Norway: What Labour Market Exclusion Costs the State
What it costs the state in disability and sickness benefits when people are kept out of work, compared across European countries.
Country Profile
Direct benefit payments
Nav årsrapport 2024, tabell 3 — uføretrygd, sykepenger and arbeidsavklaringspenger paid in 2024 · 2024
→ Disability pension
Nav årsrapport 2024 — uføretrygd (NOK 125.3bn) · 2024
→ Sickness benefit
Nav årsrapport 2024 — sykepenger paid by Nav (NOK 68.1bn; excludes the employer-paid period) · 2024
Local currency: NOK 240.3bn
Per working-age adult
€5,734
Context
Covers uføretrygd (disability benefit, NOK 125.3bn), sykepenger (sickness benefit, NOK 68.1bn) and arbeidsavklaringspenger (work assessment allowance, NOK 46.9bn). In December 2024, 373,036 people received uføretrygd and 158,539 received arbeidsavklaringspenger.
Methodology
Public cash benefits for disability and sickness only. Lost tax revenue, healthcare, social care and employment-programme costs are not included. Converted at the Eurostat 2024 average rate (NOK 11.629 per EUR). Share of GDP uses Eurostat GDP for 2024; per working-age adult means per person aged 15–64 (Eurostat, 1 January 2024).
In Practice
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