GDP growth: 2.7%
GDP per head: $100,340 (PPP: $63,690)
Inflation: 1.1%
Budget balance (% GDP): 15.7
Population: 5.0m

Preparations for the 2013 election will dominate politics. The Labour Party, which controls the governing coalition, was buoyed by the public response to the mass killings in 2011 by Anders Breivik, a right-wing extremist, but the Conservatives are regaining ground and are favourites to take power at the head of a centre-right coalition. High oil prices will insulate hydrocarbon-rich Norway from global turbulence, generating enough revenue to offset declines in other markets. The krone, strengthened by the economy’s safe-haven status, will hold down local costs.