Norway

Who runs Norway?

Prime Minister Jonas Gahr Støre has led the government since October 14, 2021. Labour holds 53 of the Storting's 169 seats after the 2025 election. The Progress Party has 47 and the Conservatives 24. Støre needs 85 votes for a majority, so Labour cannot pass a budget alone.

The government presented its 2027 budget on October 7, 2026. It proposes spending NOK 608.4 billion from the oil fund. Centre, Socialist Left, Red and the Greens hold 35 seats between them. Their votes would give Labour 88, but each party can press its own demands in the budget talks.

Støre trained as a naval officer, studied at Sciences Po in Paris, and served as foreign minister from 2005 to 2012. He is also a keen skier. He told the Norwegian Trekking Association that four ski tips he broke as a child still hang above the fireplace at his family's cabin.

Who are Norway's allies and rivals?

NATO anchors Norway's defense. The United States provides its nuclear security guarantee, and Britain and Germany are close military partners. Sweden and Finland joining NATO brought all five Nordic countries into the alliance. Norway stays outside the EU but participates in its single market through the European Economic Area.

Russia is its main security threat. On September 2, 2026, Svalbard's governor seized the Russian ship Professor Molchanov at Barentsburg under a court order. The case concerns Naftogaz's $4.22 billion arbitration award over assets Russia seized in Crimea. This was debt enforcement by Norwegian authorities. Russia's foreign ministry called it "piracy."

On September 10, Reuters reported that British, Norwegian and US forces had interrupted a Russian naval exercise near Svalbard in spring 2026. Two Western officials said deep-sea vessels were practicing how to disable undersea cables. The allied operation stopped them completing the exercise.

Who does Norway trade with?

Norway exported NOK 1.779 trillion of goods in 2025 and imported NOK 1.118 trillion, according to Statistics Norway's revised figures. Britain took 17.8% of exports and Germany 17.4%. The EU together took 66.1%. Fish exports were worth NOK 173.9 billion. China supplied 11.9% of imports, just ahead of Germany at 11.7%. Gas figures record where a pipeline lands, which may differ from where the gas is ultimately used.

In October 2026 the Finance Ministry forecast growth in the mainland economy of 1.1% in 2026 and 1.7% in 2027. Higher export earnings do not protect every household from higher energy prices. In its May 2026 revised budget, the government proposed another NOK 10 billion for electricity support.

How strong is Norway's military?

Norway spent $17 billion on its military in 2025, 3.3% of GDP and the 24th-largest total worldwide (SIPRI). Its air force received the last of 52 F-35 fighters in April 2025. Norway selected Britain's Type 26 frigates in August 2025 and is buying six Type 212CD submarines in a joint program with Germany.

The ships are meant to hunt submarines and protect the North Atlantic. In June 2026, Norway, Britain and Germany agreed to take greater responsibility for anti-submarine warfare in that region. Norwegian patrol aircraft operate from Evenes, watching waters close to Russia's naval bases. Norway's policy rules out nuclear weapons on its soil in peacetime.

How much oil and gas does Norway export?

Norway exported around 122 billion cubic meters of gas in 2025, equivalent to more than 30% of the EU and Britain's combined consumption, according to Norwegian Petroleum. Oil and gas made up 57% of goods exports. The chart uses 2024 net exports, the latest year in the EIA ranking.

The Iran war drove up energy prices in 2026. In May, the government raised its forecast for gross petroleum revenue to NOK 721 billion, from NOK 557 billion in the original budget. After state petroleum expenses, the forecast net cash flow was NOK 686 billion. In the 2027 budget, presented in October, the government lowered that forecast to NOK 671 billion and expected NOK 568 billion in 2027.

The Government Pension Fund Global received its first transfer in 1996. Decades of petroleum income and investment returns built a fund worth NOK 22.683 trillion by June 2026. It invests abroad, while annual budgets draw on it to fund public spending.