Vestland is Norway’s export champion

Numbers come from a recent Menon report and documents how Norwegian export is concentrated in Western Norway. The 2024 Export Report provides an updated status on Norway’s exports, continuing the series from the past four editions. You can read «Eksportmeldingen 2024» in full here.

Significant job creater

Last year  Norway exported goods and services worth NOK 2,470 billion, representing a 1 percent increase compared to 2023. The main driver of this growth was export of services, which increased by 9 percent. Meanwhile, exports of traditional goods and oil and gas remained largely unchanged from the previous year. Norwegian exports, excluding oil and gas, reached their highest recorded level at nearly NOK 1,300 billion. Oil and gas exports were also historically high, surpassed only by 2022 and 2023, when high gas and, to some extent, oil prices drove exceptional revenues. In 2024, oil and gas exports amounted to NOK 1,176 billion.

The numbers are supported by a measure of the export intensity, defined as total exports per employed person. Møre og Romsdal had the highest export intensity, at just over NOK 750,000 per employed person. Vestland followed closely with NOK 700,000, led by the same sectors as in Vestland

Exports underpin employment across the country, both directly in exporting companies and indirectly through their supply chains. Menon estimates exports to support 640,000 jobs – one in five Norwegian jobs, including those employed directly in exporting companies (direct effects) and those working for suppliers and subcontractors (indirect effects).

The report also examines the relative significance of export-related jobs in each county. Møre og Romsdal is the county where exports play the most significant role relative to the overall business sector, with more than one in five jobs in the private sector being directly or indirectly linked to exports excluding oil and gas. In the remaining counties, the employment effects of exports account for between 14 and 19 percent of total employment.

Establishing your company in Greater Bergen means being part of a region that is not only committed to sustainability but is also leading the way in innovation and growth in the ocean industries. Photo: Charlotte Hartvigsen Lem. 

Driven by ocean industries

In 2021, the Norwegian government set a target of increasing exports excluding oil and gas by 50 percent by 2030. To reach the export target, mainland exports must grow by just over 5 percent annually in current prices from 2022 to 2030. In current prices, exports excluding oil and gas grew by 4.4 percent from 2023 to 2024, bringing total growth since 2022 to just over 11 percent.

In 2024, the numbers show that the export from Vestland is driven by significant sales from the seafood sector, the energy intensive sector, and the maritime sector – the key industries in the Western region.

Our region has a unique combination of natural resources, strategic location, and supportive political environment makes it an ideal destination for investors looking to be at the forefront of the ocean industries.

Establishing your company in Greater Bergen means being part of a region that is not only committed to sustainability but is also leading the way in innovation and growth. With new projects on the horizon, our region is ready to welcome investors who share its vision of a sustainable, prosperous future.

Interested in learning more? Don’t hestitate to contact any of our advisors. We would love to introduce you to the regional ecosystem.