Cash flows between Norway and abroad

Name: Cash flows between Norway and abroad
Topic: External economy

Division for External Trade Statistics

National level.

Quarterly. Time for publication is around 50 days after the end of the quarter.

Not relevant

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 result 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 Register of Cross Border Transactions and Currency Exchange (The Currency Register) was established 01.01.2005. The register includes all boundary crossing settlements to and from Norway. The purpose of the register is first of all to be a controlling instrument to reveal cross border economical crime. The Norwegian Tax administration took over as the register owner from The Directorate of Customs and Excise in January 2016.

This statistics is based on information from the Currency Register. The purpose with the statistics is to indicate main features of cross border economical activity between Norway and foreign countries. The first statistical period was 1 quarter 2008.

As from first quarter 2011, this statistics will refer to SIC2007 (see paragraph 4.2) as the Standard Industrial Classification of Economic Activities. In particular, this affected enterprises which were not registered with financial activities in SIC2002, but were not so using SIC2007, and vice versa. Because of this change in standards, there are certain changes in values from previous publications before Q1 2011.

Data series are recalculated according to the 2007 version of SIC, and updated results from 2008 are available in Statbank Norway. Please note that publications prior to Q1 2011 will not be updated by the new Standard Industrial Classification of Economic Activities, and are therefore not directly comparable to articles published Q1 2011 and forward.

This statistics apply to private persons and institutions interested in achieving insight into economic activity between Norway and foreign countries.

No external users have access to the statistics before they are relased at 8 a.m. on ssb.no after at least three months' advance notice in the Statistics Release Calendar. This is one of the most important principles in Statistics Norway for ensuring the equal treatement of users.

Not relevant

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

The statistics are part of the national program for official statistics 2021-2023, main area Foreign economy, sub-area economic globalisation, Cash flows between Norway and aboard.

EØS-obligation: No

The settlements which this statistics is based on are reported to the register by Norwegian commercial banks. The population includes cross border bank transfers between Norway and other countries, where the Norwegian enterprises are classified as a non financial company (NACE 64, 65 and 66 are leaved out) or as a private person.

Enterprises that are classified in a different industry code other than 64-66, but mainly sharing characteristics of enterprises in these industries are also excluded.

The Norwegian Tax administration (The currency register).

The statistics are a count of all cross-border bank transfers via Norwegian banks between abroad and non-financial enterprises and private individuals in Norway, a total counting.

The statistics is register based. The respondents are obliged to transmit detailed information about their cross border bank transactions to the currency register. Statistics Norway receives extensions from the register about thirty days after the expiration of the reference month.

There are some minor checks for consistence in the currency register. The data are merged with Statistics Norway's business register for identification and implementation of industrial code, but otherwise we do not edit the data. Editing is defined here as checking, examining and amending data.

Level numbers estimated by summing up. The figures are dispersed on respectively private individuals and non financial enterprises, and also on continents. The figure for Europe are further spread on the North, EU except Nordic countries, and the rest of Europe.

Not relevant

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.

Due to the UK's withdrawal from the EU was formally completed on the 1 February 2020, there was a change in the statistics “Cash flows between Norway and abroad”. The UK has been moved from the region 'EU countries outside the Nordic countries' to the region 'Rest of Europe'. For the first quarter of 2020, bank transactions between Norway and the UK, which were completed in January, are registered in the region 'EU countries outside the Nordic countries'. Bank transactions between Norway and the UK as of 1 February 2020 are registered to the region 'Rest of Europe'.

The statistics was published for the first time first quarter of 2008. A set of standard tables make it possible to identify tendencies over time.

SIC2007 replaced SIC2002 as standard in Q1 2010. Time series from 2008 has been recalculated based on SIC2007, and are available in StatBank Norway.

Users of the data must ensure they use results based on the same version of SIC when making comparisons over time. Articles written prior to 2011 will not be updated by this new standard, and are therefore not directly comparable to articles from Q1 2011 and onwards.

SN2025 replaces SN2007 as the Standard Industrial Classification from the 1 st quarter of 2026. The new standard has been implemented in the Business and Enterprise Register (BoF) and the Entity Register from September 1, 2025.

From 2026 onwards, Standard Industrial Classification 2025-09 (SN2025) will be used. SN2025 corresponds to the EU standard NACE Rev. 2.1 (Nomenclature générale des activités économiques dans les Communautés Européennes) and the UN standard ISIC Rev. 5 (International Standard Industrial Classification of All Economic Activities).

The industry structure that has been changed compared to SN2007 is marked in bold. The industries used in the survey that are valid as of the first quarter of 2026 are as follows:

The reporters may supply the currency register with incorrect information.

Big transactions may by accident be missing.

The statistics is a total count.

Enterprises may be classified with incorrect industrial code in the business register of Statistics Norway.

In the year 2005, several reporting entities did not give full reports to the Currency Register. SSB's data for this year will therefore not be disclosed for research purposes. The data for 2006 and 2007 are also somewhat incomplete, but better than in 2005, data for 2006 and 2007 can therefore be released for research purposes. From year 2008, we consider that the data is complete, se also other reservations.

Not relevant

A revision is a planned change to figures that have already been published, for example when releasing final figures as a follow-up to published preliminary figures. See also Statistics Norway's principles for revisions