Norway Country Commercial Guide
Learn about the market conditions, opportunities, regulations, and business conditions in norway, prepared by at U.S. Embassies worldwide by Commerce Department, State Department and other U.S. agencies’ professionals
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Healthcare Technologies
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Norway spends 10.3% of GDP on healthcare which amounts to USD 55 billion in total, or USD 9,700 per citizen.  This places Norway among the top healthcare spenders in the world. The state-run healthcare system, covering close to 85% of total healthcare costs, has a strong emphasis on universal access, digitalization and sustainability.  Budget constraints, a rise in chronic diseases, and an aging population continue to drive demand for innovation and efficiency.  The health and social welfare system in Norway is mostly publicly financed, primarily through a national insurance tax and payroll contributions.  The national insurance, or social security, is a collective insurance plan to which all in Norway belong.  Residents are guaranteed access to healthcare, and out-of-pocket expenses are capped. After paying around USD 350 in public healthcare fees within one calendar year, they receive an exemption card, which provides free access to many health services and certain medications for the rest of the year. 

The Norwegian healthcare sector is investing heavily in hospital modernization, digital health, telemedicine, and welfare technologies. Estimates from the public health authorities and trade associations indicate that the total Norwegian market for medical and dental equipment and supplies is projected to grow to USD 2.3 billion by 2026.  Public health care authorities in Norway account for around 90% of medical equipment purchases, while privately funded purchases make up for the rest.  Around half of all medical equipment is sold to state-owned hospitals.  These hospitals account for 94% of all hospitals stays.  The national government handles specialists and hospital care through the four Regional Health Authorities.  Municipalities oversee primary care, prevention and nursing services.  The four health regions jointly own the Norwegian Hospital Procurement Trust (Sykehusinnkjøp HF), which manages procurement for specialist healthcare. In 2024, the Trust delivered 1037 procurements worth USD 2.2 billion, and about 6,700 framework agreements for specialist health care services. 
 

Opportunities  

 ROADMAP - The health industry:  In August 2023, the Norwegian government released a roadmap to promote and strengthen the growing health industry in Norway. The interaction and affective cooperation between the public and private sector were highlighted as a key to success in achieving the goals. The roadmap presents 12 focus areas: testing and piloting; clinical trials; clusters; health technology and personalized medicine; access to and use of data; production of pharmaceuticals; research, education, innovation, and commercialization; international research and innovation collaboration; intellectual property rights; capital; public procurement, export.

Health data and Cancer Registry of Norway:  Norway has extensive health registries that have been built up over many years.  Since March 2023, the Health Data Service functions as the decision-making authority for access to data from the Cancer Registry of Norway, the Norwegian Health Archives Registry and the national health registries managed by the Directorate of Health and the Norwegian Institute of Public Health.

New Hospital Projects:  Norway is investing around USD 8.8 billion in hospital construction and modernization. These projects seek to feature advanced medical equipment, robotics, smart building tech and improved logistics to increase efficiency and productivity. There will be opportunities for innovative U.S. companies that have products or services related to medical devices, operating room equipment, medical imaging, medical furniture, patient monitoring systems, transport, and logistics systems.

Medical Devices: Aging demographics and a government commitment to maintaining and improving the country’s high standard of healthcare will continue to drive investment in new medical technologies. The market for medical devices in Norway is expected to grow at a 2021 – 2026 CAGR of 4.4% in local currency terms which will take expenditure to USD 2.3 billion.  Norway has one of the highest medical devices spending per capita rates with a heavy reliance on imports. The United States is the leading national supplier of medical consumables, diagnostic imaging, orthopedics, and dental equipment in Norway.

Pharmaceuticals: The Norwegian pharmaceuticals market is estimated at USD 3.5 billion in 2025. The pharmaceuticals market has experienced modest growth in recent years but has also been affected by the government’s restrictive policy in fixing prices and reimbursement, and the patent expiry of several high turnover brands. The generic pharmaceuticals market has grown significantly in recent years and accounts for around half of the market, and with the introduction of the “step price scheme,” aimed at further reducing the price of generic medicines, this is a trend set to continue. In the future, the entry into force of European Regulation (EU) 2021/2282 on health technology assessment (HTA) will bring important implications.  The most important change is the introduction of EU-level joint clinical assessments (JCAs) that will start to become applicable for different medicine categories between 2025 and 2030.  The new procedure will impact all centrally authorized medicines and some medical devices and may serve as the basis for national value assessments and price negotiations.

Digital Healthcare: The potential for artificial intelligence (AI) in Norway’s healthcare sector is substantial, driven by the need to support an aging population, combat chronic diseases, address healthcare staff shortages, reduce costs, and reduce long waiting times. Norway is positioning itself to lead in applying AI by integrating it into a strong, pre-existing digital infrastructure.  The Norwegian Directorate of Health is implementing a joint plan aiming for the safe, ethical, and effective use of AI, focusing on incorporating commercial AI products, boosting competency, and fostering public-private partnerships. Clinical information systems, home care and personalized health systems, services for remote patient monitoring, systems for integrating local-, regional-, and national health information networks, represent significant potential for U.S. companies. However, there are some barriers to entry, such as a requirement for local language, privacy and data protection concerns, standardization and interoperability issues, and reimbursement issues.   

U.S. companies are estimated to supply around 30% of Norwegian purchases of medical equipment. High end, quality products and a tailored marketing approach are key factors for U.S. companies in penetrating the Norwegian market. The perceived reliability and quality of a product, together with information received from health care providers and from relevant certifying bodies and professional associations in Norway constitute the most significant factors in a purchasing decision for Norwegian buyers and end-users of medical equipment. Due to very limited domestic production, Norway relies heavily on imports of medical equipment and increases in market demand are likely to be met by imports.    

Equipment to be sold in Norway must be registered with the Norwegian Directorate of Health, and must have EU approval (CE Mark).  Norway participates in the EU internal market through the EEA Agreement (European Economic Area) and has the same rights and obligations as EU member states in regulation of medical devices. The EU’s revised Medical Device Regulation (EU) 2017/745 went into effect in May 2021. This Regulation harmonizes the rules for placing on the market and putting into service medical devices and their accessories on the Union market thus allowing them to benefit from the principle of free movement of goods and intends to take into account guidance developed for medical devices at international level to promote the global convergence of regulations contributing to a high level of safety protection worldwide, and to facilitate trade. Norway applies EU product requirements, methods of conformity assessment, and duty rates for U.S. imports. Norway spends an estimated USD 7 billion annually on its hospitals, and there is an attractive market for innovative, high quality medical and dental equipment. In 2025, the Norwegian Government proposed a USD 500 million increase in hospital funding compared to the 2024 budget, making the largest increase in many years. The increase relates to the overall healthcare budget and does not specifically indicate a rise in hospital spending alone. 

Large public tenders can be found at the Norwegian Doffin website and the Tenders Electronic Daily database where tenders that are covered by EU public procurement law have to be published. 

A tender’s database has been developed by the U.S. mission to the EU, featuring all European public procurement tenders that are open to U.S.– based companies since the European Communities is a party to the GPA. 

Resources   

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