How expensive is alcohol in Norway? Maybe this is one of the best things in Norway, and I will explain why. It is not any secret that Norway is my favorite country, and you can find enough proof on my website to testify that. But expensive alcohol is a nemesis for many, and if I don’t understand this concern in general, I can relate to it in some cases, but it is important to understand the logic behind it. It is a subject I spoke briefly about in the past, but now I want to let it here, clearly, and maybe raise some legit answers to people who travel to Norway and are shocked of how expensive can it be to drink alcohol. Coming from Romania, the country that leads the world ranking in pure alcohol liters / capita / year consumption, I think I can offer a pretty solid analysis of what is happening in Norway, especially that the information is from the locals, and, of course, from my additional research on the internet.

Impossible schedule if you want to buy alcohol in Norway

I won’t be debating about the alcohol price in restaurants, or pubs, because from the position of a country with 23 Michelin stared restaurants, Norway has all the rights in the world to set what standards they like. The discussion here is bound to the alcohol you may want to buy and drink home. One thing I’ve learned, from my first trip in Norway, when going to Tromsø, in the beginning of 2023, is that you can’t buy alcohol from supermarkets after 20:00 weekdays, after 16:00 on Saturdays and NOT AT ALL on Sundays. Huh? Sounds strange, right? But things are not limited to that, because the alcohol you can purchase from a plain supermarket, like Spar, Kiwi, or Coop, to say, is composed of beer, most of the time, or any alcoholic drink with lower than 4.5% concentration of pure alcohol. Generally, yes, I saw only beer.

State monopoly on the alcohol in Norway

The drinks with more alcohol, essentially all the rest can be found in Vinmonopolet, a 331 network state-owned company which has absolute monopoly on the dedicated market, as the name make it obvious. I have never been to one, but the opening hours during week days is from 10:00 to 18:00, which make them difficult to reach, of course, especially if you have a full time job, 10:00 to 16:00 on Saturdays – maybe only reliable chance – and closed on Sundays. You are raising eyebrows, I know. Because apart from this restrictions, the prices can be up to the sky, I’ve learned, for spirits mostly. But is it a beer that expensive? I think, to be honest, it is a slight exaggeration. You can buy beer at a bit more than 2 EUR, the cheapest, as far as I remember, and that is reasonable. OK, maybe not for a supermarket beer, but given the power of purchase in Norway, that is not huge.

Healthcare public system (almost) free in Norway

Of course, if you want a better beer, it can cost you easily 3-4 EUR / bottle, but, yeah, its pretty affordable. The rest, I am not sure, but the monopoly makes it very easy for the state to raise the price as high as they wish. For some this might look ridiculous, and against human “rights”, but it actually protects humans! In Norway, the public healthcare system is almost free for Norwegian residents. Almost free means that you pay / year a cap of up to 3300 NOK or something like this, and in translation is around 300 EUR / 350 USD, more or less. For one single year, in a country with the facilities and services of Norway, that is a ridiculous amount. I mean, in Romania, in theory, you have free access to emergency services, regardless of your income, but you don’t want to need the public healthcare network, and, regardless you pay a dedicated portion of your salary for this as well, you practically never can access public healthcare for basic needs like blood tests and similar, without a huge hustle.

Alcohol consumption puts unnecessary pressure on the healthcare system

Then we agree that the cap amount you need to pay, 300 EUR / year, in a country where the medium net salary surpasses 3,000 EUR / month, is a blessing. And this is exactly why alcohol is that expensive! You might not figure it out the bound, but it is actually easier than you think. We all know that alcohol is directly associated to many health issues, which is very, very true. And since the public healthcare system is basically free in Norway, you don’t want it to be overcrowded and saturated by induced drinking problems. And, of course, expensive alcohol, and strict buying schedule, discourages the consumption, and then people stay away from more unnecessary health issues. However, if you are willing to spend a lot of money to entertain a futile hobby, of drinking alcohol, it is considered that you contributed enough to the countries budget from your position of heavy drinker, and you are entitled to receive free medical care.

Proof of quality and care from Tromsø

It is like a vicious cycle, which Norway is dealing with very good, because it is a right approach to proof you are taking care of your people. Alcohol is bad in any way you put it. But if you prefer drinking in Norway, you fund the national healthcare system, which is dedicated to people’s wellbeing. If you don’t drink alcohol, you support indirectly the mechanism, the healthcare system, by not adding potential needs from a bad habit. Either way, one’s contributing. And, to wrap it up, Norway has a very reliable system, again, and I can state this because I know in Tromsø, the biggest employer is the local hospital and university, mostly dedicated to medicine.  A hospital which has a great track record, especially for being able to contribute in saving the life of the person which body temperature dropped the most, and still survived, Anna Bagenholm. Therefore, don’t ever be upset that Norwegian alcohol is expensive, because it is 100% for two good causes!