Establishments

Updated: 8 February 2024

Next update: Not yet determined

Number of establishments
Number of establishments
2024
656 410
Number of establishments by size
Number of establishments by size
20242023 - 2024
Number of establishmentsPer centChange in per cent
All size groups656 410100.01.5
No one employeed447 93868.22.2
1-4 employees103 42915.8-0.2
5-9 employees40 9776.2-0.7
10-19 employees31 0634.70.1
20-49 employees22 0523.40.3
50-99 employees6 9231.10.0
100 - 249 employees3 0750.52.6
250 employees and more9530.11.5
Explanation of symbols

Selected tables and charts from this statistics

  • Establishments by size and economic activity
    Establishments by size and economic activity
    2024
    Total number of establishmentsNo one employeed1-4 employees5-9 employees10-19 employees20-49 employees50-99 employees100 - 249 employees250 employees and more
    All industries656 410447 938103 42940 97731 06322 0526 9233 075953
    Agriculture, forestry and fishing65 35358 2735 59171443327252180
    Mining and quarrying1 63992424511110698525251
    Manufacture22 61713 0243 7941 8211 5911 387566324110
    Electricity, gas and steam2 1481 26831718317912445257
    Water supply, sewerage, waste2 3881 22637424125322151193
    Construction72 36346 02615 0164 8983 3842 19957122643
    Wholesale and retail trade: repair of motor vehicles and motorcycles72 78632 03415 46313 1498 5102 95750613037
    Transportation and storage29 34319 8875 3811 6281 07083531316267
    Accommodation and food service activities18 6527 7524 1052 7422 4091 281268896
    Information and communication28 21819 2795 5231 29598170825711857
    Financial and insurance activities4 8182 6111 084416305228885531
    Real estate activities65 11256 7816 7519864261352562
    Professional, scientific and technical activities72 72251 71614 7212 9911 8341 04522613851
    Administrative and support service activities30 21621 0094 8671 5341 14396139622878
    Public administration and defence: compulsory social security4 672489861734889930387273109
    Education22 32015 2052 0648829761 6571 13732574
    Human health and social work activities59 79433 4818 3624 0135 1396 0661 727796210
    Arts, entertainment and recreation36 76631 6382 6838467396231685514
    Personal service activities24 86616 6265 3331 76569232388363
    Households as employers activities761000000
    Extraterritorial organisations and bodies1213431000
    Unspecified19 59818 6828902411000
    Explanation of symbols
  • Establishments, by size and county. 1st January.
    Establishments, by size and county. 1st January.
    2024
    All size groupsNo one employeed1-4 employees5-9 employees10-19 employees20-49 employees50-99 employees100 - 249 employees250 employees and more
    The whole country656 410447 938103 42940 97731 06322 0526 9233 075953
    Østfold33 46122 9665 3932 0501 54199234314531
    Akershus77 65253 95712 5954 4293 0962 313819327116
    Oslo105 24375 75514 8695 3614 1653 0101 146633304
    Innlandet49 13734 0647 3683 1492 3571 56143716734
    Buskerud33 55522 9895 4322 0721 4831 09831014031
    Vestfold29 72720 1145 1391 8161 27591931312328
    Telemark21 24914 5103 2811 3891 0367561848211
    Agder38 17925 9786 0742 4171 8531 26040715436
    Rogaland52 85135 5288 3473 3892 5302 020618318101
    Vestland73 03449 40811 3574 6893 6472 681785360107
    Møre og Romsdal30 45819 8584 7672 2811 7241 29437213428
    Trøndelag55 11637 7458 1763 5492 8151 88260227374
    Nordland27 41016 9425 0632 1201 7871 07329010827
    Troms - Romsa - Tromssa18 64311 4693 4811 4601 1317912098319
    Finnmark - Finnmárku - Finmarkku10 6956 6552 08780662340288286
    Explanation of symbols
  • Establishments, by county and the enterprises' sector
    Establishments, by county and the enterprises' sector
    2024
    Sum all sectorsGeneral governmentFinancial corporationsNon-financial corporationsHouseholds and non-profit institutionsUnspecified sector/others
    The whole country656 41028 6804 821342 414171 38156
    Østfold33 4611 23714016 60415 4782
    Akershus77 6522 36960140 20234 46812
    Oslo105 2431 9761 38657 41444 43532
    Innlandet49 1372 74523021 18924 9721
    Buskerud33 5551 39418617 22514 7482
    Vestfold29 7271 03016515 95512 5743
    Telemark21 2491 2069410 5099 4382
    Agder38 1791 79321420 90215 2682
    Rogaland52 8512 19539829 02221 2306
    Vestland73 0343 52553438 59830 3743
    Møre og Romsdal30 4581 83622616 55711 8363
    Trøndelag55 1162 89837527 16124 6784
    Nordland27 4102 15313215 2369 8863
    Troms - Romsa - Tromssa18 6431 35710010 0927 0922
    Finnmark - Finnmárku - Finmarkku10 695966405 7483 9401
    Explanation of symbols

About the statistics

The statistics shows active firms as of 1 January, New establishments are included in the statistics when we have information from statistical or administrative sources. Other establishments that are not active according to statistical or administrative sources, are not included in the statistic.

Establishment


Establishment is defined as a locally delimited functional unit which mainly operates within a particular industry group (Standard Industrial Classification).

Employees / Wage earners


Number of employees / wage earners are derived from the A-scheme from 2015. An employees is a person who works in another person's establishment for wages. Employers are obliged to submit monthly reports to all who receive salaries. It also made exceptions for certain types of employment where the employer does not have the usual authority to instruct the receiving salaries.

Standard for Industrial Classification SN2007, based on the EU's standards NACE Rev. 1.

Name: Establishments
Topic: Establishments, enterprises and accounts

Not yet determined

Division for Business Dynamics Statistics

Division for Business Dynamics Statistics

Until the fourth quarter of 2008, every quarter the number of establishments in the Central Register of Establishments and Enterprises (CRE) by the beginning of the quarter was published. From January 2009 the statistic is published once a year, by the beginning of the first quarter.

When these figures were published for the first time, they were by the 1st in the last month in the quarter (1st of June 2002).

Figures by the fourth quarter in 2003 were first published in the Statistics Bank as figures by the end of the third quarter.

Not relevant

Micro data, information about sampled units and population are temporarily stored in the program language SAS and in long term as text files.

First published in July 2002.

The public, public authorities, research institutions and industry use the statistics.

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 figures for level that are presented will deviate from the number of legal units in the ER, and may on industrial level deviate from what is presented in the structure statistics.

The deviation in relation to the ER is mainly caused by the fact that the ER comprises all legal units -also the ones who are not conducting industrial activities.

These figures deviate from Structural Business Statistics as these only include establishments with turnover, while this statistic also comprise new establishments.

Industry 68.201 (cooperative housing is excluded from the structure statistics for industry 68.

Due to special conditions within the fishing industry, the number of employees for this industry will be lower than the number of fishermen according to what is published in the "NOS-Fishing Statistics". The share fishermen on fishing vessels are not recorded as employees. These have industrial income, but are not registered in the ER/CRE as self-employed unless they are joint owners in shipping companies or liability companies.

Not relevant

Not relevant

Establishment statistics comprise all industries according to NACE standards. As of January 2009 a new version of Eurostat’s industrial classification, SIC2007, is in use for classification of enterprises and establishments. It includes all establishments on the Norwegian mainland.

An establishment is registered to all new legal units, with some rare exceptions. There are some units that never take up any economic activity, and the number of registered establishments is therefore higher than the number of active establishments. New establishments are included in the statistics until we have information from statistical or administrative sources. Other establishments that not active according to statistical or administrative sources, are not included in the statistic.

The Central Coordinating Register of Legal Entities (ER) and the Central Register of Establishments and Enterprises (CRE). The number of employees is from the Register for Employer/Employees.

Per 1st January 2015 there have been changes in the database. A new scheme (A -scheme) was introduced for reporting of wage and employment conditions to the Tax Administration, NAV and Statistics Norway in 2015. In the new scheme notified employees every month, not just by changes. This means that employers that have not reported will be left with zero employees. The introduction of A - scheme means break in the series.

Turnover and persons employed are collected from Structural Business Statistics and data from other administrative registers such as data from VAT, accounting data and income tax returns from independent businesses, in order to limit the population in relation to establishments that in reality have ceased to exist.

Administrative sources and data from Structural Business Statistics (SBS) (see 3.2).

CRE is presently a comprehensive register and quality is ensured in relation to population and basic characteristics like addresses, legal form and industry codes.

The quality of the population of active enterprises is taken care of among other things by directly contacting units in connection with the data capture for the SBS and through links toward administrative registers in the monitoring system for establishments in the CRE.

The quality regarding the industry code for establishments and enterprises in the CRE is continuously taken care of. This takes place by contacting the enterprises in SN's SBS-surveys, through administrative sources such as the National Insurance Administration's annual check and in other ways through direct contact with the enterprises. Furthermore it is done with the help of statements of purposes with the ER.

Not relevant

Not relevant

This statistics shows the number of establishments at the beginning of the quarter. When figures for 1st January are published, the register is updated with turnover and employment from Structural Business Statistics and data from administrative sources. In the quarterly publication, only changes in the register are recorded.

In the quarterly statistics up to 2008, changes were recorded (new businesses and deleted businesses) compared to the previous quarter. Changes between quarters are changes in the register and might refer to changes that actually occurred earlier, and the changes that actually took place will not be recorded until some time after they occurred.

As of 1 January 2016, there have been changes to the database. In the new scheme, the number of employees is reported every month, not just when there are changes. This means that employers who have not reported will now be left with zero employees. It is therefore unclear whether the decrease in the number of businesses with employees from 2015 to 2016 is real or due to the changed data basis.

The figures will be adjusted when the register is updated at the annual shift. The purpose of this statistic is not to show the development over time, but to give updated figures for structure of the business register.

The statistics are based on statistical and administrative sources. Several administrative sources are instrumental in the work with updating the CRE and are used both to define the population and to collect characteristics and information: The ER in Brønnøysund, the VAT-register and the A register are used to collect information about the units. This may cause register errors that may affect the uncertainty of the statistics.

A possible source for errors is out of date information caused by lags in the registration. Such lags are caused by the fact that changes are often registered some time after they have occurred. The consequence is that the registers are not updated at all times, something that may lead to using outdated information as basis for the statistics.

Discontinuances of activities are normally registered after they have taken place, based on information in connection with the collection of data for structure statistics or by links toward administrative registers.

Some enterprises is not correct registered regarding to establishment on different location or within different economic sectors. In some enterprises with more than one establishment, all employees is registered at one establishment.

Not relevant

Contact

Håkon Frøysa Skullerud

hakon.skullerud@ssb.no

(+47) 41 43 59 39