freedquaker said:
As a demographics note: Norway's population is NOT shrinking. Although the fertility rate (1.78) is below the replacement ratio (2.05), we are still a generation behind and the immigration more than covers. In 2013, the population increased by 60K, about 18K of which is "natural" and the rest is "immigration". It is an OIL rich country, and naturally the average GDP will be much higher, but does it mean that people really enjoy a much better life in Norway than in Sweeden? Of course not! Even though consoles are not entirely tied to welfare, I still want to show the actual situation in Norway compared to US (as an economist in US) So basically the median Norwegian is 48940 / 29300 -1 = 67% wealthier than the median US citizen after due health and military expenditures. The numbers are not 100% accurate but very close to the actual truth. |
We don't have a lot of Health care expenses, well not directly anyway, it's covered by tax. As you say Norway is an oil rich nation, but we are far better at spreading the wealth across the entire population instead of a few people owning the majority of assets, so we can not be compared to other oil rich nations such as quatar were a few people own most of the assets. But my point still stands, an average Norwegian has more purchasing power (depending on what you are buying) than an average American.
