Norway fact: The Sami are an indigenous people of northern Scandinavia who have been living in the northern territories for over 10,000 years.
NAV administers a third of the national budget through schemes such as unemployment benefit, work assessment allowance, sickness benefit, pensions, child benefit and cash-for-care benefit.
NAV was established on 1 July 2006. The local authorities and central government cooperate to find good solutions for users through 456 NAV offices in municipalities and city boroughs. Each local authority and NAV agree on what local authority services their office should provide. The services provided by a NAV office will thus vary from local authority to local authority.
Organization
NAV, or the Norwegian Labour and Welfare Administration, employs around 19,000 people. Of these around 14,000 are employed by the central government, the Norwegian Labour and Welfare Service, and around 5,000 are employed by the local authorities.
In addition to the local NAV offices there are more than one hundred special units. The special units perform centralised duties that it would not be appropriate for front line local NAV offices to perform.
NAV’s main goals are:
- More people active and in work, fewer people on benefits
- A well-functioning job market
- To provide the right services and benefits at the right time
- To provide good services tailored to the users’ needs and circumstances
- Comprehensive and efficient labour and welfare administration
What does NAV mean?
NAV is the short name for the Norwegian Labour and Welfare Administration. NAV was originally short for the New Labour and Welfare Administration. NAV is now a standalone name and a brand so we write it in capitals.
Social security
