Public employment in Norway

Norway: Public employment was 2,973 in 2023. ▲ Rising

Latest (2023)
2,973
Change on year
up 1.2%
World rank
26th
of 47 countries
All-time high
2,973
in 2023
All-time low
2,354
in 2005
Years of data
18
2005–2023

Public employment in Norway, 2005–2023

01.0k2.0k3.0k2005201420232005: 2.4k2006: 2.4k2007: 2.5k2008: 2.6k2009: 2.6k2010: 2.6k2011: 2.6k2012: 2.7k2013: 2.7k2014: 2.7k2015: 2.7k2016: 2.7k2017: 2.7k2018: 2.8k2019: 2.8k2020: 2.8k2022: 2.9k2023: 3.0k

Source: International Labour Organization.

Analysis

In 2023, public employment in Norway stood at 2,973. That is the highest value across all 18 years on record.

The figure is up 1.2% on the previous year and up 9.6% over ten years.

Over the whole period, public employment in Norway peaked at 2,973 in 2023 and was at its lowest, 2,354, in 2005.

Norway ranks 26th of 47 countries on this measure, in the middle of the range.

The long-run direction has been consistently rising across the 18 years of available data.

Public employment in Norway, year by year

Annual values for Public employment in Norway, 2005 to 2023.
Year Value Change
2005 2,354
2006 2,434 +3.4%
2007 2,535 +4.1%
2008 2,617 +3.2%
2009 2,605 -0.5%
2010 2,592 -0.5%
2011 2,630 +1.5%
2012 2,684 +2.1%
2013 2,713 +1.1%
2014 2,746 +1.2%
2015 2,707 -1.4%
2016 2,715 +0.3%
2017 2,747 +1.2%
2018 2,792 +1.6%
2019 2,838 +1.6%
2020 2,801 -1.3%
2022 2,938 +4.9%
2023 2,973 +1.2%

Averages by decade

DecadeAverage LowestHighest Years
2000s 2,509 2,354 2,617 5
2010s 2,716 2,592 2,838 10
2020s 2,904 2,801 2,973 3

Countries ranked near Norway

  1. 23 Spain 3,444 compare
  2. 24 Paraguay 3,251 compare
  3. 25 Denmark 3,112 compare
  4. 27 Finland 2,739 compare
  5. 28 Slovakia 2,430 compare
  6. 29 New Zealand 2,290 compare

See the full ranking of 47 places →

More work & labour data for Norway

All data for Norway →

Frequently asked questions

What is public employment in Norway?
Public employment in Norway was 2,973 in 2023, according to International Labour Organization.
What is the highest public employment recorded in Norway?
The highest recorded value was 2,973 in 2023.
What is the lowest public employment recorded in Norway?
The lowest recorded value was 2,354 in 2005.
How does Norway rank for public employment?
Norway ranks 26th out of 47 countries with data for 2023.
Is public employment rising or falling in Norway?
Over the last ten years it is up 9.6%. The long-run trend across the full record is rising.
Where does this Norway data come from?
The figures come from International Labour Organization, published as part of Public employment. Statizoid updates them automatically from the source API.

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Public employment in Norway. Statizoid, drawing on International Labour Organization. Retrieved 02 September 2026, from https://labour.statizoid.com/stat/public-employment/norway/

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About this data

Indicator
Public employment
Source
International Labour Organization
Licence
ILO Terms of Use (attribution required)
Coverage
47 places, 681 data points, 1975–2024
Last refreshed

With the aim of promoting international comparability, statistics presented on ILOSTAT are based on standard international definitions wherever feasible and may differ from official national figures. This series is based on the 13th ICLS definitions. For time series comparability, it includes countries that have implemented the 19th ICLS standards, for which data are also available in the Work Statistics -- 19th ICLS (WORK) database. The total public sector employment covers all employment of general government sector as defined in System of National Accounts 1993 plus employment of publicly owned enterprises and companies, resident and operating at central, state (or regional) and local levels of government. It covers all persons employed directly by those institutions, without regard for the particular type of employment contract. See the working paper: Statistics on Public Sector Employment: Methodology, Structures and Trends. For more information, refer to the Labour Force Statistics (LFS and STLFS) database description.