Co-operatives in Norway
The co-operative movement in Norway counts altogether more than 2 million people, out of a population of 4,8 million. Since a lot of people are members of several cooperatives, the total number of memberships are much higher.
The importance of the co-operative model, both in terms of memberships and economic activity and results, is most clearly shown in agriculture, fisheries, housing and in the consumer sector. The co-operative model is also present in insurance and credit.
In addition, there are a lot of small co-operative societies producing goods or services for income purposes or as part of the infrastructure of local communities – e g associations for the marketing of handicrafts, tourism, as well as co-operative societies in water supply and sewage, energy production, kindergartens, therapeutic services, co-operatives for road building and maintenance, etc.
Even though the Norwegian co-operative movement is big and important, both in terms of members, turnover and employees, there has traditionally been little awareness of co-operatives as a model for solving new economic and social challenges. The Cooperative Societies Act, which entered into force 1 January 2008, has, however, increased the interest in and the awareness of the cooperative as a relevant business model.