Average net worth for Norwegian households was NOK 2 million in 2012. This was 8 per cent higher than the year before.

Property account for householdsPublished 17 January 2014
2012 2011 - 2012
Average for households with different property holdings (NOK) Part of household with different property code (per cent) NOK million Percentage change
Estimated real capital 2 782 600 81.9 5 119 020 10.6
Estimated market value primary dwelling 2 795 100 67.4 4 229 032 10.4
Estimated market value secondary dwelling 2 125 000 10.6 506 258 18.5
Taxable gross financial capital 813 900 98.9 1 806 939 5.5
Bank deposits 384 900 98.8 853 896 8.3
Shares and other securities 1 391 400 21.1 658 124 3.1
Share of unit trusts, bond and money market funds 130 700 31.7 93 133 7.8
Foreign taxable wealth 295 600 5.3 35 397 0.1
Estimated gross wealth 3 116 400 99.0 6 925 959 9.2
Debt 1 325 700 83.5 2 485 133 7.5
Study debt 185 400 23.4 97 550 6.1
Estimated net wealth 1 988 800 99.4 4 440 826 10.2
Positive net wealth 2 550 100 81.3 4 653 874 8.9
Negative net wealth -522 300 18.2 -213 048 -11.9
Property taxes 28 900 19.9 12 909 4.5

There was a substantial rise in non-financial wealth in 2012, the principal wealth holding of Norwegian households. The total value of primary and secondary dwellings rose by 10 per cent and 18 per cent respectively. The value of non-financial assets grew faster than both financial wealth and liabilities in 2012.

Highest net worth among younger pensioners

Households where the main income earner was aged 67 to 79 had the highest average net worth in 2012, at NOK 3.2 million. Even households headed by someone aged 55 to 66 had a mean net worth exceeding NOK 3 million. More than half of all households had a net worth of more than NOK 1 million in 2012.

Small reduction in inequality

The distribution of net worth is highly skewed. Households in the highest net worth decile held 49 per cent of total net worth in 2012, while 18 per cent of total net worth was held by households in the top 1 per cent of the wealth distribution. The wealth distribution has, nevertheless, become slightly less unequal in recent years. In 2010, the highest net worth decile held 51 per cent of total net worth.

On average, all households had NOK 1.1 million in debt in 2012. This was an increase of 5.6 per cent from the previous year. Households with the highest income saw the strongest rise in debt in 2012, while households at the bottom of the income distribution saw a reduction in average debt.

More people are facing a high debt as a proportion of household income. In 2012, 15.2 per cent of all households had a debt that was three times their income. This was up from 14.6 per cent in 2011.

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