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Optimism dominates northern Norway

Geir Andreassen, Sparebank1 Nord-Norge

A recent published survey shows that the effects of financial crisis have been minor in northern Norway. With the delineation agreement in the Barents Sea, and subsequent increased possibilities for petroleum activity, optimism is higher than ever in the region, the survey concludes.

Location

The largest bank in northern Norway, Sparebank 1 Nord-Norge, presents the status of northern Norway every six months. The conclusion of the latest report is that most businesses in northern Norway were almost unharmed by financial crisis.

– It is much thanks to the public sector that northern Norway managed so well through the financial crisis, says Geir Andreassen in Sparebank1 Nord-Norge.

In northern Norway the public sector is proportionally larger than in other parts of Norway, and this has been a vital factor in maintaining productivity through the financial crisis.

However, times are changing and the overall activity in the region is growing. Northern Norway has for several decades been described as a region of unemployment and depopulation. No the trend is changing and the percentage of unemployment is lower in northern Norway then in the rest of the country.

Andreassen believes that with the delineation agreement between Norway and Russia in what used to be called the disputed zone, and the possibility of more oil and gas industry in the region, the future prospects for northern Norway are enormous.

– The agreement with Russia opens up new opportunities both for better resource management in the north combined with better business cooperation with Russia. This will open up for a broader economic cooperation across the Norwegian-Russian border, which will provide multiple opportunities for this part of Norway, says Andreassen.