6.2.2 Norway: Economy
Description
This article is from the Nordic countries FAQ, by Antti Lahelma and Johan Olofsson, with numerous contributions by others.
6.2.2 Norway: Economy
Only about 3% of Norway is arable land; for this reason Norway's main
source of livelihood has traditionally been fishery. Norway emerged as
an industrial nation from the beginning of this century, partly due to
local elites investing money in shipbuilding, woolspinning, timber and
pulp production, and partly because of foreign companies building up
on electrochemical industry based upon cheap hydro-electric power.
Norway has also had one of the biggest merchant fleets of the world.
The financial surplus made by this type of service made it possible to
outweigh the deficit of trade with other countries, and hence is an
important economic and political factor in Norwegian history.
Production of petroleum and gas has, however, become the foremost
industry with the discovery of offshore fields. Food, beverage, and
tobacco processing rank second. The manufacture of transportation
equipment, primarily ships and boats (the major export), ranks third,
followed by production of metal and metal products.
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