Cost of living: How expensive is Norway compared to a year ago?
Those living in Norway will have noticed that things have gotten more costly over the past year – but how much more expensive is life in Norway, and has anything gotten cheaper?
How much have prices gone up?
The official method for measuring price rises is inflation. In July, prices in Norway were 5.4 percent higher than the same month a year before, figures from national data agency Statistics Norway show.
However, this is just an average of all the price rises in Norway over the past year – so it doesn’t tell us exactly what is more expensive or by how much.
For example, food prices have risen by nearly twice as much as general inflation. Between July last year and this year, food prices have increased by 9.2 percent. If you compare June of last year and July 2023, food prices have risen by 13.2 percent.
Further figures from Statistics Norway show that the price of fruit (14.7 percent), vegetables (12.5 percent) and fish and seafood (11.7 percent) have increased the most out of the main food groups over the past 12 months. Tea, coffee and hot chocolate products (9.5 percent), bread and corn products (9.2 percent) and meat (8.8 percent) were the food groups which saw the next steepest prices.
This would indicate that high food prices were helping to drive inflation in Norway in general.
Rent and housing costs
The cost of renting has also increased in Norway over the past twelve months. The country’s Consumer Price Index indicates the cost of renting has increased by 4.3 percent.
However, figures from the rental platform Husleie may indicate that rents may have increased significantly more in the big cities in Norway.
Nationally, the average rental price has increased by 7.4 percent compared to a year ago, figures from the rental platform show. Trondheim and Oslo are the cities which have seen rents grow the most. Rent increased by 8.4 percent in Oslo and 8.6 in Trondheim.
The average national monthly rent is around 12,200 kroner. Renting in Norway's biggest cities is typically more expensive. In Oslo, tenants can expect to pay an average of 15,900 kroner per month.
Meanwhile, the cost of a mortgage has increased significantly in recent years. Since 2021, there have been 12 key interest rate increases. The current key policy rate is four percent. In August of 2022, the key policy rate was 1.75 percent.
At the end of July, the average cost of a home in Norway was 3.94 million kroner. The average house price 12 months before was 3.74 million kroner, according to figures from Real Estate Norway.
Fuel and energy
Not everything in Norway has become more expensive over the past year, some things have actually gotten cheaper.
Between July 2022 and July of this year, fuel petrol and diesel prices fell 15.2 and 21.0 percent respectively. As of late August, a litre of diesel cost between 14-16 kroner and a litre of petrol was between 21-25 kroner per litre.
Energy prices in July were 4.3 percent lower compared to a year before. The average energy price in Norway during the second quarter of 2023 was 143.5 øre per kilowatt hour, including grid rent, taxes and subsidy deductions.
The price of energy when excluding taxes and grid rent was 84.7 øre per kilowatt hour.
However, since 2021, there have been large regional differences in energy prices across Norway. Prices have generally been cheaper in more northern regions where there is a greater supply. The north of Norway is split into the NO3 NO4 energy bidding zones.
READ MORE: Why do Norway’s regions have such different power prices?
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How much have prices gone up?
The official method for measuring price rises is inflation. In July, prices in Norway were 5.4 percent higher than the same month a year before, figures from national data agency Statistics Norway show.
However, this is just an average of all the price rises in Norway over the past year – so it doesn’t tell us exactly what is more expensive or by how much.
For example, food prices have risen by nearly twice as much as general inflation. Between July last year and this year, food prices have increased by 9.2 percent. If you compare June of last year and July 2023, food prices have risen by 13.2 percent.
Further figures from Statistics Norway show that the price of fruit (14.7 percent), vegetables (12.5 percent) and fish and seafood (11.7 percent) have increased the most out of the main food groups over the past 12 months. Tea, coffee and hot chocolate products (9.5 percent), bread and corn products (9.2 percent) and meat (8.8 percent) were the food groups which saw the next steepest prices.
This would indicate that high food prices were helping to drive inflation in Norway in general.
Rent and housing costs
The cost of renting has also increased in Norway over the past twelve months. The country’s Consumer Price Index indicates the cost of renting has increased by 4.3 percent.
However, figures from the rental platform Husleie may indicate that rents may have increased significantly more in the big cities in Norway.
Nationally, the average rental price has increased by 7.4 percent compared to a year ago, figures from the rental platform show. Trondheim and Oslo are the cities which have seen rents grow the most. Rent increased by 8.4 percent in Oslo and 8.6 in Trondheim.
The average national monthly rent is around 12,200 kroner. Renting in Norway's biggest cities is typically more expensive. In Oslo, tenants can expect to pay an average of 15,900 kroner per month.
Meanwhile, the cost of a mortgage has increased significantly in recent years. Since 2021, there have been 12 key interest rate increases. The current key policy rate is four percent. In August of 2022, the key policy rate was 1.75 percent.
At the end of July, the average cost of a home in Norway was 3.94 million kroner. The average house price 12 months before was 3.74 million kroner, according to figures from Real Estate Norway.
Fuel and energy
Not everything in Norway has become more expensive over the past year, some things have actually gotten cheaper.
Between July 2022 and July of this year, fuel petrol and diesel prices fell 15.2 and 21.0 percent respectively. As of late August, a litre of diesel cost between 14-16 kroner and a litre of petrol was between 21-25 kroner per litre.
Energy prices in July were 4.3 percent lower compared to a year before. The average energy price in Norway during the second quarter of 2023 was 143.5 øre per kilowatt hour, including grid rent, taxes and subsidy deductions.
The price of energy when excluding taxes and grid rent was 84.7 øre per kilowatt hour.
However, since 2021, there have been large regional differences in energy prices across Norway. Prices have generally been cheaper in more northern regions where there is a greater supply. The north of Norway is split into the NO3 NO4 energy bidding zones.
READ MORE: Why do Norway’s regions have such different power prices?
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