Information sector, business statistics (discontinued), 1995-2000

Sales in the ICT sector are growing significantly faster than in the rest of the economy and have had an average annual increase of 11.4 per cent since 1995.

Production in the ICT sector is growing more rapidly than in the economy as a whole. Preliminary calculations indicate that ICT sales increased by 12.7 per cent in 2000. The growth in the mainland economy not including the General government was 6.6 per cent according to the preliminary figures from the national accounts. On average, turnover in the ICT sector in current prices has increased by 11.4 per cent annually in the period 1995 to 2000, while growth in the mainland economy not including the General government has been 6.0 per cent in the same period. 

Thus, the importance of the ICT sector in the economy has increased. In 1995, this industry comprised 5.6 per cent of the total production and 7.0 per cent of the mainland production not including the public administration. In 2000, these shares had increased to 6.7 and 9.0 per cent respectively.

Wholesale and retail trade in the ICT sector had a turnover of almost NOK 78 billion. This constitutes 38.7 per cent of the total ICT turnover. Turnover for telecommunications in 2000 is estimated to be over NOK 57 billion, or 28.6 per cent of the ICT sector. Sales in Computer and related activities comprised over NOK 39 billion, or 19.6 per cent. In 2000, sales in ICT manufacturing amounted to over NOK 26 billion, which is 13.1 per cent of the total sales in the ICT sector.

The business area data processing has seen the largest growth in sales since the middle of the 1990s. As an annual average, sales have increased by more than 21 per cent in current prices in the period 1995 to 2000

The OECD definition

In this article, the ICT sector is defined on the basis of a proposal from the OECD. However, in consultation with the other Nordic countries, we have used a somewhat more precise definition than the OECD uses for the field of ICT wholesale. Using the international definition as a basis, the ICT sector will have a turnover of NOK 240 billion in 2000. This comprises a share of 8.0 per cent of the total national economy and 10.8 per cent of the mainland economy not including the government administration. However, this definition includes wholesale activities that have little to do with ICT. (See About the Statistics).

All sales figures in this article are excluding VAT.