Norway

Norway: Small Force, High Per Capita Wealth

Norway's GDP was $483.6 billion in 2024, with per capita output of $86,785 across a population of 5.57 million, per the World Bank's WDI figures for that year.

Fiscal and External Position

The IMF's WEO projects government debt at 42.9 percent of GDP in 2026, a forward estimate rather than a recorded outturn. Reserves stood at $85.5 billion as of 2025, per IMF IFS data — a large buffer relative to Norway's population size.

Military Posture

SIPRI's 2025 figures put military expenditure at $17.0 billion, or 3.278 percent of GDP — a sizable share of economic output. That ratio is calculated against SIPRI's own GDP series, not the WDI figure above, and the two should not be mixed. Active personnel totaled 25,000 as of 2022, per COW NMC, with a CINC score of 0.0014 in the same release, reflecting Norway's small population base rather than necessarily its capability.

Governance

V-Dem's 2025 data gives Norway an electoral democracy index of 0.89 and a liberal democracy index of 0.847, alongside a state capacity score of 0.986 — near the top of V-Dem's 0-1 scale.

Energy

Norway's energy profile is dominated by hydrocarbon output: primary energy consumption was 2.0003 exajoules in 2024 and electricity generation reached 160.81 TWh in 2025, per Our World in Data. Oil production was 998.779 TWh and gas production 1,132.0 TWh, both for 2024 — figures that dwarf domestic consumption and reflect Norway's role as an exporter rather than a consumption-driven energy economy.

Reading the Figures Together

Norway's per capita GDP of $86,785 (2024, World Bank WDI) is paired with a V-Dem state capacity score of 0.986 and an electoral democracy score of 0.89, both from the 2025 release — high readings by V-Dem's own scale. Its oil and gas production figures — 998.779 TWh and 1,132.0 TWh respectively, both 2024, Our World in Data — are each several times larger than its own electricity generation of 160.81 TWh (2025), underlining that most of Norway's hydrocarbon output is not consumed domestically.

What the Data Does Not Show

No figures are supplied on NATO burden-sharing commitments, sovereign wealth fund holdings, Arctic deployments, or naval force structure. The 25,000-personnel figure is from 2022 and may not reflect current force levels or recent defense-spending increases implied by the 2025 expenditure figure.

Sources: World Bank WDI, IMF WEO, IMF IFS, SIPRI Milex, COW NMC, V-Dem v15, Our World in Data (Energy)