2.0 Domestic
Market Overview
Norway has a small population, at roughly 4.5 million people,
and is consider by some to have the world’s highest quality of life. This can
be attributed to Norway’s very high purchasing power parity (at $30,800) and extensive welfare
services. Norway’s primary economic activity comes from their rich petroleum and
natural gas fields in the North Sea; however in the late 1990’s the government
has made it a priority to become active player in the global ICT market. Early
results are promising as ICT growth ranges around 8 percent in since 1998.
2.1 Population
Statistics
Norway positions itself as a small test market for companies
searching for a place in which develop and market new technologies. With a population of just over 4.5 million
people[1], Norway is small relative to European standards; however this
Scandinavian country has one of the highest purchasing power parities (at
$30,800[2]) in
the entire world. It is estimated that 30%[3] of
Norwegians live in rural areas, while 70% live in densely populated areas.
Population growth is relatively stable at 0.65% in the year 2000.
2.2 Economic
Information
The Norwegian economy can be
described as “welfare capitalism”. Norway is very rich in natural resources (petroleum, natural
gas, minerals, and timber); therefore most of their economic activity
concentrates on the refinement of these resources. The dominant industries in Norway are petroleum and gas, food processing, shipbuilding,
pulp/paper products, metals, chemicals, timber, mining, textiles, and fishing.
Although Norway opted not to join the EU, Norway still participates and supports many of the EU
initiatives. In 2000, the government began the privatization process; however
the Norwegian government retains majority ownership in these recently
privatized companies. Norway is highly dependent on its North Sea oil and gas resources as its primary economic drivers. Norway ranks third behind Saudi Arabia and Russia as the world leading exporters of oil. Norway has been collecting its oil budget surpluses in a
national petroleum fund, which is now valued at over $43 billion (USD).
2.3 ICT
Industry Statistics
The Information and
Communications Technology market has maintained growth solid growth (see graph
2.3.1) since 1998. In 2001, the ICT
sector grew 8.5%[4], which
is still impressive when compared to the overall world-wide trend of an ICT
reduction in activity. ICT turnover for 2001 is 9.21 billion (NOK) and is
expected to rise to 9.96 billion (NOK) in 2002; an 8.1% increase. In 2000, the
ICT market made up 8%[5] of
Norway’s total GDP.
2.4 Internet Usage
and Trends
Norway sees their telecommunication infrastructure as the
central pillar in their national ICT strategy. In fact, Norway has some of the highest telephone, mobile phone, and
internet penetration rates in the entire world. There are roughly 4.5 million
people in Norway which utilize 2.9 million fixed lines and 3 million
mobile lines. Internet usage in among
Norwegians is also high, with roughly 65% (70% men & 60% women) of the
population having internet access. In
addition, 54% of Norwegian homes are connected to the internet via dial-up,
wireless, or broadband connection.