Political parties' financing

Updated: 21 August 2023

Next update: Not yet determined

Donations to political parties
Donations to political parties
2022
67 976 497
NOK
Funding of political parties, total all political parties by source of income. NOK and per cent
Funding of political parties, total all political parties by source of income. NOK and per cent
2022
TotalPer cent
Income, total723 589 951100.0
Government subsidy, total512 320 05370.8
Central government subsidy428 334 88159.2
Municipal/county subsidy68 303 6189.4
Other government subsidy15 681 5542.2
Own business, total143 293 40119.8
Membership fee75 814 31110.5
Income from lotteries and similar9 479 4201.3
Capital income16 600 0122.3
Business activity22 122 5663.1
Other income from own business19 277 0922.7
Contributions, total67 976 4979.4
Private contributions26 528 0193.7
Contributions from commercial enterprises7 242 4111.0
Contributions from employers' and labour organizations18 408 4102.5
Contributions from other15 797 6572.2
Explanation of symbols

Selected tables and charts from this statistics

  • Funding of political parties by source and political party. NOK
    Funding of political parties by source and political party. NOK1
    TotalChristian Democratic PartyLiberal PartySocialist Left PartyLabour PartyProgress PartyConservative PartyCentre PartyRed PartyThe Pensioners' PartyDemocratic Party of NorwayGreen PartyCommunist Party of NorwayThe ChristiansThe Health PartyFolkeaksjonen Nei til mer bompenger
    2022
    Income, total723 589 95141 028 85033 720 25854 028 473194 917 76566 709 190147 776 27882 552 41243 116 4523 732 1655 057 07039 510 303405 6292 288 513:2 779 679
    Government subsidy, total512 320 05327 313 39324 061 27338 139 932133 364 06752 862 169102 043 38867 681 26727 415 1533 220 9563 619 78225 741 73030 3291 162 807:2 520 560
    Central government subsidy428 334 88118 982 22721 080 74732 609 393108 683 96946 875 79687 441 31457 313 64221 400 0462 498 5223 607 70722 629 79130 3291 157 033:1 223 046
    Municipal/county subsidy68 303 6182 219 3681 946 3115 372 36121 300 6885 788 93312 330 5289 879 2724 865 268538 34012 0752 728 39905 774:1 297 514
    Other government subsidy15 681 5546 111 7981 034 215158 1783 379 410197 4402 271 546488 3531 149 839184 0940383 54000:0
    Own business, total143 293 40112 483 2067 291 1657 550 36337 915 85911 473 09732 715 77911 980 4598 648 778483 6591 437 2387 669 582225 851612 420:251 389
    Membership fee75 814 3117 119 2032 969 2705 229 83014 554 4945 678 35417 264 5497 509 5737 033 493316 482804 5994 219 893164 541598 193:59 450
    Income from lotteries and similar9 479 4201 552 2801 057 46587 210928 2943 097 6591 240 711676 893497 46854 82046 4049541 41812 815:0
    Capital income16 600 012495 973311 919228 2129 259 683506 0425 083 484568 35089 3252 04326 30420 7721 70589:0
    Business activity22 122 5661 325 954155 078456 06411 668 380611 1473 293 305589 175412 69133 874527 4563 007 01842 4240:0
    Other income from own business19 277 0921 989 7962 797 4331 549 0471 505 0081 579 8955 833 7302 636 468615 80176 44032 475420 94515 7631 323:191 939
    Contributions, total67 976 4971 232 2512 367 8208 338 17823 637 8392 373 92413 017 1112 890 6867 052 52127 550506 098 991149 449513 286:7 730
    Private contributions26 528 019213 872643 4905 614 4293 679 41694 8855 815 490827 1084 692 2492 550504 459 06199 449279 491:2 730
    Contributions from commercial enterprises7 242 41144 411235 000010 0001 457 1994 896 471220 00000043 3750207 986:0
    Contributions from employers' and labour organizations18 408 410001 145 00015 704 88474 041376 9381 087 8587 6890012 00000:0
    Contributions, from other15 797 657973 9681 489 3301 578 7494 243 539747 7991 928 212755 7202 352 58325 00001 584 55550 00025 809:5 000
    1The Parties where less than 3 party units has reported their accounts, or that the party units have only reported a statement, are excluded in the table because data which should be made public are not available
    Explanation of symbols
  • Funding of political parties by source of income and political party. Per cent
    Funding of political parties by source of income and political party. Per cent1
    TotalChristian Democratic PartyLiberal PartySocialist Left PartyLabour PartyProgress PartyConservative PartyCentre PartyRed PartyThe Pensioners' PartyDemocratic Party of NorwayGreen PartyCommunist Party of NorwayThe ChristiansThe Health PartyFolkeaksjonen Nei til mer bompenger
    2022
    Income, total100.0100.0100.0100.0100.0100.0100.0100.0100.0100.0100.0100.0100.0100.0:100.0
    Government subsidy, total70.866.671.470.668.479.269.182.063.686.371.665.27.550.8:90.7
    Central government subsidy59.246.362.560.455.870.359.269.449.666.971.357.37.550.6:44.0
    Municipal/county subsidy9.45.45.89.910.98.78.312.011.314.40.26.90.00.3:46.7
    Other government subsidy2.214.93.10.31.70.31.50.62.74.90.01.00.00.0:0.0
    Own business, total19.830.421.614.019.517.222.114.520.113.028.419.455.726.8:9.0
    Membership fee10.517.48.89.77.58.511.79.116.38.515.910.740.626.1:2.1
    Income from lotteries and similar1.33.83.10.20.54.60.80.81.21.50.90.00.30.6:0.0
    Capital income2.31.20.90.44.80.83.40.70.20.10.50.10.40.0:0.0
    Business activity3.13.20.50.86.00.92.20.71.00.910.47.610.50.0:0.0
    Other income from own business2.74.88.32.90.82.43.93.21.42.00.61.13.90.1:6.9
    Contributions, total9.43.07.015.412.13.68.83.516.40.70.015.436.822.4:0.3
    Private contributions3.70.51.910.41.90.13.91.010.90.10.011.324.512.2:0.1
    Contributions from commercial enterprises1.00.10.70.00.02.23.30.30.00.00.00.10.09.1:0.0
    Contributions from employers' and labour organizations2.50.00.02.18.10.10.31.30.00.00.00.00.00.0:0.0
    Contributions from other2.22.44.42.92.21.11.30.95.50.70.04.012.31.1:0.2
    1The Parties where less than 3 party units has reported their accounts, or that the party units have only reported a statement, are excluded in the table because data which should be made public are not available
    Explanation of symbols
  • Party financing, accounts per political party. NOK
    Party financing, accounts per political party. NOK1
    2022
    TotalChristian Democratic PartyLiberal PartySocialist Left PartyLabour PartyProgress PartyConservative PartyCentre PartyRed PartyThe Pensioners' PartyDemocratic Party of NorwayGreen PartyCommunist Party of NorwayThe ChristiansThe Health PartyFolkeaksjonen Nei til mer bompenger
    Income, total723 589 95141 028 85033 720 25854 028 473194 917 76566 709 190147 776 27882 552 41243 116 4523 732 1655 057 07039 510 303405 6292 288 513:2 779 679
    Government subsidy, total512 320 05327 313 39324 061 27338 139 932133 364 06752 862 169102 043 38867 681 26727 415 1533 220 9563 619 78225 741 73030 3291 162 807:2 520 560
    Own business, total143 293 40112 483 2067 291 1657 550 36337 915 85911 473 09732 715 77911 980 4598 648 778483 6591 437 2387 669 582225 851612 420:251 389
    Contributions, total67 976 4971 232 2512 367 8208 338 17823 637 8392 373 92413 017 1112 890 6867 052 52127 550506 098 991149 449513 286:7 730
    Total costs652 356 40539 417 03530 725 96648 078 911173 250 24159 878 031130 344 96478 470 83431 348 7393 474 0264 030 54342 301 357771 4882 042 682:4 099 607
    Salary costs293 820 38320 380 60913 990 49922 799 24481 699 26219 706 70858 834 63934 524 08915 927 479264 645963 99021 025 3980962 800:2 291 476
    Other operating costs355 473 03719 022 58516 618 92825 097 75889 387 85040 092 82771 378 15643 911 79915 140 5403 207 7513 058 44321 243 746771 1551 079 484:1 797 154
    Finance costs3 062 98513 841116 539181 9092 163 12978 496132 16934 946280 7201 6308 11032 213333398:10 977
    Result71 233 5461 611 8152 994 2925 949 56221 667 5246 831 15917 431 3144 081 57811 767 713258 1391 026 527-2 791 054-365 859245 831:-1 319 928
    1The Parties where less than 3 party units has reported their accounts, or that the party units have only reported a statement, are excluded in the table because data which should be made public are not available.
    Explanation of symbols
  • Party financing, accounts per political party. Per cent.,
    Party financing, accounts per political party. Per cent.,1
    2022
    TotalChristian Democratic PartyLiberal PartySocialist Left PartyLabour PartyProgress PartyConservative PartyCentre PartyRed PartyThe Pensioners' PartyDemocratic Party of NorwayGreen PartyCommunist Party of NorwayThe ChristiansThe Health PartyFolkeaksjonen Nei til mer bompenger
    Income, total100.0100.0100.0100.0100.0100.0100.0100.0100.0100.0100.0100.0100.0100.0:100.0
    Government subsidy, total70.866.671.470.668.479.269.182.063.686.371.665.27.550.8:90.7
    Own business, total19.830.421.614.019.517.222.114.520.113.028.419.455.726.8:9.0
    Contributions, total9.43.07.015.412.13.68.83.516.40.70.015.436.822.4:0.3
    Total costs90.296.191.189.088.989.888.295.172.793.179.7107.1190.289.3:147.5
    Salary costs40.649.741.542.241.929.539.841.836.97.119.153.20.042.1:82.4
    Other operating costs49.146.449.346.545.960.148.353.235.185.960.553.8190.147.2:64.7
    Finance costs0.40.00.30.31.10.10.10.00.70.00.20.10.10.0:0.4
    Result9.83.98.911.011.110.211.84.927.36.920.3-7.1-90.210.7:-47.5
    1The Parties where less than 3 party units has reported their accounts, or that the party units have only reported a statement, are excluded in the table because data which should be made public are not available.
    Explanation of symbols
  • Funding of political parties, cost accounts by activity and political party. NOK
    Funding of political parties, cost accounts by activity and political party. NOK1 2
    2022
    Total cost by activityAdministration costsGeneral political party activity¿s costsElection campaign¿s costs
    Total651 785 547333 329 720298 347 33420 108 493
    Christian Democratic Party39 417 03627 865 29411 507 44744 295
    Liberal Party30 725 85317 457 34911 468 8401 799 664
    Socialist Left Party48 078 91432 321 91111 554 7674 202 236
    Labour Party173 248 96086 920 84485 186 4871 141 629
    Progress Party59 781 25421 187 58937 410 3981 183 267
    Conservative Party130 193 05486 485 95340 106 1443 600 957
    Centre Party78 470 83224 283 73053 558 268628 834
    Red Party31 348 93811 111 45019 949 156288 332
    The Pensioners' Party3 511 572911 1302 436 258164 184
    Democratic Party of Norway4 030 543976 6562 306 255747 632
    Green Party41 942 83516 922 00819 757 3945 263 433
    Communist Party of Norway771 488422 585342 5106 393
    The Christians2 042 6821 495 823459 16187 698
    The Health Party::::
    Folkeaksjonen Nei til mer bompenger4 099 6073 076 436580 366442 805
    1Costs by activity comprise total costs. According to the Political Parties Act total costs shall be divided by type and by activity. The table 5 presents income, costs by type and result. This table (11319) presents costs divided by main activity groups. The total can differ from total costs by type due to non-consistent data from the political party units. Further information see “About the statistics”.
    2The Parties where less than 3 party units has reported their accounts, or that the party units have only reported a statement, are excluded in the table because data which should be made public are not available
    Explanation of symbols
  • Central government subsidy by poltical party. NOK
    Central government subsidy by poltical party. NOK1 2
    2022
    TotalOf which youth's poltical organisations
    Total450 659 84829 077 797
    Christian Democratic Party20 320 5301 073 768
    Liberal Party22 157 8521 099 819
    Socialist Left Party34 120 4411 952 973
    Labour Party110 573 7527 483 159
    Progress Party48 774 8292 987 703
    Conservative Party88 646 5506 401 899
    Centre Party61 757 7904 509 270
    Red Party22 827 4971 300 384
    Democratic Party of Norway3 837 919.
    Coastal Party35 281..
    The Pensioners' Party3 422 845.
    Green Party24 899 7202 081 249
    Communist Party of Norway57 6093 015
    The Pirate Party of Norway322 605-
    The Christians1 605 99330 509
    The Health Party904 60718 951
    Folkeaksjonen Nei til mer bompenger3 805 480.
    1The table incudes all units of political parties which have sent either a full report or a statement according the annual income received. For those units which have reported an income less than NOK 12 000 except government subsidies, the amounts used in the table are according to information received from the County Governor of Sogn og Fjordane or from the Ministry of Local Government and Modernisation. The County Governor disburses the governmental funding on municipal and county level, the Ministry to the central organisations. For those units which have reported that mentioned income exceeded the amount of NOK 12 000, the amount reported from the unit itself has been used.
    2The Parties where less than 3 party units has reported their accounts, or that the party units have only reported a statement, are excluded in the table because data which should be made public are not available.
    Explanation of symbols

About the statistics

Income and costs are shown, based on the annual accounts of political parties at municipal, county and central level, including youth organisations at central and county level, which have an obligation to report accounts under the Political Party Act. Approximately 95 per cent of the total income of all parties is covered.

Registered political party

A political party that is registered in the Party register at the Brønnøysund Register Centre according to the regulation in the Party Act, ref. § 3, http://lovdata.no/dokument/NL/lov/2005-06-17-102.

Central government subsidy

Funding according to the Party Act § 11.

Municipal/county subsidy

Additional funding on a voluntary basis from the county or the municipality.

Other public subsidy

Other public funding not covered by central government subsidy or municipal/county subsidy.

Membership fee

The total income from membership fees.

Income from lotteries, fund-raising events and similar

Income from lotteries, fund-raising events and similar.

Capital income

Income from interest and stock dividends etc. excluding uncollected gains. Unrealised gains are not to be entered as gains according to the accounting principles of the Political Party Act. Financial assets are to be entered at purchase cost as long as they are not realised.

Income from business activity

Income from own business activity. This includes, among other things, income from the sale of advertisement effects.

Other income from own business

All income not covered by membership fees, income from lotteries, fund-raising events and similar, capital income or income from business activity.

Private contributions

Includes all gifts of money from private donors and all other non-monetary contributions from the same donors when the limit for identifying the contributors is exceeded.

Contributions from commercial enterprises

Includes all gifts of money made by commercial enterprises and all other non-monetary contributions from the same donors when the limit for identifying the contribution.

Not relevant

Name: Political parties' financing
Topic: Elections

Not yet determined

Division for Population Statistics

Country

Annually

Not relevant

The reports from the political party units are to be made public individually according to the Political Parties Act § 22. The reports will be published on the website of the Ministry of Local Government and Modernisation, see www.partifinansiering.no.

The statistics were published for the first time in 2006. This publication is based on registered parties’ reports on their financial situation for the fiscal year 2017. According to the Political Parties Act, all organisational levels of the registered political parties are obliged to report to a central register. The statistics are published on the basis of these reports.

The Political Parties Act was revised on 1 February 2013. For 2013 and previous years, the political parties' organisations should only report on income.

The statistics have a wide spectrum of users and applications, such as the mass media, research institutions, educational establishments, political parties and individuals.

No external users have access to the statistics and analyses before they are published and accessible simultaneously for all users on ssb.no at 8 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.

Statistics on election campaign contribution which is published every second year in connection with elections (https://www.ssb.no/en/valg/statistikker/valgkamp).

Political Parties Act §§ 18, 19, 20, 20a, 20b, 21 and Statistics Act §§ 10

Not relevant

The data collection includes all organisational levels of the registered political parties in Norway, i.e. central, county and municipal level, as well as the central youth levels and the youth organisations at county level. The unit in the statistics is political parties.

According to the Political Parties Act § 18, the party organisations (units) with an income below a certain level excluding government subsidy are exempt from comprehensive reporting. These party units must submit a statement confirming that their income does not exceed the specified level. All other political party organisations have to report the full annual accounts, i.e. incomes, cost and balance sheet. The reports from the organisations exceeding the limit represent the basis for the statistics but for those parties where the number of reporting units is less than three.

The Political Parties Act was revised on 1 February 2013, setting the limit at NOK 12 000 with effect from the fiscal year of 2013. The previous year’s limit was NOK 10 000.

Parties Act. This register is held by Statistics Norway, cf. § 2-1 of the secondary act to the Political Parties Act. The register includes the reports from all registered parties at municipal, county and central Level, including youth organisations at central and county level. The central political parties have to be registered in the Political Party Register as part of the Brønnøysund Register Centre.

The Party Finance Register also contains a summary of all donors that, during the fiscal year, contributed money or gifts exceeding NOK 12 000 to parties at municipal level, NOK 23 000 to parties at county level and NOK 35 000 to parties at central level according to the revised act of 1 February 2013 (the previous levels were NOK 10 000, NOK 20 000 and NOK 30 000 respectively). This also applies to sponsors and creditors. Donors with whom the party organisation has entered into a written political or commercial agreement are to be identified independent of the amount donated.

Total count.

No additional sources to the Party Finance Register.

The questionnaire is prepared by Statistics Norway. The information is collected electronically through Altinn (the Norwegian public reporting portal) and a specific questionnaire (RA-0604). A few of the units have responded by returning a signed printed version of the Altinn questionnaire that have been handled manually.

The information is published in the same form as it is received by the Party Finance Register. Neither the registrar nor Statistics Norway, as the producer of the statistics, carries out any revisions of the data except for obvious errors in the reported data after consulting the respondent.

The statistical information is a calculation of income and cost summaries from the various organisational levels to the degree that the parties are required to report according to the Political Parties Act.

The statistics do not include internal transfers within the different political parties, neither as income nor as cost, since they balance each other in total, and would thus give an inflated amount. Neither are the balances of the units consolidated, and are thus not published as statistics. There is no statutory requirement for internal liabilities or debts to be specified or reported. Furthermore, there may be a large number of units that are included in the sample which have such liabilities and/or debts towards units not included. Thus, consolidation of the balance sheets would be misleading.

Not relevant

Not relevant

The statistics were first published in 2006 (for the fiscal year 2005), and have since been published annually.

The revision of the Political Parties Act on 1 February 2013 entails a break in the homogeneity according to the organisations that are obliged to report comprehensively. For the years 2005 to 2012, all organisations with income except government subsidies of NOK 10 000 and more were obliged to report fully. For the fiscal year 2013 and later the limit was increased to NOK 12 000. The income of the political party organisations will differ over the years, especially between election and non-election years. Thus the number of organisations reporting comprehensively will depend on natural and formal changes. This may have an impact on the values published in the statistics.

The statistics for 2019 were based on reports from 883 units. For 2018, the statistics were based on 705 units (for 2017 766 units, 716 units in 2016, 781 units in 2015, 685 units in 2014, 693 units for 2013 and 634 units for 2012).

The data is reported by the units to the central register on forms submitted electronically. Different categories for entering the income, cost and balance sheet items are given in the form, including a category for party internal income transfers. Errors may occur when the different items are entered in the wrong category.

The Act requires gross revenues and costs to be reported. This means that revenue that is earmarked to cover specific costs or is to be transferred internally to other units within the same party must first be recognised as income and then as a cost (transfer to others) by the unit that originally received the amount. The amount shall be entered as income in an internal transfer by the units that have received such monies. Some units of the parties may have recorded such amounts as reimbursements, and reported the net amount, thus both the revenue and cost figures will be too low.

As an illustration, membership fees have been booked and reported at net value by some of the central political parties that received the fee from their members in 2013. A considerable part of the total was transferred to the local units. Due to the net booking, the membership fee reported for 2013 is too low and the increase in 2014 is misleading and too high. From 2015 and forward data may indicate that this error is reduced compared with 2014 and previous years.

The Political Party Act requires that all costs are divided by type and by activity. The cost shall be classified in two different ways. The total costs by type differ from total costs by activity due to non-consistent data from some of the political party units. Overall, the costs by activity are 0.12 per cent less than total costs by type.

The change in equity from 1 January to 31 December differs in some cases from the reported result. In some few cases, this may be due to capital contribution or withdrawal only booked in the balance - in contrast to the regulations by law. The change in equity may indicate that the cost should be 0,6 per cent lower or the income correspondingly higher in 2016 than reported.

Furthermore, some units have not reported at all, in spite of the obligation according to the Act. Thus, some units that should have reported full annual accounts according to the Act may not be included in the data. Imputations are not calculated and implemented to statistically compensate these errors.

Statistics Norway does not hold financial data for political parties with an income below the reporting limit according to the Political Parties Act. Thus, the accounts reported in these statistics are lower than the actual level. Neither governmental subsidies to, nor other income or costs of these parties are included in the statistics if not explicitly mentioned.

Not relevant

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