That dollar amount results from a 72.7% upturn from $102.8 billion five years earlier during 2019.
Year over year, the overall value of goods exported from Norway shrank by -34.6% compared to $271.7 billion in 2022.
Based on the average exchange rate for 2023, the Norwegian krone has depreciated by -20% against the US dollar since 2019 and diluted by -9.9% from 2022 to 2023. Norway’s weaker local currency makes Norwegian exports paid for in stronger US dollars relatively less expensive for international buyers.
Norway’s 5 biggest exports ranked by international revenues for 2023 were petroleum gases, crude oil, fresh whole fish, refined petroleum oils and raw aluminum. Collectively, that cohort of major commodities accounts for about three-quarters (74.3%) of Norwegian exports.
Norway benefits from higher energy prices. Two-thirds (66.9%) of Norwegian export sales were for petroleum gases, crude oil and, to a lesser degree, refined petroleum oils.
Norway’s Best International Trade Customers
Geographically, Norway’s closest trading partners are Finland, Russia and Denmark.
The latest available country-specific data shows that 86.9% of products exported from Norway was bought by importers in: United Kingdom (19.1% of the Norwegian total), Germany (19%), Netherlands (8.3%), Sweden (7.7%), Poland (6%), France (5.9%), Belgium (5.5%), Denmark (5%), Finland (3.3%), United States of America (3.2%), mainland China (2%) and Italy (1.7%).
From a continental perspective, 88% of Norway’s exports by value was delivered to fellow European countries while 6.1% was sold to importers in Asia. Norway shipped another 3.7% worth of goods to buyers in North America.
Tinier percentages went to Africa (1.2%), Latin America (0.8%) excluding Mexico but including the Caribbean, then Oceania (0.2%) led by Australia and New Zealand.
Given Norway’s population of 5.51 million people, its total $177.6 billion in 2023 exports translates to roughly $32,200 for every resident in the Nordic nation. That per-capita average lags the average $49,000 one year earlier in 2022.
Norway’s Top 10 Exports
The following export product groups represent the highest dollar value in Norwegian global shipments during 2023. Also shown is the percentage share each export category represents in terms of overall exports from Norway.
- Mineral fuels including oil: US$121.5 billion (68.4% of total exports)
- Fish: $15.4 billion (8.7%)
- Machinery including computers: $5.1 billion (2.9%)
- Aluminum: $4.8 billion (2.7%)
- Electrical machinery, equipment: $3.2 billion (1.8%)
- Nickel: $2.1 billion (1.2%)
- Optical, technical, medical apparatus: $2 billion (1.1%)
- Vehicles: $1.7 billion (0.9%)
- Iron, steel: $1.5 billion (0.8%)
- Articles of iron or steel: $1.3 billion (0.7%)
Norway’s top 10 exports accounted for 89.3% of the overall revenues for total Norwegian shipments.
Items made from iron or steel represent the fastest grower among the top 10 export categories, up by 43% from 2022 to 2023.
In second place for improving export sales was vehicles, which rose 39.8% led by cars.
Norway’s shipments of optical, technical and medical apparatus posted the third-fastest advance in value, up by 21.7%.
The leading decliner among Norway’s top 10 export categories was mineral fuels including oil, which fell -43.3% year over year.
Note that the results listed above are at the categorized two-digit Harmonized Tariff System (HTS) code level. For a more granular view of exported goods at the four-digit HTS code level, see the section Searchable List of Norway’s Most Valuable Export Products further down below.
Products Driving Greatest Trade Surpluses for Norway
Norway generated an overall US$80.8 billion trade surplus during 2023, declining by -50.9% from $164.4 billion in black ink one year earlier for 2022.
The following types of Norwegian product shipments represent positive net exports or a trade balance surplus. Investopedia defines net exports as the value of a country’s total exports minus the value of its total imports. In a nutshell, net exports represent the amount by which foreign spending on a home country’s goods or services exceeds or lags the home country’s spending on foreign goods or services.
- Mineral fuels including oil: US$113.2 billion (Down by -44.3% since 2022)
- Fish: $15 billion (Up by 1.6%)
- Aluminum: $3.5 billion (Down by -26.9%)
- Iron, steel: $545.9 million (Down by -36.1%)
- Zinc: $483.2 million (Down by -25.2%)
- Gems, precious metals: $361.5 million (Down by -29.9%)
- Arms, ammunition: $310.6 million (Up by 34.4%)
- Woodpulp: $244.7 million (Down by -9%)
- Salt, sulphur, stone, cement: $189 million (Up by 21.7%)
- Other base metals: $40.5 million (Up by 12.4%)
Norway has highly positive net exports in the international trade of petroleum gases, crude oil and refined petroleum oils. In turn, these cashflows indicate Norway’s strong competitive advantages under the mineral fuels including oil category.
Products Causing Biggest Trade Deficits for Norway
Below are exports from Norway that result in negative net exports or product trade balance deficits. These negative net exports reveal product categories where foreign spending on home country Norway’s goods trail Norwegian importer spending on foreign products.
- Vehicles: -US$9.3 billion (Down by -21.9% since 2022)
- Machinery including computers: -$7.9 billion (Up by 2.1%)
- Electrical machinery, equipment: -$6.2 billion (Down by -6.8%)
- Articles of iron or steel: -$3 billion (Down by -13.1%)
- Furniture, bedding, lighting, signs, prefabricated buildings: -$2.2 billion (Down by -19.7%)
- Plastics, plastic articles: -$2.1 billion (Down by -14.8%)
- Pharmaceuticals: -$1.8 billion (Down by -14.5%)
- Animal/vegetable fats, oils, waxes: -$1.3 billion (Down by -2%)
- Clothing, accessories (not knit or crochet): -$1.08 billion (Down by -17.5%)
- Food industry waste, animal fodder: -$1.06 billion (Down by -20.4%)
Norway has highly negative net exports and therefore deep international trade deficits for road vehicles–notably cars, trucks, automobile parts and trailers.
These cashflow deficiencies clearly indicate Norway’s competitive disadvantages in the international automotive market, but also represent key opportunities for Norway to improve its position in the global economy through focused innovations or volume discount negotiations.
Major Norwegian Export Companies
Nine Norwegian corporations rank among Forbes Global 2000. Below is a sample of the major Norwegian export companies that Forbes included.
- Norsk Hydro (aluminum)
- Orkla (industrial conglomerates)
- Statoil (oil, gas)
- Telenor (telecommunications)
- Yara International (specialized chemicals)
Wikipedia also lists exporters from Norway. Selected examples are shown below.
- Cermaq (fish)
- Norske Skogindustrier, (pulp, paper)
- The Jotun Group (paints, related chemicals)
- Thin Film Electronics ASA (printed electronics)
- Tine (dairy products)
- Yara International (chemicals)
Searchable List of Norway’s Most Valuable Export Products
The following searchable table displays 100 of the most in-demand goods shipped from Norway during 2023 sorted by value. Shown beside each product label is its total export value then the percentage increase or decrease since 2022.
| Rank | Norwegian Export Product | Value (US$) | YOY |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Petroleum gases | $62,067,394,000 | -57% |
| 2 | Crude oil | $50,219,731,000 | -13.1% |
| 3 | Whole fish (fresh) | $9,416,492,000 | +5.1% |
| 4 | Processed petroleum oils | $6,507,162,000 | -13.4% |
| 5 | Aluminum (unwrought) | $3,713,964,000 | -26.8% |
| 6 | Fish fillets, pieces | $3,164,732,000 | +2.2% |
| 7 | Electrical energy | $2,599,309,000 | -44.4% |
| 8 | Nickel (unwrought) | $2,076,956,000 | +1% |
| 9 | Whole fish (frozen) | $1,624,682,000 | -13% |
| 10 | Dried, salted and smoked fish | $977,528,000 | +0.5% |
| 11 | Iron ferroalloys | $819,845,000 | -33.1% |
| 12 | Carboxyamid/amide-function compounds | $757,107,000 | -3.4% |
| 13 | Hydrogen, rare gases | $737,804,000 | -28% |
| 14 | Turbo-jets | $551,206,000 | +32.3% |
| 15 | Automobile parts/accessories | $540,567,000 | +0.1% |
| 16 | Aluminum plates, sheets, strips | $524,459,000 | -26.1% |
| 17 | Medication mixes in dosage | $509,341,000 | +13.8% |
| 18 | Liquid pumps and elevators | $502,819,000 | +14.5% |
| 19 | Cars | $496,576,000 | +197% |
| 20 | Zinc (unwrought) | $491,192,000 | -25.7% |
| 21 | Electrical/optical circuit boards, panels | $474,280,000 | +34.4% |
| 22 | Survey/hydro/weather instruments | $444,080,000 | +29.8% |
| 23 | Machinery parts | $440,246,000 | +31.3% |
| 24 | Miscellaneous machinery | $436,990,000 | +2.2% |
| 25 | Taps, valves, similar appliances | $404,821,000 | +19.1% |
| 26 | Miscellaneous iron and steel structures | $394,814,000 | +107.3% |
| 27 | Phone devices including smartphones | $394,247,000 | +19.4% |
| 28 | Trucks | $358,088,000 | +6.1% |
| 29 | Platinum (unwrought) | $356,337,000 | -36.1% |
| 30 | Miscellaneous animal feed preparations | $353,996,000 | +18.8% |
| 31 | Insulated wire/cable | $350,763,000 | -30% |
| 32 | Computers, optical readers | $333,914,000 | +12.5% |
| 33 | Bombs, grenades, ammunition | $323,671,000 | +28.2% |
| 34 | Rough wood | $300,907,000 | -3.9% |
| 35 | Fish/marine mammal fats and oils | $299,621,000 | +28% |
| 36 | Liquid/gas checking instruments | $291,598,000 | +11.1% |
| 37 | Aircraft parts, accessories | $277,348,000 | +0.9% |
| 38 | Pebbles, gravel, crushed stone | $266,345,000 | -5.2% |
| 39 | Regulate/control instruments | $264,033,000 | +52.1% |
| 40 | Other diagnostic/lab reagents | $263,449,000 | -0.8% |
| 41 | Other food preparations | $261,923,000 | +0.5% |
| 42 | Iron or steel scrap | $257,081,000 | -8.4% |
| 43 | Crustaceans (including lobsters) | $237,632,000 | +3.8% |
| 44 | Chemical woodpulp (dissolving) | $229,409,000 | +4.1% |
| 45 | Seats (excluding barber/dentist chairs) | $224,324,000 | -20% |
| 46 | Navigational aids, compasses | $223,485,000 | +12% |
| 47 | Miscellaneous iron or steel items | $219,478,000 | +22.7% |
| 48 | Iron or steel tubes, pipes | $218,130,000 | +69.9% |
| 49 | Electrical converters/power units | $217,083,000 | -16.1% |
| 50 | Warships, lifeboats | $214,260,000 | +408.2% |
| 51 | Piston engine parts | $214,121,000 | +43.8% |
| 52 | Aluminum wire | $212,105,000 | -0.9% |
| 53 | Sawn wood | $211,832,000 | -16.7% |
| 54 | Centrifuges, filters and purifiers | $207,485,000 | +10% |
| 55 | Electro-medical equip (e.g. xrays) | $198,577,000 | +6.9% |
| 56 | Inedible meat flour | $196,967,000 | +25.8% |
| 57 | Carbon electrodes, brushes | $190,635,000 | +36.4% |
| 58 | Air or vacuum pumps | $189,476,000 | +27.3% |
| 59 | Uncoated paper for writing/printing | $179,173,000 | -41.2% |
| 60 | Refined copper, unwrought alloys | $175,914,000 | +13.5% |
| 61 | Sutures, special pharmaceutical goods | $174,153,000 | +16.4% |
| 62 | Quartz (not sand) | $173,228,000 | +95.1% |
| 63 | Cruise/cargo ships, barges | $170,023,000 | -76.3% |
| 64 | Arms parts, accessories | $167,712,000 | +67.7% |
| 65 | Heavy machinery (bulldozers, excavators, road rollers) | $164,961,000 | +29% |
| 66 | Lamps, lighting, illuminated signs | $162,653,000 | +15.5% |
| 67 | Aluminum waste, scrap | $159,825,000 | -16.6% |
| 68 | Copper waste, scrap | $156,922,000 | +6.4% |
| 69 | Plastic packing goods, lids, caps | $155,611,000 | +7.1% |
| 70 | Gold (unwrought) | $154,630,000 | +7.7% |
| 71 | Iron or non-alloy steel bars, rods | $144,380,000 | -25.9% |
| 72 | Other measuring/testing machines | $142,378,000 | +22.2% |
| 73 | Iron ores, concentrates | $142,197,000 | -0.1% |
| 74 | Miscellaneous engines, motors | $136,214,000 | +34.7% |
| 75 | Other military weapons | $132,366,000 | +5.3% |
| 76 | TV receiver/transmit/digital cameras | $124,871,000 | +13.4% |
| 77 | Calculators, accounting/ticket machines, cash registers | $120,031,000 | +24.7% |
| 78 | Physical/chemical analysis tools | $119,582,000 | +17.3% |
| 79 | Cobalt | $117,846,000 | -33.8% |
| 80 | Radar, radio communication items | $113,006,000 | +53.6% |
| 81 | Soya-bean oil-cake, other solid residues | $112,490,000 | +15.3% |
| 82 | Transmission shafts, gears, clutches | $111,930,000 | +42.5% |
| 83 | Chemical industry products/residuals | $108,401,000 | +2.1% |
| 84 | Lower-voltage switches, fuses | $104,265,000 | -3.4% |
| 85 | Agricultural, horticultural, forestry machines | $103,828,000 | -2% |
| 86 | TV/radio/radar device parts | $101,492,000 | +20.1% |
| 87 | Computer parts, accessories | $100,616,000 | +9.8% |
| 88 | Glass fibers | $99,892,000 | +39.4% |
| 89 | Fuel wood, wood chips, sawdust | $98,597,000 | +78.5% |
| 90 | Electric storage batteries | $98,021,000 | +13% |
| 91 | Artificial graphite | $97,556,000 | +3.7% |
| 92 | Packaged insecticides/fungicides/herbicides | $97,488,000 | +17.7% |
| 93 | Vegetable parchment, greaseproof papers | $96,619,000 | -7.6% |
| 94 | Plastic tubes, pipes, fittings | $96,198,000 | +43.6% |
| 95 | Aluminum bars/rods | $96,077,000 | -10.2% |
| 96 | Electrical machinery | $95,838,000 | +2.4% |
| 97 | Move/grade/scrape/boring machinery | $94,074,000 | +98.1% |
| 98 | Metal-containing ash, residues | $93,416,000 | -45.6% |
| 99 | Finishing agents, dye carriers, fixers | $92,586,000 | -10.2% |
| 100 | TV receivers/monitors/projectors | $91,775,000 | +29.7% |
These 100 exported goods were worth a subtotal of $164 billion or 92.4% by value for all products exported from Norway during 2023.
In macroeconomic terms, Norway’s total exported goods represent 39.2% of its overall Gross Domestic Product for 2023 ($453 billion valued in Purchasing Power Parity US dollars). That 39.2% for exports to overall GDP in PPP for 2023 compares to 63.5% in 2022. Those percentages suggest a relatively decreasing reliance on products sold on international markets for Norway’s total economic performance, albeit based on a short timeframe.
Another key indicator of a country’s economic performance is its unemployment rate. Norway’s unemployment rate averaged 3.6% for 2023, up from an average 3.252% jobless rate for 2022 according to International Monetary Fund statistics.
Domestically, the average inflation rate for Norway was 5.826% for 2023 up from an average 5.764% in 2022.
Norway’s capital city is Oslo.
See also Norway’s Top Trading Partners and Norway’s Top 10 Imports
Research Sources:
Central Intelligence Agency, The World Factbook: Country Profiles. Accessed on March 24, 2024
Forbes 2019 Global 2000 rankings, The World’s Biggest Public Companies. Accessed on March 24, 2024
International Monetary Fund, Exchange Rates selected indicators (Domestic Currency per U.S. dollar, period average). Accessed on March 24, 2024
International Monetary Fund, World Economic Outlook Database (GDP based on Purchasing Power Parity). Accessed on March 24, 2024
International Trade Centre, Trade Map. Accessed on March 24, 2024
Investopedia, Net Exports Definition. Accessed on March 24, 2024
Wikipedia, List of Companies of Norway. Accessed on March 24, 2024
Wikipedia, Gross domestic product. Accessed on March 24, 2024
Wikipedia, Norway. Accessed on March 24, 2024
Wikipedia, Purchasing power parity. Accessed on March 24, 2024