Norway

Oslo | October 2014

NOK 529; NOK 65 (USD 10.26, EUR 7.95) for food.

This is based on per capita per-day basis of Norway’s relative poverty line (using EU’s low-income definition), and low-income household food and non-alcoholic beverage expenditure.

Norway uses a relative poverty line approach. It tracks both definitions used by OECD (50% of median income) and EU (60% of average median income) – the latter is more often used for national reports on low-income statistics, and also most frequently used in Europe. Low-income thresholds, and household income and expenditure data are tracked by SSB (Statistics Norway).

9.6% of Norway’s population was considered poor in 2011, based on the EU definition. Tracking persistent low-income incidence (for at least the most recent three-years), 7.7% of the population were considered to persistently low-income from 2009-2011. Norway also tracks panel data to understand social mobility, and it is found that young single individuals and single parents have the strongest income mobility.

Note: Latest available standards and exchange rates were taken as of October 2014, when the photography was undertaken.

Understanding More

The economic welfare of low-income households, 2013

Norwegians’ poverty falls while rate increases in the EU

More children in Norway live below the poverty line