That dollar amount results from a 103.6% acceleration from $82.4 billion five years earlier during 2020.
Year over year, the overall value of goods exported from Norway retreated by -5.4% compared to $177.5 billion in 2023.
Based on the average exchange rate for 2024, the Norwegian krone depreciated by -1.8% against the US dollar from 2023 to 2024. 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 2024 were petroleum gases, crude oil, fresh whole fish, refined petroleum oils and raw aluminum. Collectively, that cohort of major commodities generated approaching three-quarters (72.5%) of total Norwegian exports.
Norway benefits from higher energy prices. Nearly two-thirds (64.9%) 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.
However, the latest available country-specific data shows that 84.8% of products exported from Norway was bought by importers in: United Kingdom (18.8% of the Norwegian total), Germany (15.5%), Netherlands (10.6%), Sweden (6.9%), France (6.2%), Poland (5.9%), Belgium (5.2%), Denmark (4.9%), United States of America (3.44%), Finland (3.37%), mainland China (2.3%) and Italy (1.5%).
From a continental perspective, 86.4% of Norway’s exports by value was delivered to fellow European countries while 6.9% was sold to importers in Asia. Norway shipped another 4.1% worth of goods to North America.
Tinier percentages went to Africa (1.4%), Latin America (1%) excluding Mexico but including the Caribbean, then Oceania (0.3%) led by Australia and New Zealand.
Given Norway’s population of 5.57 million people, its total $167.9 billion in 2024 exports translates to roughly $30,150 for every resident in the Nordic nation. That per-capita average lags the average $32,200 one year earlier in 2023.
Norway’s Top 10 Exports
The following export product groups represent the highest dollar value in Norwegian global shipments during 2024. Also shown is the percentage share each export category represents in terms of overall exports from Norway.
- Mineral fuels including oil: US$110.9 billion (66.1% of total exports)
- Fish: $15.5 billion (9.2%)
- Machinery including computers: $5.8 billion (3.4%)
- Aluminum: $5 billion (3%)
- Electrical machinery, equipment: $3.8 billion (2.3%)
- Optical, technical, medical apparatus: $2.2 billion (1.3%)
- Nickel: $1.6 billion (1%)
- Iron, steel: $1.39 billion (0.8%)
- Vehicles: $1.38 billion (0.8%)
- Pharmaceuticals: $1.27 billion (0.8%)
Norway’s top 10 export product categories accounted for 88.7% of the overall revenues for total Norwegian shipments.
Pharmaceuticals represent the fastest grower among the top 10 export categories, up by 61.3% from 2023 to 2024.
In second place for improving export sales was electrical machinery and equipment via a 19.7% advance.
Norway’s shipments of machinery including computers posted the third-fastest gain in value, up by 13.3%.
The leading decliner among Norway’s top 10 export categories was nickel which fell -22.1% 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 below.
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 2024 sorted by value. Shown beside each product label is its total export value then the percentage increase or decrease since 2023.
These 100 exported goods were worth a subtotal of $154.2 billion or 91.9% by value for all products exported from Norway during 2024.
That percentage suggests a concentrated subset of Norwegian exports.
Products Driving Greatest Trade Surpluses for Norway
Norway generated an overall US$69.2 billion trade surplus during 2024, declining by -14% from $80.5 billion in black ink one year earlier for 2023.
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$104.4 billion (Down by -7.7% since 2023)
- Fish: $14.9 billion (Down by -0.7%)
- Aluminum: $3.5 billion (Down by -0.6%)
- Iron, steel: $475.7 million (Down by -12.6%)
- Zinc: $447 million (Down by -7.2%)
- Arms, ammunition: $439.1 million (Up by 38.9%)
- Gems, precious metals: $278.2 million (Down by -22.7%)
- Woodpulp: $252.7 million (Up by 3.2%)
- Salt, sulphur, stone, cement: $79.4 million (Down by -58.3%)
- Raw hides, skins not furskins, leather: $13.3 million (Down by -13.7%)
Norway has historically recorded 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.
- Machinery including computers: -US$9.3 billion (Up by 17.1% since 2023)
- Vehicles: -$8.7 billion (Down by -6.7%)
- Electrical machinery, equipment: -$5.6 billion (Down by -9.4%)
- Articles of iron or steel: -$3.4 billion (Up by 12.5%)
- Furniture, bedding, lighting, signs, prefab buildings: -$2.12 billion (Down by -4.0%)
- Plastics, plastic articles: -$2.09 billion (Down by -1.5%)
- Pharmaceuticals: -$1.8 billion (Down by -1.7%)
- Inorganic chemicals: -$1.55 billion (Up by 46.1%)
- Animal/vegetable fats, oils, waxes: -$1.5 billion (Up by 14.0%)
- Ships, boats: -$1.2 billion (Up by 40.5%)
Norway has highly negative net exports and therefore deep international trade deficits for machinery including computers and road vehicles–notably cars, trucks, automobile parts and trailers.
These cashflow deficiencies clearly indicate Norway’s competitive disadvantages in the international markets 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)
In macroeconomic terms, Norway’s total exported goods represent 29.1% of its overall Gross Domestic Product for 2024 ($576.2 billion valued in Purchasing Power Parity US dollars). That 29.1% for exports to overall GDP in PPP for 2024 compares to 39.2% in 2023. 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 4.28% for 2024, up from an average 3.595% jobless rate for 2023 according to International Monetary Fund statistics.
Domestically, the average inflation rate for Norway was 3.259% for 2024 down from an average 5.518% in 2023.
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 19, 2025
Forbes 2020 Global 2000 rankings, The World’s Biggest Public Companies. Accessed on March 19, 2025
International Monetary Fund, World Economic Outlook Database (GDP based on Purchasing Power Parity). Accessed on March 19, 2025
International Trade Centre, Trade Map. Accessed on March 19, 2025
Investopedia, Net Exports Definition. Accessed on March 19, 2025
Wikipedia, List of Companies of Norway. Accessed on March 19, 2025
Wikipedia, Gross domestic product. Accessed on March 19, 2025
Wikipedia, Norway. Accessed on March 19, 2025
Wikipedia, Purchasing power parity. Accessed on March 19, 2025
X-rates.com, Exchange Rates: Norwegian Krone to US Dollar (monthly average 2024). Accessed on March 19, 2025