To help put it into perspective just how well Norway takes care of its people, I am on permanent disability benefits, and single. And in 2020 I was able to buy a (cheap) house, with no issue servicing the mortgage since then. Granted I live quite frugally, but still, not a day goes by that I don't reflect on how lucky I am to have faced the challenges that I have in *this* country. In so many other places in the world, I would have been on the street, or even dead. Here I own a small house, and a loving dog, in a quiet little mountain town.
So, pretty much the same situation as me then, i got my permanent disability in 2010, and bought my apartment in 2011. And thankfully we live in Norway, but there are some things i miss that i don`t afford that i could before my disability, but hey, when your unlucky, at least we are lucky in where we are from :D Fredrikstad here....
To really put it into perspective, Norway has 0,07% of the world's population, but owns 1,4% of all stocks and bonds in the world through the sovereign wealth fund.
norway is no different than any oil arab state, just that its white ppl. Used the oil money quite good. Without it they wouldnt have been close to one of the best countries in eu
@@pinglankek Norway was a good place too live, and still one of the best nations in europe even before oil money entered the equation. And if you have any idea what many of the arab oil nations do with their money and their people, you would know its very different.
@@evenask Ofcourse norway was a decent country, but it was lacking behind most high tier countries in europe, specially in the west. Imagine if sweden had such resources, we would be able to house even more immigrants.
@@pinglankek Idk why this myth of Norway being poor started, however Norway was as rich as countries like Spain/Italy and many more even in the early 1800's and way richer than eastern europe, and by early 1900's Norway was as rich as France and visitors from Britain has been quoted to say norwegian citizens looked healtier and better fed than british people, so standard of living has also been high for houndreds of years. Keep in mind Norway found oil only in 1969.
The wellfare is incredible here, thats for sure. When I got one of my children I needed to give birth to him too early unless I could have died. They picked me up outside my doctors office in an ambulance, I got a room in the hospital for myself, and then after a week with television and free food they transported me to a bigger hospital in another ambulance and I gave birth to my son. There I stayed at the hospital in my own room near my son, and I could rest every day, the nurses took care of him when I was eating or had visitors. I could even take the bus to town and go shhopping cloths for him, the nurses took care of him. I stayed there a whole month before it was safe to go home, and my son had grown a lot, and was so much stronger. Doctors came by and checked if needed the whole time. And I didnt pay 1 norwegian kr!!! When we left the nurses even gave us a gift - it was a book full of pictures and poems and memories from different nurses who was there with us the whole time. I guess we live in paradise!!!
unfortunately for us here in Indonesia, our political system are basically dinasty-oligarchy , whoever we vote for, in the end it is from the same "group". And they're all corrupt and only listen to their "boss" (just imagine a country ran by mafia). we have cheap health welfare but it doesn't cover many things (and it has too many terms to activate the insurance) , roads are mostly build poorly with thin asphalt over and over since it breaks every year, prices kept on rising since many products are owned by government's officials as a "private business" (and we all know where they got all their money for that, simply : money laundering), and despite the overall low quality of life, the taxes kept on going up too (We even have tax on top of another tax) To change everything, I guess we need to eliminate most of the older generation and start re-"educate" the younger generation (which is also nearly impossible because the education system here is very similar to USA). Many of the smart/blessed people have left the country and started living overseas... middle-upper class often seek medication from other countries too because they just can't trust the local hospital to took care of them without overcharging them (again, the national welfare didn't cover many things and it has too many restrictions). now about tax on tax , here's an example : our custom duty and import tax formula : custom duty = (goods price + delivery fees + insurance) * 10% Income Tax = (goods price + custom duty) * 10% Value Added Tax = (goods price + custom duty) * 10% Total import tax = custom duty + income tax + value added tax and they charge it if the goods value (either individually or in total) surpasses $50. ---- yes, they charge income tax here, and include the custom duty into the other 2 taxes. ---- and yes, they also charge it on commercial flight passengers (on their baggage and hand carries) ---- and if you don't have any receipts that tells them what the item prices are, then they will use AMAZON as basis. ---- and if you import goods for your shop, then you also need to include another value added tax to it, and then another income tax onto your employees wage/salary, and on top of that business tax and a whole other taxes.
I received cancer treatment for free and can live of my disability benefits. I payed a lot in taxes for 15 years but obviously it was worth it. I`m so proud of my country it almost makes me cry. Other countries would be wise to copy our model
"Your model"? Public health insurance was invented in Germany in 1883. Norway copied the German model decades later in 1909, much like basically all European countries. Therefor, having your cancer treatment being covered by your health insurance and being insured even when unemployed is normal in Europe and nothing exclusive to Norway.
@@xxChidoSenganxx About 20 years ago, I spent a few weeks working in Norway. A Norwegian entrepreneur wanted to poach me. He offered me a lot more than I was earning at the time, but when I saw the prices for rent, food and other goods, I decided to stay in Germany - apart from family ties, the better weather and the more favorable location in the middle of Europe. I don't think that has changed fundamentally. 🤔
@@wanderwurst8358 Even when you take PPP into account, Norway is no 11 on the list of countries in the world ranked by GDP at Purchasing Power Parity (PPP) per capita, along with the Nominal GDP per capita. PPP takes into account the relative cost of living. So this gives a rather accurate picture of the real differences in income. Germany is no 19..
@@hegetv2111 GDP per capita in PPP maybe more accurate, but still a statistical value. What an individual is then paid, in which economic segment by which entrepreneur for how many hours of work, is something else. Especially in countries with a high share of financial services or state-owned commodity trading, this value is highly distorted and only rudimentarily reflects the standard of living of a common worker. In midwestern and northern Europe, the differences are not so serious, but a purely statistical view can quickly land you in the desert or a autocratic city state, lose some human rights and earn a pittance. 😱 ... and shurely we both dont want that. 😅
So nice to hear. I often wonder about that. Tried to search and found not very positive videos about how people who moved here felt , but we do hope people who moves here likes to live here.
@@lapis3834 You have to be stupid not to like living here. Ofcourse the tax rates are crazy high but everything that comes from that is just amazing and the fact that everybody you meet is happy and welcoming is just amazing. No negative emotions come your way. When nobody is bitching to you at work or at grocery store everyday you actually can enjoy your life and not sit at the couch and go through all the negativity in your life. Have been here 4 years and have no complaints about the people, nature, taxes etc. You just have to get used to some stuff and reorganise your mind to the positive stuff thats here.
Generally speaking the countries in that region tend to be very good at wealth redistribution. They've struck the balance between capitalism and social welfare. As a Brit I feel my country spends too much time looking across the Atlantic than looking across the North Sea.
Agree. Bravo Norway. I wish the U.K. would operate a similar model instead of always crowing how we are the 5th or 6th richest countries in the world. The *real* richest countries just stay silent and continue to make huge piles of cash with little or no debt
@@slidebay Yeah, there is a difference between beign one of the biggest economies and being a rich economy, like India who keeps saying they are one of the biggest economies of the world and passed great britain... Most of that economy goes into putting food on the table for it's people and little else... I wouldn't call it wealth even if the population size/mass makes it a "big" economy.
@@peterzimmerman1114 Yea, India has a fund to build infrastructure. Its almos the size of Norways sovereign wealth fund.. But the problem is, that money needs to build infrastructure for 1.400 million people. Norways money only serves 5.4million people. Having a bread for a single person is alot of food. But having a bread for 1000 people is not much food :P
Fun fact, if you apply to a state Norwegian College or University as a foreign student, and is accepted, your education will also be free. You will need to find a way to pay for living in Norway but there are different grants that you can apply for that will cover some of this. A foreign student are also allowed to work up to 20 hrs a week.
@@archive4059 Students are not paying so teachers get paid, you fool, teacher are "public servants" and get paid as such. Education IS free in Norway - some schools charge minor fees, ie to cover copies of stuff, that's it. But you will have to buy your own school materials (including books), pay for a place to stay, and living costs. You can, as said above, get different grants ("stipend") to reduce costs, which can mean almost completely free stay for those who qualify for it.
You are quickly reaching the conclusion that trust is a major part of Norway's success. And you are completely correct. Kudos for being smart and pointing at the real value of Norwegian richness.
The greatest example I can think of for how great a part of Norway "trust" is, is that marketing stunt one of the big grocery chains pulled way back, like a decade ago if it wasn't even longer... For quite a while, they removed all requirements on getting your money back if you were dissatisfied with any product. Even if you didn't have the receipt or the product itself, you could literally go there with an empty packaging and no receipt and say it tasted funny to you and get your money back. It was very much a stunt... but it worked, and there was *barely any* abuse of it whatsoever! Remember reading in the newspaper one of the owners stating he was amazed at how few claims there had been, the number barely increased.
@@Arbaaltheundefeated The "5 year warranty" on any electronics isn't abused in Norway either. Big Asian, American companies etc. accept 5 years in Norway because of low population and probably becaus majority will never use it. Norway only had problems with Apple and 5 year warranty. You know how Apple is. They were never customer friendly. lol
Yes Norway overall is a good place to live, you dont have to fear pretty much anything. There's always something that will save you in most situasions, and people are generally very very friendly and giving. But we do like to complain, and some times for very good reasons. We produce most of our power by hydroelectric power stations, but the goverement also sells this power. And it has come to a point where its so expensive for us aswell, for example december 2021 our monthly electricity bill came to 1,300$. This is with 3 people in a home, electrical heaters, a couple of computers and a tv, we dont leave lights on or waste energy overall. We did get compensated a bit, but the bill still stood at 800-950$, per kw/h we usually pay 0.15-0.25 øre ( cents, 100 øre = 1 krone, 1 usd = 9-11 kroner ) It has risen to over 2kr per kw, which is insane. Same with gas prices, we have so much oil in our pocket, but we sell so much. 1 liter of gasoline costs 18-23kr, which adds up pretty high if you need a full tank. So its not all sunshine and rainbows, but i wouldnt live anywhere else
The taxes pay for welfare and benefits. It’s the same in all the Nordic countries (I live in Sweden 🇸🇪). Government takes a chunk of your paycheque, but the money actually goes where you can see it. I remember that every time I go see the doctor, all surgeries I’ve had, the free education system and that my Mom get her insulin for free and over a year of maternity leave for each child I gave birth too.
As a yt channel Economics Explained puts it, Norway did the unintuitive option when finding massive oil deposits: instead of reinvesting it into oil industries and its own domestic economy (which are heavily tied the volatility of oil prices), they realized that they could just diversify investments in stable foreign markets, so the fund’s performance independent of Norway’s economic state. Norway basically can just sit back and never worry about their finances unless the 2nd Great Depression or WW3 breaks out.
norway is only ridiculous to me... they pray green for norway, but export oil and gas into the rest of the world... is only a western russia... because norway has nothing other than oil and gas too export, because they cant nothing else...
Norway has never invested oilrevenues directly into the domestic economy, but 3-4 percent of the profits from the sovereign wealth fund. Another factor is a high labour participation rate and thanks to high salaries, a high productivity. So high average salaries has done the country a lot of good. It redistributes income ( not wealth as much) more fairly and a higher purchasing power among consumers. Foreign investera seem to view high salaries as a negative, but they are wrong, because it drives productivity and innovation to the forefront as well.
Like now when billionaires are moving out of the country, and businesses and factories have to close down production because the cost of electricity is becoming unbearable?
@@bsrules Norway is importing high energy prices because we are an integrated part the European energy market. Domestic production is more than sufficient. Some billionaires are emigrating because they find it too costly to be rich in Norway compared to Switzerland, but they are compelled to pay taxes here for another four years for now, but that could change.
They absolutely should spend far more on stimulus as the petroleum and public sector is crowding out the rest of the real economy. Not a small reason for the high cost of living and a huge liability.
One of the reason that we in Scandinavia have a different view of welfare is that it have a different meaning in our languages than in English. Welfare here is for everyone, its schools, healthcare, infrastructure, not only social security as in English.
Probably someone already mentioned it in the comments but one thing she missed out is how Norway treat its criminals. They have the highest rehabilitation rate of prisoners in the world as well. Very few prisoners compared to many other countries commit crimes when they get out. One reason for this is that they focus on rehabilitation rather than just punishment.
That's a good system for most crimes except for the worst ones. Someone like Breivik should be tortured for 10 years and then hanged. Like they would do in Japan. Trying to rehabilitate him woud be an insult to the victims.
Honestly, paying taxes and knowing that no one in Norway are left in debt or unable to afford life saving and life quality improving healthcare is worth it to me. Knowing we can help refugees when they need a safe place to stay, that’s worth it to me. I think Norwegians generally have a “we are only as strong as our weakest link” mentality, which is why quality of life is important to us. We want everyone to be able to have a good health, a safe home, a good education and enough food to never go hungry, and still have money left over to enjoy life. So while I admit, we have our flaws, I am proud of my country and I have tried living abroad and there is a difference. Also, most Norwegians adore our King and Queen, they are very down to earth people, and they have a way of making of feel loved. We had a suicide in the royal family a couple of years back, and our king spoke openly about it. He also make a point of saying he himself comes immigrants and stresses that we should always be including. They lead by example without ever placing themselves above the people. In Norway you are only as good as the actions you take, your family’s status is not an automatic in, you have to make it or break it on your own. This makes us hard working, and I am proud of that. Do come visit, you are welcome, let me know, I can be your guide if needed.
Norway, the closest country to heaven (if there is a such a place) that I have ever seen. I stayed in a small studio apartment but even that felt special. Scandinavians realize that less is more and lavish equals tacky; a fact that other first world countries are too stupid to know.
As a Norwegian; that's total bullshit. People here are living on credit cards and are in debt for life because of apartments/houses, and fancy cars. Norway ranked 5th in household debts in 2020.
The monarchy is mostly symbolic, they do travel allot as diplomats of norway and to represent norway abroad. They don't really rule anything anymore. We are truly conflicted on keeping the monarchy. We see it as outdatet, but the king and Queen is such good people and we love them. You should check out a speach the king did about what norway is. I get a tear in my eye every time i hear it
Yeah, I get that the royal house is a significant expense, but that's about the only solid argument I can think of for abolishing it as long as we have the kind of good and surprisingly down to earth royalty that we do. And I think for the sentimental and cultural values alone, it is worth it, when our country is this wealthy. But that's my opinion of course.
@@Arbaaltheundefeated I don't really buy into that the royal house is that much more expensive than a president would be. Maybe if we only kept a Prime minister, but most republics have both a prime minister and a president, and I don't see how a presidential palace with a president that gets replaced every 4 to 8 years, each earning pensions and possibly needing body guards after their term is up etc, would be cheaper.
@@kossakken I don't think there's any serious amount of people even among those who wish to abolish the monarchy who believe we should have a president, or any other solitary head of state.
@@kossakken if the monarchy was to end in Norway it would not be replaced with a president or anything i think. Think we would just keep on rolling with our current goverment style. Monarchy hold no real power, so not much would change i would gues
@@silentdeath7847 Yeah, that's basically why I think saving money is the only argument that would even make sense, as beyond that nothing would really change in any meaningful way, just trade away a piece of our culture and ancient tradition for money is basically what it would be.
You are right. It is about 3% millionaires in Norway. This is mainly because almost 2/3 of the grown population owns their own homes, be that houses, apartments or other living commendations. Say you buy a hose that is worth half a million dollars, and spend 30 years paying the mortgage. In the same time the value of your home increases with the inflation rate, and if you don't sell to buy a larger hose you will soon be a dollar millionaire.
The incredible thing is that not only does Norway have a lot of oil, gass, fish and other resources. Norway alsow has about a third of the worlds known thorium deposits. Thorium for those who don't know is a possible future nuclear fuel that leaves much less nuclear waste than uranium, and some project it as an important future energy source that could rival the importance of oil and gas.
In 2021, the median monthly salary was NOK 45,830 ($4.5k) per full-time employee. The average income takes account for the insanely high income of the wealthiest people as well so it gives an inflated number.
A reference to "@Jørgen A" - I'm also 100% disabled, meaning I'm unable to be employed in _any_ job. I can handle my self, and don't need extra help. In the US, I'd be basically on the street. In Norway I live a respectful, good life. I can afford a nice humble apartment in the city, I eat every meal fresh, every day, and if I _need_ clothes, I basically always afford within a month what I need. It might not (or never) be Hilfiger or CK, but it's new, and looks nice. I can go on a holiday every summer.
@@sandersson2813 Of course I can do plenty of jobs, as I look like a completely normal healthy person from the outside. But it's very important that you as my employer understand that its ok that I sometimes have to suddenly leave whatever I work with, or customers that I'm talking with, and go fir a sofa break. That it's ok that I call in last minute, (or not at all) to say that too sick for work. That it normally turns ok, I just needed three to five minutes on the sofa, and I'm ready again, but sometimes I need more, and even that's not enough, and I have to go home. A few occasions maybe call an ambulance. .... Sure I can do jobs, but I'm an employer's worst nightmare. I would never hire me. That's what I mean with "any job". I worked as a volunteer at Red Cross for five years, as I could work at my own terms. I tried to work five days a week, seven hours a day, because I want to feel I'm doing a normal job. But i didn't stand a chance to do those thirty hour shifts. Anyway, I could work on my own terms, come and go when I pleased, and relax at the sofa upstairs, when I was about to have a new seizure. Please don't be too smart and upvote your on post as if you know what you're talking about. I've lost enough jobs for good reasons.
@@ingebygstad9667 There are plenty of jobs which don't require you to be 9-5 and which are flexible with time and don't care when you work as long as you get the work done. I don't want to sound harsh, but it sounds as if you are making excuses and feeling sorry for yourself.
@@sandersson2813 You don't know what you're talking about, unlike the number of social and health professionals' carefully formed opinions that will have been required to place him on 100% disability benefits. As another person who ended up on 100% disability I can tell you that does not happen easy, and especially on grounds of mental health.. After *literally* a decade of constant psychological analysis and treatment , being in and out of dozens of courses and programs and work training etc intended to get me back to the workforce, the constant state of failure after failure making everything even worse and driving me near suicidal at times, they *eventually* ended up deciding it's not feasible that I will be able to maintain a work relationship, and I'm sure the situation was more or less similar for Inge. Your "expert" opinion is exactly worthless compared to all that, and we certainly don't need you accusing us of 'just making excuses', you don't sound harsh, you sound like an ignorant and inconsiderate a**hole.
A few months ago Betnie Sanders interviewed the Norwegian ambassador to the US about life inNorway. This had been pubished on RUclips as a 48 mins video. Perfect for your react channel
Americans accused Michael Moore for lying when he made a documentary about it, but major news network in the US have made their own reports about it after that.
Really interesting video to watch. I love how energetic you are and open to learn. I also love how you learn away to us watching at home about your own country, thank you for this amazing video
I got help from Norwegian health care for having trouble of having a baby .They treated me free and free airplane ticket going to hospital .Now I’m pregnant and just staying at home and still get a salary from government the same as I get from my job. So I can say Norway is the best. Fresh air ,fresh water and loving Norwegian folk .❤❤ I’m lucky got married a Norwegian man .😊❤
So. I just discovered your channel with one of your recent videos. That video alone inspired me to start watching all your videos from old to new, and so far it's a blast! I love your reactions, how you talk about the different topics you learn about. Your videos are so relaxing to watch. I absolutely love what you do!
Norway has developed copious supplies of hydro electric power - meaning that it can export its oil and gas to countries who lack reserves of energy , which is quite an effective business model. This allows it to defend its agriculture - instead of pitting its farmers against the cheapest products from around the world that are perhaps grown with poor standards. The farther north you go in Norway , the more its farmers are paid for their milk. This is because Norway is keen to keep its northern areas populated and tended by the original inhabitants.
Your math may have been problematic, but the way you just owned up to that and kept right on moving was stellar. Everyone makes mistake, but it's how you own up to them that shows what kind of person you are. I've seen a few of your videos, but that moment there that's what got me to sub. You're a good dude, man.
As a Norwegian, our welfare system is really great, and im happy my taxes go towards education, but i will say its not perfect. We could have heavily reduced taxes in Norway if our state stopped wasting alot of it. One of the funniest examples is our greenest political party, they were in control off the city of Oslo after getting the majority off the municipality votes. They wasted 700k NOK to paint 2000 round spots. thats 3500 per spot, roughly 360-380 USD per spot. Best part is that they were warned that the paint was not made for sticking to asphalt and outside use, so the spots basically dissapeared in a very short time. Stuff like that is what some of our taxes go towards. Also we just broke the record of having the highest electricity prices in europe, probably in the world if we only include developed countries. In terms of happiness, we are happy for the most part, but there is a dark shadow over it. The suicide rate for young males is surprisingly high. Edit: We do not trust our government these days, due to stuff like the ACER deal. Also the EU part, the people voted no to join EU. Democracy for the win, except the state joined EØS instead. In short, we pay for membership, but we can also deny certain rules and stuff, but that right to say no has never been used. Back in the early 2000's and earlier, the politicians were people with education, with experience from actual trades, they knew what it was like to be a normal citizen, but politicians these days are uneducated people with no real work experience who live inside their own bubbles thinking everything is fine because the get everything they need, including apartaments. Norway has alot of potential to be the greatest, but sadly the average citizen votes for who they think is the coolest on TV, and not on what the written agenda for that political party is. and they get surprised when the written stuff they didnt read happens.
You say our welfare system is pretty good, but we have to be healthy enough to fight for the help we need and deserve. Because if you don't fight for it you don't get the help you need but if you're struggling so much you don't have that fight in you then you're left on your own. I've been declined help 3 times in a row after struggling with depression, anxiety and PTSD for years. So instead I'm spending a bunch of money on private doctors and psychologists. I'm not suprised the suicide rates for males are high here considering it's difficult enough for a male to admitt they need help , but then making them fight for it? I belive right now norway is falling apart
@@Drills_with_Sils Norway is falling apart yes. But this sounds like you have had bad luck in terms off who your docs were. Whenever i have an issue my doctor always checks me out properly. He saw that i was depressed and got me to talk, he got me proffesional help. Maybe im just lucky with my doctor
@@remus907 they tried send me to a psychologist everytime, but they decline it. This isn't just something I've been experiencing, most people I've spoke to about this in the area I live in have this issue, they don't get seen, heard or believed. I have a friend thats been fighting the health care system for almost 3 years and now they are finally working on diagnosing her. I'm glad you have had better luck! I have finally gotten a good primary care doctor that sees me and hears me, but the mental health area I belive norway needs to work on
@@Drills_with_Sils Sad to hear that. I saw some dark stuff going on in Agder and witnessed the hidden despair of many. I hope you're doing well, focus on improving yourself and your close circle. And don't hesitate to reach out to me if you want to try a different approach, I work both with the body and mind, two sides of the same coin, and I have many tricks that may help. William Paul Fitness
fun fact: pretty much al fresh water you see in norway(rivers,lakes and so on) is drinkable without any treatment at al. and tastes good! basically the water you can buy in us for example voss water. is the same we have in our fosets and toilets and showers;) and its awsome. go out hiking? no problem just filling the water bottle at ever river or water you come across
Norways government pension fund is, at this moment 1.2 trillion USD. And with this fund, the Norwegian people owns about 2% the world. 1.6% of the global stock marked. The rest is real estate and fixed income securities. In comparison Norway's citizens are 0.06% of the world. That speaks volume of how rich Norway really is. The main reason it is a good country to run businesses in, despite the high tax rates, is the free education, and the strong unions. This means everyone can get high education, if they have the head for it. You don't need a scholarship or rich parents. If you're the next Einstein, you will succeed in Norway. And that results in far more highly educated people available to companies trying to do business in Norway.
@@MrCrazyhill First of all, LO isn't the only labour union out there. Secondly, the unions represents member *workers* regardless of their income. That includes everyone from the lowest wage groups to the very top of the members. And there's been plenty of strikes where most workers didn't get a rise of anything but the poorest members did.
@@LuredreierAgreed. I have been part of Fellesforbundet sinse i started my career in Construcktion. I have also been a club representative and i have worked with lots of foreign colleagues from Poland and other Eastern Block countries. They call our working Union for Mafia. IMO we pay for protection. Its a funny discription, but also a cultural fair statement. Cause in their own country , they have no one whom can protect their working rights. So LO is just the umbrella front of many different working Unions. And they have power.. true negotiating power to get things right. Without them Norway would not be the good velfare community it is today.
Yeah the oil money investing was a great idea for the country. While most oil countries just keep gathering money and doing nothing useful with it (or just making the leadership rich) they looked forward and are currently making more money with the investments than they do with the actual oil
3:03 It has a long coastline because of all of the fjords. Clearly this fact was not understood correctly in this vid. 63000 miles is equivalent to around 2,5 laps around earth. It is not slightly more than 50% like he says here. The land boarder is only 1568miles long. There is 40 times more coastline than land boarder. Why do I even care? I really don’t know… Sleep well folks
Trust is a big part of Norway. Some times In the winter we cant stop and start our car all the time because of the cold. So we just leave the car running with the keys in and Go shopping for groserice. If we loose something, like a bag or Even airpods, we know its a big chance it will return home.
"free healthcare" does have deductables though, so even though its very cheap its not entirely free. An appointment with your general practitioner for example would be around 25-50 dollars depending on if you need to take tests etc.
Thats to much, its about $20-25. And maximum per year is $300 in total deductables. As a chronic-ill person with diabetes type 1++, I consider healthcare i Norway for free.
So, to the 8 k average income, Morisith is right, the average is 8k $, but the median is about 4.7 in 2022, which is not bad, but not 8. I also have to say that the taxes are progressive, and have a bottom free no tax amount so earning 4.7k gives you a lot more money per k than 8 does.
Yeah, the median is 4.7k, indeed. But their statement that 2k is a 'normal' full time low wage salary is also way too low, that's notably lower than effective minimum salary, you earn significantly above 2k as a cashier at Rema without working overtime. I get 2k on basic disability benefits.
@@TheTobiasz123 The 8K salary mentioned in the video, is the average too. It is incorrect! An average salary of 96K and a GDP per capita of 81K, would be bad business.
Amreicans in Norway rarely move back to the US. People dont DO big cities over in Norway. Its mostly smaller cities and village-life like on these pictures. The economy is strong so they can afford to travel anywhre and everybody learns English and German in school. Or Spanish - French if they choose to. People are generally very educated. Which is free... Up to 5 years in university. Norway has nature a bit like Canada. Everthing just works. And is done well.
If you tried to do something similar in the United States, wouldn't people shout 'socialism', which seems to be what some Americans say whenever somebody suggests curbing the selfish interests of the wealthy?
The sallery in Norway is NOT 8k pr. mnd. Maby around 3k after tax, will be more acurate. (Normal tax rate is around 35%) A gallon of diesel cost around 8 - 9 us dollar. A piece off bread is around 5-6 us dollar. A smal botle of soda is around 3-5 us dollar. A paint off beer out on town is around 10-13 us dollar
fun little fact. In Norway we have minerals and you wondered which one. well, we have enough Thorium in Norway to keep Norway with energy for 47,000 years (thorium is like an atom but takes half the time to break down) We have not yet started excavating Thorium but it is there as a future resource for excavation .
If only we can get over our silly aversion to nuclear technology enough to make use of it, I think thorium-based nuclear power could be the ultimate solution to our future energy needs, though a bit further down the road, we'll still need more immediate fixes to our current situation too.
@@Arbaaltheundefeated: We can get a lot of energy from it, but it's still by far the most _expensive_ energy and we can have all the cheap renewable energy we want. It would be better for us if other countries built thorium powerplants and let us supply them with the thorium.
I will say your honesty, simplicity, spirit, warmth of heart and way of understanding will make you fit like a hand in a perfect glove for the nordic way of life Tyler. Great reaction too bro`
The information gained from watching this video is as far from painting a realistic picture of Norway as it can possibly get. This shouldn't be a surprise to anybody. Both the video and the reaction are obviously made for the sole purpose of gaining views. When living in an era of wokenism the way to do it is by focusing only on things that look good. Here's why Norway is one of the worst countries to live in... 1) Whether. 2) Climate. 3) Hours of natural light. 4) Taxation. 5) Regulations. 6) Parasitism. 7) Immigration. 8) Extremely poor assortment of goods, food in particular - compares to third world. 9) Extreme prices even for products where they are self-sufficient. Oil, gas, electric power, and fish. 10) Extreme home prices in the ten largest cities due to policies. Norway is very close to what a sane person would expect hell to be.
youtube_Stole. Residents of almost any country can make such a list. After we have collected all the lists, we can compare your list with the lists from the other countries. If you still think that Norway is one of the worst countries, it can be explained like this: You are not familiar with everyday life for most people elsewhere in the world.
The way that welfare is often done in Norway is that it is universal programs. That means that both rich and poor get benefits from the welfare state. An argument often used on the right is like "why should we give support for school to Bezos children"? This argument is used to stop universal welfare arrangements, but what this argument does mentionn is that if Bezos children get a free education, then Bezos have paid more in taxes for that than he would have for private schools. In Norway the rich pay more taxes, and get the same benefits from the welfare state. This makes the rich feel like they also get something back, so they don't complain so much, and at the same time their kids gets educated together with people from all social economic classes. This ties the society together effectively because you get friends from many walks of life. The general feeling in Norway is that the rich don't mind the tax levels here, both because they get free services too, and because they understand how their wealth have to integrate to the whole system because of their friends, so you would have to be kinda wierd not to accept that you have to pay your fair share. What does that sound like? At least one politician in the US often refer to Scandinavian countries as a model for the USA, so when we hear him talking we feel like he speaks our language and logic.
As a Norwegian citizen, it is a few problems coming up with the economy lately, mainly the electricity this year have gone from costing 1500USD per month to now costing 600USD in 1 year...And also food prizes have gone up by 25% compared to last year...The goverment is not perfect, a few things they have forgotten both sides that you can vote for, (it is more options but all others are to small to make a difference) Mainly the fight that Norwegians citizens did 50-70 years ago to make life better for future generations is now forgotten... Electricity is now getting sold to other countries so the state earns more money, but the average Norwegian citizen have less money, after all the bills are paid...
Did you mean "(...) to now costing 6000 USD in 1 year..." instead of 600 USD? Would not really make sense for it to have gone down, assuming you dont live in the North. Or did you mean 150USD to 600 USD?
@@xiamusmc271 I think he meant 150 USD to 600 USD per month... 😉 Due mainly to the Ukraine war, the price on electricity has gone through the roof. It's a temporary situation, but people seem to let themselves worry for most things. A few weeks back we had about the cheapest electricity in Europe, now that the prices has gone up in the wealthiest country on earth - inaccurate doomsday conclusions like "Electricity is now getting sold to other countries so the state earns more money, but the average Norwegian citizen have less money, after all the bills are paid." are popping up all over the place. Even though unlike in most of the world, the Norwegian electricity distributors are not allowed to cut the power during winter, and even though the customers would get help from the govt. to pay if they couldn't - months before the power were cut. I think some are only happy if they have something to complain about - and I guarantee that before the electricity bill got higher, he/she was just as discontent with something completely different.
The importance of a high participation rate in the labour market is overlooked here, and that's where generous public welfare kicks in. You can't achieve that without universal public welfare. Costly it is, but cheaper than political instability and distrust. A high participation rate in the labour market in itself offsets the higher welfare costs.
Remember that GDP generated per citizen does not equate to what people are paid in actual wages. GDP accounts for the value of the work you contribute to the economy; not what you are paid for contributing it.
I'm a Swede and I was kinda shocked when I moved to Oslo for a year. So many rich people everywhere. haha. Big yauchts and luxury stores and things I've never seen in Sweden before. :D The salaries are so high so people can easily save up and become a millionare over time. Which is cool, if you're a hard worker there are no better place on earth than Norway. I worked there 10 years ago and got 36.000 nok a month which is 3500 USD which I found to be high since I got it without no education. entry level shit. Norway is the best, I kinda miss it.
There has been two EU referendums in Norway. First one was in 1972 about what was then the EEC (European Economic Community) The UK among others joined this in 1973. In regards to the number of milionares in Norway, the procentage of home-owner in Norway is much larger than Sweden and Denmark for example. 82% i Norway, 69 % in Sweden, 63% in Denmark and 52% in Germany, 67-68% in the US. I don't know how a millionare is defined in this program, but if you include property value. Even I am a milionare.
Capitalism is about *me myself* and what *I* can have and gain. It's about the individual, and it causes self centred thinking. So naturally - the moment you have Norway here (Hei Tyler, og Velkommen til Norge! :D ), with large programs that benefits *_all,_* they scream Communism! and make a huge scene... I'm glad you truly get it. :) I find it funny that Americans seems to regard tax money as penalty money, rather than something that can be used to something useful. Like repairing or fixing the school. Modernize the road. A new sports hall. What ever... But no. It's penalty money.
Well, with regard to taxes, I suspect that americans like us Australians, know that the money is rarely going to be used to benefit the person on the street anywhere near as often as it should.
Norway is actualy verry capitalist(As hinted to in this video), just done in a good way. (capitalism is neutral).. corporatism is another story, America is infected by it.
@@8bloppy8 Glad someone pointed this out. It's very tiresome when people make shallow comments like "capitalism bad" and conflate it with corporatism. All of Scandinavia is capitalist and Sweden's economic success his hugely due to the free market establishment of international companies. Scandinavia has ethical capitalism, a strong social net within which capital investment plays according to strict rules, but it definitely isn't seperated from capitalism itself and it has never, ever been socialist (looking at your misinformation Bernie Sanders). Had we ever been properly socialist we would've been done for long ago.
@Alexander B capitalism = exploit any and all for all angles to maximize your own or your companies profitt preferably while screwing over your competitors until you have forced them out of business securing your own monopoly. Ethical capitalism is not a thing, unless your deluded and severly high after inhaling your own shitty excuses for being the complete oppositive of ethical.
@@larslnskog7580 Your impotent rage against the already victorious ruling system is duly noted. Here's the truth: any other economic foundation than capitalism=utter failure. Unlike Socialism or Communism, capitalism doesn't pretend to be utopian or flawless, capitalists know the dark side of the system but compared to literally any other alternative it is by far the best. Every single attempt at foregoing capitalist principles has failed miserably and resulted in national bankruptcy, starvation, dictatorship, revolution and mass murder. Capitalism has raised a third of the world's populous out of abject poverty and all the most successful nations on earth are capitalist. It's going to take a little more than the foul mouthed tirades of RUclips trolls to change that. And just as I described ethically restrained capitalism is exactly what Scandinavia espouse with a free market operating within strong unionism and Welfare nets. End of story.
Coastline is long because of a very curly coast because of all the fiords. Skip across openings and the coast is massively shorter yet fiord shores are like taking large river banks along the rivers major length as "coast".
You probably have already learned this but if not, the reason why Norway is “in” so much with the EU, while not being a member, is because we’re basically bound to it due to our membership in EEA (the European Economic Area), EFTA (European Free Trade Association). As well as our membership in NATO and being a member of the Schengen Agreement. So when people go, “how does Norway benefit so much from the EU, while not being apart of the EU”, the answer is basically, we aren’t apart of the EU, but we’re bound so to the EU via these methods, so we’re basically a “member” regardless if we like it or not. (and since 52.2% of the population voted no against membership in 1994 (47,8% voted yes btw) and we haven’t had a vote on that since (despite some people trying to make that happen), who knows).
You really hit the nail straight in on one stroke with the comment about trust. We have very high trust, and we have a very high stake in what we often call Norway Inc. (AS Norge) We also have a transparent taxation system, so we can look up what people make and what positions they have in companies, so there's no secret power and corruption is very low. As for the relationship between the government and the people, we have a saying in Norway that we all learn as a children: «the state, that is us». We are very strongly united around the concept of government of the people, by the people and for the people. … And most of us don't have to file taxes, because it's fully automatic. I've heard some Americans think that sounds pretty nice. :)
@@AFFoC: Norway is very far from being homogeneous. It's a nazi myth, like the horned helmets. I don't understand why people are so desperate to believe these things about Norway. It's really, really obviously not true. If you look at the long distance between south and north, you will understand that it would be close to impossible for Norway to ever be homogeneous.
03.27 its my home town of Ålesund and you can se my childhood home in the dip in the mountain to the Left of the city center. That mountain's name is Sukkertoppen (sugartopp) it also where the wolds tallest handmade bonfire is made for st.hans every year. I have helped build it for 3 years and my little brother 2 years. Beautyfull place in the summer. High mountains and deep fjords.
I leave In Oslo and haven’t visited a lot of other states in Norway but I have a few in my travel list now thanks to you Love it Thank Tyler keep bringing them up
We are also happy to up to 40% taxes when we know we get it back from the gov when in need, and the fact that we tax the oil industry 78%+ and invest only in green energy, not weapons or tobacco etc :) Fun fact, the sovereign national wealth fun has a permanent philosopher to make ethical decision on our investment, so to ensure proper investment
The monarch has, since 1905 signed alle the laws put in from of him, and has very little formal influence. (The last king, in union with Sweden, was tha last to veto a lw, and that cost him his Norwegian job, and the country.) Slmon in sushi was unheard of until a Norwegian trade delegation intyroduced it to Japan in the 1970 or early 80s. Reitan was/is only as rich as Donald Trump claimned to be. The main difference between the Nordic and the US is the distribution of wealth. For instance, fewr than 100 people in the US own more than 48% of the rest of the population combined. A CEO of a Fornbes 500 company makes 305 times the avreage worker does in that same company. In the Nordics that's only about 10 or15:1. As for taxes, the comparison to the US doesn't really work. Things like free education, healthcare, childcare are incluyded in the taxes when you have to pay for that (or insurance premiums) out of pocket in the US. You will probably have a lower disposable income in the US, both on average and on the median income.
Actually, King Harald V did veto / advice against the removal of a constitutional law in 2008; the law in question require the monarch to be aligned with the Evangelical-Lutheran religion, basically the Norwegian church. As a pious man he didn't want that law to be removed in his lifetime. In the end they changed it instead of removing it, meaning the law will have to be addressed again in the future if a future monarch wants religious freedom.
I would say the avrage workingclass salary in norway is 4000$ and usually the tax range drawn from salaries is between 24-32% it dosnt paint a proper picture to include the higher ups in my oppinion. Im from Norway.
Here's the perspective we have on our taxes. Yes they're high, but 1. They are all done by the government, and generally speaking we don't have to worry about our taxes. 2. They give us basically freedom to do anything and not worry about going bankrupt. 3. Whenever we travel or want to travel somewhere other than Norway, it's generally cheap... And let's us have big spending sprees without actually affecting us that much. So although I consider myself rather poor as a 18 soon to be 19 year old that's just about to move out making only about 2300$ a month. Not a lot to sustain myself IN Norway. But it is a lot whenever I go on vacation and can go on shopping sprees in countries like Spain and Poland which I visit rather frequently
The average monthly salary in Norway is not $8000. The number might be wrong due to convertion rates and which "average" they used at the time that video was made but today the median average monthly salary translates to $4450 based on statistics from 2021. And ordinary average would be around $500 higher based on the same statistics. So unsure how they got $8000.
Re: millionaiires. The video you were watching is slightly out of date and got the ratio wrong. Norway now has over 186000 dollar millionaires which makes it that 1 in every 29 people in Norway is a dollar millionaire. And note that that $1 million is investable wealth in _addition_ to the value in your home.
I'm Norwegian, born and raised. Love to live here and consider myself very lucky. Our healthcare system is hands down fantastic. Dental care, though ... I don't know how it is in other countries, but here in Norway you can pretty much be ruined if you have to go to the dentist and get a root canal, implant or something. My recent dental bill for this year comes to about 40.000 kr (4000 dollars) for fixing ONE tooth and since dental care is private in Norway, we have to pay all of it. I would rather pay even higher taxes than today and place dental care in the same box as health care. Teeth should be consedered a part of the human body, it's ridicilous. Other than that, Norway is a lovely country to be a part of. :)
Norway is a good country, but it is not unique. Most countries in the western world, not all western countries, but most have a similar system. Compared to the second and third world, the West has relatively low social differences, but the USA and the UK have large differences Norway is often glorified and seen as the best of the best, which I think is completely wrong Although our country is rich in resources, the population is not rich, not poor either, just working class. The majority are working class. The middle class, the upper class and the poor are a minority, as in most Western countries The amount of income in Norway is high, but people abroad who dream of living in Norway do not check living costs against income. Norway is among the most expensive countries in the West, the cost of living is insanely high, therefore the high amount of income is not relevant to wealth I know a married couple where the husband is Spanish, the wife is Norwegian. They have lived in both Norway and Spain, now they live in Spain. Spain is not as rich in resources as we are, but the people who live there are neither richer nor poorer than Norwegians Measured in amount, they earn 35% less in Spain for similar occupations than in Norway, in return the cost of living is 35% lower, which makes this match, therefore the standard of living is the same. Rights in healthcare are also the same Poor, middle class and rich are a minority in Spain, and it is a minority in Norway. The level of corruption is low compared to the second and third world in Spain, and the level of corruption is low in Norway compared to the second and third world Norwegians are no better off than most other western countries, this is a big misunderstanding Yes, we earn more, but we also have a higher cost of living Something that is also misunderstood is that healthcare is free in Norway, this is not true. When you are admitted to hospital, you pay nothing, and the treatment you receive while you are admitted is free, but for all outpatient treatment you pay a deductible. The healthcare system is partially subsidized by the state, but not free, only admission to a public hospital is free In the last year, Norway has gone downhill. I would call it a financial crisis, something all countries go through once in a while. Interest rates have exploded, electricity is 10 times more expensive than a year ago, the currency has lost a lot of value, and recently food also became much more expensive. Despite all this, there is no index adjustment in the income. The amount of income is still the same now as it was two years ago, we have a much higher cost of living, money is in inflation, interest rates have exploded, but after all this the amount of salary is exactly the same Poverty rate went from 7% of Norway's population to 10% of the population. It is still a minority on the scale, but I still think it is tragic and unfair that it should be like this I also have to mention dental health. One would think that the teeth are not part of the body in Norway, because dental health is not covered by the ordinary healthcare system. Public healthcare is partially subsidized, you pay a deductible, the state pays the rest, dental health is not subsidized, after you turn 18, the state pays 0% of the dental health, so at the dentist you pay 100% of the price yourself Higher education in the public sector is not free either, you pay a compulsory fee each semester. You have to buy your own laptop, you have to buy your own textbooks, and if you don't live near the university, you have to rent a dormitory, which is very expensive, and you also have to pay for electricity and food, and to afford this you have to apply for a student loan, and you have debt for years after you graduate When Norwegians buy houses or flats in working-class standard, they have mortgages for 25 to 35 years on average This post is not intended as a complaint, but as a detailed explanation that Norway is nothing extraordinary, Norway is nothing unique. Money is not everything, and I have no goal of becoming rich, but it is not fun that people think we are so rich when it is not the case, nor is it nice that people think Norway is utopia when it is not the case The rare times I afford a holiday, and the locals ask where I'm from, and I say Norway, then I can't be left alone, then people will sell me the most expensive things they have, restaurants will sell me lobster, if I am in a taxi and they ask where I'm from, then they'll drive me everywhere and give me a long sightseeing trip and show me all possible sights, because they think I'm insanely rich when they hear the word "Norway". I am also told that I am lucky, but what do they really know about my life? How do they know I'm lucky? That and being lucky are to a far greater extent personal experiences than which country you live in. I've always had what I need, but I'm still not lucky, I've been exposed to a lot of bad experiences in life. That's why it's not fun that people think I'm rich and lucky! I consider myself neither lucky nor unlucky, it's subjective, I currently have a job I like with good colleagues, and a few good friends, and good relatives. I earn less in this job than in the previous one, but I enjoy myself better, therefore I feel luckier with this job. But behind me in life I have been treated terribly by many people, I have been exposed to a lot of pain, and I have also been in two car accidents. So even though I live in Norway, I am not immune from experiencing a bad life. It is to a small extent one country that determines whether you are lucky or not, as long as you are not living in war, or starving to death
Tax is interesting, some countries have high taxes and free HC, Schools, etc, and some have lower taxes but lots of fees. Some countries have subsidies for eg having a child, and some have tax reductions. Doing the math it seems to be the same, but the low tax/high fee systems are benefiting the rich, while a high tax/low fee system is better for the poor. Now, we know that more equal populations are in general more happy, and that less poor people in the long run benefits the richest, so it's not exactly brain surgery why the Nordic Model is successful.
Hey Tyler! It's fun to follow your videos about Norwegians!!! The culture, the way they are, the wealth that they take care of, and don't use for fun! The world's largest public pension fund, which will protect ALL citizens (5,5 mill.), not just a few. But to really understand the Norwegians well, it is important to go back a little bit in time, 1814 (indepent from the Danes and making our own constitution law, based on French and the U.S. laws), 1905 (independent from the Swedes, even Norway is a very old country), and especially WW2 where Norway was in fact a very important part of this war; The Heavy Water (the important clean water for making nuclear for the atomic bombs) which we didn't let the Germans get hold of. We sank a ferry with The Heavy Water that was on its way to Germany (because the Germans had invaded the country, we didn't think they would come. But they did. Our mistake) and some Norwegians perished. We blew up our own factory that made heavy water (Norwegian Hydro Plant) so that the Germans wouldn't get hold of them. Norway was the only Nordic country that face this war in these matter (the Germans used only 12 hours to conquer Denmark. Sweden was neutral. Finland had their Winter-war 1939 against Russia and was tired of the war when the Germans came. Finland was so pissed about Russia that they helped the Germans against Russia. Many films and books has been made of what happened to Norway in the WW2, also in recent years, about all the brave Norwegians who gave their lives for justice and did not let the Germans rule the world. However, today in 2023 Germany is our biggest trading partner :) so we are friends again. "Time heals all wounds", they say. From Bergen (the capital of the fjords in Norway) an incredible number of commercial ships went out, and shipowners sent their vessels to England and across the Atlantic Ocean to our friend, USA. Here we picked up goods that were transported back to European countries. But many boats were lost from German submarines, and many Norwegians lie at the bottom of the Atlantic Ocean. We had several resistance movements that resisted the Germans, and one of them transported important people from Bergen to the island of Shetland (just ahead of Scotland) in small fishing boats. The North Sea is a tough place to be in autumn and winter with storms and up to 20 m (13 feet) high waves. But these fishermen were going forward with their cargo, whatever the cost. Up in northern Norway, many of the most important battles during WW2 took place, where Prime Minister Churchill had sent English, French and Polish forces to stop the Germans from obtaining coal of very high quality. The Germans were to use this to make submarines, planes, tanks etc. The city is Narvik. Just when they had got a good grip on the Germans and almost surrounded them, Churchill (great warrior) pulled out all the troops and sent them to the south of France and Normandy (the place named after Norwegians). In April 1945, the Germans burned down the entire northern part of Norway, when they realized that the war was lost. In war parlance, this is called the "scorched earth tactic". Enough of that, look at this theme and find gold! Yes, the Norwegians are a bit withdrawn and want to know who we are dealing with, before they press you to their chest, so there is a built-in skepticism that must be overcome, and only our guests can do that, not us. For us, life is not about MONEY, but about a good life with our neighbors, people and the nature around the world. Thanks.
America is lucky to still be rated as a democracy at all. It is afraid to enforce its own laws against a serial criminal like Trump for fear of the backlash from his acolytes.
As an american I think you can emigrate to Norway and became a Norwegian citizen. If you like. The nice thing for you will be that allmost all Norwegians speak english. The young ones pretty fluent, the old ones, not so much. (I'm 76 btw). You will also find that for every 10 new cars sold, 8 will be pure electric cars that runs on batteries. And you will find many Teslas espesaly modell 3 and Y.
Modestly is so deeply rooted in the Norwegian culture. That the amazing thing about so many of the really wealthy people in Norway is that you would never know that they are super rich, they use public transport, drive a good normal cars, and live in a normal size house's. And are usually really lay back look at them self as equal to there fellow men.
I don't know about Modesty pr say... We look down upon people that show of that they believe they're better then others. But we're not exactly modest, we just show off in different ways from say Americans...
They made some really good choices when they fund oil. Many countries could have done what Norway did, but they did not and instead of money going to the state and its people it's going to private companies.
No they couldn't. Norway's oil fund is worth about £350,000 per person, this is only achievable because Norway has just 5 million people. UK had a comparable amount of oil BUT has 14 times as many people, therefore a UK oil find would only be worth £25,000 a person going back to the 1960's, basically nothing
I can tell you norway is so rich that people don’t have food on their table everyday they cannot take care of us born here but thank god they give back to people in need outside Norway, it is far from as beautiful as you all see, your eighter rich or very poor, that is the truth! And yes I am Norwegian
I can assure you, in other countries, it's even worse. Poverty in the US is appalling compared to here. I used to live in the US, and although complaining is Norwegians biggest hobby, I care not to. I've seen so much worse. It's not to say Norwegians can't struggle and be poor, but noone is homeless here. That's a big difference just there.
If you need a student loan there are no interest before you are done studying. If you pass the degree up to 40% of the loan will be transformed into a scholarship and basicly deleted. You can also pause payments for upto 36 months without interest if you want after you have started paying. Even if you use 30 years to pay of the debt you will still have paid back less than what you loaned. You need a loan to support living costs, but the school itself typically cost under $100 per semester.
With regard to the US vs. Norwegian welfare system, and the negative connotations the word "welfare" has in the US, there is a bit of a language barrier that doesn't really translate well. In Norwegian the word "velferd" (Norwegian for welfare) covers anything, and everything that has to do with personal well being, and happiness. Based on the context (social setting/workplace/non-profit organization/etc.) it can cover everything from disability pay, to bringing cake to celebrate that your colleague/friend had a baby, etc. So in Norway the word welfare (velferd) doesn't have that negative ring to it. The Norwegian word that is closest to having the same negative connotations as welfare would probably be "sosialstøtte", which literally translates to social support, i.e. monetary support from the social services. "Sosialstøtte" does have quite a bit of stigma attached to it, but as the social/inclusive element is firmly rooted in our collective psyche, I get the impression that there is considerably less stigma than what the US has with regard to the word welfare. In short these two words (welfare - velferd) mean the same thing, but there are significant cultural differences that has a big impact on the interpretation of the words.
The Oil industri is very different to USA and UK. Here in Norway you have to have a very high education at least 16-17 years. We have a 37.5 hour working week here, people working on the Oil rigs have 12 hour working days. Because of that they work 14 days and have 4 weeks free. Also all the rigs have a hotel standard, singel cabins, cinemas, buffees, trim rooms ect. Nobody comes inside in their working cloths. Also the wages are very good. One more thing about us norwegians we care about eachother, and we look out for eachother. Only people with guns here are those that hunt, and they have to have them locked in a spesial gun boks. It is also forbidden to carry knifes.
I got trigger finger(tooo much guitar playing) and waiting period was 1 year. So I called cousin in CMC hospital,vellore,India she got an appointment with in 5 days. Got operated and playing mire guitar than ever.
Norway have handled their oil and gas findings examplery, in diffrence from example Venezuela they have invested their oilmoney, in the infrasystem, and in the health system and school system, they have invested in science and in founds for future use
You should check out Australia too. Australia should do a better job of hoarding its wealth but its just not had the impetus because we have resources that will last for a lot longer than when the oil will run out in Norway. Western Australia could consider another referendum and declaration of independence again and it would be fabulously wealthy. It could also operate in a similar way to some of the wealthy oil states in the Middle East by taking in temporary guest workers. There would just be some economies of scale to deal with in terms of maintaining its own air force, nuclear submarines etc. to continue to deter China from a hostile takeover. Australia has 25 million people and around 650,000 millionaires and 37 billionaires. Every Norwegian is technically a millionaire though due to the value of the assets held by the sovereign fund. It was very smart to start saving up the oil money but I wish Australia could be smarter about how it manages its affairs. It is very weird that the fund doesn't invest in oil, when most of the money to start with comes from oil. Norway can borrow money for next to nothing through bonds that are probably AAA rated, and invest in companies that are growing at 10-20% p.a. Smart.
in the case of salaries (and "small" datasets in general) an average is not representative of the general population cause there is a small percent of the population driving the average way up. like Reitan for example, earning hundreds of millions of dollars a year will of course raise the average a lot higher than it naturally would be if you excluded incredibly high numbers.
yeah good relation with government and people, because we the people can actually have an influence on the government. For example, when covid hit, my kids lived with mother in another european country, and the rules for who could come into the country was limited. When I pointed out this to the government, they told me to talk to local officials. I talked to the border police, and the asked me to detail the situation in an email so that they could get lawmakers to look at it. One week later the rules were changed to make sure family of mixed nationality could get in on the state level. Just shows, one person can actually have a impact in the system, and the control is with the people, not with our elected officials - if they do something we as a people do not like, we can effect change, even at the individual level, and it is encouraged throughout the system.
Your math is correct. If the narrator was right, there would be over 38 million people in Norway. :P 163000 x 31 is a little over 5 mill. So pretty close :)
Among the considerable boasting and some superficialness of the video you're commenting on: To be 'on welfare' does have some connotation of stigma in Norway too, but I agree there is a difference. - The functioning of the oil fund would need a longer comment. Anyway, it's invested ABROAD, and it's said to be the world's largest investor, so its value fluctuates like the global economy does. - Some of the figures given are confusing, in some instances it is not clear to me whether it gives 'millions' and 'millionaires' etc in terms of dollars or of Norwegian Crowns (a dollar is at present just about 10 NOK). Lots of Norwegians are millionaires in Norwegian crowns, but it's mostly because of the value / potential value of their houses, apartments, winter cabins, summer cabins. Now you have to live somewhere, so not all the value of your dwelling can be realised. And what about your holiday if your cabin is sold? - The video's superficiality: Of course living anywhere is more complicated than 'averages' and 'survey-based happiness' say. They often seem based on questions of how 'satisfied' people are with this or that particular factor of their lives. - Parliamentary democracy: Elections to the parliament every 4 years. The government formed must resign if a majority in parliament says so - it's called 'parliamentarism' (like the UK, i.e it need not have an active majority supporting it on every issue, but must be able to muster a majority if a question is put of whether it is allowed to continue and do this and that, or must go.) In other words: The political leader of the country, the prime minister, is NOT chosen in a separate election like your president; he/she is appointed by the party or parties able to muster a parliamentary majority which accepts that. At present there is a minority government (2 parties: the Labour Party (democratic socialists), and the Center Party (heavy basis of agriculture sectors)); this government is usually supported in parliamentary voting by two or three other parties of socialistic orientation. The previous government, which sat for 8 years, was more or less conservative / liberal (in the European meaning of 'liberal', not the American one.) - Americans are way behind regarding royals and their function today; you seem foggy about their place in politics and often to have a suspicion of their being 'a separate species', hmh?! Reminds me of a charming old Hollywood movie: "Call me Madam" from 1953, which must surely have been made to give Americans confirmation of their unclear dreams of European royalty!
I just turned 35 years of residence in Norway. I'll tell you everything that is good in Norway, has a catch 22. It is by no means the "best place to live". 1) Insane high prices make also norwegians flee for shopping in Sweden 2) Population is treated like babies who can't think 3) Politics leave out a huge factor: "will of the people". 4) They lie of it being a democracy but change their rules whenever it befits the King, who really does the governing even though they learn at school that he is only symbolic. 5) The population after ww2 have been brainwashed to a degree of which I have no paralel to compare it with. 6) The ranks that are so high score comes with peer pressure and expectation building. You get subleemely learned what to answer on those polls that make us look so happy 7) highest number of depressed people, people with anxiety and other mental issues. 8) After living in Norway for 35 years, I have a total of 0 ethnic Norwegian friends. To a comparison I have over 30+ friends in Britain which I accumulated over 1 year of stay in Newcastle during studies. 9) Healthcare is "free". You tax 35% on your sallary, and then you tax 24% on every single article you buy. Then you tax 90% on fuel, alcohol, meat, sugar and tobacco. 10) Whatever the state gives to you with one hand, it takes with the other. If you lost your job, you will get unemployment benifits, 60% of your sallary for 2 years, but they will send you to the outmost BS courses and classes to learn how to write a simple CV. Even if your a PHD in medicine, you will lose your money if you dont attend these courses. 11) In norway, institutions and people will nag a hole in your head to get a job. When you first get a job, at work, they do anything in their power and go out of their way to get you fired from that job. 12) Over 220 ice cold days a year 13) Many millionaires, but you see more wealth in countries like Moldova, Albania or Romania. 14) The local "Jante-law" dictates that you cannot show your wealth because that is showing off. This has rendered many norwegians to live like poor flees because of the fear of what the neighbor might think. 15) Norwegians dont have normal european social antennas. You are crazy if you sit close to someone on a train or bus. 16) As a kid visiting another kid, during dinner time, only the kid of the house will be served food while you, the kid that is visiting, must be in the room alone til the friend has finished eating. 17) Welphare system is a scam here. None of us dream of one day ending up at the welphare system. I worked in the social dept for 13 years and yes people recieve money for their livelyhood, however you have to pay it back in humiliation, degradation and when you stretch your hand to tthe system to get their money, they will use you how ever they please and play with your life however they want. 18) The roads here are worse than many developing third world countries. Much worse than Poland, Russia, Albania, Austria or Spain. 19) Norway is also called "Prison Norway" by many many people that live here. The state is with you from birth to the grave and has a finger in every aspect of your life, communism. 20) Prejudice based society. If you dont look like a certain type, say a victim of robbery, and you experience robbery but the robber is an unlikely assailant, even with all the prove in the world, your case will be thrown out the window. 21) Hugely Xenophobic population that "knows" theyr better then everyone else in the world. 22) Government works to make things more illegal here thus no significant crime, they seek to make fuel even more expensive, even though we produce it, they seek to make energy prices hstorically high, even though we produce power to all of europe and still have surpluss, but also still the highest prices in Europe. 23) The de-humanization of society and state institutions. Everything must be done through the internet even though nobody informs you where or when. Inapropriate working hours to not match with the population. 24) Egocentrical economy that has resulted in the worlds highest prices on everything. They find new innovative ways on how to hinder people from going to other countries for shopping, impose taxes, make things illegal. 25) Naive sleepwalking population that will litterally tolerate the state to do anything to them with no questions asked. This has resulted in Norway being governed by a gang of high class Hanseatic Germans that for years on end have been working for WEF, EU, UN and everyone else but the norwegian citizen. 26) agressive wildlife policies. Norway is 4000 km from north to south. Yet it has some 30-40 wolves in the wild. The wolf, bear, lynx are all endangered species. 27) Norway is good and ideal for only one class of the population. The white, rich, aristocratic class which is around west of Oslo and some places in the south part. 28) Norway tells its citizens that water levels will rise the next 10 years, yet they build the national Opera at sea level. 29) Norway has loads of dept, they have given up their physical values and invested the money on VALUE-DOCUMENTS in the US. this means, if the USD falls, we do not own 1 single drop of oil. 30) Norway in general is grey, boring, expensive, cold, cold people with surreal expectations.
According to SSB (norwegian statistical agancy) the avarege monthly salary is 50 790 kr (5 074 usd) and a median salary is 45 830 kr (4 577 usd). I'm Norwegian and I had to check that cause the 8000usd sounded like a lot. I don't know where they got that number. Still pretty good tho, I guess
The average is actually about 50 k. I barely finished high school and work as a middle manager with no higher education. I make 70k USD a year and 8k bonuses in average. This is not the norm and education matters a lot, but you can make it if you are willing to learn and have a good work ethic. Also own a 400k apartment and have 160k in load. I'm 31 and feel like lower/middle, middle class. After taxes I have about 40k each month. Life is relatively decent for me, But there are some underpaid work groups that makes about 30. And we do have issues in our economy. Just not in the same scale cause we have oil and have invested it relatively smart.
To help put it into perspective just how well Norway takes care of its people, I am on permanent disability benefits, and single. And in 2020 I was able to buy a (cheap) house, with no issue servicing the mortgage since then. Granted I live quite frugally, but still, not a day goes by that I don't reflect on how lucky I am to have faced the challenges that I have in *this* country. In so many other places in the world, I would have been on the street, or even dead. Here I own a small house, and a loving dog, in a quiet little mountain town.
Hello from Elverum
It seems that America is the best country for rich people but not others
Jeg lukter bullshit. Det er ikke sjangs i havet at du hadde råd til å kjøpe et hus som uføretrygda. Løgner.
So, pretty much the same situation as me then, i got my permanent disability in 2010, and bought my apartment in 2011. And thankfully we live in Norway, but there are some things i miss that i don`t afford that i could before my disability, but hey, when your unlucky, at least we are lucky in where we are from :D Fredrikstad here....
Well..yeah…it’s a great place and all…I’d still want a life somewhere in the south in USA…bringing my Norwegian riches with me of course🥳
To really put it into perspective, Norway has 0,07% of the world's population, but owns 1,4% of all stocks and bonds in the world through the sovereign wealth fund.
Says a bit xd
norway is no different than any oil arab state, just that its white ppl. Used the oil money quite good. Without it they wouldnt have been close to one of the best countries in eu
@@pinglankek Norway was a good place too live, and still one of the best nations in europe even before oil money entered the equation. And if you have any idea what many of the arab oil nations do with their money and their people, you would know its very different.
@@evenask Ofcourse norway was a decent country, but it was lacking behind most high tier countries in europe, specially in the west. Imagine if sweden had such resources, we would be able to house even more immigrants.
@@pinglankek Idk why this myth of Norway being poor started, however Norway was as rich as countries like Spain/Italy and many more even in the early 1800's and way richer than eastern europe, and by early 1900's Norway was as rich as France and visitors from Britain has been quoted to say norwegian citizens looked healtier and better fed than british people, so standard of living has also been high for houndreds of years. Keep in mind Norway found oil only in 1969.
The wellfare is incredible here, thats for sure. When I got one of my children I needed to give birth to him too early unless I could have died. They picked me up outside my doctors office in an ambulance, I got a room in the hospital for myself, and then after a week with television and free food they transported me to a bigger hospital in another ambulance and I gave birth to my son. There I stayed at the hospital in my own room near my son, and I could rest every day, the nurses took care of him when I was eating or had visitors. I could even take the bus to town and go shhopping cloths for him, the nurses took care of him. I stayed there a whole month before it was safe to go home, and my son had grown a lot, and was so much stronger. Doctors came by and checked if needed the whole time. And I didnt pay 1 norwegian kr!!! When we left the nurses even gave us a gift - it was a book full of pictures and poems and memories from different nurses who was there with us the whole time. I guess we live in paradise!!!
We have our issues, but all in all we have it better than 99% of the people on this beautiful planet.
unfortunately for us here in Indonesia, our political system are basically dinasty-oligarchy , whoever we vote for, in the end it is from the same "group". And they're all corrupt and only listen to their "boss" (just imagine a country ran by mafia).
we have cheap health welfare but it doesn't cover many things (and it has too many terms to activate the insurance) , roads are mostly build poorly with thin asphalt over and over since it breaks every year, prices kept on rising since many products are owned by government's officials as a "private business" (and we all know where they got all their money for that, simply : money laundering), and despite the overall low quality of life, the taxes kept on going up too (We even have tax on top of another tax)
To change everything, I guess we need to eliminate most of the older generation and start re-"educate" the younger generation (which is also nearly impossible because the education system here is very similar to USA). Many of the smart/blessed people have left the country and started living overseas... middle-upper class often seek medication from other countries too because they just can't trust the local hospital to took care of them without overcharging them (again, the national welfare didn't cover many things and it has too many restrictions).
now about tax on tax , here's an example : our custom duty and import tax formula :
custom duty = (goods price + delivery fees + insurance) * 10%
Income Tax = (goods price + custom duty) * 10%
Value Added Tax = (goods price + custom duty) * 10%
Total import tax = custom duty + income tax + value added tax
and they charge it if the goods value (either individually or in total) surpasses $50.
---- yes, they charge income tax here, and include the custom duty into the other 2 taxes.
---- and yes, they also charge it on commercial flight passengers (on their baggage and hand carries)
---- and if you don't have any receipts that tells them what the item prices are, then they will use AMAZON as basis.
---- and if you import goods for your shop, then you also need to include another value added tax to it, and then another income tax onto your employees wage/salary, and on top of that business tax and a whole other taxes.
Transgender?
That's EVERY developed country except US
@@brunfisen3286 Or the mother used the kids/son' YT, that way she can monitor it and at the same time use YT. Who knows.
I received cancer treatment for free and can live of my disability benefits. I payed a lot in taxes for 15 years but obviously it was worth it. I`m so proud of my country it almost makes me cry. Other countries would be wise to copy our model
if u dont have oil... norway been same like other countrys
@@HArDYraven It`s more about how you handle and distribute wealth
"Your model"? Public health insurance was invented in Germany in 1883. Norway copied the German model decades later in 1909, much like basically all European countries. Therefor, having your cancer treatment being covered by your health insurance and being insured even when unemployed is normal in Europe and nothing exclusive to Norway.
not every country has trillions in oil. What do they do exactly?
@@pinglankek It`s more about what they DON`T do
The average monthly salary in Norway is about 5100 USD, not 8000. And remember, that's BEFORE deducting our high taxes! Just FYI :).
... and paying the astronomical high prices for importet goods and food. 😵
Really? Thought it would be around the 4k mark, I have 2k myself after taxes with 1k in rent alone :')
@@xxChidoSenganxx About 20 years ago, I spent a few weeks working in Norway. A Norwegian entrepreneur wanted to poach me. He offered me a lot more than I was earning at the time, but when I saw the prices for rent, food and other goods, I decided to stay in Germany - apart from family ties, the better weather and the more favorable location in the middle of Europe. I don't think that has changed fundamentally. 🤔
@@wanderwurst8358 Even when you take PPP into account, Norway is no 11 on the list of countries in the world ranked by GDP at Purchasing Power Parity (PPP) per capita, along with the Nominal GDP per capita. PPP takes into account the relative cost of living. So this gives a rather accurate picture of the real differences in income. Germany is no 19..
@@hegetv2111 GDP per capita in PPP maybe more accurate, but still a statistical value. What an individual is then paid, in which economic segment by which entrepreneur for how many hours of work, is something else.
Especially in countries with a high share of financial services or state-owned commodity trading, this value is highly distorted and only rudimentarily reflects the standard of living of a common worker.
In midwestern and northern Europe, the differences are not so serious, but a purely statistical view can quickly land you in the desert or a autocratic city state, lose some human rights and earn a pittance. 😱 ... and shurely we both dont want that. 😅
I moved to Norway 15 years ago. I’m so lucky to live here. So very lucky and grateful.
From where did you move?
So nice to hear. I often wonder about that. Tried to search and found not very positive videos about how people who moved here felt , but we do hope people who moves here likes to live here.
@@lapis3834 You have to be stupid not to like living here. Ofcourse the tax rates are crazy high but everything that comes from that is just amazing and the fact that everybody you meet is happy and welcoming is just amazing. No negative emotions come your way. When nobody is bitching to you at work or at grocery store everyday you actually can enjoy your life and not sit at the couch and go through all the negativity in your life. Have been here 4 years and have no complaints about the people, nature, taxes etc. You just have to get used to some stuff and reorganise your mind to the positive stuff thats here.
@@beorlingo I move from the UK. A once great nation.
@@Thisworldthisweek Norwegian here, it's a shame what's happening to the UK, hopefully they can turn it back around
Generally speaking the countries in that region tend to be very good at wealth redistribution. They've struck the balance between capitalism and social welfare.
As a Brit I feel my country spends too much time looking across the Atlantic than looking across the North Sea.
Yeah, IMHO no sane European should look to North America for an example in the 21st century, unless if it's an example of what to avoid at all cost.
Agree. Bravo Norway. I wish the U.K. would operate a similar model instead of always crowing how we are the 5th or 6th richest countries in the world. The *real* richest countries just stay silent and continue to make huge piles of cash with little or no debt
@@slidebay Yeah, there is a difference between beign one of the biggest economies and being a rich economy, like India who keeps saying they are one of the biggest economies of the world and passed great britain... Most of that economy goes into putting food on the table for it's people and little else... I wouldn't call it wealth even if the population size/mass makes it a "big" economy.
@@peterzimmerman1114 Yea, India has a fund to build infrastructure. Its almos the size of Norways sovereign wealth fund..
But the problem is, that money needs to build infrastructure for 1.400 million people. Norways money only serves 5.4million people.
Having a bread for a single person is alot of food. But having a bread for 1000 people is not much food :P
@@MrDanisve Your country should invest in condoms...
Fun fact, if you apply to a state Norwegian College or University as a foreign student, and is accepted,
your education will also be free. You will need to find a way to pay for living in Norway but there
are different grants that you can apply for that will cover some of this.
A foreign student are also allowed to work up to 20 hrs a week.
There is nothing as "free" norwegians will pay a foreign to study in their country to it like this, cause teachers in Norway dont work for "free".
@@andreas_waldahl2263 the EDUCATION is free. Living expenses are not covered.
@@archive4059 Students are not paying so teachers get paid, you fool, teacher are "public servants" and get paid as such. Education IS free in Norway - some schools charge minor fees, ie to cover copies of stuff, that's it. But you will have to buy your own school materials (including books), pay for a place to stay, and living costs. You can, as said above, get different grants ("stipend") to reduce costs, which can mean almost completely free stay for those who qualify for it.
@@andreas_waldahl2263
The education is free. You need the student loan, etc for living while studying.
@@archive4059 The government pays the professors and teachers wages.
You are quickly reaching the conclusion that trust is a major part of Norway's success. And you are completely correct. Kudos for being smart and pointing at the real value of Norwegian richness.
Thanks Thomas, I appreciate it
The greatest example I can think of for how great a part of Norway "trust" is, is that marketing stunt one of the big grocery chains pulled way back, like a decade ago if it wasn't even longer...
For quite a while, they removed all requirements on getting your money back if you were dissatisfied with any product. Even if you didn't have the receipt or the product itself, you could literally go there with an empty packaging and no receipt and say it tasted funny to you and get your money back. It was very much a stunt... but it worked, and there was *barely any* abuse of it whatsoever! Remember reading in the newspaper one of the owners stating he was amazed at how few claims there had been, the number barely increased.
@@Arbaaltheundefeated The "5 year warranty" on any electronics isn't abused in Norway either.
Big Asian, American companies etc. accept 5 years in Norway because of low population and probably becaus majority will never use it.
Norway only had problems with Apple and 5 year warranty. You know how Apple is. They were never customer friendly. lol
you are compleatly correct, trust in your fellow man is the key to becomming rich
Living here for almost 6 years.
Thankful and blessed 🙏
Norway my home ❤️🇳🇴
Norge er best
And we are happy you chose to stay ☺️
Yes Norway overall is a good place to live, you dont have to fear pretty much anything. There's always something that will save you in most situasions, and people are generally very very friendly and giving.
But we do like to complain, and some times for very good reasons.
We produce most of our power by hydroelectric power stations, but the goverement also sells this power.
And it has come to a point where its so expensive for us aswell, for example december 2021 our monthly electricity bill came to 1,300$.
This is with 3 people in a home, electrical heaters, a couple of computers and a tv, we dont leave lights on or waste energy overall.
We did get compensated a bit, but the bill still stood at 800-950$, per kw/h we usually pay 0.15-0.25 øre ( cents, 100 øre = 1 krone, 1 usd = 9-11 kroner )
It has risen to over 2kr per kw, which is insane.
Same with gas prices, we have so much oil in our pocket, but we sell so much.
1 liter of gasoline costs 18-23kr, which adds up pretty high if you need a full tank.
So its not all sunshine and rainbows, but i wouldnt live anywhere else
The taxes pay for welfare and benefits. It’s the same in all the Nordic countries (I live in Sweden 🇸🇪). Government takes a chunk of your paycheque, but the money actually goes where you can see it. I remember that every time I go see the doctor, all surgeries I’ve had, the free education system and that my Mom get her insulin for free and over a year of maternity leave for each child I gave birth too.
As a yt channel Economics Explained puts it, Norway did the unintuitive option when finding massive oil deposits: instead of reinvesting it into oil industries and its own domestic economy (which are heavily tied the volatility of oil prices), they realized that they could just diversify investments in stable foreign markets, so the fund’s performance independent of Norway’s economic state.
Norway basically can just sit back and never worry about their finances unless the 2nd Great Depression or WW3 breaks out.
norway is only ridiculous to me... they pray green for norway, but export oil and gas into the rest of the world... is only a western russia... because norway has nothing other than oil and gas too export, because they cant nothing else...
Norway has never invested oilrevenues directly into the domestic economy, but 3-4 percent of the profits from the sovereign wealth fund. Another factor is a high labour participation rate and thanks to high salaries, a high productivity. So high average salaries has done the country a lot of good. It redistributes income ( not wealth as much) more fairly and a higher purchasing power among consumers. Foreign investera seem to view high salaries as a negative, but they are wrong, because it drives productivity and innovation to the forefront as well.
Like now when billionaires are moving out of the country, and businesses and factories have to close down production because the cost of electricity is becoming unbearable?
@@bsrules Norway is importing high energy prices because we are an integrated part the European energy market. Domestic production is more than sufficient.
Some billionaires are emigrating because they find it too costly to be rich in Norway compared to Switzerland, but they are compelled to pay taxes here for another four years for now, but that could change.
They absolutely should spend far more on stimulus as the petroleum and public sector is crowding out the rest of the real economy.
Not a small reason for the high cost of living and a huge liability.
One of the reason that we in Scandinavia have a different view of welfare is that it have a different meaning in our languages than in English. Welfare here is for everyone, its schools, healthcare, infrastructure, not only social security as in English.
Probably someone already mentioned it in the comments but one thing she missed out is how Norway treat its criminals. They have the highest rehabilitation rate of prisoners in the world as well. Very few prisoners compared to many other countries commit crimes when they get out. One reason for this is that they focus on rehabilitation rather than just punishment.
Indeed it sounds like a very logical and productive way to go about criminal reform
That's a good system for most crimes except for the worst ones. Someone like Breivik should be tortured for 10 years and then hanged. Like they would do in Japan. Trying to rehabilitate him woud be an insult to the victims.
Honestly, paying taxes and knowing that no one in Norway are left in debt or unable to afford life saving and life quality improving healthcare is worth it to me. Knowing we can help refugees when they need a safe place to stay, that’s worth it to me. I think Norwegians generally have a “we are only as strong as our weakest link” mentality, which is why quality of life is important to us. We want everyone to be able to have a good health, a safe home, a good education and enough food to never go hungry, and still have money left over to enjoy life. So while I admit, we have our flaws, I am proud of my country and I have tried living abroad and there is a difference.
Also, most Norwegians adore our King and Queen, they are very down to earth people, and they have a way of making of feel loved. We had a suicide in the royal family a couple of years back, and our king spoke openly about it. He also make a point of saying he himself comes immigrants and stresses that we should always be including. They lead by example without ever placing themselves above the people.
In Norway you are only as good as the actions you take, your family’s status is not an automatic in, you have to make it or break it on your own. This makes us hard working, and I am proud of that.
Do come visit, you are welcome, let me know, I can be your guide if needed.
Norway, the closest country to heaven (if there is a such a place) that I have ever seen. I stayed in a small studio apartment but even that felt special. Scandinavians realize that less is more and lavish equals tacky; a fact that other first world countries are too stupid to know.
In Norway it is a place that has the name hell
@@countryball4276 and a hotel
As a Norwegian; that's total bullshit. People here are living on credit cards and are in debt for life because of apartments/houses, and fancy cars. Norway ranked 5th in household debts in 2020.
The monarchy is mostly symbolic, they do travel allot as diplomats of norway and to represent norway abroad. They don't really rule anything anymore.
We are truly conflicted on keeping the monarchy. We see it as outdatet, but the king and Queen is such good people and we love them.
You should check out a speach the king did about what norway is.
I get a tear in my eye every time i hear it
Yeah, I get that the royal house is a significant expense, but that's about the only solid argument I can think of for abolishing it as long as we have the kind of good and surprisingly down to earth royalty that we do. And I think for the sentimental and cultural values alone, it is worth it, when our country is this wealthy. But that's my opinion of course.
@@Arbaaltheundefeated I don't really buy into that the royal house is that much more expensive than a president would be. Maybe if we only kept a Prime minister, but most republics have both a prime minister and a president, and I don't see how a presidential palace with a president that gets replaced every 4 to 8 years, each earning pensions and possibly needing body guards after their term is up etc, would be cheaper.
@@kossakken I don't think there's any serious amount of people even among those who wish to abolish the monarchy who believe we should have a president, or any other solitary head of state.
@@kossakken if the monarchy was to end in Norway it would not be replaced with a president or anything i think. Think we would just keep on rolling with our current goverment style.
Monarchy hold no real power, so not much would change i would gues
@@silentdeath7847 Yeah, that's basically why I think saving money is the only argument that would even make sense, as beyond that nothing would really change in any meaningful way, just trade away a piece of our culture and ancient tradition for money is basically what it would be.
You are right. It is about 3% millionaires in Norway. This is mainly because almost 2/3 of the grown population owns their own homes, be that houses, apartments or other living commendations. Say you buy a hose that is worth half a million dollars, and spend 30 years paying the mortgage. In the same time the value of your home increases with the inflation rate, and if you don't sell to buy a larger hose you will soon be a dollar millionaire.
The incredible thing is that not only does Norway have a lot of oil, gass, fish and other resources. Norway alsow has about a third of the worlds known thorium deposits. Thorium for those who don't know is a possible future nuclear fuel that leaves much less nuclear waste than uranium, and some project it as an important future energy source that could rival the importance of oil and gas.
In 2021, the median monthly salary was NOK 45,830 ($4.5k) per full-time employee. The average income takes account for the insanely high income of the wealthiest people as well so it gives an inflated number.
Was about to say the same!
That's still twice as much as the median in the uk!
Yes, thank you for this more accurate stat!
A reference to "@Jørgen A" - I'm also 100% disabled, meaning I'm unable to be employed in _any_ job. I can handle my self, and don't need extra help. In the US, I'd be basically on the street. In Norway I live a respectful, good life. I can afford a nice humble apartment in the city, I eat every meal fresh, every day, and if I _need_ clothes, I basically always afford within a month what I need. It might not (or never) be Hilfiger or CK, but it's new, and looks nice. I can go on a holiday every summer.
Any job? Nonsense. If you can type and speak you can find a job. If you're able to go on holiday then there is a job for you.
@@sandersson2813 Of course I can do plenty of jobs, as I look like a completely normal healthy person from the outside. But it's very important that you as my employer understand that its ok that I sometimes have to suddenly leave whatever I work with, or customers that I'm talking with, and go fir a sofa break. That it's ok that I call in last minute, (or not at all) to say that too sick for work. That it normally turns ok, I just needed three to five minutes on the sofa, and I'm ready again, but sometimes I need more, and even that's not enough, and I have to go home. A few occasions maybe call an ambulance. .... Sure I can do jobs, but I'm an employer's worst nightmare. I would never hire me. That's what I mean with "any job".
I worked as a volunteer at Red Cross for five years, as I could work at my own terms. I tried to work five days a week, seven hours a day, because I want to feel I'm doing a normal job. But i didn't stand a chance to do those thirty hour shifts. Anyway, I could work on my own terms, come and go when I pleased, and relax at the sofa upstairs, when I was about to have a new seizure.
Please don't be too smart and upvote your on post as if you know what you're talking about. I've lost enough jobs for good reasons.
@@ingebygstad9667 There are plenty of jobs which don't require you to be 9-5 and which are flexible with time and don't care when you work as long as you get the work done.
I don't want to sound harsh, but it sounds as if you are making excuses and feeling sorry for yourself.
@@sandersson2813 You don't know what you're talking about, unlike the number of social and health professionals' carefully formed opinions that will have been required to place him on 100% disability benefits. As another person who ended up on 100% disability I can tell you that does not happen easy, and especially on grounds of mental health.. After *literally* a decade of constant psychological analysis and treatment , being in and out of dozens of courses and programs and work training etc intended to get me back to the workforce, the constant state of failure after failure making everything even worse and driving me near suicidal at times, they *eventually* ended up deciding it's not feasible that I will be able to maintain a work relationship, and I'm sure the situation was more or less similar for Inge.
Your "expert" opinion is exactly worthless compared to all that, and we certainly don't need you accusing us of 'just making excuses', you don't sound harsh, you sound like an ignorant and inconsiderate a**hole.
@@Arbaaltheundefeated Yet, you're cogent enough to write on an internet forum.
Work in a call centre of something.
A few months ago Betnie Sanders interviewed the Norwegian ambassador to the
US about life inNorway. This had been pubished on RUclips as a 48 mins video. Perfect for your react channel
You should watch a video on the difference between Norwegian and the US prisons :)
Absolutely and the re-offending rates!
Americans accused Michael Moore for lying when he made a documentary about it, but major news network in the US have made their own reports about it after that.
Really interesting video to watch. I love how energetic you are and open to learn. I also love how you learn away to us watching at home about your own country, thank you for this amazing video
I got help from Norwegian health care for having trouble of having a baby .They treated me free and free airplane ticket going to hospital .Now I’m pregnant and just staying at home and still get a salary from government the same as I get from my job. So I can say Norway is the best. Fresh air ,fresh water and loving Norwegian folk .❤❤ I’m lucky got married a Norwegian man .😊❤
So. I just discovered your channel with one of your recent videos. That video alone inspired me to start watching all your videos from old to new, and so far it's a blast!
I love your reactions, how you talk about the different topics you learn about. Your videos are so relaxing to watch. I absolutely love what you do!
Norway has developed copious supplies of hydro electric power - meaning that it can export its oil and gas to countries who lack reserves of energy , which is quite an effective business model. This allows it to defend its agriculture - instead of pitting its farmers against the cheapest products from around the world that are perhaps grown with poor standards. The farther north you go in Norway , the more its farmers are paid for their milk. This is because Norway is keen to keep its northern areas populated and tended by the original inhabitants.
98% or Norways electricity commes from hydroelectric plants.
Your math may have been problematic, but the way you just owned up to that and kept right on moving was stellar. Everyone makes mistake, but it's how you own up to them that shows what kind of person you are. I've seen a few of your videos, but that moment there that's what got me to sub. You're a good dude, man.
He was actually correct
@@Kjottkakerihvitsaus Seems like!
As a Norwegian, our welfare system is really great, and im happy my taxes go towards education, but i will say its not perfect.
We could have heavily reduced taxes in Norway if our state stopped wasting alot of it.
One of the funniest examples is our greenest political party, they were in control off the city of Oslo after getting the majority off the municipality votes.
They wasted 700k NOK to paint 2000 round spots. thats 3500 per spot, roughly 360-380 USD per spot.
Best part is that they were warned that the paint was not made for sticking to asphalt and outside use, so the spots basically dissapeared in a very short time.
Stuff like that is what some of our taxes go towards.
Also we just broke the record of having the highest electricity prices in europe, probably in the world if we only include developed countries.
In terms of happiness, we are happy for the most part, but there is a dark shadow over it.
The suicide rate for young males is surprisingly high.
Edit:
We do not trust our government these days, due to stuff like the ACER deal.
Also the EU part, the people voted no to join EU. Democracy for the win, except the state joined EØS instead.
In short, we pay for membership, but we can also deny certain rules and stuff, but that right to say no has never been used.
Back in the early 2000's and earlier, the politicians were people with education, with experience from actual trades, they knew what it was like to be a normal citizen, but politicians these days are uneducated people with no real work experience who live inside their own bubbles thinking everything is fine because the get everything they need, including apartaments.
Norway has alot of potential to be the greatest, but sadly the average citizen votes for who they think is the coolest on TV, and not on what the written agenda for that political party is. and they get surprised when the written stuff they didnt read happens.
Yes this is true, and the fall has begun ;)
You say our welfare system is pretty good, but we have to be healthy enough to fight for the help we need and deserve. Because if you don't fight for it you don't get the help you need but if you're struggling so much you don't have that fight in you then you're left on your own. I've been declined help 3 times in a row after struggling with depression, anxiety and PTSD for years. So instead I'm spending a bunch of money on private doctors and psychologists. I'm not suprised the suicide rates for males are high here considering it's difficult enough for a male to admitt they need help , but then making them fight for it? I belive right now norway is falling apart
@@Drills_with_Sils Norway is falling apart yes.
But this sounds like you have had bad luck in terms off who your docs were.
Whenever i have an issue my doctor always checks me out properly. He saw that i was depressed and got me to talk, he got me proffesional help.
Maybe im just lucky with my doctor
@@remus907 they tried send me to a psychologist everytime, but they decline it. This isn't just something I've been experiencing, most people I've spoke to about this in the area I live in have this issue, they don't get seen, heard or believed. I have a friend thats been fighting the health care system for almost 3 years and now they are finally working on diagnosing her. I'm glad you have had better luck! I have finally gotten a good primary care doctor that sees me and hears me, but the mental health area I belive norway needs to work on
@@Drills_with_Sils Sad to hear that. I saw some dark stuff going on in Agder and witnessed the hidden despair of many. I hope you're doing well, focus on improving yourself and your close circle. And don't hesitate to reach out to me if you want to try a different approach, I work both with the body and mind, two sides of the same coin, and I have many tricks that may help. William Paul Fitness
fun fact: pretty much al fresh water you see in norway(rivers,lakes and so on) is drinkable without any treatment at al. and tastes good! basically the water you can buy in us for example voss water. is the same we have in our fosets and toilets and showers;) and its awsome. go out hiking? no problem just filling the water bottle at ever river or water you come across
Ehm.. no 😁
@@LeshshatziBlogspot ehm yes, i live here and no this for a fact!
@@LeshshatziBlogspot its true actually
Norways government pension fund is, at this moment 1.2 trillion USD. And with this fund, the Norwegian people owns about 2% the world. 1.6% of the global stock marked. The rest is real estate and fixed income securities. In comparison Norway's citizens are 0.06% of the world. That speaks volume of how rich Norway really is.
The main reason it is a good country to run businesses in, despite the high tax rates, is the free education, and the strong unions. This means everyone can get high education, if they have the head for it. You don't need a scholarship or rich parents. If you're the next Einstein, you will succeed in Norway. And that results in far more highly educated people available to companies trying to do business in Norway.
There are No strong unions in Norway. Lo is an union for the rich, not workers. I am Norwegian.
@@MrCrazyhill That is the most riddicules thing i have ever heard
@@MrCrazyhill First of all, LO isn't the only labour union out there.
Secondly, the unions represents member *workers* regardless of their income.
That includes everyone from the lowest wage groups to the very top of the members.
And there's been plenty of strikes where most workers didn't get a rise of anything but the poorest members did.
@@LuredreierAgreed. I have been part of Fellesforbundet sinse i started my career in Construcktion. I have also been a club representative and i have worked with lots of foreign colleagues from Poland and other Eastern Block countries. They call our working Union for Mafia. IMO we pay for protection. Its a funny discription, but also a cultural fair statement. Cause in their own country , they have no one whom can protect their working rights. So LO is just the umbrella front of many different working Unions. And they have power.. true negotiating power to get things right. Without them Norway would not be the good velfare community it is today.
@@Battlenude Many unions, but not all of them.
There's also unions outside of LO if I don't remember wrong.
Yeah the oil money investing was a great idea for the country. While most oil countries just keep gathering money and doing nothing useful with it (or just making the leadership rich) they looked forward and are currently making more money with the investments than they do with the actual oil
The American dream is Norway's reality
Im so proud and lucky to be born and live in norway
3:03 It has a long coastline because of all of the fjords. Clearly this fact was not understood correctly in this vid.
63000 miles is equivalent to around 2,5 laps around earth.
It is not slightly more than 50% like he says here. The land boarder is only 1568miles long. There is 40 times more coastline than land boarder.
Why do I even care? I really don’t know…
Sleep well folks
You look cute 😊
Trust is a big part of Norway. Some times In the winter we cant stop and start our car all the time because of the cold. So we just leave the car running with the keys in and Go shopping for groserice. If we loose something, like a bag or Even airpods, we know its a big chance it will return home.
hahah love your expressions and commentary, thanks for putting our country in the spotlight.
"free healthcare" does have deductables though, so even though its very cheap its not entirely free. An appointment with your general practitioner for example would be around 25-50 dollars depending on if you need to take tests etc.
Thats to much, its about $20-25. And maximum per year is $300 in total deductables. As a chronic-ill person with diabetes type 1++, I consider healthcare i Norway for free.
So, to the 8 k average income, Morisith is right, the average is 8k $, but the median is about 4.7 in 2022, which is not bad, but not 8. I also have to say that the taxes are progressive, and have a bottom free no tax amount so earning 4.7k gives you a lot more money per k than 8 does.
Yeah, the median is 4.7k, indeed. But their statement that 2k is a 'normal' full time low wage salary is also way too low, that's notably lower than effective minimum salary, you earn significantly above 2k as a cashier at Rema without working overtime. I get 2k on basic disability benefits.
The $8k a month is incorrect. It's around $5.000. And you can't have people have a higher income, than the GDP per capita.
@@akyhne you are wrong. gdp per capita is AVERAGE so you can earn 78k and 780k a year
@@TheTobiasz123 The 8K salary mentioned in the video, is the average too. It is incorrect! An average salary of 96K and a GDP per capita of 81K, would be bad business.
Amreicans in Norway rarely move back to the US. People dont DO big cities over in Norway. Its mostly smaller cities and village-life like on these pictures. The economy is strong so they can afford to travel anywhre and everybody learns English and German in school. Or Spanish - French if they choose to. People are generally very educated. Which is free... Up to 5 years in university. Norway has nature a bit like Canada. Everthing just works. And is done well.
If you tried to do something similar in the United States, wouldn't people shout 'socialism', which seems to be what some Americans say whenever somebody suggests curbing the selfish interests of the wealthy?
You need a dictator to do that for you, because the government would never be able to agree to do it.
The sallery in Norway is NOT 8k pr. mnd. Maby around 3k after tax, will be more acurate. (Normal tax rate is around 35%)
A gallon of diesel cost around 8 - 9 us dollar.
A piece off bread is around 5-6 us dollar.
A smal botle of soda is around 3-5 us dollar.
A paint off beer out on town is around 10-13 us dollar
fun little fact. In Norway we have minerals and you wondered which one. well, we have enough Thorium in Norway to keep Norway with energy for 47,000 years (thorium is like an atom but takes half the time to break down) We have not yet started excavating Thorium but it is there as a future resource for excavation .
If only we can get over our silly aversion to nuclear technology enough to make use of it, I think thorium-based nuclear power could be the ultimate solution to our future energy needs, though a bit further down the road, we'll still need more immediate fixes to our current situation too.
@@Arbaaltheundefeated: We can get a lot of energy from it, but it's still by far the most _expensive_ energy and we can have all the cheap renewable energy we want. It would be better for us if other countries built thorium powerplants and let us supply them with the thorium.
Nice to hear that you like the system we have here in Norway. Thank you! 😀
I will say your honesty, simplicity, spirit, warmth of heart and way of understanding will make you fit like a hand in a perfect glove for the nordic way of life Tyler. Great reaction too bro`
The information gained from watching this video is as far from painting a realistic picture of Norway as it can possibly get. This shouldn't be a surprise to anybody. Both the video and the reaction are obviously made for the sole purpose of gaining views. When living in an era of wokenism the way to do it is by focusing only on things that look good. Here's why Norway is one of the worst countries to live in...
1) Whether.
2) Climate.
3) Hours of natural light.
4) Taxation.
5) Regulations.
6) Parasitism.
7) Immigration.
8) Extremely poor assortment of goods, food in particular - compares to third world.
9) Extreme prices even for products where they are self-sufficient. Oil, gas, electric power, and fish.
10) Extreme home prices in the ten largest cities due to policies.
Norway is very close to what a sane person would expect hell to be.
@@RUclips_Stole_My_Handle_Too I guess you havent been out much to see the world.
@@The-Vega-Islands Attack the man when you're too clumsy to catch the ball!
@@RUclips_Stole_My_Handle_Too I really think you should leave Norway and emigrate to USA.
youtube_Stole. Residents of almost any country can make such a list. After we have collected all the lists, we can compare your list with the lists from the other countries. If you still think that Norway is one of the worst countries, it can be explained like this: You are not familiar with everyday life for most people elsewhere in the world.
The way that welfare is often done in Norway is that it is universal programs. That means that both rich and poor get benefits from the welfare state. An argument often used on the right is like "why should we give support for school to Bezos children"? This argument is used to stop universal welfare arrangements, but what this argument does mentionn is that if Bezos children get a free education, then Bezos have paid more in taxes for that than he would have for private schools. In Norway the rich pay more taxes, and get the same benefits from the welfare state. This makes the rich feel like they also get something back, so they don't complain so much, and at the same time their kids gets educated together with people from all social economic classes. This ties the society together effectively because you get friends from many walks of life. The general feeling in Norway is that the rich don't mind the tax levels here, both because they get free services too, and because they understand how their wealth have to integrate to the whole system because of their friends, so you would have to be kinda wierd not to accept that you have to pay your fair share. What does that sound like? At least one politician in the US often refer to Scandinavian countries as a model for the USA, so when we hear him talking we feel like he speaks our language and logic.
As a Norwegian citizen, it is a few problems coming up with the economy lately, mainly the electricity this year have gone from costing 1500USD per month to now costing 600USD in 1 year...And also food prizes have gone up by 25% compared to last year...The goverment is not perfect, a few things they have forgotten both sides that you can vote for, (it is more options but all others are to small to make a difference) Mainly the fight that Norwegians citizens did 50-70 years ago to make life better for future generations is now forgotten... Electricity is now getting sold to other countries so the state earns more money, but the average Norwegian citizen have less money, after all the bills are paid...
Did you mean "(...) to now costing 6000 USD in 1 year..." instead of 600 USD? Would not really make sense for it to have gone down, assuming you dont live in the North. Or did you mean 150USD to 600 USD?
@@xiamusmc271 i mean like per month, prices have gone up very much
@@xiamusmc271 I think he meant 150 USD to 600 USD per month... 😉
Due mainly to the Ukraine war, the price on electricity has gone through the roof. It's a temporary situation, but people seem to let themselves worry for most things. A few weeks back we had about the cheapest electricity in Europe, now that the prices has gone up in the wealthiest country on earth - inaccurate doomsday conclusions like "Electricity is now getting sold to other countries so the state earns more money, but the average Norwegian citizen have less money, after all the bills are paid." are popping up all over the place. Even though unlike in most of the world, the Norwegian electricity distributors are not allowed to cut the power during winter, and even though the customers would get help from the govt. to pay if they couldn't - months before the power were cut.
I think some are only happy if they have something to complain about - and I guarantee that before the electricity bill got higher, he/she was just as discontent with something completely different.
The importance of a high participation rate in the labour market is overlooked here, and that's where generous public welfare kicks in. You can't achieve that without universal public welfare. Costly it is, but cheaper than political instability and distrust.
A high participation rate in the labour market in itself offsets the higher welfare costs.
Remember that GDP generated per citizen does not equate to what people are paid in actual wages. GDP accounts for the value of the work you contribute to the economy; not what you are paid for contributing it.
I'm a Swede and I was kinda shocked when I moved to Oslo for a year. So many rich people everywhere. haha. Big yauchts and luxury stores and things I've never seen in Sweden before. :D The salaries are so high so people can easily save up and become a millionare over time. Which is cool, if you're a hard worker there are no better place on earth than Norway. I worked there 10 years ago and got 36.000 nok a month which is 3500 USD which I found to be high since I got it without no education. entry level shit. Norway is the best, I kinda miss it.
There has been two EU referendums in Norway. First one was in 1972 about what was then the EEC (European Economic Community) The UK among others joined this in 1973. In regards to the number of milionares in Norway, the procentage of home-owner in Norway is much larger than Sweden and Denmark for example. 82% i Norway, 69 % in Sweden, 63% in Denmark and 52% in Germany, 67-68% in the US. I don't know how a millionare is defined in this program, but if you include property value. Even I am a milionare.
Capitalism is about *me myself* and what *I* can have and gain. It's about the individual, and it causes self centred thinking. So naturally - the moment you have Norway here (Hei Tyler, og Velkommen til Norge! :D ), with large programs that benefits *_all,_* they scream Communism! and make a huge scene... I'm glad you truly get it. :)
I find it funny that Americans seems to regard tax money as penalty money, rather than something that can be used to something useful. Like repairing or fixing the school. Modernize the road. A new sports hall. What ever... But no. It's penalty money.
Well, with regard to taxes, I suspect that americans like us Australians, know that the money is rarely going to be used to benefit the person on the street anywhere near as often as it should.
Norway is actualy verry capitalist(As hinted to in this video), just done in a good way. (capitalism is neutral).. corporatism is another story, America is infected by it.
@@8bloppy8 Glad someone pointed this out. It's very tiresome when people make shallow comments like "capitalism bad" and conflate it with corporatism. All of Scandinavia is capitalist and Sweden's economic success his hugely due to the free market establishment of international companies. Scandinavia has ethical capitalism, a strong social net within which capital investment plays according to strict rules, but it definitely isn't seperated from capitalism itself and it has never, ever been socialist (looking at your misinformation Bernie Sanders). Had we ever been properly socialist we would've been done for long ago.
@Alexander B capitalism = exploit any and all for all angles to maximize your own or your companies profitt preferably while screwing over your competitors until you have forced them out of business securing your own monopoly. Ethical capitalism is not a thing, unless your deluded and severly high after inhaling your own shitty excuses for being the complete oppositive of ethical.
@@larslnskog7580 Your impotent rage against the already victorious ruling system is duly noted.
Here's the truth: any other economic foundation than capitalism=utter failure. Unlike Socialism or Communism, capitalism doesn't pretend to be utopian or flawless, capitalists know the dark side of the system but compared to literally any other alternative it is by far the best. Every single attempt at foregoing capitalist principles has failed miserably and resulted in national bankruptcy, starvation, dictatorship, revolution and mass murder. Capitalism has raised a third of the world's populous out of abject poverty and all the most successful nations on earth are capitalist. It's going to take a little more than the foul mouthed tirades of RUclips trolls to change that.
And just as I described ethically restrained capitalism is exactly what Scandinavia espouse with a free market operating within strong unionism and Welfare nets. End of story.
Coastline is long because of a very curly coast because of all the fiords. Skip across openings and the coast is massively shorter yet fiord shores are like taking large river banks along the rivers major length as "coast".
You probably have already learned this but if not, the reason why Norway is “in” so much with the EU, while not being a member, is because we’re basically bound to it due to our membership in EEA (the European Economic Area), EFTA (European Free Trade Association). As well as our membership in NATO and being a member of the Schengen Agreement.
So when people go, “how does Norway benefit so much from the EU, while not being apart of the EU”, the answer is basically, we aren’t apart of the EU, but we’re bound so to the EU via these methods, so we’re basically a “member” regardless if we like it or not.
(and since 52.2% of the population voted no against membership in 1994 (47,8% voted yes btw) and we haven’t had a vote on that since (despite some people trying to make that happen), who knows).
You really hit the nail straight in on one stroke with the comment about trust. We have very high trust, and we have a very high stake in what we often call Norway Inc. (AS Norge) We also have a transparent taxation system, so we can look up what people make and what positions they have in companies, so there's no secret power and corruption is very low. As for the relationship between the government and the people, we have a saying in Norway that we all learn as a children: «the state, that is us». We are very strongly united around the concept of government of the people, by the people and for the people. … And most of us don't have to file taxes, because it's fully automatic. I've heard some Americans think that sounds pretty nice. :)
What homogeneity does to a country, huh...
@@AFFoC: Norway is very far from being homogeneous. It's a nazi myth, like the horned helmets. I don't understand why people are so desperate to believe these things about Norway. It's really, really obviously not true. If you look at the long distance between south and north, you will understand that it would be close to impossible for Norway to ever be homogeneous.
03.27 its my home town of Ålesund and you can se my childhood home in the dip in the mountain to the Left of the city center. That mountain's name is Sukkertoppen (sugartopp) it also where the wolds tallest handmade bonfire is made for st.hans every year. I have helped build it for 3 years and my little brother 2 years. Beautyfull place in the summer. High mountains and deep fjords.
I leave In Oslo and haven’t visited a lot of other states in Norway but I have a few in my travel list now thanks to you
Love it
Thank Tyler keep bringing them up
We are also happy to up to 40% taxes when we know we get it back from the gov when in need, and the fact that we tax the oil industry 78%+ and invest only in green energy, not weapons or tobacco etc :)
Fun fact, the sovereign national wealth fun has a permanent philosopher to make ethical decision on our investment, so to ensure proper investment
avrage wage is about 2-5k after taxes not 8k atleast in my experience. i'm 33 and i've lived in norway all my life. i live in Kristiansand.
The monarch has, since 1905 signed alle the laws put in from of him, and has very little formal influence. (The last king, in union with Sweden, was tha last to veto a lw, and that cost him his Norwegian job, and the country.)
Slmon in sushi was unheard of until a Norwegian trade delegation intyroduced it to Japan in the 1970 or early 80s.
Reitan was/is only as rich as Donald Trump claimned to be.
The main difference between the Nordic and the US is the distribution of wealth. For instance, fewr than 100 people in the US own more than 48% of the rest of the population combined. A CEO of a Fornbes 500 company makes 305 times the avreage worker does in that same company. In the Nordics that's only about 10 or15:1.
As for taxes, the comparison to the US doesn't really work. Things like free education, healthcare, childcare are incluyded in the taxes when you have to pay for that (or insurance premiums) out of pocket in the US. You will probably have a lower disposable income in the US, both on average and on the median income.
Actually, King Harald V did veto / advice against the removal of a constitutional law in 2008; the law in question require the monarch to be aligned with the Evangelical-Lutheran religion, basically the Norwegian church. As a pious man he didn't want that law to be removed in his lifetime. In the end they changed it instead of removing it, meaning the law will have to be addressed again in the future if a future monarch wants religious freedom.
I would say the avrage workingclass salary in norway is 4000$ and usually the tax range drawn from salaries is between 24-32% it dosnt paint a proper picture to include the higher ups in my oppinion. Im from Norway.
Here's the perspective we have on our taxes. Yes they're high, but 1. They are all done by the government, and generally speaking we don't have to worry about our taxes. 2. They give us basically freedom to do anything and not worry about going bankrupt. 3. Whenever we travel or want to travel somewhere other than Norway, it's generally cheap... And let's us have big spending sprees without actually affecting us that much. So although I consider myself rather poor as a 18 soon to be 19 year old that's just about to move out making only about 2300$ a month. Not a lot to sustain myself IN Norway. But it is a lot whenever I go on vacation and can go on shopping sprees in countries like Spain and Poland which I visit rather frequently
That's incredible Norway is Rich in everything.I m happy to be there.
I am an African leaving in Norway and I just discovered your content I love it is an understatement
For I am learning a lot from your channel
The average monthly salary in Norway is not $8000. The number might be wrong due to convertion rates and which "average" they used at the time that video was made but today the median average monthly salary translates to $4450 based on statistics from 2021. And ordinary average would be around $500 higher based on the same statistics. So unsure how they got $8000.
Re: millionaiires. The video you were watching is slightly out of date and got the ratio wrong. Norway now has over 186000 dollar millionaires which makes it that 1 in every 29 people in Norway is a dollar millionaire. And note that that $1 million is investable wealth in _addition_ to the value in your home.
Not just out of date, but with bad arithmetic.
Thank you, I was doubting myself becouse I thought I didn't understand the math. But it's just the video that was wrong.
I'm Norwegian, born and raised. Love to live here and consider myself very lucky. Our healthcare system is hands down fantastic. Dental care, though ... I don't know how it is in other countries, but here in Norway you can pretty much be ruined if you have to go to the dentist and get a root canal, implant or something. My recent dental bill for this year comes to about 40.000 kr (4000 dollars) for fixing ONE tooth and since dental care is private in Norway, we have to pay all of it. I would rather pay even higher taxes than today and place dental care in the same box as health care. Teeth should be consedered a part of the human body, it's ridicilous. Other than that, Norway is a lovely country to be a part of. :)
Average salary doesn't really say much. Median is a better way to measure. Also, you have to remember cost of living in Norway is very high.
Norway is a good country, but it is not unique. Most countries in the western world, not all western countries, but most have a similar system. Compared to the second and third world, the West has relatively low social differences, but the USA and the UK have large differences
Norway is often glorified and seen as the best of the best, which I think is completely wrong
Although our country is rich in resources, the population is not rich, not poor either, just working class. The majority are working class. The middle class, the upper class and the poor are a minority, as in most Western countries
The amount of income in Norway is high, but people abroad who dream of living in Norway do not check living costs against income. Norway is among the most expensive countries in the West, the cost of living is insanely high, therefore the high amount of income is not relevant to wealth
I know a married couple where the husband is Spanish, the wife is Norwegian. They have lived in both Norway and Spain, now they live in Spain. Spain is not as rich in resources as we are, but the people who live there are neither richer nor poorer than Norwegians
Measured in amount, they earn 35% less in Spain for similar occupations than in Norway, in return the cost of living is 35% lower, which makes this match, therefore the standard of living is the same. Rights in healthcare are also the same
Poor, middle class and rich are a minority in Spain, and it is a minority in Norway. The level of corruption is low compared to the second and third world in Spain, and the level of corruption is low in Norway compared to the second and third world
Norwegians are no better off than most other western countries, this is a big misunderstanding
Yes, we earn more, but we also have a higher cost of living
Something that is also misunderstood is that healthcare is free in Norway, this is not true. When you are admitted to hospital, you pay nothing, and the treatment you receive while you are admitted is free, but for all outpatient treatment you pay a deductible. The healthcare system is partially subsidized by the state, but not free, only admission to a public hospital is free
In the last year, Norway has gone downhill. I would call it a financial crisis, something all countries go through once in a while. Interest rates have exploded, electricity is 10 times more expensive than a year ago, the currency has lost a lot of value, and recently food also became much more expensive. Despite all this, there is no index adjustment in the income. The amount of income is still the same now as it was two years ago, we have a much higher cost of living, money is in inflation, interest rates have exploded, but after all this the amount of salary is exactly the same
Poverty rate went from 7% of Norway's population to 10% of the population. It is still a minority on the scale, but I still think it is tragic and unfair that it should be like this
I also have to mention dental health. One would think that the teeth are not part of the body in Norway, because dental health is not covered by the ordinary healthcare system. Public healthcare is partially subsidized, you pay a deductible, the state pays the rest, dental health is not subsidized, after you turn 18, the state pays 0% of the dental health, so at the dentist you pay 100% of the price yourself
Higher education in the public sector is not free either, you pay a compulsory fee each semester. You have to buy your own laptop, you have to buy your own textbooks, and if you don't live near the university, you have to rent a dormitory, which is very expensive, and you also have to pay for electricity and food, and to afford this you have to apply for a student loan, and you have debt for years after you graduate
When Norwegians buy houses or flats in working-class standard, they have mortgages for 25 to 35 years on average
This post is not intended as a complaint, but as a detailed explanation that Norway is nothing extraordinary, Norway is nothing unique. Money is not everything, and I have no goal of becoming rich, but it is not fun that people think we are so rich when it is not the case, nor is it nice that people think Norway is utopia when it is not the case
The rare times I afford a holiday, and the locals ask where I'm from, and I say Norway, then I can't be left alone, then people will sell me the most expensive things they have, restaurants will sell me lobster, if I am in a taxi and they ask where I'm from, then they'll drive me everywhere and give me a long sightseeing trip and show me all possible sights, because they think I'm insanely rich when they hear the word "Norway". I am also told that I am lucky, but what do they really know about my life? How do they know I'm lucky? That and being lucky are to a far greater extent personal experiences than which country you live in. I've always had what I need, but I'm still not lucky, I've been exposed to a lot of bad experiences in life. That's why it's not fun that people think I'm rich and lucky!
I consider myself neither lucky nor unlucky, it's subjective, I currently have a job I like with good colleagues, and a few good friends, and good relatives. I earn less in this job than in the previous one, but I enjoy myself better, therefore I feel luckier with this job. But behind me in life I have been treated terribly by many people, I have been exposed to a lot of pain, and I have also been in two car accidents. So even though I live in Norway, I am not immune from experiencing a bad life. It is to a small extent one country that determines whether you are lucky or not, as long as you are not living in war, or starving to death
Tax is interesting, some countries have high taxes and free HC, Schools, etc, and some have lower taxes but lots of fees.
Some countries have subsidies for eg having a child, and some have tax reductions.
Doing the math it seems to be the same, but the low tax/high fee systems are benefiting the rich, while a high tax/low fee system is better for the poor.
Now, we know that more equal populations are in general more happy, and that less poor people in the long run benefits the richest, so it's not exactly brain surgery why the Nordic Model is successful.
you truly have a gift in saying so little with so many words
Hey Tyler! It's fun to follow your videos about Norwegians!!! The culture, the way they are, the wealth that they take care of, and don't use for fun! The world's largest public pension fund, which will protect ALL citizens (5,5 mill.), not just a few. But to really understand the Norwegians well, it is important to go back a little bit in time, 1814 (indepent from the Danes and making our own constitution law, based on French and the U.S. laws), 1905 (independent from the Swedes, even Norway is a very old country), and especially WW2 where Norway was in fact a very important part of this war; The Heavy Water (the important clean water for making nuclear for the atomic bombs) which we didn't let the Germans get hold of. We sank a ferry with The Heavy Water that was on its way to Germany (because the Germans had invaded the country, we didn't think they would come. But they did. Our mistake) and some Norwegians perished. We blew up our own factory that made heavy water (Norwegian Hydro Plant) so that the Germans wouldn't get hold of them. Norway was the only Nordic country that face this war in these matter (the Germans used only 12 hours to conquer Denmark. Sweden was neutral. Finland had their Winter-war 1939 against Russia and was tired of the war when the Germans came. Finland was so pissed about Russia that they helped the Germans against Russia. Many films and books has been made of what happened to Norway in the WW2, also in recent years, about all the brave Norwegians who gave their lives for justice and did not let the Germans rule the world. However, today in 2023 Germany is our biggest trading partner :) so we are friends again. "Time heals all wounds", they say. From Bergen (the capital of the fjords in Norway) an incredible number of commercial ships went out, and shipowners sent their vessels to England and across the Atlantic Ocean to our friend, USA. Here we picked up goods that were transported back to European countries. But many boats were lost from German submarines, and many Norwegians lie at the bottom of the Atlantic Ocean. We had several resistance movements that resisted the Germans, and one of them transported important people from Bergen to the island of Shetland (just ahead of Scotland) in small fishing boats. The North Sea is a tough place to be in autumn and winter with storms and up to 20 m (13 feet) high waves. But these fishermen were going forward with their cargo, whatever the cost. Up in northern Norway, many of the most important battles during WW2 took place, where Prime Minister Churchill had sent English, French and Polish forces to stop the Germans from obtaining coal of very high quality. The Germans were to use this to make submarines, planes, tanks etc. The city is Narvik. Just when they had got a good grip on the Germans and almost surrounded them, Churchill (great warrior) pulled out all the troops and sent them to the south of France and Normandy (the place named after Norwegians). In April 1945, the Germans burned down the entire northern part of Norway, when they realized that the war was lost. In war parlance, this is called the "scorched earth tactic". Enough of that, look at this theme and find gold! Yes, the Norwegians are a bit withdrawn and want to know who we are dealing with, before they press you to their chest, so there is a built-in skepticism that must be overcome, and only our guests can do that, not us. For us, life is not about MONEY, but about a good life with our neighbors, people and the nature around the world. Thanks.
Please note that while Norway is a full democracy ( the highest democracy rating) the US is classified as a “flawed democracy” thanks to Trump.
Sure
You know the USA is not and never was a democracy… right?
Doesn't really seem like something neccessary to call out here. This video is for learning about Norway, not for talking US politics.
America is lucky to still be rated as a democracy at all. It is afraid to enforce its own laws against a serial criminal like Trump for fear of the backlash from his acolytes.
I am proud to be Norwegian. But it's super expensive here.
Shut up! people are starving to death, and killed in conflicts.
As an american I think you can emigrate to Norway and became a Norwegian citizen. If you like. The nice thing for you will be that allmost all Norwegians speak english. The young ones pretty fluent, the old ones, not so much. (I'm 76 btw). You will also find that for every 10 new cars sold, 8 will be pure electric cars that runs on batteries. And you will find many Teslas espesaly modell 3 and Y.
He is right about it:-) cheers from the west coast of Norway, Haugesund 🤩
Modestly is so deeply rooted in the Norwegian culture. That the amazing thing about so many of the really wealthy people in Norway is that you would never know that they are super rich, they use public transport, drive a good normal cars, and live in a normal size house's. And are usually really lay back look at them self as equal to there fellow men.
I don't know about Modesty pr say...
We look down upon people that show of that they believe they're better then others.
But we're not exactly modest, we just show off in different ways from say Americans...
People of the world! Let the Nordic countries run the world until the end of days, for a peaceful and a much happier world and for all human kind.
They made some really good choices when they fund oil. Many countries could have done what Norway did, but they did not and instead of money going to the state and its people it's going to private companies.
No they couldn't.
Norway's oil fund is worth about £350,000 per person, this is only achievable because Norway has just 5 million people.
UK had a comparable amount of oil BUT has 14 times as many people, therefore a UK oil find would only be worth £25,000 a person going back to the 1960's, basically nothing
Avg salary in norway is 4,600 USD before tax
The amount of wealth is located to oil workers, fishing companies and government employees
I can tell you norway is so rich that people don’t have food on their table everyday they cannot take care of us born here but thank god they give back to people in need outside Norway, it is far from as beautiful as you all see, your eighter rich or very poor, that is the truth!
And yes I am Norwegian
I can assure you, in other countries, it's even worse. Poverty in the US is appalling compared to here. I used to live in the US, and although complaining is Norwegians biggest hobby, I care not to. I've seen so much worse.
It's not to say Norwegians can't struggle and be poor, but noone is homeless here. That's a big difference just there.
@@heidisaglund3443 i know, my friends tell me, we are all suffering, some worse then others, it’s hard to watch and hear😢
9:55 Keep in mind, not all 163,000 are Norwegians. But 163,000 of the worlds millionaires live in Norway
Well, it`s Norway or Switch for the filthy rich!
If you need a student loan there are no interest before you are done studying. If you pass the degree up to 40% of the loan will be transformed into a scholarship and basicly deleted. You can also pause payments for upto 36 months without interest if you want after you have started paying. Even if you use 30 years to pay of the debt you will still have paid back less than what you loaned. You need a loan to support living costs, but the school itself typically cost under $100 per semester.
With regard to the US vs. Norwegian welfare system, and the negative connotations the word "welfare" has in the US, there is a bit of a language barrier that doesn't really translate well. In Norwegian the word "velferd" (Norwegian for welfare) covers anything, and everything that has to do with personal well being, and happiness. Based on the context (social setting/workplace/non-profit organization/etc.) it can cover everything from disability pay, to bringing cake to celebrate that your colleague/friend had a baby, etc. So in Norway the word welfare (velferd) doesn't have that negative ring to it.
The Norwegian word that is closest to having the same negative connotations as welfare would probably be "sosialstøtte", which literally translates to social support, i.e. monetary support from the social services. "Sosialstøtte" does have quite a bit of stigma attached to it, but as the social/inclusive element is firmly rooted in our collective psyche, I get the impression that there is considerably less stigma than what the US has with regard to the word welfare.
In short these two words (welfare - velferd) mean the same thing, but there are significant cultural differences that has a big impact on the interpretation of the words.
It's actually up now to 250 000$ today pr person, so the numbers in this video is slightly outdated
The Oil industri is very different to USA and UK. Here in Norway you have to have a very high education at least 16-17 years. We have a 37.5 hour working week here, people working on the Oil rigs have 12 hour working days. Because of that they work 14 days and have 4 weeks free. Also all the rigs have a hotel standard, singel cabins, cinemas, buffees, trim rooms ect. Nobody comes inside in their working cloths. Also the wages are very good.
One more thing about us norwegians we care about eachother, and we look out for eachother.
Only people with guns here are those that hunt, and they have to have them locked in a spesial gun boks. It is also forbidden to carry knifes.
I got trigger finger(tooo much guitar playing) and waiting period was 1 year. So I called cousin in CMC hospital,vellore,India she got an appointment with in 5 days. Got operated and playing mire guitar than ever.
Norway have handled their oil and gas findings examplery, in diffrence from example Venezuela they have invested their oilmoney, in the infrasystem, and in the health system and school system, they have invested in science and in founds for future use
The monthly average salary is definitely NOT that high. It’s around 5000 USD before taxes is closer to the real income of most workers.
You should check out Australia too. Australia should do a better job of hoarding its wealth but its just not had the impetus because we have resources that will last for a lot longer than when the oil will run out in Norway. Western Australia could consider another referendum and declaration of independence again and it would be fabulously wealthy. It could also operate in a similar way to some of the wealthy oil states in the Middle East by taking in temporary guest workers. There would just be some economies of scale to deal with in terms of maintaining its own air force, nuclear submarines etc. to continue to deter China from a hostile takeover. Australia has 25 million people and around 650,000 millionaires and 37 billionaires. Every Norwegian is technically a millionaire though due to the value of the assets held by the sovereign fund. It was very smart to start saving up the oil money but I wish Australia could be smarter about how it manages its affairs. It is very weird that the fund doesn't invest in oil, when most of the money to start with comes from oil. Norway can borrow money for next to nothing through bonds that are probably AAA rated, and invest in companies that are growing at 10-20% p.a. Smart.
in the case of salaries (and "small" datasets in general) an average is not representative of the general population cause there is a small percent of the population driving the average way up. like Reitan for example, earning hundreds of millions of dollars a year will of course raise the average a lot higher than it naturally would be if you excluded incredibly high numbers.
yeah good relation with government and people, because we the people can actually have an influence on the government. For example, when covid hit, my kids lived with mother in another european country, and the rules for who could come into the country was limited. When I pointed out this to the government, they told me to talk to local officials. I talked to the border police, and the asked me to detail the situation in an email so that they could get lawmakers to look at it.
One week later the rules were changed to make sure family of mixed nationality could get in on the state level.
Just shows, one person can actually have a impact in the system, and the control is with the people, not with our elected officials - if they do something we as a people do not like, we can effect change, even at the individual level, and it is encouraged throughout the system.
I was in Norway a few weeks ago. Norway puts the US and UK to shame! They really look after their people.
Not their poor and elderly tho.
Your math is correct. If the narrator was right, there would be over 38 million people in Norway. :P 163000 x 31 is a little over 5 mill. So pretty close :)
Among the considerable boasting and some superficialness of the video you're commenting on: To be 'on welfare' does have some connotation of stigma in Norway too, but I agree there is a difference.
- The functioning of the oil fund would need a longer comment. Anyway, it's invested ABROAD, and it's said to be the world's largest investor, so its value fluctuates like the global economy does.
- Some of the figures given are confusing, in some instances it is not clear to me whether it gives 'millions' and 'millionaires' etc in terms of dollars or of Norwegian Crowns (a dollar is at present just about 10 NOK). Lots of Norwegians are millionaires in Norwegian crowns, but it's mostly because of the value / potential value of their houses, apartments, winter cabins, summer cabins. Now you have to live somewhere, so not all the value of your dwelling can be realised. And what about your holiday if your cabin is sold?
- The video's superficiality: Of course living anywhere is more complicated than 'averages' and 'survey-based happiness' say. They often seem based on questions of how 'satisfied' people are with this or that particular factor of their lives.
- Parliamentary democracy: Elections to the parliament every 4 years. The government formed must resign if a majority in parliament says so - it's called 'parliamentarism' (like the UK, i.e it need not have an active majority supporting it on every issue, but must be able to muster a majority if a question is put of whether it is allowed to continue and do this and that, or must go.) In other words: The political leader of the country, the prime minister, is NOT chosen in a separate election like your president; he/she is appointed by the party or parties able to muster a parliamentary majority which accepts that. At present there is a minority government (2 parties: the Labour Party (democratic socialists), and the Center Party (heavy basis of agriculture sectors)); this government is usually supported in parliamentary voting by two or three other parties of socialistic orientation. The previous government, which sat for 8 years, was more or less conservative / liberal (in the European meaning of 'liberal', not the American one.)
- Americans are way behind regarding royals and their function today; you seem foggy about their place in politics and often to have a suspicion of their being 'a separate species', hmh?! Reminds me of a charming old Hollywood movie: "Call me Madam" from 1953, which must surely have been made to give Americans confirmation of their unclear dreams of European royalty!
I live in Norway, and I get payd ca. 2500 usd a month, my husband 12000 usd a month. We are in our late 20's.
I just turned 35 years of residence in Norway. I'll tell you everything that is good in Norway, has a catch 22. It is by no means the "best place to live".
1) Insane high prices make also norwegians flee for shopping in Sweden
2) Population is treated like babies who can't think
3) Politics leave out a huge factor: "will of the people".
4) They lie of it being a democracy but change their rules whenever it befits the King, who really does the governing even though they learn at school that he is only symbolic.
5) The population after ww2 have been brainwashed to a degree of which I have no paralel to compare it with.
6) The ranks that are so high score comes with peer pressure and expectation building. You get subleemely learned what to answer on those polls that make us look so happy
7) highest number of depressed people, people with anxiety and other mental issues.
8) After living in Norway for 35 years, I have a total of 0 ethnic Norwegian friends. To a comparison I have over 30+ friends in Britain which I accumulated over 1 year of stay in Newcastle during studies.
9) Healthcare is "free". You tax 35% on your sallary, and then you tax 24% on every single article you buy. Then you tax 90% on fuel, alcohol, meat, sugar and tobacco.
10) Whatever the state gives to you with one hand, it takes with the other. If you lost your job, you will get unemployment benifits, 60% of your sallary for 2 years, but they will send you to the outmost BS courses and classes to learn how to write a simple CV. Even if your a PHD in medicine, you will lose your money if you dont attend these courses.
11) In norway, institutions and people will nag a hole in your head to get a job. When you first get a job, at work, they do anything in their power and go out of their way to get you fired from that job.
12) Over 220 ice cold days a year
13) Many millionaires, but you see more wealth in countries like Moldova, Albania or Romania.
14) The local "Jante-law" dictates that you cannot show your wealth because that is showing off. This has rendered many norwegians to live like poor flees because of the fear of what the neighbor might think.
15) Norwegians dont have normal european social antennas. You are crazy if you sit close to someone on a train or bus.
16) As a kid visiting another kid, during dinner time, only the kid of the house will be served food while you, the kid that is visiting, must be in the room alone til the friend has finished eating.
17) Welphare system is a scam here. None of us dream of one day ending up at the welphare system. I worked in the social dept for 13 years and yes people recieve money for their livelyhood, however you have to pay it back in humiliation, degradation and when you stretch your hand to tthe system to get their money, they will use you how ever they please and play with your life however they want.
18) The roads here are worse than many developing third world countries. Much worse than Poland, Russia, Albania, Austria or Spain.
19) Norway is also called "Prison Norway" by many many people that live here. The state is with you from birth to the grave and has a finger in every aspect of your life, communism.
20) Prejudice based society. If you dont look like a certain type, say a victim of robbery, and you experience robbery but the robber is an unlikely assailant, even with all the prove in the world, your case will be thrown out the window.
21) Hugely Xenophobic population that "knows" theyr better then everyone else in the world.
22) Government works to make things more illegal here thus no significant crime, they seek to make fuel even more expensive, even though we produce it, they seek to make energy prices hstorically high, even though we produce power to all of europe and still have surpluss, but also still the highest prices in Europe.
23) The de-humanization of society and state institutions. Everything must be done through the internet even though nobody informs you where or when. Inapropriate working hours to not match with the population.
24) Egocentrical economy that has resulted in the worlds highest prices on everything. They find new innovative ways on how to hinder people from going to other countries for shopping, impose taxes, make things illegal.
25) Naive sleepwalking population that will litterally tolerate the state to do anything to them with no questions asked. This has resulted in Norway being governed by a gang of high class Hanseatic Germans that for years on end have been working for WEF, EU, UN and everyone else but the norwegian citizen.
26) agressive wildlife policies. Norway is 4000 km from north to south. Yet it has some 30-40 wolves in the wild. The wolf, bear, lynx are all endangered species.
27) Norway is good and ideal for only one class of the population. The white, rich, aristocratic class which is around west of Oslo and some places in the south part.
28) Norway tells its citizens that water levels will rise the next 10 years, yet they build the national Opera at sea level.
29) Norway has loads of dept, they have given up their physical values and invested the money on VALUE-DOCUMENTS in the US. this means, if the USD falls, we do not own 1 single drop of oil.
30) Norway in general is grey, boring, expensive, cold, cold people with surreal expectations.
So we’ll said. Thanks
Yes, I'm very happy with Norway. Just a bit too cold in the winter 😅😅
According to SSB (norwegian statistical agancy) the avarege monthly salary is 50 790 kr (5 074 usd) and a median salary is 45 830 kr (4 577 usd). I'm Norwegian and I had to check that cause the 8000usd sounded like a lot. I don't know where they got that number. Still pretty good tho, I guess
The average is actually about 50 k. I barely finished high school and work as a middle manager with no higher education. I make 70k USD a year and 8k bonuses in average. This is not the norm and education matters a lot, but you can make it if you are willing to learn and have a good work ethic.
Also own a 400k apartment and have 160k in load. I'm 31 and feel like lower/middle, middle class. After taxes I have about 40k each month. Life is relatively decent for me, But there are some underpaid work groups that makes about 30. And we do have issues in our economy. Just not in the same scale cause we have oil and have invested it relatively smart.