Trump’s war has been unimaginably profitable for the state. It brought in an astronomical 226 billion kroner in the first quarter. These are sums that other countries can only dream of.

The surplus in the balance of trade with foreign countries amounted to 226 billion kroner in the first quarter.

That is so much that GDP rose by 6.2 per cent in three months. Countries such as Germany struggle to achieve 0.5 per cent growth in a year; in other words, they are at a standstill.

Higher oil and gas prices in March due to the Iran war contributed to Norway’s total GDP increasing by more than 6 per cent in the first quarter, reports Statistics Norway (SSB).

As is well known, the closure of the Strait of Hormuz caused a sharp increase in the price of crude oil and natural gas in March. According to Statistics Norway, this resulted in total GDP at current prices increasing by 6.2 per cent during the first three months of the year.

Norway is therefore profiting enormously from a war that the government opposes.

But if we speak of mainland Norway (Fastlands-Norge), the picture is entirely different. There we are at the German level.

The preliminary national accounts show growth in GDP for mainland Norway (Fastlands-Norge) of 0.2 per cent from the final quarter of last year to the first quarter of 2026, adjusted for seasonal and calendar variations, and measured at constant prices.

The growth is due to an increase in both service industries and parts of manufacturing industry. Nevertheless, the growth was somewhat lower than the average in 2025, largely because of fluctuations in hydroelectric power production and car sales around the turn of the year. (NTB)

No other countries in Europe come close to possessing the room for manoeuvre that the Norwegian state has.