Further to my last post on Statoil´s new oil field off the coast of Brazil, Peregrino, I thought it appropriate to write about the top companies in Norway.  Statoil is actually the #1 company in Norway based on annual revenue.  The top industries include oil, natural gas and energy, telecommunications, lumber, maritime, and tourism.  These are no surprise as Norway is surrounded by water, full of forest, and a spectacular place to visit!  I think it is interesting to observe, however, the companies with the largest # of employees to see where the most depth is.  In my hometown where I currently live, the biggest employers are the 2 private colleges in town, Carleton and St. Olaf, and Malt-O-Meal.  That’s right, the Malt-O-Meal headquarters is a few blocks away.  You can tell what kind of cereal is being made by  walking out your door in the morning and smelling the air:)

Oil, natural gas, and energy

• Statoil-over 21,000 employees
• Norsk Hydro-over 33,000 employees
• Hafslund-2,500 employees
• Odfjell Drilling-almost 2,000 employees

Fishing, Shipping, Construction, and Engineering

• Aker-over 35,000 employees
• Norske Skogindustrier-over 9,000 employees
• Veidekke-over 6,000 employees
• Moelven-over 3,000 employees
• Color Group-3,500 employees

Communication

• Telenor-over 31,000 employees
• Siemens-over 2,000 employees
• A-Pressen-2,600 employees

Financial

• Orkla-over 28,000 employees
• DnBNor-12,000 employees

Grocery

• NorgesGruppen-over 9,000 employees
• ICA Norge-over 4,000 employees (and one of my friends manages an ICA in Bergen!)
• Coop Norge-over 1,500 employees

Chemical

• Yara/0ver 7,000 employees

Post

• Posten Norge-over 20,000 employees

Health

• Helse Vest-over 20,000 employees
• Helse Midt-Norge-over 16,000 employees
• Ullevål Universitetssykehus-over 9,000 employees
• Rikshospitalet-8,000 employees

Airline

• SAS Braatens-over 3,000 employees

And from 2007, some of the top places to work in Norway:

I hope those of you who are business-minded and are curious about important, wealthy, and/or influential companies in Norway find this information inetersting!