ¬ Tradisjonelle varer (import)15.65.812.911.27.00.25.8
    ¬ Crude oil and natural gas (import)58.71.237.60.56.3-1.41.6
    ¬ Ships, oil platforms and aircraft (import)10.612.117.619.115.49.74.5
    ¬ Services (import)7.28.69.58.310.69.66.5
    Gross domestic product, market values2 28.2-10.66.7-4.1-8.5-22.3-6.0
    Gross domestic product Mainland Norway, market values2 6.05.05.95.75.24.74.7
    Petroleum activities and ocean transport3 103.3-38.39.1-23.0-36.7-57.1-28.0
    Gross domestic product Mainland Norway, basic values7.34.57.25.54.74.03.9
    ¬ Mainland Norway excluding general government (GDP)8.54.18.76.54.92.92.1
    ¬¬ Manufacturing and mining (GDP)17.110.125.414.710.215.81.2
    ¬¬ Production of other goods (GDP)28.5-8.215.96.6-4.5-21.5-11.2
    ¬¬ Service activities (GDP)1.97.24.15.36.79.96.9
    ¬ General government (GDP)3.75.92.52.34.27.29.9
    Taxes and subsidies products-2.99.0-3.06.68.710.010.5
    1Figures from 2022 onwards are prelimanry
    2Gross domestic product is measured at market prices, while value added by industry is measured at basic prices.
    3Includes oil and gas extraction, transport via pipelines and ocean transport.
    Explanation of symbols
  • Final expenditure and gross domestic product. Quarter and year. Seasonally adjusted figures. At current prices. NOK million
    Final expenditure and gross domestic product. Quarter and year. Seasonally adjusted figures. At current prices. NOK million1
    202220234th quarter 20221st quarter 20232nd quarter 20233rd quarter 20234th quarter 2023
    Final consumption expenditure of households and NPISHs1 816 1301 924 072485 167466 656480 878483 510494 529
    ¬ Household final consumption expenditure1 712 0181 813 020458 521439 604453 686455 586465 920
    ¬¬ Goods831 470833 225227 385203 213210 409206 990214 378
    ¬¬ Services812 606881 696210 288213 633218 515223 709226 939
    ¬¬ Direct purchases abroad by resident households123 391163 55235 55438 11640 50741 57043 322
    ¬¬ Direct purchases by non-residents-55 448-65 453-14 706-15 358-15 745-16 683-18 720
    ¬ Final consumption expenditure of NPISHs104 111111 05226 64627 05327 19127 92428 609
    Final consumption expenditure of general governmen1 037 4541 124 781264 251270 306276 615284 007293 693
    ¬ Final consumption expenditure of central government520 806565 149133 846136 171139 083142 133147 478
    ¬¬¬ Central government, civilian457 233494 446117 415119 125121 662124 136129 264
    ¬¬¬ Central government, defence63 57370 70316 43117 04617 42117 99718 214
    ¬ Final consumption expenditure of local government516 648559 632130 405134 135137 532141 873146 215
    Gross fixed capital formation (GFCF)1 123 8521 199 899289 692291 373297 827299 492311 031
    ¬ Extraction and transport via pipelines (GFCF)176 961215 92346 06147 15951 49855 68861 582
    ¬ Ocean transport (GFCF)18 71311 3626 7441 3821 1942 7416 047
    ¬ Mainland Norway (GFCF)928 178972 614236 887242 832245 135241 063243 402
    ¬¬ Industries (GFCF)451 013503 447114 915124 264128 146126 689124 400
    ¬¬¬ Services activities incidential to extraction (GFCF)5 1646 5751 4721 3141 4851 6592 104
    ¬¬¬ Other services (GFCF)314 825340 61379 08084 47587 96486 32681 864
    ¬¬¬ Manufacturing and mining (GFCF)58 49672 90715 86917 53017 44617 66720 300
    ¬¬¬ Production of other goods (GFCF)72 52783 35118 49420 94321 25121 03620 132
    ¬¬ Dwelling service (households) (GFCF)235 422207 71759 04657 26552 27250 21447 965
    ¬¬ General government (GFCF)241 744261 45062 92661 30464 71764 16071 037
    Acquisitions less disposals of valuables2352796171677169
    Changes in stocks and statistical discrepancies114 248125 2297 09232 67222 67157 06628 042
    Gross capital formation1 238 3351 325 407296 844324 116320 565356 630339 142
    Final domestic use of goods and services4 091 9194 374 2601 046 2631 061 0791 078 0571 124 1461 127 364
    Final demand from Mainland Norway (excl. changes in stocks)3 781 7624 021 467986 306979 7951 002 6281 008 5801 031 624
    Final demand from general government1 279 1981 386 231327 177331 610341 332348 167364 731
    Total exports3 165 7662 419 612702 332677 410642 684521 483575 793
    ¬ Traditional goods (export)626 475662 090163 087167 184168 216159 625168 896
    ¬ Crude oil and natural gas (export)2 014 3991 194 085402 483372 480334 950220 789260 871
    ¬ Ships, oil platforms and aircraft (export)11 4197 0781 9511 1291 8193 0431 087
    ¬ Services (export)513 473556 359134 811136 617137 699138 026144 939
    Total use of goods and services7 257 6846 793 8721 748 5951 738 4891 720 7421 645 6291 703 157
    Total imports1 549 4951 665 233413 989412 939427 847409 341417 381
    ¬ Tradisjonelle varer (import)975 008993 279256 728252 036256 281241 415245 570
    ¬ Crude oil and natural gas (import)22 98426 5157 0046 7746 0447 2436 801
    ¬ Ships, oil platforms and aircraft (import)27 33729 7847 2895 37512 4717 5314 407
    ¬ Services (import)524 166615 655142 968148 754153 051153 152160 603
    Gross domestic product, market values5 708 1905 128 6391 334 6061 325 5501 292 8941 236 2881 285 776
    Gross domestic product Mainland Norway, market values3 646 3283 857 472929 366947 546960 009970 807984 210
    Petroleum activities and ocean transport2 2 061 8621 271 167405 240378 004332 886265 480301 566
    Gross domestic product Mainland Norway, basic values3 221 4783 400 238822 070836 381847 113855 773866 538
    ¬ Mainland Norway excluding general government (GDP)2 436 2922 556 091623 032633 498639 860642 649645 754
    ¬¬ Manufacturing and mining (GDP)290 250320 09878 29978 50981 38082 54479 551
    ¬¬ Production of other goods (GDP)538 952492 524129 965133 164126 144115 671119 071
    ¬¬ Service activities (GDP)1 607 0891 743 468414 767421 825432 337444 435447 132
    ¬ General government (GDP)785 187844 147199 039202 883207 252213 124220 784
    Taxes and subsidies products424 850457 234107 296111 165112 896115 034117 672
    1Figures from 2022 onwards are prelimanry
    2Includes oil and gas extraction, transport via pipelines and ocean transport.
    Explanation of symbols
  • Final expenditure and gross domestic product. Quarter and year. Seasonally adjusted figures. Percentage change in volume from the previous period.
    Final expenditure and gross domestic product. Quarter and year. Seasonally adjusted figures. Percentage change in volume from the previous period.1
    202220234th quarter 20221st quarter 20232nd quarter 20233rd quarter 20234th quarter 2023
    Final consumption expenditure of households and NPISHs6.2-0.74.1-4.80.7-0.10.7
    ¬ Household final consumption expenditure5.9-0.94.3-5.00.8-0.20.7
    ¬¬ Goods-3.8-5.18.6-10.40.8-1.12.0
    ¬¬ Services10.22.10.40.00.60.80.1
    ¬¬ Direct purchases abroad by resident households265.114.30.62.42.41.21.0
    ¬¬ Direct purchases by non-residents199.412.1-0.72.41.45.210.2
    ¬ Final consumption expenditure of NPISHs11.91.30.3-1.10.31.10.9
    Final consumption expenditure of general governmen1.13.61.00.81.11.21.0
    ¬ Final consumption expenditure of central government2.73.21.5-0.30.71.11.2
    ¬¬¬ Central government, civilian2.52.91.5-0.40.61.01.3
    ¬¬¬ Central government, defence4.05.12.10.91.62.10.5
    ¬ Final consumption expenditure of local government-0.54.10.51.81.41.30.8
    Gross fixed capital formation (GFCF)5.20.30.6-0.90.40.11.8
    ¬ Extraction and transport via pipelines (GFCF)-7.110.52.9-2.06.77.77.8
    ¬ Ocean transport (GFCF)25.9-44.2267.5-77.9-29.4161.0106.7
    ¬ Mainland Norway (GFCF)7.6-0.8-1.81.4-0.6-2.1-0.8
    ¬¬ Industries (GFCF)17.14.9-1.96.11.4-1.7-3.0
    ¬¬¬ Services activities incidential to extraction (GFCF)146.817.123.2-13.610.811.524.9
    ¬¬¬ Other services (GFCF)26.61.9-3.54.12.7-2.0-6.1
    ¬¬¬ Manufacturing and mining (GFCF)15.216.31.810.0-2.80.012.2
    ¬¬¬ Production of other goods (GFCF)-13.67.70.613.0-1.1-2.5-5.2
    ¬¬ Dwelling service (households) (GFCF)-1.4-15.60.2-4.3-9.1-4.3-5.6
    ¬¬ General government (GFCF)1.32.8-3.4-1.93.1-1.37.5
    Acquisitions less disposals of valuables74.98.3-12.131.3-8.5-3.6-6.2
    Changes in stocks and statistical discrepancies37.8-16.8-13.961.5-16.8-43.6-59.7
    Gross capital formation8.0-1.6-1.04.8-2.0-5.1-2.6
    Final domestic use of goods and services5.40.11.8-0.60.0-1.3-0.2
    Final demand from Mainland Norway (excl. changes in stocks)5.10.51.8-1.80.5-0.20.5
    Final demand from general government1.13.50.20.31.40.72.2
    Total exports4.51.4-4.40.01.0-1.33.3
    ¬ Traditional goods (export)-2.56.1-1.01.72.6-1.73.7
    ¬ Crude oil and natural gas (export)1.3-1.1-5.7-1.00.5-0.43.7
    ¬ Ships, oil platforms and aircraft (export)-45.0-45.8-67.5-50.583.779.8-73.0
    ¬ Services (export)25.13.1-2.11.2-0.2-3.73.8
    Total use of goods and services5.10.6-0.3-0.40.3-1.31.0
    Total imports12.50.71.8-2.52.5-4.0-0.7
    ¬ Tradisjonelle varer (import)3.4-3.71.6-4.71.3-3.9-2.6
    ¬ Crude oil and natural gas (import)-26.314.030.3-2.2-17.123.1-3.3
    ¬ Ships, oil platforms and aircraft (import)-34.1-2.921.0-31.7137.1-38.3-42.1
    ¬ Services (import)41.28.10.62.50.7-2.24.2
    Gross domestic product, market values2 3.00.5-1.00.3-0.3-0.41.5
    Gross domestic product Mainland Norway, market values2 3.70.70.40.20.00.10.2
    Petroleum activities and ocean transport3 0.6-0.1-5.50.8-1.6-2.46.2
    Gross domestic product Mainland Norway, basic values4.01.00.40.20.30.10.1
    ¬ Mainland Norway excluding general government (GDP)4.40.80.50.20.30.2-0.1
    ¬¬ Manufacturing and mining (GDP)-0.50.2-0.20.20.00.4-0.1
    ¬¬ Production of other goods (GDP)0.7-0.5-0.51.30.50.2-1.8
    ¬¬ Service activities (GDP)6.21.20.9-0.10.30.20.4
    ¬ General government (GDP)3.01.50.30.20.20.00.6
    Taxes and subsidies products1.9-1.30.30.3-1.8-0.10.8
    1Figures from 2022 onwards are prelimanry
    2Gross domestic product is measured at market prices, while value added by industry is measured at basic prices.
    3Includes oil and gas extraction, transport via pipelines and ocean transport.
    Explanation of symbols

About the statistics

The national accounts provide an overview of the state and development in the Norwegian economy. Key figures are gross domestic product (GDP), consumption, gross investment, exports and imports, employment and wages, profitability in industries and productivity. 1st to 3rd quarter is published with monthly national accounts in May, August and November. 4th quarter will be published February the following year, figures for t-2 in August.

See Concepts and definitions in national accounts for explanations.

Valuation

Registration of values: A transaction may be registered at different values, depending on under which circumstances it is registered. Different concepts regarding valuation are also relevant for the general aspect of registration (cf. cash values or accruals values, and other principles for the recording of statistical data). The transactions of variables in the national accounts follow the accrual principle. Thus, taxes and subsidies on production should be registered as accrued values and not as cash values as recorded in the government accounts.

In the description of the transaction of goods and services several price concepts are used. Output is valued at basic prices. Basic price is the price the seller receives, after corresponding taxes on the product are deducted (and subsidies added). The use categories, both intermediate consumption and final use, are valued at purchaser prices, that is the price the purchaser must pay. Exports are valued at fob (free on board), while imports are valued at cif (cost-insurance-freight).

The value added of an industry is "valued" at basic prices (calculated as output at basic prices less intermediate consumption at purchaser prices). The total value added of all the industries is also "valued" at basic prices.

GDP is "valued" at market prices, which means that taxes on products, including VAT, less subsidies on products are added to the total value added of the industries at basic prices.

The accounting system of the Norwegian national accounts is based on the international standards for national accounts, i.e. 2008 SNA and ESA 2010. The accounting system outlines the framework and contents for production of national accounts statistics. The level of detail in the classifications used for compilation of quarterly and preliminary annual national accounts are more aggregated than in that used for calculation of the annual national accounts.

In addition to accounting structure, the international standards give recommendations of groupings or classifications to be used in the national accounts:

Activity classification

The classification of Industries in the National Accounts follows the Norwegian Standard Industrial Classification (SN2007), which is based on NACE Rev.2. Several levels of aggregation have been introduced for publication and reporting purposes.

Classification of non-financial assets and gross fixed capital formation

Non-financial assets are classified by type of aggregates defined in 2008 SNA, such as fixed assets, inventories, valuables, and non-produced assets, including both tangible assets such as land, subsoil-assets, water resources etc., and intangible assets such as transferable contracts etc. Gross fixed capital formation is grouped by main type within building and construction, machinery and equipment and transportation equipment.

Product classification

The product classification used in the national accounts is based on the EU's standard product classification CPA - Statistical Classification of Products by Activity in the European Community. The CPA groups products by activities, i.e. it defines characteristic products within each activity and connects them to the activity classification NACE Rev.2. The annual accounts supply and use tables contain about 700 products, in addition to which some products are also incorporated purely for technical reasons. The system to elaborate preliminary annual and quarterly accounts contains about 90 products. The separation on products might to large extent be considered as a tool to balance the national account system and to undertake calculations in constants prices.

Classification of individual consumption by purpose

The classification of Consumption expenditure groups in the National Accounts is based on the international classification COICOP - Classification of Individual Consumption by Purpose, published by the UN.

Classification of the functions of government

The classification of the functions of government by purpose applies to all types of general government expenses, such as government final consumption expenditure, gross fixed capital formation, subsidies, property rents (i.e. expenses), capital transfers and other transfers for use in government financial accounts and in the national accounts. This classification is based on the international classification COFOG - Classification of the Functions of Government, published by the UN.

Classification of the purpose of non-profit institutions serving households (NPISH)

This is a minor purpose classification which applies to expenses of NPISHs. It is based on the international classification COPNI - Classification of the Purposes of the Non-Profit Institutions Serving Households, published by the UN.

Name: National accounts
Topic: National accounts and business cycles

11 April 2024

Division for National Accounts

National level

The monthly national accounts (MNA) are published about 40 days after the end of the given month.

The quarterly national accounts (QNA) are published about 40 days after the end of the given quarter. Quarterly figures are calculated as the sum of three months (from monthly national accounts).

The first estimates of the preliminary year is published about 40 days after the end of the year.

Published figures are reported to Eurostat, the International Monetary Fund (IMF) and the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD).

Not relevant

The national accounts (NA) statistics are designed to provide a consistent and comprehensive survey of the overall national economy. The national accounts give both a summarised description of the economy as a whole and a detailed description of transactions between different parts of the Norwegian economy, and between Norway and the rest of the world. The national accounts also provide information on capital stocks and employment.

The first Norwegian national accounts based on modern principles were published by Statistics Norway in 1952. Annual series national accounts were calculated back to 1865 during the 1950th.

Final annual national accounts figures are based on all available final economic statistics and therefore take time to produce. The purpose of the quarterly national accounts is to provide updated information about short-term developments in the Norwegian economy based on an overall, consistent accounting system. Statistics Norway has produced and released quarterly national accounts (QNA) on a regular basis from 1953 but were not published at fixed intervals from the 1970s to the beginning of the 1980s. A new model for a QNA system was developed at the beginning of the 1980s and has been used since 1985, with some modifications.

National accounts are used as a tool to compare the economic situation in different countries, and therefore it is important that the national accounts in various countries are based on a common template. Staff involved in elaborating national accounts in Statistics Norway participated actively in developing international recommendations and concepts regarding national accounts. The first international standard for national accounts, 1953 System of National Accounts (1953 SNA), was published by UN in 1953.

From time to time adaptations or changes are made to the common international recommendations for national accounts. This requires corresponding changes in the construction of the Norwegian national accounts. At different time intervals, new source statistics are produced and indicate that parts of the national accounts figures need to be revised. Since one objective of the national accounts is to provide a picture of the development over time which is as correct as possible, it is not possible to introduce such changes from one year to another. With different time intervals, it will therefore be necessary to carry out major revisions of the national accounts figures, so-called main revisions, in order to introduce adaptations due to new international recommendations or introduce new levels based on new statistical sources. As part of these main revisions the time series are also revised so that the revised national accounts can give a consistent picture of the economic development over time.

In recent decades, Statistics Norway has carried out main revisions published in 1995, 2002, 2006, 2011 and 2014. The main purpose of main revision published in November 2014, was to incorporate updated international recommendations in 2008 SNA andESA 2010. Changes due to this main revision are described, among else, in the article Main revision 2014. Planned changes in the national accounts statistics. The publication History of national accounts in Norway. From free research to statistics regulated by law also provides more information about the history of national accounts in Norway, including main revisions. In the future main revisions of the national accounts normally will be carried out every five years.

Since the QNA are completely harmonised with the annual national accounts, it is also necessary to revise the QNA figures once the annual national accounts figures have been revised.

The quarterly figures are mostly used for observation and analysis of the current economic cycle. The QNA figures also serve as a basis for making forecasts of the future economic development, the government’s work with the national budget and other economic planning. In addition, the QNA contribute with material for research and development. Annual and quarterly national accounts are a useful tool for analyses of the economic development and structures in Norway. The national accounts are also used to compare the economy in different countries.

The annual and quarterly national accounts therefore have a wide group of users, from school pupils and students to public and private institutions that actively use the statistics in their analyses and investigation of economic structure and development. Active users include the Research Department in Statistics Norway, the Ministry of Finance, Norges Bank, international organisations such as the IMF, the OECD, the World Bank, the UN and Eurostat, resident and non-resident financial sector analysts, and the media.

No external users have access to the statistics and analyses before they are published and accessible simultaneously for all users on ssb.no at 08.00 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 monthly figures are the basis for quarterly figures, quarterly figures are calculated as the sum of three months. Quarterly figures will be updated when publishing the third month in the quarter. This means that there may be deviations between the monthly and quarterly figures in the two months before the new quarter is calculated. The deviations will mainly apply to seasonally adjusted figures. In addition, the monthly publication includes a table showing rolling numbers for three and three months. The three-month growth is calculated by comparing a three-month period with the previous three-month period. For example, the volume change in the rolling table for July is given by comparing the period May-July with February-April. Figures for March, June, September and December will correspond to growth for a quarter.

All historical figures are consistent with both preliminary and final annual national accounts figures in fixed and current prices

The Norwegian Balance of Payments (BOP) is an integrated part of the Norwegian system of national accounts, and the BOP figures are fully consistent with other preliminary and final quarterly and annual national accounts figures. Furthermore, quarterly and annual national accounts figures are fully consistent and compatible with the institutional sector accounts. The regional national accounts, and various satellite accounts (environment, tourism, health, non-profit institutions, education) are consistent with the above mentioned national accounts statistics. Previous published figures from the regional accounts and various satellite accounts are, however, not revised as a part of main revision of the national accounts, so figures for previous years may not necessarily be compatible with updated NA time series.

As mentioned in the chapter "Production: Data sources and sampling", the national accounts are based on various statistical sources. The source statistics may not use the same definitions or groupings as used in the national accounts. As a result, figures in the source statistics may be adapted or corrected before being used in the national accounts. Published figures in the source statistics of certain industries may therefore not correspond to published figures in the national accounts.

Not relevant

Regulation (EU) No 549/2013 (ESA 2010).
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 coverage of the national accounts is defined by international guidelines in the 2008 System of National Accounts (2008 SNA), published by the UN, the OECD, the IMF, the World Bank, and the Commission of the European Communities, and theEuropean System of National and Regional Accounts (ESA 2010).

The total national economy, and the distinction between the national economy and foreign countries, is defined in terms of resident units. A unit is defined as a resident unit of the country when it has a centre of economic interest in the economic territory of the country - i.e. when it is involved in economic activities on this territory for an extended period of time (one year or more).

Two basic types of information are recorded in the national accounts: flows and stocks. Flows refer to actions and effects of events that take place within a given period of time, for example the output of an industry in one year. Stocks refer to positions at a certain point of time, for example the value of capital stock or the number of employed persons.

The national accounts consist of two main sets of tables; supply and use tables (SUT), also described as the real accounts, and the institutional sector accounts. The real accounts are based on local kind-of-activity units (KAUs), while the institutional sector accounts are based on institutional units. Institutional units are economic entities that are capable of owning goods and assets, of incurring liabilities and of engaging in economic activities and transactions with other units in their own right. An institutional unit contains one or more local kind-of-activity units (local KAUs). The local KAUs are classified by type of activity. An activity is characterised by an input of products, a production process and an output of products. All local KAUs engaged in the same or similar kind-of-activity constitute an industry.

The SUT at current and constant prices gives a structured overview of the supply (output and import) and use (final consumption, gross fixed capital formation, changes in inventories, export and intermediate consumption) of products (goods and services) in the economy. For each industry the value added is calculated as the difference between output and intermediate consumption. The value added in an industry can also be decomposed into compensation of employees, consumption of fixed capital, other taxes on production (net of subsidies) and operating surplus. The real accounts also give information on fixed assets, as well as wages, hours worked, full-time equivalent persons and employed persons by industry. Monthly national accounts does not include figures for employment etc..

Furthermore, the real accounts provide the basis for the calculation of the Gross Domestic Product (GDP) and other central macroeconomic measures. The annual growth in volume and price are calculated for most variables.

The non-financial sector accounts are based on institutional units. Institutional units are capable of providing a full set of accounts. The non-financial sector accounts describe all economic transactions in the various sectors. The accounts also provide information on the stocks financial and non-financial capital. Financial sector accounts are also based on institutional units. The institutional units are grouped in institutional sectors on the basis of their principal economic functions, behavior and objectives. The non-financial sector accounts are consistent with the real accounts. The further description of the national accounts covers the part of the national accounts that is based on the annual SUT (the real accounts).

The coverage of the preliminary annual and quarterly real accounts is the same as the final annual SUT

The accounting structure in the system that produces monthly, quarterly and preliminary annual figures (MNA) is, however, more aggregated than in the system that produces the final annual SUT. While the SUT in the annual accounts consists of about 130 industry groups and 700 product groups, the SUT in the MNA consists of about 80 industry groups and 120 product groups. The MNA and QNA system produces tables with seasonal adjusted figures for industries' value added, household consumption for aggregated consumption groups and for central macroeconomic measures. However, only tables for final expenditure and gross domestic product are published on a monthly basis, while the QNA contain more details.

The calculations of the annual real accounts are based on statistics from several different sources, such as the structural business statistics for manufacturing and other industries, accounting statistics for general government and enterprises, statistics for wages and earnings, external trade statistics, household consumer surveys and employment statistics. Some parts of the national accounts are compiled more or less directly from the source statistics, while other parts are based on calculations and estimates.

Monthly information is used for compiling monthly national accounts, such as the production index of industrial production, the index for retail sales, consumer price index, building statistics, producer price indices and much more. For some service industries where we lack explicit production indicators, monthly information about jobs, working days and absence is obtained from the A-ordning. For investments where we only have quarterly information, such as oil investments, quarterly figures are conventionally distributed by month. In the months before we get the so-called oil census, the development is used in the planned investment figures reported together with those performed for a quarter. In connection with the work on the QNA, quarterly information is incorporated and an update of the previous months is made. Quarterly national accounts will appear as the sum of the three months in the quarter.

The source statistics used to calculate national accounts are with a few exceptions produced by Statistics Norway.

Having the reporting responsibility to Eurostat, the Division for National Accounts occasionally documents the calculations for the final annual national accounts, see Norwegian National Accounts - GNI Inventory for ESA95.

In addition, there are a number of reports giving more detailed documentation of calculation of figures for various specific industry groups or other parts of the national accounts (mostly in Norwegian only).

The documentation report for the Quarterly national accounts gives an overview of central sources and methods used for quarterly accounts compilation. This will be updated in the autumn of 2018 to include monthly national accounts.

Compilation of the final annual real accounts

The annual national accounts are mainly based on statistics collected by other divisions in Statistics Norway. To some extent data produced by external suppliers are also used.

The process of compiling the final annual national accounts starts with the calculation of independent supply and use estimates for all goods and services at current prices. To some extent, source data are extracted directly from the databases and converted into national accounts codes and format. Other parts of the economy are based on more complex calculations, by means of different statistical sources and/or assessments.

The source data are critically evaluated and compared with alternative sources (for some parts of the economy). In some areas, the statistics have to be adjusted in order to satisfy the requirements of the national accounts. In areas where the statistics are incomplete, evaluations are essential. In the process of estimating national accounts data, estimated national accounts figures are critically evaluated and controlled in several steps.

Finally, supply and use for each of these goods and services are balanced using supplementary information and quality assessments of the various statistical sources. This results in integrated supply and use tables at current prices.

The figure below gives an outline of the calculation system for final annual national accounts figures. First, detailed figures are calculated and balanced in current prices. Then the system calculates figures in constant prices, based on the detailed current price figures and corresponding price indices. The deflation (current values being divided by price indices) takes place at the most detailed product level: A price index is allocated to each detailed product. The individual products are as price homogeneous as possible. Constant price figures in the annual national accounts are calculated using the price level of the previous year, which means that the base year is changed every
year.

The deflation approach has in fact two dimensions, (i) differentiated by main categories of supply and use (deflating output, imports, exports and implicitly for domestic use), and (ii) differentiated through valuation (deflating current values at basic prices by price indices and implicitly determining the other value components, including adjustments against values at purchaser prices). The method used to calculate constant figures is called double deflation, i.e. a separate deflation of output and intermediate consumption is carried out in order to arrive at value added at constant prices as a balancing item, based on a detailed input-output framework (supply and use tables).

Figure 1. The calculation system for final annual NA figures (Click)

For a more detailed documentation, see Norwegian National Accounts - GNI Inventory for ESA95.

Compilation of the MNA and QNA

The majority of the short-term statistics produced by Statistics Norway are transferred to the MNA system by use of a direct link to the relevant databases. The information in the data sources about growth is used more or less directly in the MNA system. Some other input data series in the MNA system, however, are based more or less on calculations and estimations, using various types of information from Statistics Norway and other sources. Quarterly figures are calculated as the sum of three months

The national accounts data for a specific month, quarter or year are revised in accordance with an ordinary publication and revision cycle. The quarterly figures within a specific year t become final 21 months later after the end of the year t. In addition, periodical main revisions generate revised figures.

In the process of calculating MNA or QNA figures for a specific month or quarter, the short-term statistics source data are critically evaluated and compared with alternative sources (for some parts of the economy). In some cases, the information in the source statistics must be adjusted in order to satisfy the requirements of the quarterly national accounts. In the process to estimate MNA data estimated MNA figures are critically evaluated and controlled in many steps.

Monthly process
The figure below gives an overview of the Norwegian MNA and QNA estimation process. The figure shows that the MNA system is based on two main pillars: a) The SUT for the (final) annual national accounts and b) short-term statistics.

Figure 2. The computing system in the Norwegian MNA/QNA

The main principle in the MNA system is that the national accounts figures for the current quarter are computed based on the development of short-term indicators and the current-price figures from the base year. The base year (t-2) is the latest calculated final version of the annual national accounts. The method is the same for most common variables: The value in the base year is given the same growth rate (percentage change) as in the appropriate indicator, or a grouping of different relevant indicators.

A simple projection method, based on the development in previous periods, is used if an indicator does not cover the whole period from the base year to the current quarter.

The indicator compilations are made in the indicator process (box 2 in the figure).

However, the indicator process alone does not give a complete harmonised account at current and constant prices. To calculate values for variables that are not calculated in the indicator compilations, and to harmonise the accounts, we use an input-output model (box 3 in the figure).

The input-output model includes a commodity-flow balance, a price input-output system and a set of equations for summaries and definitions. It now comprises over 12 000 equations in total. The input-output coefficients are calculated from the SUT in the base year. The variables calculated in the indicator compilations are transferred to the input-output model as exogenous variables. To calculate balanced accounts at current prices we need price indices on all supply and use categories. These are computed in the model by weighting together product price indices with the input-output coefficients as weights. Each product gets three different price indices, one for resident output delivered to the home market (to resident users), a second for import and a third for export.

The price index for an industry’s total output is then calculated as a weighted average of the price indices for the home and export market using the input-output coefficients as weights. The price indices of intermediate consumption, final consumption expenditure and gross fixed capital formation are calculated in a similar way, using the import and home market price indices and the input-output coefficients.

The model also calculates variables which are not covered by short-term statistics or other information and therefore not calculated in the indicator process. These calculations are based on simple assumptions. For instance, intermediate consumption for most industries at constant prices (the total except FISIM) is assumed to be a fixed proportion of total output for the relevant industry. The distribution of intermediate consumption (except FISIM) on different products at constant prices is also assumed to be the same as in the base year. The industries’ use of FISIM as intermediate consumption is supposed to equal the growth in total output of FISIM services. Output in the retail and wholesale trade activities in constant prices is assumed to follow the development of the use of the various goods in constant prices, such as household consumption, intermediate consumption and gross fixed capital formation of the various specific goods (that means supposed fixed margins).

Changes in stock of separate products are (for most products) calculated as the difference between the total supply and use of the product. As in the annual NA, the changes in stock may be adjusted if that seems reasonable after an evaluation of the figures.

The results are stored in the time series database (box 4 in the figure), which, among other things, provides the basis for different sets of tables (box 6). At the moment there are two different sets of tables (with seasonal unadjusted figures), sets for internal checks and analyses of data and more aggregated sets of data for publishing.

Process 1-4 describes how the quarterly seasonally unadjusted figures are estimated. The unadjusted figures are seasonally adjusted (box 5) using a seasonal adjustment program.

The method adopted to compile the MNA is highly mechanical. This applies to the update of variables in the national accounts based on short-term statistics as well as the balancing of commodities, the computation of indirect taxes and factor incomes and the overall balancing of the GDP and main aggregates. Technically, the data systems are programmed in FAME and TROLL (the latter is used for the input-output model only).

Checks and/or the evaluation of data are, however, performed in several steps. The MNA system offers a unique opportunity to compare different types of input data. The evaluation of the different sources is done in close contact with the relevant statistics divisions in Statistics Norway. A more thorough evaluation is being done when processing and publishing quarterly figures, while the monthly process is more automated and less profound. Therefore, only final expenditure and gross domestic product are published on a monthly basis while the quarterly accounts offer more details.

Quarterly figures are calculated as the total of three months at quarterly releases. Quarterly figures will be updated only when publishing the third month in the quarter. This means that there may be a mismatch between the monthly and quarterly figures in the interim months. This applies mainly to seasonally adjusted numbers. That is, when you get a new observation (new month), it will normally affect the seasonally adjusted figures back in time. We do not update the QNA numbers that have also been sent to international organizations before the next quarters release. At the same time, we show figures for three-month growth. This is calculated by comparing a three-month period with the previous three-month period. For example, the volume change in July is given by comparing the period May-July with February-April. Figures for March, June, September and December will correspond to growth for a quarter. This means that users may get a continuous update of the quarterly figures by looking at the monthly publication.

Annual process and alignment

The MNA system is updated with a new base year every year (i.e. the latest final version of the annual accounts). The database for the annual accounts (box 1a), as well as the base data and coefficients in the harmonisation model (box 3) are updated. At the same time, it is possible to implement new indicators, carry out changes in the input series and in the model, etc. Such changes are not carried out in an ordinary monthly or quarterly process.

The recalculation of the monthly accounts is carried out by distributing the annual figures between the months using the original monthly figures as keys. The recalculated monthly accounts will then add up to the annual accounts at constant and current prices.

The harmonisation is based on the principle that the differences between the monthly changes to the original and harmonised series shall be as small as possible. The monthly accounts should add up to the figures in the annual accounts.

When the base year is updated the MNA for that year is aligned automatically.

Reference year

All figures are published at current prices and (for most sizes) constant prices (i.e. the accounts also specify volume and price changes). Constant-price estimates in the national accounts are calculated based on the previous year's prices; i.e. the base year is changed every year. Subsequently, data on volume changes are constructed in terms of growth rates and corresponding implicit data on changes in prices. In parallel, time series of volume figures are constructed by using prices from a reference year. The constant-price estimates are consistent with the data on changes in volume in the series of growth rates. Since the chaining is carried out separately for all items, the table components do not, however, necessarily add up to the totals of the same table.

The publication Quarterly national accounts gives more information about sources, methods and the processes used to calculate quaterly NA figures. This will be updated in the autumn of 2018 to include monthly national accounts.

The methods and routines used to produce seasonally adjusted figures are described in the chapter About seasonal adjustment.

§ 2-6 of the Statistics Act states that data under no circumstances shall be published in such a way that they may be traced back to the supplier. This means that the general rule is not to publish data if there are fewer than three enterprises in an industry. In practice, this means that for some detailed industry categories, figures must be aggregated up to a more aggregated industry group before they can be published.

Consistent monthly time series will exist back to 2016. Consistent quarterly time series will exist back to 1978 and annual time series back to 1970. Annual NA figures for the years 1865-1970 are based on the previous standards used for the national accounts and are not compatible with the up to date figures after the latest main revision of the NA.

Quarterly figures are calculated as the sum of three months. Quarterly figures will be updated only when publishing the third month in the quarter. This means that there may be mismatch between the monthly and quarterly figures in the interim months, see the description of the monthly process above.

Monthly figures, and thus quarterly figures, are aligned with the final annual national accounts figures, both in fixed and current prices. The other parts of the national accounts, such as income and capital accounts, and foreign accounts are also consistent and consistent with MNA.

The national accounts are based on various statistical sources. The sources are either survey data from establishments, enterprises or households, or data from registers. National accounts statistics reflect the inaccuracy in the statistical sources and the methods of compilation. Weaknesses and inaccuracy in the statistical sources are normally described in the documentation of the relevant sources.

Since the national accounts are an integrated system with balancing methods and consistency checks, the national accounts may reduce some of the inaccuracies in the statistical sources. On the other hand, national accounts require the compilation of statistics in areas where the sources are unsatisfactory, and the inaccuracy in such areas may therefore be significant. Some of the figures in the national accounts are estimated as residuals, and the uncertainty may be substantial in these areas. Examples are the compilation of changes in inventories and operating surplus by activity.

The EU Commission and Eurostat have completed a quality evaluation of the national accounts in all EEA countries. The conclusion was that "The Norwegian national accounts are of a high quality, soundly based on reliable and exhaustive sources, integrated in a system with a detailed product breakdown". (Report on the sources and methods used in compiling GNP in Norway, Eurostat/B1/CPNB/237/EN, 9 December 1997, Luxembourg.)

The International Monetary Fund (IMF) completed an evaluation of central parts of Norwegian macroeconomic statistics in autumn 2002, including the Norwegian national accounts. In the report IMF (2003), the Norwegian macroeconomic statistics, including the national accounts, got positive reviews: "In summary, Norway's macroeconomic statistics are of generally high quality." About the national accounts, the IMF also expressed that: "The source data for both the annual and the quarterly national accounts are generally sound and timely, and sufficiently portray reality."

The production of several of the sources that are used in the national accounts takes a considerable amount of time. Consequently, preliminary figures are more inaccurate than final figures.

In 2003, Statistics Norway carried out a project to evaluate the quality of the Norwegian QNA. The task of the project was to describe and evaluate the different processes in the system, and set up a plan for further work to improve quality. A project report was released in April 2004 (in Norwegian only). The report lists a variety of measures to increase quality, such as changes in the organisation of the QNA process, technical changes in the data system, an increase and improvement of the documentation related to the QNA system etc.

Another way of measuring the general quality of the QNA figures is to compare the preliminary annual figures from the first version of the annual accounts (by adding up the quarters in the QNA) with the final version. This was done in 2004. The article (in Norwegian only) looks at the growth rates of the main aggregates: GDP, GDP for mainland Norway, household consumption, government consumption, gross fixed capital formation, exports, imports and compensation of employees. For most variables, the study covers the years 1972-2002, while for some variables it covers the years 1993-2002. The study concludes that the preliminary figures generally had underestimated the growth rate in relation to the final figures, but that the overall picture did not differ too much.

The national accounts data for a specific month, quarter or year are revised in accordance with an ordinary publication and revision cycle. The monthly and quarterly figures within a specific year t have the status final 21 months after the end of the year. See Administrative information, Frequency and timeliness. In addition, periodical main revisions give revised figures. See Background and purpose. The table below shows the publication cycle for yearly and quarterly national accounts figures. In addition to what is stated in the table, monthly data will be published about 40 days after the end of the month. In May, year t (which coincides with the QNR for the first quarter), all months, also in year t-1, can be revised. After May year t, only the monthly figures for the current year are subject to revision.

Publication cycle for quarterly and yearly national accounts figures
Release date in: 1st quarter year t2nd quarter year t3rd quarter year t4th quarter year t
May, year tFirst preliminary versionRevised 3 for year t-1Revised 2 for year t-1Revised 1 for year t-1
August, year t

Revised 1

Revised 5 for year t-1

Final for year t-2

First preliminary version

Revised 4 for year t-1

Final for year t-2

Revised 3 for year t-1

Final for year t-2

Revised 2 for year t-1

Final for year t-2

November, year tRevised 2Revised 1First preliminary versionRevised 3 for year t-1
February, year tRevised 3 for year t-1Revised 2 for year t-1Revised 1First preliminary version for year t-1

What is seasonal adjustment?

Monthly and quarterly time series are often characterised by considerable seasonal variations, which might complicate inter-period comparability. Such time series are therefore subjected to a process of seasonal adjustment in order to remove the effects of seasonal fluctuations. Once data have been adjusted for seasonal effects by X-12-ARIMA or some other seasonal adjustment tool, a clearer picture of the time series emerge.

For more information on seasonal adjustment, please refer to Statistics Norway’s: metadata on methods: seasonal adjustment.

Because of climatic conditions, public holidays and holidays in July and December, the intensity of the production varies throughout the year. The same applies to household consumption and other parts of the economy.

This makes a direct comparison of two consecutive months or quarters difficult. In order to adjust for these conditions, the quarterly national accounts are seasonally adjusted which makes it possible to conduct an analysis of the underlying change in economic activity between periods.

It is important to mention some factors of the seasonally adjustment of the MNA which has to be given specific attention compared to other short time economic indicators:

- The series for the main aggregates in the MNA is a result of aggregation of many components. Statistics Norway has chosen that consistency between the components and the main aggregates also applies to the seasonally adjusted series to make it easy to identify which series contribute the most to the results.

- Data may be exposed to some revisions each month as well as major revisions when the the preliminary national accounts are reconciled with final national accounts

Background information

- To seasonally adjust the GDP (and all other aggregates) we use an indirect method. This is done in order to be able to explain the contributions to GDP-growth, and consensus is that this is the preferred method for this kind of data. Please see chapter below for more details on the direct vs. indirect approach to seasonal adjustment.

- This method has given us some challenges related to the seasonally adjusted historical series. The reason is that series older than the base year are not additive. When a new base year is established, and the time series are updated, we use identical seasonal adjustment factors as before. This means that changes in seasonally adjusted data are only due to changes in the unadjusted data.

- We use information from the entire period of the time series to estimate seasonal adjustment factors, but we use this information only from the year before the base year to the present.

The method chosen is in accordance with the ESS-Guidelines on seasonal adjustment.

Seasonally adjusted series

Over a thousand series are seasonally adjusted every month. The series are adjusted at a disaggregated level and then summed up to the main aggregates.

The series for gross value added at industry level are adjusted directly, as opposed to being calculated as the difference between production and intermediate consumption.

For final consumption expenditure of households, the series are seasonally adjusted by applying the seasonal factors that are estimated for the index of household consumption of goods (see the documentation for seasonal adjustment of the index of household consumption of goods).

Pre-treatment routines/schemes

Pre-treatment is an adjustment for variations caused by calendar effects and outliers.

  • We run a pre-treatment of some series/main series.

Calendar adjustment

Calendar adjustment involves adjusting for the effects of working days/trading days and for moving holidays. Working days/trading days adjustments are made for both the number of working days/trading days and for the varying composition of days from one month to another.

  • It is performed calendar adjustments on all series showing significant and plausible calendar effects within a statistically robust approach, such as regression or RegARIMA (a regression model with an ARIMA structure for the residuals).

Methods for trading/working day adjustment

  • RegARIMA correction – in this case, the effect of trading days is estimated in a RegArima framework. The effect of trading days can be estimated by using a correction for the length of the month or leap year, regressing the series on the number of working days, etc. In this case, the residuals will have an ARIMA structure.

Correction for moving holidays

  • We run an automati correction with X-12-ARIMA. The utomatic correction of raw data will be based on Norwegian holidays.

National and EU/euro area calendars

  • Use of the Norwegian calendar with X-12-ARIMA.

Treatment of outliers

Outliers, or extreme values, are abnormal values of the series

  • Outliers are detected automatically by the seasonal adjustment tool. The outliers are removed before seasonal adjustment is carried out, and then reintroduced into the seasonally adjusted data.

Model selection

Pre-treatment requires choosing an ARIMA model, as well as deciding whether the data should be log-transformed or not.

Decomposition scheme

The decomposition scheme specifies how the various components – basically trend-cycle, seasonal and irregular – combine to form the original series. The most frequently used decomposition schemes are the multiplicative and additive.

  • Manual selection of decomposition scheme after graphical inspection of the properties to the specific series.

Comments: Additive decomposition is used for series with (potential) negative values or values equal zero, otherwise multiplicative decomposition is used.

Choice of seasonal adjustment approach

  • X-12-ARIMA

Consistency between raw and seasonally adjusted data

In some series, consistency between raw and seasonally adjusted series is imposed.

  • No constraints are applied.

Consistency between aggregate/definition of seasonally adjusted data

In some series, consistency between seasonally adjusted aggregates and its components is imposed. For some series there is also a special relationship between the different series, e.g. GDP which equals production minus intermediate consumption.

  • Definitions and relationships that hold for unadjusted figures also apply for seasonally adjusted figures.

Comments: The supply side equals the use side also for seasonally adjusted figures. This implies that changes in stocks/statistical discrepancies are treated as a residual in the seasonally adjusted figures (balancing item). The series for gross value added are adjusted directly (see chapter 1.3) and are not required to match the difference between seasonally adjusted series for production and intermediate consumption (thus, vertical – not horizontal – consistency is imposed).

Direct versus indirect approach

Direct seasonal adjustment is performed if all time series, including aggregates, are seasonally adjusted on an individual basis. Indirect seasonal adjustment is performed if the seasonally adjusted estimate for a time series is derived by combining the estimates for two or more directly adjusted series.

  • Mixed indirect approach is applied

Comments: MNA uses aggregation routines outside X-12-ARIMA.

Horizon for estimating the model and the correction factors

When performing seasonal adjustment of a time series, it is possible to choose the period to be used in estimating the model and the correction factors. Correction factors are the factors used in the pre-treatment and seasonal adjustment of the series.

  • The whole time series is used to estimate the model and the correction factors

General revision policy

Seasonally adjusted data may change due to a revision of the unadjusted (raw) data or the addition of new data. Such changes are called revisions, and there are several ways to deal with the problem of revisions when publishing the seasonally adjusted statistics.

  • Seasonally adjusted numbers are revised in accordance with a well-defined and publicly available revision policy and release calendar.

Concurrent versus current adjustment

  • The model, filters, outliers and regression parameters are re-identified and re-estimated as new or revised data become available.

Horizon for published revisions

  • The individual series will be revised when seasonal factors are re-estimated. Concerning the main aggregates the period of revisions is limited from the base year to the present.

Comments: This applies as long as the unadjusted figures before the base year remains unchanged. When a new base year is established, and the time series are updated, we use identical seasonal adjustment factors as before. This means that changes in seasonally adjusted data are only due to changes in the unadjusted data.

Evaluation of seasonally adjustment data

  • Continuous/periodical evaluation using standard measures proposed by different seasonal adjustment tools.

All series are sufficiently long to perform a seasonal adjustment.

Data availability

  • Both unadjusted (raw), seasonally adjusted and sum rolling three months data are available.

Press releases

  • In addition to raw data, at least one of the following series is released: pre-treated, seasonally adjusted, seasonally plus working day adjusted trend-cycle series.
  • Both levels and growth rates are presented.
  • Empirical values are presented to evaluate revisions of data in earlier press releases.

References

Statistics Norway’s metadata on methods: seasonal adjustment
The Committee for Monetary, Financial and Balance of Payments statistics: ESS-Guidelines on seasonal adjustment
EUROSTAT: Seasonal Adjustment. Methods and Practices
US census: X-12-ARIMA-manual

Not relevant

Contact