The Norwegian Government Pension Fund is the largest of any sovereign wealth fund in the world. According to data from the SWF Institute, the fund contained more than $1.1 trillion as of January 2021. Most of the assets are tied up in stocks, bonds and real estate. Not far from the proportions of the Government Pension Fund is the China Investment Cooperation fund. It manages a similarly large amount of assets of just above $1 trillion. The other sovereign wealth funds in the top eight are not nearly as big. Assets range between $370 and $580 billion. Most of the funds are located in Asia and the Arab world – in Hong Kong, China, Singapore as well as Kuwait and the United Arab Emirates.
The unique Norwegian fund was set up to invest government revenues from fossil fuel industries into sectors deemed more sustainable in order to provide for a future when the country can no longer rely on its income from oil. The Norwegian government is free to use up to three percent of the fund’s volume annually for social purposes – that number currently amounts up to $33 billion.
