Central government revenue and expenditure

Updated: 18 March 2024

Next update: 23 May 2024

Surplus before net transfers to the Government Pension Fund Global
Surplus before net transfers to the Government Pension Fund Global
4th quarter 2023
179 640
NOK million
Central government fiscal account. Quarterly figures. NOK million.
Central government fiscal account. Quarterly figures. NOK million.
4th quarter 20224th quarter 2023Change in per cent
A. TOTAL REVENUE788 337637 274-19.2
Operating surplus extraction of petroleum124 89657 904-53.6
Tax revenue543 894433 585-20.3
Members' and employers' contribution to the National Insurance Scheme64 66980 78924.9
Interest and dividends25 67938 09448.3
Other revenue29 19926 902-7.9
B. TOTAL EXPENDITURE427 074457 6347.2
Operating costs68 30875 38610.4
Total fixed capital formation25 98630 42317.1
Total transfers332 780351 8255.7
C. SURPLUS BEFORE NET TRANSFERS TO THE GOVERNMENT PENSION FUND - GLOBAL361 263179 640
Explanation of symbols

Selected tables and charts from this statistics

  • Central government fiscal account. Revenue and expenditure by type. Quarterly figures. NOK Million.
    Central government fiscal account. Revenue and expenditure by type. Quarterly figures. NOK Million.1
    4th quarter 20221st quarter 20232nd quarter 20233rd quarter 20234th quarter 2023
    A. TOTAL REVENUE788 337643 162765 719448 244637 274
    Sales revenue16 0815 1825 9275 74614 281
    Operating surplus extraction of petroleum124 896115 98863 87939 23357 904
    Depreciation etc. extraction of petroleum6 9917 0296 2216 6587 299
    Depreciation etc. other central government enterprises468416467461638
    Other revenue from fixed capital formation2 3211292421721 470
    Total transfers637 580514 418688 983395 974555 682
    Tax revenue543 894348 963536 097227 988433 585
    Members' contributions National Insurance Scheme25 39152 59138 26455 24434 693
    Employers' contributions National Insurance Scheme39 27876 49041 23384 14146 096
    Interest and dividends25 67923 68970 87426 43738 094
    Transfers from other state accounts73103208412
    Transfers from municipalities and county authorities577586609607643
    Transfers from the central bank08 094000
    Other transfers2 0304 0051 9031 3492 159
    B. TOTAL EXPENDITURE427 074481 166469 781398 217457 634
    Operating costs68 30854 93254 86951 57675 386
    Wages and salaries24 37330 40828 61326 26227 352
    Goods and services24 94417 15716 57716 35024 774
    Other operating expenses19 8477 5679 8229 04223 123
    Operating deficit central government enterprises-856-200-143-78137
    Total fixed capital formation25 98618 02521 07017 17230 423
    Construction etc. extraction of petroleum5 8455 7229 7657 4647 446
    Construction etc. other central government enterprises1 9131 5541 6561 7543 753
    Other fixed capital formation18 22810 7499 6497 95419 224
    Total transfers332 780408 209393 842329 469351 825
    Transfers to other state accounts10 58333 82515 21822 7766 110
    Transfers to municipalities and county authorities68 58674 39493 20261 22774 642
    Pensions benefits etc. National Insurance Scheme147 313139 231156 078153 195163 494
    Interest expenditure2783 3812 9602 8571 931
    Other transfers106 020157 378126 38489 414105 648
    C. SURPLUS BEFORE NET TRANSFERS TO THE GOVERNMENT PENSION FUND - GLOBAL361 263161 996295 93850 027179 640
    D. NET TRANSFERS TO THE GOVERNMENT PENSION FUND - GLOBAL326 432217 000190 872139 000144 975
    E=C-D. SURPLUS BEFORE FINANCIAL TRANSACTIONS34 831-55 004105 066-88 97334 665
    F. LENDING MINUS REPAYMENTS73 891-101 589502-27 56946 810
    G. DEBT INSTALMENTS4 00037 89056 56705 175
    H=F+G-E. TOTAL FINANCING INCLUDING DEBT INSTALMENTS43 060-8 695-47 99761 40417 320
    1The quarterly figures are subjected to chance variations and are not revised. They should be interpreted with caution.
    Explanation of symbols
  • Central government fiscal account. Revenue and expenditure by type. Annual figures. NOK Million.
    Central government fiscal account. Revenue and expenditure by type. Annual figures. NOK Million.
    AccountBudget
    20212022202320232024
    A. TOTAL REVENUE1 502 7202 668 4162 494 4012 881 4242 388 642
    Sales revenue22 06634 36531 13722 85126 208
    Operating surplus extraction of petroleum181 937528 720277 003513 300295 900
    Depreciation etc. extraction of petroleum25 63426 31427 20627 00029 100
    Depreciation etc. other central government enterprises1 8371 6981 9821 6631 759
    Other revenue from fixed capital formation1 8372 6742 0132 5732 275
    Total transfers1 269 4092 074 6452 155 0602 314 0372 033 400
    Tax revenue821 0941 565 7011 546 6341 789 5381 417 817
    Members' contributions National Insurance Scheme163 801169 866180 792176 246190 787
    Employers' contributions National Insurance Scheme206 434226 022247 960244 916264 673
    Interest and dividends49 55289 390159 09483 112116 037
    Transfers from other state accounts1 309943624269 034
    Transfers from municipalities and county authorities1 4182 0172 4452 5672 644
    Other transfers10 6329 5989 4179 0327 808
    B. TOTAL EXPENDITURE1 584 1761 665 9351 806 7991 753 8201 892 960
    Operating costs198 897223 347236 763225 274245 935
    Wages and salaries102 321107 074112 635107 924115 073
    Goods and services61 96370 09474 85874 87581 204
    Other operating expenses37 43447 29349 55442 71749 905
    Operating deficit central government enterprises-2 821-1 114-284-242-247
    Total fixed capital formation72 86479 78686 68983 65087 804
    Construction etc. extraction of petroleum24 73228 37830 39628 30026 000
    Construction etc. other central government enterprises4 4675 7208 7179 3548 281
    Other fixed capital formation43 66545 68847 57645 99653 523
    Total transfers1 312 4151 362 8021 483 3471 444 8961 559 221
    Transfers to other state accounts71 08475 25477 92975 55883 111
    Transfers to municipalities and county authorities271 091265 570303 466290 287326 259
    Pensions benefits etc. National Insurance Scheme548 867564 215611 998588 510651 125
    Interest expenditure9 7607 99311 13011 53012 454
    Other transfers411 613449 770478 824479 011486 272
    C. SURPLUS BEFORE NET TRANSFERS TO THE GOVERNMENT PENSION FUND - GLOBAL-81 4561 002 481687 6021 127 604495 682
    D. NET TRANSFERS TO THE GOVERNMENT PENSION FUND - GLOBAL-102 553975 348691 8471 127 604495 681
    E=C-D. SURPLUS BEFORE FINANCIAL TRANSACTIONS21 09727 133-4 24501
    F. LENDING MINUS REPAYMENTS9 35391 856-81 845-74 08133 874
    G. DEBT INSTALMENTS74 0059 54399 63278 45768 000
    H=F+G-E. TOTAL FINANCING INCLUDING DEBT INSTALMENTS62 26174 26622 0324 376101 873
    Explanation of symbols
  • Net government cash flow from petroleum activities. Quarterly figures. NOK million
    Net government cash flow from petroleum activities. Quarterly figures. NOK million
    4th quarter 20221st quarter 20232nd quarter 20233rd quarter 20234th quarter 2023
    Taxes on the extraction of petroleum279 588127 905253 55071 826161 145
    Environmental taxes and area fees4 4602073 4924884 632
    Net cash flow from SDFI126 637117 96761 02739 12558 390
    Equinor dividend15 04819 18220 37218 93219 823
    Net government cash flow from petroleum activities425 733265 261338 442130 371243 990
    Explanation of symbols
  • Net government cash flow from petroleum activities. Annual figures. NOK million
    Net government cash flow from petroleum activities. Annual figures. NOK million
    2020202120222023
    Taxes on the extraction of petroleum28 38885 711713 621614 426
    Environmental taxes and area fees7 0206 1387 3108 819
    Net cash flow from SDFI56 387185 170529 033276 510
    Equinor dividend15 03010 49435 25878 309
    Net government cash flow from petroleum activities106 825287 5131 285 223978 064
    Explanation of symbols

About the statistics

The central government’s fiscal account shows its total revenue and expenditure. The revenues include tax revenues, contributions to the National Insurance Scheme and petroleum-related revenues. The expenditure consists mainly of transfers, fixed capital formation and operating costs.

Total revenue: Total gross revenue before transfers to the Government Pension Fund - Global.

Total expenditure: Total gross expenditure before transfers to the Government Pension Fund - Global.

Surplus before net transfers to the Government Pension Fund - Global: Total revenue minus total expenditure.

Surplus before financial transactions: Surplus after net transfers to the Government Pension Fund - Global.

Gross financing including debt instalments: Deficit before financial transactions plus lending minus repayments and debt instalments.

Financing: Use of capital to cover deficits before net transfers to the Government Pension Fund - Global is financed, distributed by main groups of financial instruments.

Financial instrument: Financial asset or liability with similar characteristics. Deposits, loans and securities are examples of financial objects.

Not relevant

Name: Central government's fiscal account
Topic: Public sector

23 May 2024

Division for Public Finance

National level only.

Monthly figures for revenue and expeniture are only published in StatBank. They are updated on the last workday of the following month and this update is not included in the overview of planned releases and events.

Quarterly figures are usually published within one and a half months after the end of the quarter. Annual figures are published when figures for the 4th quarter are published.

Budget figures are updated in the StatBank when figures for the 3rd and 4th quarter are published.

Monthly figures are reported to the International Monetary Fund (IMF).

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 results 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 purpose is to provide the public access long time series to the central government's fiscal account, including the National Insurance Scheme. In addition, according to agreements with the International Monetary Fund (IMF), Norway is obliged to publish such accounting statistics.

Annual and quarterly figures are available from 1985 while monthly figures are available from 2003. Figures of some principle revenue items are available from 1980.

The general public, media and IMF are important users of the statistics. The figures in the central government’s fiscal accounts is also a central source of the statistics regarding the national accounts and public finances.

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.

The statistics are not based on international standards. The figures for the central government's fiscal accounts are in principle final at the time of publishing. Figures from the statistics are included in processed form in the statistics General government revenue and expenditure and the National Accounts.

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

The statistics are part of the national program for official statistics 2021-2023, main area Public finances.

Not relevant

The population comprises all administrative bodies that report to the central government's fiscal account. Non-corporate state enterprises and state lending institutions are partially included (most of them on a net basis), but not public corporations.

The statistics are based on data from The Norwegian Agency for Public and Financial Management (DFØ), which is responsible for preparing the national accounts. The central government's fiscal account is an administrative register that contains cash-based transactions for gross budgeting state administrative bodies, the state's business operations and the state lending institutions.

The figures that make up the state accounts are obtained electronically from DFØ.

The statistics are not subject to editing. Some simple calculations are made based on the classifications of the data from DFØ.

Not relevant

Not relevant

Major breaks in the time series do not occur. Certain minor breaches may occur since the state accounts' chart of accounts is continuously adjusted by decision in the Parlament, but presumably such adjustments have not had a significant impact on comparability over time.

The data is considered to be of high quality as there are extensive regulations and controls linked to the preparation of these accounts. Furthermore, it is not hard for Statistics Norway to carry out checks of the finished figures in the statistics against the source data. The uncertainty of the figures in the statistics is therefore considered low.

Published figures are considered final - and are seldom revised.

Contact